Beeline Moto Navigation Review

[Hugh Janus]

The Beeline Moto Silver unit pictured here costs $250. It is showing that I’ll need to turn right in 0.1 mile and am at the beginning of my journey. (Morgan Gales /)

When you’re on a motorcycle, every glance away from the road can be a risk. You often need a lot of information in a very short amount of time. Phones can be bulky, distracting, and have fleeting battery life. The new Beeline Moto navigation device mounts on the handlebars of virtually any motorcycle, provides clear and accurate directions, is incredibly easy to use, and under $200. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but after just a couple of weeks with the Beeline nav, it’s become a daily riding staple.

The Beeline Moto device is a little less than 2 inches in diameter and about three-quarters of an inch thick. It can mount to your handlebars through various hard mounts, or a more versatile universal rubber band mount that’s included in the packaging. There are four glove-friendly buttons through which the unit is controlled, as well as the corresponding smartphone app. The base-model Beeline Moto is made of ABS plastic for $188, but the metal version like we tested here is available for $250.

Details of the main direction screen on the Beeline Moto navigation device. (Courtesy of Beeline/)

The active display screen has a 1-inch diameter, but it doesn’t need to be any bigger than that. In the center is a large arrow that points the direction the bike should be headed. A built-in accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer keep that arrow pointed in the right direction as your bike moves and turns, and also help monitor speed and distance traveled. Below the arrow is the distance until your next action (in metric or imperial) and a white dot will sit either above, left, or right of the arrow to show you which way you will need to go once you get to that action point. A merge, a fork in the road, a roundabout, or anything else that’s not a normal left or right turn will be displayed in the center of the arrow.

At certain times when a highway will fork several times in rapid succession, you have to make quick glances down to know where you’re going, and it can be hard to be prepared in the right lane, but the unit did update quickly enough to keep me on the proper route. Finally, markers along the top of the screen indicate how far along you are on your journey, and proximity to your final destination.

Buttons on the left and right will cycle between the main direction screen, settings, battery life, a speedometer, or simple clock. The top button is used to power the unit on and activate the backlight, and the bottom button usually serves the “select” function. The system is intuitive and easy to navigate, never requiring me to look in the owner’s manual to figure out the basics.

Side buttons on the Beeline Moto unit scroll through various screens, like this phone and device battery display. (Morgan Gales Photos by Steve Franks/)

The Beeline app is just as easy to use as Google or Apple maps, but with the difference of being able to decide between bicycle or motorcycle, and Route or Compass mode. Route mode will give you turn-by-turn directions as explained above, where Compass mode will simply point to your destination and tell you the distance to that point. I found Route mode to be much more useful, but if I was living and working in a city that I knew pretty well, I could see how Compass mode might be more useful. The app works anywhere in the world, so long as your phone has service, and doesn’t require any extra map downloads or subscriptions.

Beeline claims that battery life on an active unit can last as long as 30 hours, and about 10 with the backlight. In Standby mode, it says the battery will last four to six months, and with the proprietary charger, reaches a full charge in about one hour. I do wish the unit charged with a USB-C or other more universal method, as if you misplace the charger this came with, you’re out of luck until you can buy a new one for $13 and get it shipped out.

Since I received the Beeline Moto, it’s stayed on my handlebars. I use it on just about every trip longer than 10 minutes because it’s just very easy to use. It’s not distracting or obtrusive—there are really no downsides to having it on; it’s just there if you need it. At $188–$250, it is an investment, but if you’re someone who uses your bike as your main mode of transportation or just needs directions often, it’s incredibly useful.

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