racoon
Well-known member
So I live near Cookeville, Tennessee and recently attended the Spyders in the Delta Rally in Bono, Arkansas.
It's over 350 miles (560 kms) from my house to the location of the rally.
I ride a 2024 Spyder RT Sea2Sky, and have been using Apple Carplay on my Spyder for about a year. Up until this trip I have had no problems with it. But I've only used it around town, and for one trip to my Spyder dealer, about 85 miles each direction.
I am a user of Apple computers, so I plotted my routes using the Maps application on my Macintosh. I also took a Mac portable computer with me and of course had my iPhone. My helmet has a SENA 3S Plus headset installed and bluetooth paired with my Spyder and to my iPhone.
I plotted the ride out to avoid the interstate freeways, and to stick to smaller roads. That worked fine, except for the idiots in very large pickup trucks, and other annoying drivers. I stopped overnight in Dyersburg, Tennessee, which is about 5 hours ride from home. There was a minor accident in the hotel which required me to make a side trip to a store to buy some large bandaids and a bottle of aspirin. Nothing serious, just some scrapes and minor pain.
I rode on to the event in Bono, Arkansas the next morning, checked in, and saw my first in person CAN-AM Canyon parked next to the Spyder Extras tent in the parking lot.
Because of the challenges of the smaller roads, I decided to change my plans, and ride the interstate home. I didn't have much choice about going through Memphis, Tennessee, but planned my departure time to get there late morning to avoid as much traffic as possible. I did plot the route to use I-840, which loops around to the south of Nashville, so I didn't have to drive through Nashville traffic.
Here's where Apple Carplay failed miserably.
The SENA headset worked perfectly, and always connected when I powered it up.
The iPhone connected sometimes, and sometimes it wouldn't, even after multiple plug/unplug attempts.
And the worst part was I'm driving down the road with Carplay working fine on the Spyder's display, and suddenly it disconnects and throws an error message on the screen about the iPhone not being connected. And yes, I was using a genuine Apple cable.
So I adjusted the mount for my iPhone, so I could see the screen, as it also shows the maps. And since my helmet headset is also paired to my iPhone, I could still hear the directions.
And I'm driving along at one point using just the iPhone, as I couldn't get the Spyder to reconnect. Again. And suddenly, while cruising along at 65 MPH, the Spyder decides to connect! And the display lights up with the map! For awhile. And then it disconnects again, and I'm back to using the map on the iPhone.
No idea what's wrong, but I'm thinking about pulling my Garmin Nuvo XT GPS out of it's box, and using it instead of Carplay.
No. I am not a happy rider.
It's over 350 miles (560 kms) from my house to the location of the rally.
I ride a 2024 Spyder RT Sea2Sky, and have been using Apple Carplay on my Spyder for about a year. Up until this trip I have had no problems with it. But I've only used it around town, and for one trip to my Spyder dealer, about 85 miles each direction.
I am a user of Apple computers, so I plotted my routes using the Maps application on my Macintosh. I also took a Mac portable computer with me and of course had my iPhone. My helmet has a SENA 3S Plus headset installed and bluetooth paired with my Spyder and to my iPhone.
I plotted the ride out to avoid the interstate freeways, and to stick to smaller roads. That worked fine, except for the idiots in very large pickup trucks, and other annoying drivers. I stopped overnight in Dyersburg, Tennessee, which is about 5 hours ride from home. There was a minor accident in the hotel which required me to make a side trip to a store to buy some large bandaids and a bottle of aspirin. Nothing serious, just some scrapes and minor pain.
I rode on to the event in Bono, Arkansas the next morning, checked in, and saw my first in person CAN-AM Canyon parked next to the Spyder Extras tent in the parking lot.
Because of the challenges of the smaller roads, I decided to change my plans, and ride the interstate home. I didn't have much choice about going through Memphis, Tennessee, but planned my departure time to get there late morning to avoid as much traffic as possible. I did plot the route to use I-840, which loops around to the south of Nashville, so I didn't have to drive through Nashville traffic.
Here's where Apple Carplay failed miserably.
The SENA headset worked perfectly, and always connected when I powered it up.
The iPhone connected sometimes, and sometimes it wouldn't, even after multiple plug/unplug attempts.
And the worst part was I'm driving down the road with Carplay working fine on the Spyder's display, and suddenly it disconnects and throws an error message on the screen about the iPhone not being connected. And yes, I was using a genuine Apple cable.
So I adjusted the mount for my iPhone, so I could see the screen, as it also shows the maps. And since my helmet headset is also paired to my iPhone, I could still hear the directions.
And I'm driving along at one point using just the iPhone, as I couldn't get the Spyder to reconnect. Again. And suddenly, while cruising along at 65 MPH, the Spyder decides to connect! And the display lights up with the map! For awhile. And then it disconnects again, and I'm back to using the map on the iPhone.
No idea what's wrong, but I'm thinking about pulling my Garmin Nuvo XT GPS out of it's box, and using it instead of Carplay.
No. I am not a happy rider.
