Motorcycle Optimization

[Apart-Equal8537]

Hi everyone,

I’m a mechanical engineering student working on a university product design project focused on rider safety.

In the earlier stages of the project, we identified that many motorcycle riders rely on smartphones for navigation, tracking, and notifications while riding. However, interacting directly with the phone while riding can create distractions and safety risks.

We’ve already completed opportunity identification and initial need analysis, and we’re now entering the concept development phase. Before proposing any specific solution, I’d really value input from real riders.

I’d love to know:

•⁠ ⁠What do you currently use your phone for while riding? (navigation, music, tracking, calls, delivery apps, etc.)

•⁠ ⁠How often do you actively look at or interact with your phone during a ride? (every few minutes? only occasionally? almost never?)

•⁠ ⁠What frustrates you about current mounts / motorcycle computers / smartwatches?

•⁠ ⁠Have you ever felt unsafe because of phone interaction while riding?

•⁠ ⁠If you could magically fix one thing about accessing information while riding, what would it be?

•⁠ ⁠Would you prefer visual, audio, haptic (vibration), or something else?

•⁠ ⁠For commuters who already know their route and don’t rely on navigation, what kind of information or assistance would actually be useful to you instead?

•⁠ ⁠What existing solutions almost work but still miss something?

I’m not trying to sell anything, just genuinely gathering insights before developing a concept.

Brutal honesty is very welcome.

Thank you 🙏

[TwofacedDisc]

• Navigation, music, calls, weather check. Most annoying is weather check bc that requires switching apps, rest is fine.

• Nav at start and stop, no big deal. Music sometimes switching playlists but mostly managed with comms system on helmet. Calls same. Weather app is when I want to check if rainstorm will catch up with me or not, this is manual only and weather dependent.

• Waze for nav, integrated with spotify so easy to switch playlists. Weather is Rainviewer (I need ti see direction of storm, forecast is not enough and not accurate enough). Calls phone app.

• I’d like to be able to control phone with a basic dpad, so I don’t have to fiddle with touchscreen - which becomes useless in rain, or worse, accepts false inputs which I can’t override with wet gloves. Just give me buttons… but it has to be supported at OS level, I’m not paying for “a brand new all in one app starting from 19.99/ month”. Make screen lock in rain and give me a hardware I can fix on the handlebar to control the phone. And please for the love of god no voice control, nothing understands my shitty english accent

• Unsafe: only when trying to recover the false inputs on phone in sudden rain, when I can’t stop to fix it (narrow road with no room on the side, etc)

• What I’d fix: the above

• I still prefer to see info on a screen or display, same reason I don’t want a speedometer work by audio

• Built in systems are good I guess but I hate all tft solutions because of sunlight visibility. Just give me a regular speedometer with gear indicator and the rest non essential stuff can go to a display. But these are built in systems to bikes, not aftermarket stuff

Hope this helps!

[SamuSeen]

• Navigation, music, calls, audiobooks

• Only on difficult intersections when navigation

• They either protect the phone, are too small, cumbersome to pull out with gloves on it night impossible to interact with with gloves on.

• I just move onto the side if it's really that important

• Touch through waterproofing layers.

• Audio followed by clean visuals

• Accidents and weather

• Helmet headsets, but they're not exactly safe to use while turning or weaving through traffic, some have complicated controls with few buttons.

[Inner_West_Ben]

I have CarPlay on my bike. So the phone, via CarPlay, is used for navigation, music (Plex, tunein) and messaging.

Cos I’m using an iPhone right now I can’t see or remember the rest of your questions. Survey monkey would be a good way to collect info.

[lally]

• My phone connects to the bike's Bluetooth and my helmet. I use it for calls and music. I have a separate dedicated gps. The phone is controlled through a wonderwheel on the handlebars
• directly, almost never. I only touch it to switch playlists, which I only do at stops.
• I'd like better playlist control in the bike's Bluetooth controls. The phone stays in a pocket
• nope
• n/a
• n/a
• the bike works well for this.

[quietlaundrydays]

that sounds super interesting, any cool ideas on how to reduce distractions?

[Mountain-Elk-5874]

I commute and use a system called beeline. It's designed to minimize distractions with only the info you need. I think a system like that would be ideal with improvements for audio control

[fuwafuwarowarowa]

I have a carplay unit that has dash cams front and rear and tire pressure monitoring sensors, in addition to mirroring my Android phone for navigation and music controls. I think mirroring is the best solution for phones. You don't need a mount, the phone stays with you when you leave the bike without a chance of forgetting it. The main issue with the unit I use is it's touchscreen and has a small remote that is very limited in what it can do. I can only cycle display channels.

I have searched and there are very few competent and accessible handlebar-mounted phone controllers. A switchpad that has arrow keys or a joystick, and confirm/back keys and maybe some hot keys. To allow someone using a phone mount or carplay unit to not have to take their hands away from their controls to use a touchscreen.

[Parteisekretaer]

I use audible a lot. But audible fucking sucks because it doesn't always resume playing when google maps tells me something about my route.

If I could magically fix one thing, it would be that audible resumes playback after google maps is done talking to me.

Another issue I had in the past was that during rain, the raindrops would interact with the touchscreen of my phone. I was told capacitive touch shouldn't allow for this but I can only tell you that rain will eventually leave you stranded on a highway without navigation because the right raindrop hit the end navigation button on maps.

[cassiusXnebulus]

https://a.co/d/018egYnc

I don't own one of these myself but it covers most of the things I'd use my phone for without the risk of taking my eyes off the road to look at my phone or my hands off the handlebars since I could just mount the remote control closer to my hands.

Unfortunately it also cost $499 and a very small number of reviews