I've been creating routes in BaseCamp then importing the GPX into BMW Motorrad Connected App. Once imported the route is in two parts, turn by turn but no Waypoints displayed or announced, the other just Waypoints - useless. I've contacted BMW but they don't answer my question, they send me how to videos resulting in the same issue. I've gone around with them a few times, they don't get it or won't admit a problem. Can I get the route to work same as in a Garmin GPS? I have a 2022 R1250RT.
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Routes/Waypoints
- Thread starter strataj
- Start date
k12lts
Member
Others with more knowledge will be here soon but from what I understand, the BMW Connected App uses Tom-Tom technology and doesn't play well with Garmin. I don't know why BMW couldn't use Apple Carplay and the Android product but I'm sure it comes down to money. Years ago BMW charged a premium price for their bikes but you got a premium bike with premium materials and technology. Now they charge a premium price but "low bidder" materials. If they can save a couple bucks per bike with a different manufacturer they will. Non Brembo brake calipers come to mind.
jono
SlaveToCurves/Wind/Motion
I'm pretty sure this has been said many times before, but at the launch BMW product managers said they chose Tom Tom because of the routing was superior (which has been my experience). And my '22 bike has Brembo calipers.
I didn’t think Tom Tom was still around. 
Did some searching-
“ Do people still use TomTom GPS?
Millions of drivers use TomTom GPS Navigations, apps and in-dash systems. This community contributes to the best traffic information in the world - so you can see what's happening in real time”.
“ Which is better TomTom or Garmin?
As more and more devices begin to offer both of these options, Worldwide Maps and Lifetime Updates become less of a distinguishing feature. Many users have reported on various online forums that TomTom possesses better maps for European countries, whilst Garmin has more accurate maps for the US”.
I don’t have enough experience to come to a real conclusion. I can’t convince a friend of mine that the 12 year old Magellan unit they use may not be entirely accurate.
OM
Did some searching-
“ Do people still use TomTom GPS?
Millions of drivers use TomTom GPS Navigations, apps and in-dash systems. This community contributes to the best traffic information in the world - so you can see what's happening in real time”.
“ Which is better TomTom or Garmin?
As more and more devices begin to offer both of these options, Worldwide Maps and Lifetime Updates become less of a distinguishing feature. Many users have reported on various online forums that TomTom possesses better maps for European countries, whilst Garmin has more accurate maps for the US”.
I don’t have enough experience to come to a real conclusion. I can’t convince a friend of mine that the 12 year old Magellan unit they use may not be entirely accurate.
OM
gtrider
52184
So, if BaseCamp is Garmin’s planning/routing tool what is TomTom’s tool of choice?
I’d have thought a gpx file is a gpx file regardless of the tool that created it, which is why I’m wondering…
Best,
DeVern
EDIT: I’ve also heard that TomTom routes better in Europe, Garmin in the US. Any truth to that?
I’d have thought a gpx file is a gpx file regardless of the tool that created it, which is why I’m wondering…
Best,
DeVern
EDIT: I’ve also heard that TomTom routes better in Europe, Garmin in the US. Any truth to that?
88bmwjeff
SF Bay Area
I have a different take on this. Prior to the technology explosion in the 1990's, luxury manufacturers seemed over engineer and use premium materials for their vehicles, which many had above average reliability. Now that we're in the technology era, luxury manufacturers seem to try and put more and more technology in the vehicles for a variety of reasons (e.g. safety, convenience, etc.); however, many of these are cutting edge technology that can be expensive to develop and like most cutting-edge technology has a less than desired reliability. This just goes with the territory of owning a luxury vehicle. There are trade-offs. There are many vehicles out there that have bullet proof reliability, but typically lack much of the cutting-edge technology.
IMO, manufacturers have always looked for the lowest cost/bidder who can meet their specifications. Just remember what John Glenn said.....
"I felt exactly how you would feel if you were getting ready to launch and knew you were sitting on top of 2 million parts — all built by the lowest bidder on a government contract."
All the Mercury astronauts did make a successful launch.
jono
SlaveToCurves/Wind/Motion
jono
SlaveToCurves/Wind/Motion
I went from a K1600GT with a Garmin nav unit to the the RT1250RT with Tom Tom. I live in the northeast US. For 90% of the routing for my trips around the northeast, the routes are the same. For the 10% that are different - the Tom Tom has more "interesting" routes, meaning they are better motorcycling roads which may be a little longer in distance than what the Garmin would plot, but more twisties. This despite Garmin being based not that far from me. Garmin does have greater detail on fire roads and remote areas - given it has a focus on hikers and mapping trails.
lkraus
New member
Garmin creates and uses tracks and routes in very specific ways. Routes usually contain very few points and the paths between points can change. As you've found, when you use routes created with different apps and different maps the results are unpredictable, as some of the path will be recalculated using different algorithms. Garmin routes also use their own extensions to the gpx format to specify the path - these extensions are ignored by other devices and apps.
I'd expect you would get a predictable path if you converted the route to a track in Basecamp and exported that to Connected Ride. A track is just a detailed list of points along the chosen roads and is never recalculated. I do not know if the Connected Ride app can provide turn-by-turn directions for a track, but at least the display will show the correct path.
Last edited:
88bmwjeff
SF Bay Area
While I like the Connected Ride app and the maps, after a while the functions seemed very limited and I'm not surprised you're having difficulty. I decided to cash in the credit card points and get a Garmin Zumo XT. I'm much happier now with the Zumo than I was with the Connected Ride app. I know that really doesn't answer your question.
88bmwjeff, I know too well how you feel and why you went back to Garmin, I'm feeling I too may go back. I've been riding with a Garmin unit since 2001 (GPS V). I was hoping the BMW app would work. Support for the BMW app doesn't seem to want to answer my question, they respond but not directly to my question just general how to. I can tell you how I feel about their response but not in an open forum.
