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Nice. Now if only it could integrate XM module, I can start thinking of downsizing to RoadKing. Keep thinking of RK but also want a nice infotainment system.
Or heritage, if only it had rubber mounted engine.
So I've been digging into these things a little more...
Noted on the Maxca site that the OS is Linux. Also, found out that they support both wired and wireless Android Auto and CarPlay.
Searching around, I've found reports of roughly 10%/hour (some more, some less) phone battery drain using wireless Android Auto. I might find that unacceptable. They say on a charger, the phone will run hot while running wireless AA.
The wired option may be important. I did a quick test running Android Auto with no power (using my Chargie to facilitate this test). It consumed about 1% in roughly 1/2 hour. If this is indeed representative, then 2 to 3 percent battery usage in an hour wouldn't be bad. I might do some longer runs to confirm this.
So... You'd have to wire the provided power supply harness into the bike's accessory power (might also be able to use the bike's USB port). Then you'd need to run a USB cable to where the phone is. Hmmm... What would make for a good setup here? Perhaps I could mount a windshield bag on my Heritage and toss the phone in it. The USB cable run from the windshield bag to a device like this might not be too bad. A little kludgy, but perhaps acceptable.
One potential important use case... Cold weather riding. They say not to charge your phone when it's cold, which is generally not a problem. In times past, I haven't used my phone on the bike during the winter. However, I've done a couple of rides beta testing MRA this year. I've noted that charging performance appears to be poor when it gets cold enough. So, one of these things might be useful here.
Hot weather riding might also see a benefit for obvious reasons.
Nice. Now if only it could integrate XM module, I can start thinking of downsizing to RoadKing. Keep thinking of RK but also want a nice infotainment system.
Or heritage, if only it had rubber mounted engine.
That systems not for me, because I already have a GTS head unit, but... with CarPlay you could just use the SiriusXM app for free, if you already have a subscription for your car or something. Sometimes I use it even on the head unit, and I would suggest getting the app set up before hand to make navigating it while riding easier. Specifically by making a list of "Favorites" in the app, and arranging them in an order you like, so once on the bike riding its easier to switch around.
Did a 1 hour test run with my Pixel 5a. It was connected to Android Auto via USB cable, but with no power (battery only). Waze was used for navigation. Car temperature was 70 degrees F. Battery dropped from 76% to 69% - 7%/hour.
Not great in my opinion. Could imagine worse results in extreme temperatures. Road trips with long days might put a significant hit on the phone's battery. Not sure I'd want to do this too often (wear and tear on battery).
I'd be curious to see what wireless Android Auto would do to the phone while plugged in. Probably have the phone setup not to quick charge for this experiment (~1.5 to 2 amps max). Would the phone get hot?
Of course, similar experiment with an iPhone, CarPlay and Scenic would be interesting. How would the iPhone fair here? Heat?
So... You'd have to wire the provided power supply harness into the bike's accessory power (might also be able to use the bike's USB port). Then you'd need to run a USB cable to where the phone is. Hmmm... What would make for a good setup here? Perhaps I could mount a windshield bag on my Heritage and toss the phone in it. The USB cable run from the windshield bag to a device like this might not be too bad. A little kludgy, but perhaps acceptable.
I've been looking at these. That's my solution. Windshield bag with phone connected to USB. Running split power for both from bike acc power plug.
Bought a BINIZE unit off of AliExpress for $125.00. Pretty cheap considering. I did some testing today (in my car). I did the testing using an iPhone 12. Phone was unpowered for all testing. Navigation app used in CP - Scenic. Power drain on the phone was 9% in an hour. About what I expected. The phone never warmed up - remained cool the entire time. Overall I would say this is satisfactory. However, I would provide power to the phone for any ride of significant duration. I've had no pairing issues. No need to repeat the pair process. Each time I've powered on the device it has automatically connected to my phone and started CP/nav app (30 second each time) with no issues.
One thing mentioned on other forums that I frequent is the fact that these CP/AA devices don't have an internal battery. Some don't like the notion that the unit restarts/power cycles when you start the engine. Personally I don't see a battery as necessary. The navigation app and route can be queued up on the phone before stepping to the bike. Once this CP/AA device boots up and loads CP/nav app (30 seconds), you're off to the races. Ready to navigate.
Overall... I think this would be an acceptable solution... at least for CP/AA and navigation. I can't comment of phone or music (don't do either while riding). It certainly looks like it might be a decent device that works well and saves wear and tear on expensive phones. The CP/AA user experience so far is very much similar to what you get in a car.
The Chargie manages battery charging and temperature. AFAIK there are generally two ways to get this kind of control... Software which requires rooting the phone and this hardware approach. The Chargie works pretty well for this task.
Overall I'm pretty pleased with this setup. The phone (battery/heat/cold/elements) won't get stressed and the CP/AA display works great. I've tried an intercom system with it. Everything pairs and works as expected. Some had mentioned that they don't like that the display unit doesn't have an internal battery to prevent power cycles/reboots when you start the bike etc. This has absolutely not been a problem. The display unit powers up and reconnects to everything within 30 seconds. If you had a Nav session going before shutdown (say stopping for gas), the route/navigation session is still there when the system reboots and reconnects.
The only nit that I've found so far is that the BINIZE unit's firmware version doesn't yet have the Android Auto volume controls. Other "brands" have already provided the firmware update for that. Right now I'm using my iPhone, so it's not a problem. But sooner or later, I'll want to update the firmware.
Nice. Now if only it could integrate XM module, I can start thinking of downsizing to RoadKing. Keep thinking of RK but also want a nice infotainment system.
Or heritage, if only it had rubber mounted engine.
I am a minimalist and for precisely this reason I ride a Road King. Everything I need (the way I have it tricked out) nothing I don't need.
I have the Garmin Zumo XT2 mounted on my King. I stream my music content from Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora from my iPhone to the Zumo unit with which I control the music. All the music content one could ask for. Or I can listen to You Tube.
I can listen to Sirius XM through the iPhone as well although I almost never do.
The nice thing about the above approach is that it is very easy to upgrade the electronics. For example, I just upgraded to the XT2 GPS unit from the original XT model. With the Road King you are never locked into a single approach.
My $.015.
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Universal Portable Wireless CarPlay/Android Auto/GPS 5" display units for Motorcycles
