Do you have a nest of wires going everywhere from your vast array of motorcycle accessories? Is there the type of frustrating electrical tangle under your seat that a Flying Spaghetti Monster could truly take pride in? If so, this new crowdfunding campaign for the RoadOne plug-and-play motorcycle accessories controller may pique your interest.
Plug It In:
According to its creators, the RoadOne works with any bike that has a modern 12V electrical system. Up to six accessories can plug into a single RoadOne unit. Once you go through the intuitive setup process, you’ll be able to control each accessory via touch or voice controls and an app on your smartphone. There’s also a smart activation feature, so you can set certain accessories to be “active by default” as soon as the RoadOne knows you’re on the bike.
Say it’s winter, and you have heated grips or connectors for your heated clothing installed. Setting it to “active by default” means that as soon as you’re ready to go, your heated gear and grips are already heating up. It might just be one extra step, but when you’re in a hurry, even the small steps can feel like huge deals.
Incidentally, this same “smart” functionality also works to deactivate your accessories automatically when you’re not near the bike. That way, you don’t come outside to a totally drained battery later because you left something turned on by accident. (I don’t know about you, but I have totally done this before. Do not do it. It’s not fun, I assure you.)
The creators are hoping to raise $28,506 by the beginning of April 2020, and so far have raised $8,572 in crowdfunding via IndieGoGo. Various support levels are available if you’re interested in participating, from the $17 level all the way up to the super-bells-and-whistles pack at $396, which includes the basic RoadOne controller and several accessories you can plug into it.
It’s a neat idea, but it’s worth noting that RoadOne isn’t the only company to offer a unit like this. The Arboreal Neutrino power distribution modules offer similar functionality, although they don’t currently offer voice commands. The user interface is significantly different as well, so it may just be a matter of user preference. However, one major difference is that you can purchase a Neutrino right now if you want. If all goes as planned, the RoadOne units should go into production in April, and hopefully ship worldwide to backers by October 2020.
Sources: RoadOne IndieGoGo, MotorBikeWriter
