Beeline Moto II | Tour Tested | Is it any good?

[@WildlifeMoto]

***Now with chapter markers*** This video is quite long, so I've added chapter markers to help you skip to the various sections.

[@blazesboylan7947]

There's undoubtedly a correlation between my dwindling eyesight and my refusal to ride around with a phone attached to my handlebars. Be that as it may, I found the first generation Beeline to be useful if not stellar. My Beeline II arrived a couple of days ago (after the first one got lost in transit) so I haven't had many opportunities to use it yet but so far it seems like a solid step forward. By the way, you've put together a very sweet fleet of motorcycles.

[@Bickers5446]

Great review. Couple of points to make, 1) the beeline Moto 1 wasn't just an arrow. It had a compass mode but it also had a nav mode that displayed a lot more information. It was still really basic, but just wanted to point out for editorial accountability 2) I am long sighted and cannot read close up without glasses, but because the beeline is generally over an arms length away I can read it fine. Just want to make this point as it's unfair to say that people with close sight vision issues may struggle. It's generally ok.

[@WildlifeMoto]

Thank you sir. Some helpful notes here.

[@metalmystic6214]

I have absolutely zero interest in putting my phone on my bars, for a multitude of reasons. So my only option is a third party device like a Zumo XT2, Beeline Moto 2 or a CarPlay unit. Appreciate the review, haven’t made my decision yet. Leaning Moto 2 due to price and simplicity.

[@simongreetham8445]

I’ve just picked this up and used it for a few days, really good bit of kit, but as you say it’s a bit of a bitter taste having spent £200 and then they want extra money for fairly basic features that you get with other apps.

[@WildlifeMoto]

Unfortunately, it's the way things are going. Even my flipping doorbell wants a subscription to unlock all of it's special "features" lol

[@jamestorregrossa1185]

Great demonstration my friend, I would have to put this device in the novelty category.

[@johnk7814]

Ha I ordered one of these yesterday ,looks like it would be good for me . Cheers mate

[@peakrider4886]

Thanks for this review, probably the most thorough and thoughtful one I’ve seen. I bought the original Beeline and once you get used to the way information is presented on the screen, it is a very useable device, and looks totally unobtrusive in between the handlebar clamps on my Kawasaki W800. I’m glad to see changes which I found to be the limitations of the original - you could only charge it off the bike using the little dock it came with, the small buttons on the side were hard to use with gloves, and the lack of a map resulted in wrong turns when junctions were close to each other. But there remains a couple of issues which you have mentioned in the video and the cost of the device, the accessories, and the subscription services, along with the fact that if the phone it’s connected to looses signal or runs out of battery, the device becomes useless. You could power the phone from the bike, but if it’s in a pocket, it means having a cable running into your clothing.

[@nivelan]

Very thorough review, much appreciated. I've nearly been tempted by these but I'll hold out for a unit that's excellent at lanes and big roundabouts because that's where I'm most likely to need a wee bit of guidance at times.

[@WildlifeMoto]

Thank you.

[@TwinPotMan]

This is a really good review and mirrors much of my own experience with the original Moto. The 'phone App is the limiting factor when designing routes, which you've explained well. For off-road route planning on my mountain bike, I use Komoot and then upload the GPX file to my Moto App, so, it can be done. For me, the most frustrating aspect is the "laggy" response especially for busy road interchanges and large, multi-junction round-a-bouts in particular, where smaller junctions can be missed, which then confuses the Moto. This of course may be as a result of the interaction between the 'phone and Moto when the phone signal is poor (which does seem to be most of the UK!!!) or you're travelling with some speed. On one last point, the Moto is easily stolen, as I found at a bike meet where people are circulating "looking" at the bikes!

[@WildlifeMoto]

Thank you. Yes, I was going to mention the tendency to forget to remove the Moto from the bike. I've done this a few times, but thankfully, it wasn't stolen. Sorry to hear that your was. Maybe Beeline could come up with some kind of security screw to secure the device to the mount. At least that would stop an opportunist.

[@michaels1004]

Good review, thank you! How does it look in the night? And another question - you said that you cannot use it with your google maps, but on the video I can see Google logo on the map in Beeline map itself. Does it mean that Beeline app still uses Google navigation and addresses?

[@WildlifeMoto]

Hi. It's great at night. The screen is very bright, but you can adjust it to suit. There is no direct integration with Google Maps on the Beeline, I not sure what logo you saw, but it's not the Google logo. I suspect on the backend, the maps are being powered by Google via an API. Having said that, you are limited to only using the Beeline app to send instructions to the hardware. The only way of using third party maps is to design your route and then export/import the GPX file into the Beeline. I've not tried this out, but it is supported.

[@monawoka97]

Google maps is pretty hard to give up for me. It's the only map I've found that's always up to date for most road closures.

[@paulclarke1233]

Hi wild life motto, your review of the bee line two was very well done and put over and it looks a very thought out peace of kit and the extras look good . I have the bee line 1 and am getting use to it and what it can d ,Will have too see about the bee line two may be .

[@WildlifeMoto]

Cheers Paul. The Beeline II is a big upgrade over the first addition if you value the turn by turn maps. If you’ve got used to the arrow it might not be such a big deal. Thanks for watching. 👍

[@neil-yn1ep]

Had the old one never a problem with it did thousands of miles worth it. Now have the new model even better than the old model although it does appear the battery looses charge a bit sooner .

[@Volgin.]

Since this is a pretty long video, can you add bookmarks to make it easier to re-watch some topics? Im still on the process of deciding if I want to invest on this or not, and your video is key

[@WildlifeMoto]

Good idea. Done :)

[@Volgin.]

​@@WildlifeMotoyou're the best ❤

[@timandnatd]

You lost me at subscription just for audio directions. I'll die on that hill just to not support a company that would do that.

[@jessherbst810]

Subscription is not necessary for navigation. Most people turn of audible prompts on navigation anyway. Subscription adds really nothing else. That said, this is a small startup and I don’t blame them for trying to stay in business.

[@EnlightenedSavage]

​@@jessherbst810 make a good product and continue to improve you will always make money. You don't need subscriptions.

[@robertosonzogni]

BTW navigation audio instructions only available with an extra subscription :(

[@WildlifeMoto]

Yep. I covered that. The bleeps are free though.

[@vliangoomen6075]

Is it possible to use this on my cycling bike aswel? I know they make a Velo version, is the software the same? Being able to use this on both my bike and my motorcycle would justify the price for me.

[@WildlifeMoto]

Yep. There is a bicycle mode in the Beeline app.

[@lipsee100]

Great review,,but not for me ,my eyesight ain,t good enough... All the way through the review I kept thinking ,"Why not test some cheap Chinese screen ,,same job but it would have some size to it... Mr Wildlife you and your partner looked happy during that small bit of English weather ,we live in such a green and pleasant land !!!

[@Yelwas]

Do you have any issues moving the way points on an iphone, Android is terrible, ive told BeeLine and they are working on it. Also you didnt mention the Good and Bad road markers, and on mine i sometimes get at 7 o'clock position the road/route number. a new update is a warning for low battery, the major downside for me is the routing app. It needs waypoints and shaping points.

[@WildlifeMoto]

It’s fine on iPhone. I can’t comment on Android but you are not the first person to say similar.

[@Gadgetdad007]

Can this unit clip onto the original mount ?

[@WildlifeMoto]

No, but they make an adapter.

[@Pettington]

I’ve got this in gunmetal gmg with the extra bar mount on my xsr 900 and travel pouch and it’s fine as long as I don’t really ring it out. The shitty aspect here is the app. Had it since we got it in Denmark in august

[@antonoat]

just like when mobile phones got really, really small and then folks realised the small size compromised functionality, this device as clever as it may be is just way too small for me! I'd rather be able to see at a glance as quickly as possible which way I should be going, I certainly don't want to be squinting at this little device and then ploughing into the back of a stationary vehicle! I'm lucky enough to have had excellent eyesight my whole life but now I'm sixty years old I'm struggling a bit with close up vision, I don't want a distraction, give me big and clear please!

[@The10thManRules]

This kinda tickles my geek fancy.

[@WildlifeMoto]

Got to agree with that! 👍

[@zushde]

so sad that it needs the app and the Internet. Would be so cool when it would work with apple or google maps... really really sad... would have bought it

[@moorepower13]

I live in the mountains and loose the internet during rides all the time. If the route is already plained where I have a connection, it's all good. Better than Google maps in my experience.

[@metalmystic6214]

So if I’m riding along, and my phone loses cell service, the Moto 2 will instantly just fail and I won’t know where I’m supposed to go anymore? It doesn’t keep going like Google or Apple Maps would in a similar situation?

[@WildlifeMoto]

No, it will keep working. It needs data to set up your route, but once you are riding it no longer needs cell reception. However, if you go off course, it won’t be able to adjust your route unless you have a data signal. In which case it will start leaving a traceable “bread crum” trail back to the point where you went wrong.