Five Kickstarter projects we love

Shark Kage multipurpose ramp

You know what some of our favourite YouTube videos are? The ones of people trying to load their bikes on their trucks with ramps and falling flat on their faces while at it. Now if these guys had the Shark Kage, it wouldn't have been such a worry. The Shark Kage is a multi propose loading ramp that can be used for a variety of functions. It is made of four hinged pieces of aluminium struts and beams and securely attaches to your truck's tail gate. What we love about this one is that it is not just a ramp. By folding it in various configurations you can have a ramp, a work table, a secure cargo box, a cargo bay cover, a cargo bed extender or even a sun shade. It is wired enough to be able to ride your ATV or motorcycle up it or even walk it up. Nice!
sharkkage.com

Vololights deceleration indicator

What is the primary cause of tailgate collisions? The driver behind you not noticing you decelerating, of course. These guys have come up with a solution for that. The Vololight unit replaces your regular number plate bracket and attaches to your already existing wiring harness without any additional modifications. It uses a three axis accelerometer attached to a microchip processor to gauge how quickly you are decelerating. Depending upon the rate of decoration it flashes the two LED light clusters that are mounted around the replacement number plate mount. So if you're slowing down using engine braking, it flashes slowly. If you're slowing down faster with the use of brakes and engine braking the flash rate is quicker, and if you're pulling an emergency braking manoeuvre, it flashes as if it's life depended on it. We think it is a great product to make your riding safer next year.
vololights.com

Nuviz HUD

If you've felt that itch to check your smartphone when out on a ride, then this product might interest you. The Nuviz HUD is a head up display that you can mount to any full face or modular helmet. It syncs up with your smart phone to give you navigation data, phone access, music access and also doubles up as an action camera. What's more? If you're out on the track or firing the canyons, it can also be set up to give you telemetry and timing. The uses of this little gadget are so many that were even willing to forgive how ugly it makes your helmet look.
ridenuviz.com

Lightmode helmet illumination

If you ask any of us at OVERDRIVE, they'll tell you how terrified we are of riding at night. At the root of this is the fear that some bozo in a car is gonna ram right into us at night and claim they didn't see us there. So this product is right up our alley. The Lightmode kit transforms any helmet into something straight out of Tron. The kit is made of a strip of electroluminescent lights that you can stick on your helmet with the helmet safe adhesive that comes in the box. It comes in two sizes – 3m and 4.5m. It doesn't come in preset designs, so you are free to make your own design in your helmet. Power comes from two rechargeable batteries that are held in a small battery box which mounts straight on your helmet. It might looks a little over the top, but there is not many people who will miss seeing you on the road at night if your helmet is glowing!
lightmodehelmets.com

Squee-Kee-Kleen

This is the product that appeases our OCD. SKK, as it is called in short, is a glass surface cleaning gadget that is so awesome that we just have to have it. It is essentially the squigee of the future. This neat squigee gets a little spray container inside that handle that you can store any cleaning liquid in. We love it because when you're out on those long rides and need to clean your visor, all you need to do is pull out your SKK, spray some cleaning liquid on your helmet visor and use your squigee end to wipe your visor clean. It is so convenient and awesome that we want a whole box of them for Christmas to give out to everyone we know. It comes in some awesome colours too.
squee-kee-kleen.com