Skully reveals a video that seems to want to explain what's going on with the (pre)production of their hyped AR-1 motorcycle helmet. While any communication from the manufacturers of the Skully AR-1 is, of course, a most welcome way to shred a bit the mystery surrounding the manufacturing process, this video lacks almost any of the conclusive data the almost 2,000 Indiegogo backers were expecting.
In late May, we told you that one of the co-founders of the whole business and at the same time the CEO of Skully, Marcus Weller was out on a world tour, giving talks to customers and backers, explaining how things go and demoing a smartphone app.
Even so, this was little compensation for the big delay. For starters, Skully declared that the first AR-1 helmets would be delivered in 2014, and even though the goal was utterly unrealistic, it was an official statement many backers would rely on to fuel their fears of being conned.
The crowdfunding campaign ended in early October 2014, having earned almost ten times the goal, so those who contributed to the whole thing had great expectations. However it looks like there is still long until the helmets reach their owners.
Do we need a philosopher such as Wittgenstein to tell us more on the power of words?
Weller says "we are well underway with production of your Skully AR-1 preorders," and this might put a smile on the face of the existing customers. However, a minute later, the SkullY CEO says that August will see the debut of a "new low-volume build of helmets for extensive, final quality assurance testing."
If you ask us, this is not at all illuminating, but causing even more confusion and suspicions. Is Skully almost ready to send the first AR-1s or not? And what does "well underway" mean, after all? And how about the QA thing? Are they sending some helmets, then finishing the QA testing process? Is this "low-volume build" a test batch? Will it differ from the rest?
But things don't stop here. "During September we will receive our final materials for the supply team to begin Skully's first full-scale production run. The first Skully AR-1 will ship to those who pre-ordered, before the holidays this year," Weller adds.
You see, simple words can make a whole lot of difference, and frankly, all we understand is that the AR-1 is still a good distance from being ready. Frankly, if the first ones reach their owners before Christmas this year, we'd still call it a lucky strike.
Meanwhile, nobody knows yet who makes the shell
While the "smart part" of the Skully AR-1 is known to be manufactured by Flextronics, nobody (save for Skully) seems to know who is the manufacturer of the "hard part". That is, the shell of the AR-1 and the most important part of any motorcycle helmet, the one that protects a rider's head from the energy of a potential impact.
In fact, this lack of transparency seems to be one of the major problems in the entire Skully affair. The most skeptical of riders fear that the shell is manufactured by a "lowest bidder" Chinese maker, and they are very vocal in expressing this suspicion.
Aside from speeding up the whole process Skully could do exceedingly well in revealing who makes the shells, as it's rather impossible that they are taking care of this themselves.
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