iPhone xs as a satnav.

...I really don't like the wheel thingy - I find it spoils the left bar ergonomics, was always getting knocked accidentally, and gets in the way of reaching the indicator switch so I initially re-located it to the right of the switches, and then removed it completely on the last GS. Now need it for the TFT, so may use the spare grip and spare modified wheel which I kept from the last bike and fit it on the new one.

Ah, that's interesting. I confess to never having actually owned a GS before and had always thought that the wheel control was part of the switchgear cluster and could not be removed on its own. With no actual use for it and now knowing it can be removed, I would probably do so.

However the 1250 uses it for the main TFT and so that's no longer really an option. Plus, the Wunderlinq would provide (some) phone control so it's certainly something I want to try out as I'm sure I'll find it useful as using the iPhone on the bike is getting progressively more difficult with irritating alerts that can cover important navigation instructions at the crucial moments and forcing you to log in at every opportunity, all of which is problematic when wearing gloves, let alone while actually riding. So seems to me, any way to make this control easier has to be a good thing.

If I try it and hate it, I'll be sure to let you know I was wrong. :)
 
Ah, that's interesting. I confess to never having actually owned a GS before and had always thought that the wheel control was part of the switchgear cluster and could not be removed on its own. With no actual use for it and now knowing it can be removed, I would probably do so.

However the 1250 uses it for the main TFT and so that's no longer really an option. Plus, the Wunderlinq would provide (some) phone control so it's certainly something I want to try out as I'm sure I'll find it useful as using the iPhone on the bike is getting progressively more difficult with irritating alerts that can cover important navigation instructions at the crucial moments and forcing you to log in at every opportunity, all of which is problematic when wearing gloves, let alone while actually riding. So seems to me, any way to make this control easier has to be a good thing.

If I try it and hate it, I'll be sure to let you know I was wrong. :)

It is not at all straightforward to re-locate the wheel and requires extensive modification and re-wiring - I only did it because I'm stubborn and I like a challenge! I had to buy a spare grip with attached wheel to experiment on so that I could keep the original for when I sold the bike. I still maintain that the current wheel positioning is an ergonomic disaster as it lets a secondary control, i.e. the wheel, get in the way of primary and safety related controls like the indicator and horn switches, especially for anyone without giant hands. The fact that the wheel is now essential for control of the TFT just compounds the problem. I get my 1250 in March and will await with interest to see what effect accidental nudging of the wheel has on the TFT display, and how annoying that gets, before I decide whether to re-introduce my modded version. At least before it only messed up the satnav display!

Presumably when BMW first designed the handlebar controls, pre-wheel introduction, they made them as ergonomically sound as possible. They then introduced the badly positioned wheel and spoiled all their earlier good work. Having taken one apart to find out exactly how it works, the wheel turns out to be an incredibly over complicated design and presumably expensive to make, for what it does. I have reverse engineered this to the point where I could build an alternative, and have toyed with the idea of creating a joystick like Triumph use. Maybe BMW will eventually recognise the superiority of that system, which must also be a lot cheaper to make, and will introduce it themselves at some point. I won't hold my breath though, considering how long it took them to adopt a standard indicator switch!
 


Back
Top Bottom