BMW Motorrad Takes Touring To A New Level With Digital Accessories

TopSpeed

By Allyn Hinton

Published Jun 25, 2018

Tech Offers More Enjoyment For You And Your Passenger

Accurate tour planning and reliable navigation are only the beginning. BMW's digital accessories include improved communication with your passenger, seamless telephone use, and better entertainment enjoyment while traveling by motorcycle.

Continue reading for more in BMW's digital accessories.

BMW Motorrad Connectivity and Connected App

By adding the optional BMW Motorrad Connectivity package to your new Beemer, you can network your bike, smartphone and helmet for a new level of communication. The smartphone-based Connected app allows you to navigate, turn-by-turn on the TFT display. Add a helmet with the Communication System and you can access your contact list on your smartphone, then select and call the desired contact using the Multi-Controller all without taking your attention off the road ahead.

BMW Motorrad Communication System and helmets

Available in the helmets “System 7 Carbon,” “System 6, GS Carbon,” and

“Helm AirFlow,” the Communication System enables conversations between you and your passenger, use of the telephone and also navigation via the connection with the BMW Motorrad Navigator. The system is fully integrated into the helmet and offers excellent voice quality with noise suppression so you can talk freely with your passenger during the trip, and it can be hooked into the bike's audio on some of BMW's touring models such as the R 1200 RT, K 1600 GT, or K 1600 GTL. A Bluetooth connection allows you to connect your helmet to the Navigator, a smartphone, an MP3 player, or the TFT display. The Communication System operates independently of the bike, too. With a 10-to-12 hour operating period until fast battery recharging, extended tours are now possible.

Navigation is made easy with BMW Connected App Navigation, a phone in the Smartphone Cradle, the convenient BMW Motorrad Navigator Street, or the Navigator VI. Navigator Street works on bikes without navigation preparation allowing for GPS navigation and hands-free phone calls delivered right to your helmet. Navigator IV is a premium navigation system that not only gives you GPS navigation, but also includes features such as “Winding Roads” that offers route suggestions based on roads that look like they'd be fun as well as “Major Highways and Trunk Road Avoidance” to let you steer away from roads aren't. Among other useful features, there is a “Round Trip” that lets you plan our trip based on time, distance, and points of interest along the way. Other functions include one that lets you note and save where you parked the bike, and the ability to add photos and trip info to document your journey and share it on the “Rever” platform.

With all this smartphone functionality, BMW offers a Smartphone Cradle that allows you to charge your smartphone through micro USB or wirelessly through Qi standard. The cradle is dustproof, waterproof, and shock resistant to protect your phone while underway. All in all, some very cool stuff for touring folks.