I ordered my Beeline as a pre-order back on 8/16/18 It arrived on 9/8/19. The pre-order was plastic only and a single mount. The pre-order cost 110 pounds plus 5 pounds for shipping (~$142 US dollars). Today they are in full release shipping with multiple mounts and you can get them in plastic for $179 or metal for $249 .
Whats in the box? I got the “Universal Elastic Strap Mount” which came with extra elastic bands in a two sizes. It also came with the charger and the device along with some paper pamphlets.
The Beeline moto GPS is back-lit and works very well at night. As a matter of fact it worked surprisingly well. I didn’t even realize it had a back-light until I happened to be out on the bike testing the unit at night. It is bright enough to easily see but not so bright as to cause mirror or reflections off your visor.
The software is super easy to setup and configure. Actually for what I am using it for I like the lack of options – if you want something that is quick and easy to use then this is the tool for you.
It also have a way to retain favorites to make it a little simpler to get to a known location fast. The shortcuts can be renamed to a more friendly name.
Something that is cool to look at but completely useless is the “Journeys” page in the software app. The Journeys page is a history of your rides with a little map summary with distance, time and date captured
The Beeline Moto device itself has a few buttons to allow you to turn it on or jump to a setting but overall the device interface doesn’t really do a whole lot and you end up using the phone for prepping and programming the trip then the Beeline Moto device acts like a remote screen giving you the navigation information in a read only fashion.
The Universal Elastic Strap Mount works well in very tight mounting spaces (such as the Ural) but is very easy to mount and use. Also you can use the Beeline Moto as a clock.
A quick Video so you can see how the interface actually works.
After weeks of testing here is my conclusion on the Beeline Moto:
Before the Beeline Moto you essentially had 2 options for Motorcycle Navagation.
- Proper and expensive Motorcycle GPS
- Cheap tacky phone mount on handlebars
A proper Motorcycle GPS is waterproof and also typically has to be hard wired and the mount takes up a lot of space. The phone mount doesn’t actually protect your phone all that much from water or debris. I was looking for something not as large as a full functions GPS but was water proof, less intrusive and would allow my phone to be securely stored.
If you want – low profile – mount anywhere – no need for direct power – waterproof directions then your going to love this. It works great on the Ural and I imagine it would work very well for around town Cafe Racers and Naked bikes as well. Pop your phone out – tell it where to go – put you phone up and go. this is where the Beeline Moto really shines and works without any fuss.
I got ordered the Beeline Moto specifically for the URAL because I like to get lost and just take trips around and see what happens – but then I need to get home or to a gas station. I needed simple – secure – navigation. For these requirements the Beeline Moto works very well.
The down side is it is not autonomous it requires a phone with the app. The phone and the app are the brains of this thing. That is what allows it be so much less in size and price then a full functional GPS and require significantly less power.
What would I change?
This is the first version of this product, and I got it at a discount because of that – However I do have a wish list of things I want them to change.
- The Charger
- its proprietary. I want them to drop the docking station and go with a USB plug that I already have a lot of.
- Charging Status while on charger.
- is it charged? There is not charge – it just lays there dark.
- Interaction from device to phone.
- I would love to have a “Home” button on the device to start routing to a favorite location. That would allow you to work it without interacting from the phone.
- Route Sharing
- It just doesn’t work – it sends a picture that’s rather worthless. So get rid of share button or make it a GPX export.
My feelings about the Beeline Moto is that it is not a fully functional (expensive) GPS but its way better then a phone mount – There is finally an “in-between” option and it works very well as long as your willing to realize it is what it is. The battery life on the thing is great and it will get you home in the dark and the rain so for that I like it.
Link to the website https://us.beeline.co/collections/beeline-moto
TheMotoLizard
