I'm all for innovative products that make our lives that much better. I'm an acolyte of the Flex Seal, for instance. But there are certain products that, while they accomplish a task or their given function, just look...dorky. So dorky, you'd likely want to hide your face for the scorn you'd rightly get if you were to ever show it in public.
And that's the vibe I'm getting with Bikerguard's helmet-mounted windshield wiper.
Does it work? Apparently, so. But does it also make you look like the biggest freakin' rube around? Oh yeah, totally makes you look like a huge dork. I get the idea, but the execution is leaving something to be desired.
Couldn't they have made it slightly better looking?
The Bikerguard unit sits right in the middle of your full-face helmet's brow vent, with a small electric motor hidden beneath what appears to be a faux carbon-fiber housing. And as you'd expect, a small windshield wiper descends from the housing and curved around your helmet's shield. There's also a small toggle and control device that straps to your motorcycle's handlebars that allows you to control the wiper, whether you'd like to do it manually or have it operate on a frequency-based cycle.
But it's such a garish design. There's just no beauty to it. I'm sure it works and there's likely plenty of folks who don't care about looks, but rather that it just function. Function is usually better than form. Yet, a motorcycle's helmet is this curved affair. It's a beautiful shape, in my opinion. And a small, squat, square box that extends from your helmet makes it look like a fresh zit or something.
And while the function appears to work, clearing your shield from rain and giving you a better sight picture, even the operation looks a bit clunky from the video above. I could just see myself turning up to some local motorcycle get-together and literally everyone there taking the piss out of me. Sure, I'd be able to see, but at what cost?!
Worse yet, it's expensive as hell. At the time of writing, it'll set you back a cool €319. That's $350 using today's exchange rate. Imagine spending what amounts to the same price as an OK new helmet on just a helmet-mounted windshield wiper? You'd never be able to show your face again. Luckily, you'd be in a helmet, so maybe folks wouldn't know it was you. At least, that's what I'd hope for.
