New 2018 Honda Gold Wing is the First Motorcycle Equipped With CarPlay

[Sabon]

I hope Harley follows suit. Harman Kardon isn't cutting it in the innovation department for Harley's instrument cluster.
[doublepost=1508904778][/doublepost]
Not sure if A/C is real, but yes most bikes do have keyless entry now. My bike has a FOB that disables the alarm and enables the starter. I think the A/C and "heater" is a gimmick as it just redirects air towards the rider. Heater pulls heat from the motor and A/C I would assume redirects air from the front of the bike. I can confirm, redirected air from the front of the bike is only effective at temps below about 85-90 degree F. Anything above that and it just feels like a furnace blasting in your face.

I ride GoldWings and I can —absolutely— assure you that it is NOT a gimmick. The heater does the exact same thing that heaters do on your car. They pull heat from the engine and pass it through ducting to the driver and passenger. The same thing happens on GoldWings.

As for the “air conditioning”. There is no AC unit on it. There are ducts (with optional more plastic surfaces to direct air onto the rider and passenger) that direct air onto the rider and passenger.

Garbing, one of the major heater clothing makers for motorcyclists, the military, and for many other uses, tried for decades to make a good cooling suit but gave up. However I do expect that some decade motorcycles will actually have AC units on them and create actual cooled air that will blow on riders and co-riders. It just hasn’t happened yet.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Takes gas. Pass.

Honda needs to quickly get their crap together if they want to be around in 10 years.

Just this morning they showed off yet another "Concept Car", demonstrating just how far behind everyone else they are.

 

[Sabon]

Awesome bike, and unsurprising. Honda has always done a great job with keeping the Gold Wing a well-appointed machine. Always leading edge in electronics, comfort and safety.

I'll stick to my Triumphs and BMWs, though.

Actually, no they haven’t. Other than the engine, the rest of the package of a GoldWing has been horribly out of date since the 1990s. It’s about time they got their head out of their rear ends and realized this isn’t the last century anymore.

A vast majority of what is new on the GoldWing (CarePlay not included on BMWs) is catch up to what has been on the BMW 1600GLT for quite a few years now.

When it came time to place my 2000 GoldWing SE it was a no brained to switch to the BMW 1600 GTL and I was in the midst of price negotiations (yes that is possible depending on the dealer and whether you are paying cash or not) when my health went bad quickly.

 

[Jesla]

I have a 2017 Fusion AWD TURBO for CarPlay type days...

Also keep in mind you will need a helmet that is compatible with the bike..... add the better part of $1000us for that.

Living in the mountains I have no need for a bagger....

.... and my Bonnie is fully modern, with all the 21st century goodies, fully compete computer controlled engine management,
Dual overhead cam 4v per cyl. fuel injected, anti-lock disc brakes(front and rear) and LED Lighting.

 

[Booch21]

A motorcycle with a "reverse gear" just ain't right!

Let me tell you, without it, that beast is not very easy to move!

Mine probably weighs 1,100 pounds before I put my back side on it. Extra weight is from the coffee maker and microwave in the trunk.

 

[ActionableMango]

With the passage of the law allowing motorcyclists to legally "lane-split" (travel through traffic passing cars in the #1 (fast) and #2 lane) it doesn't seem safety rates very high to them. Lane-splitting while futzing with their new CarPlay display, and yes...accidents on the rise even more.

Lane Splitting

The law came about in large part because the UC Berkeley study on lane splitting shows that lane splitting motorcyclists are less likely to get in an accident and they are less likely to be hurt when they do get in an accident. The European MAIDS report studied the issue but could not find that it was safer or more dangerous. The only other motorcycle study I'm aware of is the HURT report, which does not specifically address lane splitting by name, but implied that it might be safer--it showed that motorcyclists in California are more likely to be seriously hurt when rear ended (like stuck in stop and go) than when motorcyclists hit cars (like hitting a lane-changing car while lane splitting). If you are aware of a motorcycle study that shows lane splitting is more dangerous, please identify it.

Lane splitting is actually legal and normal in many countries around the world, both developed and developing. In the US it seems to be demonized by non-motorcyclists making unjust assumptions not backed by data. I imagine that car drivers stuck in traffic while watching motorcyclists get ahead would cause a strong negative bias, so this is a difficult thing for us motorcyclists to overcome.​

CarPlay

There are already music and navigation features on motorcycles. The point of CarPlay is to make it easier and less distracting. A simple, high-quality, high-performance interface with voice control is much easier to use than the interfaces that already exist now. I would argue that a better interface would be just as safe or safer than existing, difficult interfaces.

Two arguments for adding CarPlay to cars are improving safety and complying with the law, so I don't understand why the argument would change for a motorcycle.​

 

[Laird Knox]

I've been mounting my smartphone on the handlebars for years – mostly for navigation. But you have to remove your gloves any time you need to interact (eg if it offers to re-navigate around some traffic).

I have a 2005 Garmin Zumo that works wonderfully with gloves - even when I'm wearing the big, heavy gauntlets for winter riding. Granted phones have changed just a bit since 2005 but I love the Garmin on the bike.

I've also used the iPhone for music with a controller strapped to my thigh. Man I need to get back out on the road again. Life has had other plans for me lately.

 

[mi7chy]

Apple Maps is already dangerous enough in a car. It'll be suicide on a motorcycle with no metal frame protection around you when it directs you off of an overpass.

 

[swm]

Why not?

CarPlay on a bike is every bit as useful as CarPlay in a car.

like a capacitive touch screen, that is neither reachable with the left nor right hand, which are usually covered with bikers gloves... tbh this scenario is as useful as the trojan horse on a derby.
on the other hand, carplay defines a way of interaction using joystick / rotary buttons - exactly the way how honda pulls this off - yet it requires the rider to focus on the screen away from the road for a longer period of time to ensure things happen the way he wants it. usually bikers don't stare at the vehicle's gauges too long. and the important gauges have been moved to the sides to provide screen real estate for the carplay screen.
anyway, we'll see

 

[stopthenonsense]

Dude. If Apple can't even get their software right........ (that old map joke) Siri: "turn left...go through the lake."

At least you can start swimming off the motorcycle faster than a car! I really wish apple would open Carplay up to other apps like Waze. I just did my first roadtrip in my new car with carplay and the navigation was frustrating! I'm about to get a cheap android just to have waze using android auto.

 

[mwined]

Meh. I use a $100.00 bluetooth headset (it's actually a pair at that price) in my helmet to listen to music and take phone calls (I rarely get them, but I can and have).
That bike is bigger than most individuals can lift if it falls over. Not my kind of ride.
[doublepost=1508975055][/doublepost]I really miss the Pacific Coast (PC800) though.

 

[pat500000]

At least you can start swimming off the motorcycle faster than a car! I really wish apple would open Carplay up to other apps like Waze. I just did my first roadtrip in my new car with carplay and the navigation was frustrating! I'm about to get a cheap android just to have waze using android auto.

I doubt Apple is going to collaborate with 3rd party like Waze. Waze is great by the way.

 

[spinedoc77]

Can someone actually show me where wireless CarPlay has ever been implemented?
[doublepost=1508936498][/doublepost]

I know it's a joke but this is far easier for people to understand than what typically comes with a car.

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/13/wireless-carplay-2017-bmw-5-series/ There are also a few aftermarket head units that have it, I believe Alpine has one.

 

[jermwhl]

I ride GoldWings and I can —absolutely— assure you that it is NOT a gimmick. The heater does the exact same thing that heaters do on your car. They pull heat from the engine and pass it through ducting to the driver and passenger. The same thing happens on GoldWings.

As for the “air conditioning”. There is no AC unit on it. There are ducts (with optional more plastic surfaces to direct air onto the rider and passenger) that direct air onto the rider and passenger.

Garbing, one of the major heater clothing makers for motorcyclists, the military, and for many other uses, tried for decades to make a good cooling suit but gave up. However I do expect that some decade motorcycles will actually have AC units on them and create actual cooled air that will blow on riders and co-riders. It just hasn’t happened yet.

I don't own a GoldWing, so yes, perhaps my "gimmick" remark was not accurate. I was going off of my friends opinion of the heater (he is a GoldWing rider). For me, the heated grips and seat have been more than sufficient on cold days. I also have the "directed air AC" on my Ultra and although they are nice during hotter days, once it gets about 85 or so, hot air is just hot air.
[doublepost=1508979629][/doublepost]

I dunno, I think the HK system works just fine on my RGS. Aside from having to add an aftermarket amp and speakers to make it easily listenable at road speeds, its biggest problem is sun glare in morning and evening, but that is not HKs fault. This biggest problem with CarPlay on a ->touring<- bike is that, one way or the other, you are beholden to a cell connection to make it work. Whether it is updating maps while riding or trying to download maps at the campsite with spotty cell reception they are basically internet appliances. The built in HK system will update maps whether in town, in the sticks, in the canyons, or under tree cover. Cell phones are nice, but I would not call them the worlds best for touring. A sat phone, perhaps, but not a cell phone. And let's not even get into Waze and other apps mailing home your get away locations to the data miners of the world. I don't care, but more libertarian minded folks might.
Distraction issues aside (really, we WANT riders to look at their dash more?) it seems CarPlay is really more for round town riders and commuters more than touring folks. Which makes it somewhat odd on a GW, IMHO.

The biggest complaint for me, as was also true for GoldWings, was the inability to pair a bluetooth headset to the system. Only wired systems work (not including the freewire modules). Now that GoldWing has adopted something different (I assume bluetooth headsets work with the new unit), hopefully HD will move forward as well. I don't mind the HD nav system, but I've ridden cross country 3 times on my bike and I haven't had too much bad luck in terms of cell coverage. But you're right, it is nice to have sat radio and built-in/pre-loaded nav maps in places where cell reception doesn't reach!

 

[T.j.p.]

Honda is set to release the first motorcycle that comes equipped with CarPlay, reports CNET.

First PRODUCTION bike with CarPlay. I had CarPlay on my 2006 Kawasaki Concours. With an aftermarket he'd unit and custom refit of the dash. The automotive head unit had issues with motorcycle level vibration. So uninstalled for now. Just an iPhone 6S with Cardo GX4 headsets and Siri for now. And silver plated nylon thread sewn in the fingertips of the gloves.

 

[jermwhl]

Lane Splitting

The law came about in large part because the UC Berkeley study on lane splitting shows that lane splitting motorcyclists are less likely to get in an accident and they are less likely to be hurt when they do get in an accident. The European MAIDS report studied the issue but could not find that it was safer or more dangerous. The only other motorcycle study I'm aware of is the HURT report, which does not specifically address lane splitting by name, but implied that it might be safer--it showed that motorcyclists in California are more likely to be seriously hurt when rear ended (like stuck in stop and go) than when motorcyclists hit cars (like hitting a lane-changing car while lane splitting). If you are aware of a motorcycle study that shows lane splitting is more dangerous, please identify it.

Lane splitting is actually legal and normal in many countries around the world, both developed and developing. In the US it seems to be demonized by non-motorcyclists making unjust assumptions not backed by data. I imagine that car drivers stuck in traffic while watching motorcyclists get ahead would cause a strong negative bias, so this is a difficult thing for us motorcyclists to overcome.​

CarPlay

There are already music and navigation features on motorcycles. The point of CarPlay is to make it easier and less distracting. A simple, high-quality, high-performance interface with voice control is much easier to use than the interfaces that already exist now. I would argue that a better interface would be just as safe or safer than existing, difficult interfaces.

Two arguments for adding CarPlay to cars are improving safety and complying with the law, so I don't understand why the argument would change for a motorcycle.​

I've lived in California for 20 years and have grown very much accustomed to lane splitting. My friends from back east think it's a crazy notion, because they've never rode in that environment. I can remember my first few attempts at lane splitting. It felt very different and foreign (of course). I've even lane split on my big bagger (with the wide lane between car pool and standard lanes). Studies do indeed conclude that it is safer, or at the very least, less dangerous than being read ended, depending on the study. I know I much more prefer sitting between two cars on my left and right, than front and back at a red light. All the anti-lane splitters I know either don't ride, or have never ridden where it is legal to lane split.
[doublepost=1508980108][/doublepost]

First PRODUCTION bike with CarPlay. I had CarPlay on my 2006 Kawasaki Concours. With an aftermarket he'd unit and custom refit of the dash. The automotive head unit had issues with motorcycle level vibration. So uninstalled for now. Just an iPhone 6S with Cardo GX4 headsets and Siri for now. And silver plated nylon thread sewn in the fingertips of the gloves.

The statement is still accurate - first motorcycle to come EQUIPPED with.. Yours was a custom aftermarket install that (apparently) didn't last.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

Wow, people take this quote very seriously. I take it as a joke. "Air conditioning" Get it? Out in the air riding. Although there are AM a/c units, Honda hasn't put them on as factory equipment AFAIK. And "keyless entry". Again, get it? Hop on the bike, no doors to open hence no keys? He did not say "keyless ignition".

I was kidding, guess I should have used a smiley Goldwings do have an insane amount of comfort features for a motorcycle though so I wouldn’t be too shocked to find out my hyperbole was actually true.

 

[B4U]

Way more fun than an Accord.

Yet, can only be driven for about 6 months at most around my region due to weather.
[doublepost=1508993210][/doublepost]

No, but it does have AC

Yup, and much safer on the road.

 

[lawlist]

I would not trade my 2008 Honda Goldwing with iPhone/iPod wired connection for a mandatory Bluetooth connection on a 2018 Honda Goldwing, except maybe to quickly sell it for a profit and buy another older model.

 

[zombierunner]

but it's a Honda.

 

[ksnell]

Yet, can only be driven for about 6 months at most around my region due to weather.

Summary: If you want practicality, buy an Accord. If you want to have fun, buy a motorcycle.

Of course, depending on what your region is, an Accord would not be suitable for the winter either.

 

[Booch21]

I have a 2005 Garmin Zumo that works wonderfully with gloves - even when I'm wearing the big, heavy gauntlets for winter riding. Granted phones have changed just a bit since 2005 but I love the Garmin on the bike.

Ditto. It has worked very well for me also.
[doublepost=1509032066][/doublepost]

That bike is bigger than most individuals can lift if it falls over. Not my kind of ride.

When done properly, even the smallest of persons can upright a touring bike that has fallen over. Plenty of demonstration videos on YouTube.

This is a written description of how it is done also: https://www.cycleworld.com/2015/07/...-tricks-how-to-pick-up-your-fallen-motorcycle

 

[Laird Knox]

When done properly, even the smallest of persons can upright a touring bike that has fallen over. Plenty of demonstration videos on YouTube.

I wasn't going to drop my bike to just try out the technique when I first saw it. However, when I went down on a lonely stretch of dirt road in Death Valley I was able to lift my 700+ pound bike with ease. The only difficulty was shifting my weight to one foot so that I could get the kickstand down while balancing the bike behind my back.

 

[extrachrispy]

Over 45yrs riding and I have never needed nor wanted radios, cruse control or anything on my bikes but me and a motor....

Bonneville baby

Over 25 years riding, and at the very least, a throttle lock, Throttlemeister (or equivalent), or a wrist-rest come in damned handy when on a multi-week tour, at least some of which is going to be on long, straight stretches of road. Tendinitis in the back of the wrist is not all that pleasant.

For those aforementioned long, straight stretches, music really helps to keep the mind from going crazy, leaving one fresher for when the road gets interesting (at which time, a 1-second tap-and-hold on the Sena shuts the music off).

58,000 touring miles on a ZX-11, 55,000 on a Hayabusa (with hard luggage!), and another 24,000 on my K1300S, baby.
[doublepost=1509065024][/doublepost]

With the passage of the law allowing motorcyclists to legally "lane-split" (travel through traffic passing cars in the #1 (fast) and #2 lane) it doesn't seem safety rates very high to them.

Sigh.

All of the available data demonstrate that riders are actually safer splitting in stopped or slow-moving traffic, provided the speed delta between them and the traffic is not large. Bikes getting sandwiched between the car stopped in front and the car coming up from behind (while the driver is fiddling with his cell phone) are a thing.

CHP's guidelines for splitting used to be: only when traffic is moving at less than 35mph, and no more than 10-15mph faster than traffic. Sounds sensible to me.
[doublepost=1509065249][/doublepost]

A motorcycle with a "reverse gear" just ain't right!

It's not a "reverse gear" so much as a starter-motor-assist so that you can paddle-walk that behemoth if you happen to park it slightly nose-downhill.
[doublepost=1509065410][/doublepost]

Takes gas. Pass.

Honda needs to quickly get their crap together if they want to be around in 10 years.

Just this morning they showed off yet another "Concept Car", demonstrating just how far behind everyone else they are.

My, what a marvelous bit of virtue signaling!
[doublepost=1509065574][/doublepost]

Also keep in mind you will need a helmet that is compatible with the bike..... add the better part of $1000us for that.

Well, no. You can buy a nice Snell-rated HJC for under two hundred bucks and slap a Sena bluetooth unit on it. Good to go.

Living in the mountains I have no need for a bagger....

Try riding backroads from Austin, Texas, to Sacramento, California, down to Pismo Beach, hack over to the LA Basin via backroads, and back sometime. It's quite a different experience from a single day's worth of mountain roads.
[doublepost=1509065967][/doublepost]

but it's a Honda.

So? Soichiro Honda was quite the genius, having gotten his start mating small-displacement engines to bicycle frames in 1949. While he was at the helm, lots of interesting things came out of that company, and Honda insisted that they be maintainable (e.g., it was a design requirement that one be able to remove the head from the motorcycle engine with the engine still in the frame). Tiny, six-cylinder engines on bikes that raced at the Isle of Man, revving beyond 16,000 rpm, the oval-pistoned, 32-valve NR750 V-4 (which had a beautiful exhaust system with eight headers), just to see if they could do it, etc.

I'd agree that the company's output has become boring since Honda's death.

 

[Iconoclysm]

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/13/wireless-carplay-2017-bmw-5-series/ There are also a few aftermarket head units that have it, I believe Alpine has one.

Thing is, that says it WILL have it - where is the follow up? I participated in that thread.

I'm really interested in if it's working well and, more importantly, technical details around how it is pulled off.