Garmin brings its radar safety tech to motorbikes for the first time, but I'm not convinced

Date:
Mon, 06 Jan 2025 19:29:03 +0000

Description:
Garmin unveils the zmo XT2 motorcycle radar system, which alerts riders of vehicles approaching from the rear.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Garmin's
new system for motorbikes builds on cycling radar tech Audio and visual alerts are sent to headsets and sat-nav systems Handlebar-mounted lights
alert riders to approaching vehicles

Building on Garmins experience with its Varia bicycle radar systems, the company has just unveiled similar technology that it hopes will equip motorcyclists with improved situational awareness on the road.

As with its Varia bicycle-based system, which takes the form of a rear light that synchs up with a handful of the brands cycling computers and a
smartphone app to deliver notifications about vehicles approaching from behind, the zmo R1 radar takes things a step further with both audio and visual notifications.

Although Garmin is frustratingly scant on details, it appears that the zmo R1 radar requires hard-wiring into a motorcycles onboard battery, with the unit discreetly mounted to the top or bottom of a motorcycles rear license plate.

You can then run several more wires up to the handlebar-mounted lighting system, should you want to make use of the visual indicators notifying of surrounding traffic.

When a vehicle approaches fast from the rear, these LEDs will light up red before turning amber on either the left or right hand side of the handlebar
to indicate which side the car is passing on, helping riders banish the blind spot.

On top of this, riders can also receive audio prompts through compatible helmet-mounted headsets, as well as an additional radar display that appears on either the brands zmo R1 Radar smartphone app or a compatible zmo XT2 motorcycle sat-nav head unit.

Seeing as the water and dust-proof radar itself doesnt feature any sort of display, users will have to download the smartphone app to access things like light brightness settings, as well as how near or far away approaching vehicles have to be before the system alerts the radar.

According to Garmins specs, the radar is able to detect vehicles up to 60 meters away, while a rear-facing LED attached to the zmo R1 radar unit glows amber when the system is activated, but changes its hue to red as a vehicle gets closer to increase drivers' awareness of a rider ahead.

The system is on sale now, costing 519 /$599 / AU$1,099, with shipping slated to start in five to eight weeks. Analysis: A lot of faff and money for a little extra safety (Image credit: Garmin)

A number of motorcycle manufacturers, including Ducati, are already shipping models with both Adaptive Cruise Control and a similar Blind Spot Detection system built into their vehicles.

These play nicely with the bikes head unit and dont require any additional (and unsightly) cables or lights to spoil a motorcycles clean aesthetic.

As time moves on, its only natural that even more advanced safety technology, much of which will be borrowed from the four-wheeled world, will filter down to the more expensive motorcycle models on sale.

Garmins retrofit radar system works well on bicycles, which dont tend to have mirrors and travel at a much slower pace compared to motorcycles, making fast-approaching traffic from the rear something to be very wary of.

But this additional kit feels like a lot of effort, faff and outlay for something that can as easily be achieved with a good old-fashioned mirror and shoulder check something motorcycle instructors drill into you when navigating the learner stages.

Whats more, past experience with Garmins Varia system on a road bicycle
proved that it worked fabulously well on quiet country lanes, where the traffic is generally much less dense, but it came rather unstuck in bustling cities like London or New York.

Although we haven't tested it yet, its likely to be a very similar story with the zmo R1 radar and, considering motorcycles tend to thrive in the city, the system could actually end up being more of a nannying hindrance than a
helping hand.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES , and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2025 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And dont forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor! You might also like I rode the worlds first fully electric adventure motorcycle and its the future aside from one big drawback Royal Enfield has turned this classic WW2 bike into a next-gen EV range and it might just take electric motorcycles mainstream The 6 best electric
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vehicle-tech/hybrid-electric-vehicles/garmin-brings- its-radar-safety-tech-to-motorbikes-for-the-first-time-but-im-not-convinced


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