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Apple CarPlay for motorbikes Fri Aug 16, 2024 6:45 am
Born Again Eccentric
Life time member
Came across this gadget when my local motorbike accessory shop emailed me recently.
My Garmin LM590 GPS is getting a bit tired now. The micro USB port disintegrated recently and I had to get a local electronic repairman to fix it (too fiddly for my ham fisted soldering skills). I was considering replacing it soon but didn’t like the price tag that came with motorbike GPS units. When I’m in my car, I use the Waze app for all my navigation …so why not use it on the bike?
The plug & go ride cast is about half the price of a bike GPS and a fraction of the weight. It claims to be IP7 water resistant. It can either be plugged into a USB port or hardwired in. At the moment, it only comes with a handlebar mount which isn’t much use for a K bike with the lack of clear bar to attach it to, however, with a little fabrication I fixed it to the RAM mount that I used to use to attach my heavy old GPS to the dash pad. As it’s still in trial mode, I haven’t hardwired it in yet.
Things I like:
Things not so good:
So far so good.
My Garmin LM590 GPS is getting a bit tired now. The micro USB port disintegrated recently and I had to get a local electronic repairman to fix it (too fiddly for my ham fisted soldering skills). I was considering replacing it soon but didn’t like the price tag that came with motorbike GPS units. When I’m in my car, I use the Waze app for all my navigation …so why not use it on the bike?
The plug & go ride cast is about half the price of a bike GPS and a fraction of the weight. It claims to be IP7 water resistant. It can either be plugged into a USB port or hardwired in. At the moment, it only comes with a handlebar mount which isn’t much use for a K bike with the lack of clear bar to attach it to, however, with a little fabrication I fixed it to the RAM mount that I used to use to attach my heavy old GPS to the dash pad. As it’s still in trial mode, I haven’t hardwired it in yet.
Things I like:
- 5” colour touch screen display
- Connects to phone automatically (after initial Bluetooth set up)
- Connects to either the bike speakers or my helmet intercom via Bluetooth
- Clear sound to headset for route instructions and hands free phone calls
- Connects to and displays my Waze app to give me (free) navigation with live traffic information, including hazard and police warnings)
- Option of full or split screen
- Ability to play and control music at same time as navigating
Things not so good:
- Inbuilt speaker is weedy and inaudible at 100% in all but quietest places
- Volume control on unit only controls the inbuilt speaker volume…I really wanted it to be able to control phone volume (music and directions) however, I still have volume control via my helmet headset and just need to set phone to max volume before setting off.
- Screen is made of quite soft plastic which is really easy to scratch. I have stuck a tempered glass phone screen over mine which provides the necessary protection.
- The lack of mounting options
- It says it’s removable, but seems pretty fixed to me once fitted. I’ve made mine removable for parking in less desirable overnight locations.
- I’m guessing it only works with data connection…might be an issue if exploring in the wilds of nowhere or venturing to foreign roads where data roaming might be an issue (e-sims are a cheap option for overseas data connection at excellent rate)
So far so good.
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Paul
"Heidi" K100LT 1991 (Grey) (VIN 0190172 Engine No. 104EB 2590 2213) - 5th owner. January 2014 (34,000 - 82,818 miles and counting....)
"Gretel" K100LT 1989 (
"Donor" K100LT 1990 (Red) (VIN 0178091 Engine gone to Dai) - 6th & final owner (crash write-off now donor bike). June 2012 (73,000 miles) to November 2013 (89,500 miles)
