A feature missing on the Ultimate Motorcycling BMW R 1250 RS Project Bike, and most bikes for that matter, is a display for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Many Apple CarPlay/Android Auto units are available from a broad range of manufacturers, offering many sizes, features, and configurations. Carpuride offers models with various mounting brackets for handlebars, bike and auto dashboards, and more. I chose Carpuride W702 for $400 MSRP (less with many online offers) with its seven-inch LCD touchscreen, as I am a believer in “bigger is better.” We went with the W702B variant, which is directly compatible with the BMW R 1250 RS Project Bike.
The Carpuride W702B is a $40 premium over the standard W702 version. It is the same unit as the W702, though the unit is fitted with a removable base that locks it into BMW’s Nav Prep accessory that is intended for BMW’s Garmin-sourced GPS unit or BMW’s ConnectedRide Cradle. If your BMW has Nav Prep, which has been around longer than I can remember, this will likely work for you. The Carpuride W702B even grabs power from the BMW base, so it’s plug-and-play. Note that your Multi Controller (“wonder wheel”) does not operate the Carpuride W702B, which is touchscreen input only.
There is a W502B that measures five inches diagonally for anyone desiring a smaller screen or rides a GS, which has the Nav Prep closer to the windscreen, and less clearance is available.
Out of the box, the Carpuride W702B’s BMW Nav Prep-compatible mount is already installed. A clamp-style ball mount is also included should you want to mount this on a handlebar. Simply remove the BMW-style mount and attach the supplied ball. You can also use the Carpuride W702B on the included mount, or any other RAM-style mount you might already own.
There are two power cables when not using the BMW mount. One works with any switched 12-volt source; the other is an up-converter that plugs into a USB-A plug (minimum 2.5 amps) and converts it to 12 volts. I like having those choices included for future possibilities.
I don’t like my iPhone mounted on the bike, so having a device that offers all the goodness of having my phone within reach and having a seven-inch capacitive touchscreen to operate is perfect for me. The touchscreen works with regular gloves and does not require conductive fingertip pads to respond.
Installation could not have been easier. I pulled the Carpuride W702B out of its box, removed the plastic film covering the contacts on the mount, peeled off the plastic protective film over the screen, and snapped the unit into the Nav Prep mount, just like a GPS unit. I locked the W702B on and turned on the BMW’s ignition.
The W702B came to life instantly and went directly into pairing mode. I found this new device on the Bluetooth pairing list on my iPhone and connected on the first try. The Carpuride W702B was in my iPhone’s Wi-Fi settings and connected immediately. That’s all it took.
The seven-inch screen has adjustable brightness, though, even in bright sunlight, I did not need to jack up the brightness too far. The resolution is claimed to be 1024 x 600. Despite being short of HD standards, the LCD screen is sharp, and images are crisp thanks to In-Plane Switching technology. The refresh rate is good, and the screen reacts fast. There is no discernible lag from screen inputs to image reaction time. It is claimed to be IP67 waterproof—submerged one meter for 30 minutes—although I did not test this.
The Carpuride W702B accepts FAT or exFAT formatted microSD cards up to 64 GB. You will need a tiny Phillips screwdriver to access the slot, and the two screws can be easily lost, so be careful. According to Carpuride, a 64 GB card “does not support software upgrades. It only supports storing music and videos for local playback. If you want to update software, please use a small capacity 32, 16, 8, 4GB card.” There are no instructions for any firmware upgrades, and I cannot locate a page on the Carpuride website for support. I’ll worry about that later. Carpuride does offer support via email and WhatsApp. No card is required for everyday use.
In fact, while the unit is intuitive to use and comes with a folded paper instruction sheet that covers the simple installation, there are no resources I could find online. I was told the latest firmware version is V1.22, which is what is installed on my unit. If you want to upgrade your firmware, you have to email Carpuride. Fortunately, when I emailed Carpuride, I got a response the next day, so I have no complaints.
I copied MP4 videos, MP3 songs, and JPG photos onto the microSD card. To access the data, I must exit Apple CarPlay to the main unit screen—a one-button process. With another press, I accessed the card utility. The W702 sees my files and categorizes them as music, photos, or video. All work well—the videos play smoothly, and the images are sharp—though I don’t need this feature. I play music stored on my phone through CarPlay or stream music. Displaying photos and videos is just for showing off to friends in the parking lot.
On a recent 1100-mile ride with two pals, I paired the 702B to my newly released Sena SRL3 mesh intercom unit mounted on a Shoei Neotec 3.
The Carpuride W702 lets me operate CarPlay and, if I like, use the controls on the Sena for volume and music start/stop. Once I enabled audio multitasking on the SRL3, the mesh intercom came to life. There is no lag on music playback, and the intercom voices are clear and as loud as I wanted them to be. A 16-band graphic equalizer allows for the customization of the sound; there are also equalizer presets, such as Rock, Classical, Jazz, and others. I enabled the home view, which shows my nav, map, and calendar items, as well as the music controls and the title of the song being played. It also shows me the time, battery level on my phone, and its signal strength.
Using this Carpuride is effortless, intuitive, and ups the enjoyment of the trip through ease of use and navigation. I can use “Hey Siri” for voice commands and to enable new map routes by voice. That’s nice when you’re moving and don’t want to stop or take your eyes off the road to make new routes.
There are some competing products that may have a lower price or additional features (cameras or TPMS, for example), Carpuride is the only one I have found with the BMW Nav Prep mount, and that sealed the deal for me. None match the elegance of using BMW’s mount or the simplicity of getting power through the mount rather than having to hardwire the unit onto the bike.
After enjoying the Capuride W702 for many miles, I will miss it on any bike without it. The unit eliminates gadgets I have used in the past, gives me an attractive visual experience, and I can still use the intercom on my BT/mesh headset to round out all the functionality I need.
As I mentioned in my recent review of the Eyelights EyeRide head-up helmet display unit, “If you think that the helmet systems you’ve likely seen over the past decade are the pinnacle of modern gadgetry, you would be wrong.” The Carpuride W702 further proves this notion.
