2022 "Kawasaki Spin" App

[sarge]

Hello riders,

Does anyone of you already own the 22 model and experience with the new "Kawasaki Spin" app? As far as I can see it, it's the "MySpin" system from Bosch but rebadged from Kawasaki.

Basically the App is able to act as a wrapper for selected Apps and mirrors that App to the Kawasaki TFT. It is NOT Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. It means that you open the Kawasaki Spin App, put it in "Vehicle Mode" and then you can select the Spin Screen on the TFT Dash. As soon as you lock your phone's screen, the connection is gone.

While I could live with the open screen behaviour, the selection of Apps is utter shite on Android. There is only one free Maps app, called "Maps" and while one could think it is just Google Maps, no, it isn't. It is a generic OSM Map App by Bosch/Kawasaki that you can only control with the three Buttons on the Bike, it looks like ass and it is basically unusable. No directions, nothing. Just a plain unsharp app with a blue line.

Then there is a (very limited) selection of weird map apps that all want you to pay a hefty premium. None of them has any reputation or good ratings.

So what is your experience on trying to navigate using the TFT and a Phone? Is there a better selecton on iOS than on Android? Is there a way to get something simple like Spotify working with the TFT? Right now all it can do is look up your phone for MP3's like it's a 2001 MP3 Player and play them.

Currently the digital experience is as disappointing as it was with their previous abomination "Rideology". The new App does not what other brands do. Others do offer information like range, kilometers, next service appointment, etc. Kawasaki's App looks, feels, runs and delivers like it was built with the most basic NodeJS framework with absolutely no attention to detail and rushed it out for production. You can never get it into any state advertised by Kwak. No Navigation and no music is not what I expected on a $25.000+ 2022 touring bike.

How's your experience with that?

[prettybirdSE]

I've got the Rideology app on my 2020.I like it.I ride with it on hardly at all,but the ability to change suspension and such works really well.I don't care about seeing maps or things like that.But it's got all the basic bike info on it.And it navigates fine thru selections of things.Some suspension settings are not doable without the app,afaik.At least i couldn't highlight and change much without it.Other than the factory allowable settings menus.
Once I saw options for settings in there,I was pleased.I do really like this electronic suspension.

[Mikepeavler]

I can't agree more that the app is a flop. You tie up Bluetooth and wifi on top of making your phone stay screen on to make it work . Not only burn your screen you drain your phone too unless ya leave it in your trunk on the usb . It's map programs are laggy and I have 50R sena and you can't talk with rider abs passenger when connect to the app and not the Sena app . Def sad for the hype they have so far .

Mike

[Firebird1709]

Couldn’t agree more. The whole Spin experience sucks. I am using an iPhone to connect and the Genius Maps app is actually not too bad…but having to have the phone unlocked all the time is just not right. And by the way… if there are notifications popping up on the phone and you do not confirm them, the whole bike display freezes up. Absolutely no control anymore. Had to turn the bike off and on again because I did not check the phone.
And the rest may sound cool and look good on pictures but is not worth playing around with or is plain unusable.

Don’t get me wrong, I am coming from an H2 SX SE MY2018, and I love the new bike….but the Spin thing is really, really bad. If that is a big part of the decision for anybody buying the bike…don’t!!

[wyso]

I just mounted my Garmin with the kawasaki gps mount. Phone nav is too limiting.

[sarge]

So I gave it another chance over two trips, 1.000mi each. I even tried both available navigation apps with their premium subscriptions. Once used to it, the apps aren't so bad. Still not nearly as good as Google Maps but kind of on par with built in automotive apps.

But during the 6-10 hour touring days every time I was out the connection was lost countless times, sometimes it was able to reconnect by itself, sometimes I needed to stop and restart the app. At the end of the day, usually just before you enter the city I booked my hotel in, the phone overheated and the navigation was gone completely.

Side note: with Sygic Navigation, when the connection is gone and reconnected, it asks you if you want to continue with your route. If you click yes, the route will be re-calculated and the initial route selected won't be selected anymore and the app switches to the fastest route, sending you right to the next highway instead of the twisty you selected. Garbage.