Chigee, Carpuride etc.

[Forcefield]

Haha,, yes that will help! speaking of which, i was out for a run in North wales yesterday and Id forgotten to change it back from 2up/comfy from the last time the mrs was on the back. Bike was awful through the twisties. What a difference it makes! Just wish the dampener was working also. Has motivated me to get it booked in and looked at asap!

Heres another video if anyones interested. Its of Honister Pass up in the Lakes and was an absolutley stunning ride. One part of it is super steep though. Reminded me of a time when I was in Thailand on a moped in the mountains and the brakes faded to nothing coming back down!

https://youtu.be/KcIXQV5SoVE

Let us know what you think, and any suggestions of roads you think would make for similarly interesting video please let me know!!!

Have a great week!

Great video Ritchie. What music was that?

Reading the comments it's the second time I've seen the Chigee AIO-5 mentioned in as many days.

First a friend of mine who rides a GS sent me a link to a YT video and asked me what I think. Honest answer was never heard of it but having seen it I'm interested!

Then I watch your video and see you mentioning a custom mount for it. Is that it I see mounted on your bike? If so what do you think of it?

The GT has different bars hence a different mounting system would probably be needed but do you have any details of the mount also please?

I tried a Chinese CarPlay unit in my Audi A8 but after 18 months of being frustrated with its issues and lack of response from ewaying the supplier I ended up removing it.

Tempted to try CarBikePlay though as it could be a better solution than going through a dozen phone mounts on the bike trying to find one I like!

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

Thanks. The musics from an artist called Yehezkel Raz

the Chigee sure is an interesting thing. Quality seems really good so far. Screen super responsive with gloves on. No glitches yet..   Our Ks are not best suited for it in terms of screen position though, which is why I've custom built a mount for it. Im currently editing down a video on the full process, but its basically a mount from a KTM sitting on extenders I cut from mild steel and attached to the slots on the handlebars. The position is not perfect and I am going to adapt it. It does block my view of the speedo under 60mph, and also much of the rev counter, but the chigee screen displays the speed also and is easier to read than the dials anyway, and Im never going to be redlining the bike, so no need to see the revs. However I am going to adpat the mount so the screen is a little further forward and lower to rectify this and for a more integrated/natrual look.

Its been great just linking my phone to it, then putting my phne away and forgetting it. i then have full access to phone features and its all linked into my helmet also with voice controls

[GlynH]

I must have burned through enough different types of telephone mounts that would cancel out the cost of the Chigee looking for something to satisfy my OCD!

Started with Quad Lock based on a friend whose recommendation I trust(ed) and of course its not enough for me to just buy the mount but I have to have all the accessories such as shockmount, fast-charger etc. but never liked it so never fitted it.

Moved onto Peak Design whose gear I shied away from during my photography days but who make a brilliant mount and case mount system so much better than Quad Lock IMHO but never did come up with a way of mounting it that I was happy with despite butchering the stem mount!

Again I have so many different mounts/accessories etc. as I figured I would use the same system to use in the car, eBike & even eScooter its embarrassing!

Never did use them and ended up giving a couple or three mounts away to a friend of mine and really should get round to selling what I have left.

Like the idea of Chigee but then I also fancied the idea of CarPlay in the car but ended up removing it as I mentioned earlier so be interesting to get eyes/hands on Chigee to see what it might do for me.

Another friend of mine just purchased one for his GS so should be able to have a play with it and see what I think. He's also sent me a 20% discount offer so that might sway my purchasing decision...

-=Glyn=-

[Matt]

Yeah maybe we need a thread for this thing! I am curious. I have yet to look into this carplay or whatnot stuff. I thought apps had to be developed to be specifically compatible with Carplay/why can't I remember the android term? So I would assume MyRouteApp wouldn't work.

I think this was essentially what my rental Kia Nero had in NZ. My phone provided the heavy lifting but only certain apps were allowed/available.

But then this thing sounds Chinese and I know they like to play fast and loose with safety etc. Ie "sure you can use kindle whilst driving"

[richtea]

... to be specifically compatible with Carplay/why can't I remember the android term?

Android Auto.

And I'm pretty sure MRA does work on them, but not quite perfectly yet, judging by the bugs reported in the MRA forum.

It's almost a step backwards to revert to buying dedicated hardware, so I'm resisting. Until you've proven it, Matt. 

My other thought is that although I'm happy (well, sort of) to buy a new phone every 2 years or so, I'll not be happy if I have to buy the most recent Chigee / Android Auto head unit every two years too.

[Matt]

Yes good point. I was looking at their spec sheet and it isn't exactly the best stuff inside. And my last phone will likely always be better than their current hardware. As you say, you'll always have a last phone. Or current phone if you're not special like me and using the old phone for nav!

Also on that step backwards, I kind of agree. If it was a big ass screen and could simultaneously give speed, rpm etc etc, and then nav. Then it replaces the trad stuff on the K. On anything never it's already got a TFT doing everything bar nav. So. I forget. Oh yes. I just want nav then. And on a large enough screen. And I have that with my last Samsung.

[richtea]

I think the benefits of a ChiGee / Carpuride / head units over a phone are:
- larger than some people's phones, but not that much
- touch is by pressure rather than capacitive, so glove presses work
- readable in sunlight*
- can cope with internal and external heat without the screen dimming
- not vibration-sensitive
- comes with mounting kit, which in Quad Lock terms is probably about £50-£120 saved

The other stuff (waterproof, 'rugged' - whatever that means) and definitely OS is no better than a phone.

And you still need to have your phone running in your pocket, so battery anxiety isn't completly eliminated - although with no screen on your phone battery should be good for say twice as long as if you were navigating with said phone.

*the preponderance of gambling shades over the screens (like all good grannies wear) suggests maybe they're not that good in sunlight though.

[Phmode]

But if you are navigating with said phone then surely it will be on a charger so the battery will last as long as the K.

Oh, I see the flaw in hat argument…

[Forcefield]

For me the following makes it worth it alone

1. Front and rear dash cams recording continually from start up. ( even kicks in if bike is tampered with)
2. Rear view mirror function is a game changer and very reassuring to see exactly whats behind me. I have wide shoulders and cant see shit behind me in the bikes mirrors. Also has a Blind spot warning which Im still in 2 minds about given the position of the screen. But it did alert me to a car undertaking me that I wasn't aware of there so I guess it does work. You can have it set to either or visual and audible warning

I don't see the need to upgrade the unit with every new phone because the basic functions of android auto will remain the same... calls, sat nav, music etc. the only need I foresee to upgrade would be for 4k cameras eventually.

Having a fully responsive screen that gives me access to all the functions of android auto without having to faff around with my actual phone and then easily switching between sat nav and rear view mirror etc has been really useful.

[Matt]

Ah yeah the camera res is rude at 1080. You'd still need to remember a reg plate as they drove over your legs and away.

The rear view thing made me laugh when I saw it on their site. One of these things I'd have to experience to have any authority to crit/credit! Like nuclear war.

[Forcefield]

Il upload some footage of it later this week for you to see

[Matt]

Ah yes please

[Phmode]

Being overtaken by a car? Hmmm!

[Forcefield]

Being overtaken by a car? Hmmm!

Haha.. I know I know...

[GlynH]

Friend of mine who has a 1250GSA told me his Chigee unit arrived yesterday so hopefully I'll get a good look and hands-on it shortly.

I have a related question though...the existing SatNav 3-wire feed usually found cable-tied up behind the headstock area on the K1300 - does anybody know the maximum current draw it will support?

I understand it has a switched live, negative and unused speed pulse connections so I will still need a permanent live for the Chigee but I would *think* as it was designed to power a Garmin/BMW Navigator IV then it should be able to handle an alternative SatNav unit but I would still like to know what current capacity it is capable of delivering just for peace of mind.

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[GlynH]

Well following up on my last post the rated output could be between 2-7A according to what I have read!

Some years ago Costas listed it on this very forum as 2000mA and I read on K-Bikes it could be 7A so I'm still none the wiser really.

Might even wire up a variable dummy load and see at what current the CAN-bus trips out for the definitive answer.

Anyway I picked up my mates Chigee earlier to offer it up on the K1300GT to see where I might mount it and it seems small enough to mount either above the clocks using a suitable mount or across the handlebar in place of the existing Peak Design phone mount that I finally fitted between my last post and this one! Won't need a £1500 phone mounted on the bars with the cheaper Chigee in its place although if mounted here I would still be glancing down at it of course instead of watching where I am going!

Long story short I used his buyers 20% off discount voucher and purchased directly from Chigee at a bargain £383 instead of the usual £479 plus another tenner for shipping and it will take 6-10 days to get here although I see they are offering 15% discount directly on the website in any case.

I would have liked their MFP0059 BMW Lossless Installation Mount For R1200RT / R1250RT / K1600 to give a low profile mount on the BMW SatNav bracket but they are out of stock and cannot ship until the end of May which meant everything would be on hold until then so decided to just go ahead and order the unit itself.

Did think about ordering the MFP0089 Wireless Remote Control but not sure if it would be needed or not as hoping to control it via Siri but we shall have to wait and see how that pans out. I have enough buttons on that left hand grip as it is!

Not sure when I will get round to installing it as I still haven't fitted my illuminated roundels/emblems yet but I'll update here when it's up & running.

-=Glyn=-

PS. Should this be in the Comms & SatNav Corner or is it OK left in here?