Does Apple CarPlay work well on your Spyder?

[GP-Pirate]

Hello All -

I am a new member preparing to buy a slightly used (200 mi) 2024 RTL from an authorized dealer. I am concerned that it does not have a built-in GPS as nearly all touring cycles do - especially in this price range. The dealer says that CarPlay handles navigation well. I plan on having him demonstrate it using my iPhone, but would like to know in advance what other owners think of CarPlay on their bikes. I am mostly interested in navigation, but would also use other features that I am used to in my automobile that has CarPlay.

Thank you in advance for any comments that will help me.

Glenn

 

[racoon]

I bought my 2024 Spyder RT Sea2Sky in March of 2024.
When it was first delivered Apple CarPlay did not work.
BRP released a software update, which I installed using my home WiFi network, and then it started working... sometimes.

There was another software update to the Spyder for BRP Connect 4.1 that included some software bug fixes for CarPlay.
Since that update, it has been working with my iPhone SE 2nd Gen.
I also use Apple CarPlay in my 2023 Honda Ridgeline, which worked from day 1.

There are a couple of caveats about using CarPlay on the Spyder.
First, it has to be an Apple iPhone and it has to be plugged into the USB port in the "glove box" in front of the handlebars.
Second, you need a helmet headset that is Bluetooth paired to your Spyder.

Check your Operator's Guide on Pages 49, 50, and 51.

You can download an Acrobat PDF of the Operators Guide from here:

3-Wheel Vehicles | BRP GUIDES

www.operatorsguides.brp.com

Here's what showed on my Spyder's display as I started the BRP Connect 4.1 update over my home WiFi.
I downloaded the update on July 7, 2025.



As for using CarPlay, I've found that the Apple Maps application leaves a lot to be desired, as it does not support GPX files (GPS Exchange Format).
CarPlay supports multiple mapping applications, not just Apple Maps.

I've been using Google Maps since it supports importing GPX files.
I can plot a route using Google Maps on my computer and then have it send the route to the Google Maps app on my iPhone as a GPX, which I can then use on my Spyder and/or my Ridgeline.

 

[General]

Hello All -

I am a new member preparing to buy a slightly used (200 mi) 2024 RTL from an authorized dealer. I am concerned that it does not have a built-in GPS as nearly all touring cycles do - especially in this price range. The dealer says that CarPlay handles navigation well. I plan on having him demonstrate it using my iPhone, but would like to know in advance what other owners think of CarPlay on their bikes. I am mostly interested in navigation, but would also use other features that I am used to in my automobile that has CarPlay.

Thank you in advance for any comments that will help me.

Glenn

Mine works well on my 2024 S2S. I was pleasantly surprised to see my FOBO TPMS icon show up in CarPlay and see it on the move. I also found that the Scenic Navigation app allows one to create routes in another app and then download them to the Scenic app and ride the route or track, which is quite useful. I’m running version 3.1.5 and haven’t been able to see where 4.1 is available from the BRP server. My dealer denies that 4.1 even exists.

 

[racoon]

This thread was started July 7, 2025:

Thread 'BRP Connect Ver 4.1 is now available'

Jul 7, 2025

BRP Connect Ver 4.1 is now available for WI-FI download. Improvements to stability and Apple Car Play. After I downloaded and installed it I tried it out. It seems like ACP loaded almost instantly. Very happy about that if it remains so. I was happy with Ver 3.1 and ACP. If Ver 4.1 makes it even better, I'm a fan. Don't know what they mean by stability improvements. time will tell I guess.

• amkrat
• Replies: 18
• Forum: Spyder RT - Touring

• 

I live near Cookeville, TN and was able to download over my home WiFi at that time.

If your dealer won't do the update for you, you'll need to connect your Spyder to a WiFi network.
Look at the Preferences section of your Operator's Guide, pages 49-50.

I have a home WiFi network which I connected to while my Spyder was in the garage. You could also connect via a cell phone, but the specifics of doing that would depend on the phone.

 

[GP-Pirate]

Thank you for this info.

 

[Dansy]

Short answer no… it was actually better before all the updates!

 

[racoon]

Short answer no… it was actually better before all the updates!

Better how?

What don't you like about the update?

 

[Dansy]

Well well, for some reason I decided to change the way we hook up on the Spyder. I was having lots of issues and I don’t really know the city we are visiting and the area right now, so since paper maps doesn’t exist no more, I need this to start for every run, and what worked before the updates doesn’t always work now…

Since we are still on a trip, yesterday I tried something else.

Neotec 3 with SLR3 for both helmets.

So now, this is what we are doing:
Start both helmets and either (both work) go intercom or Mesh;
start map route and connect the cable to the iPhone (16 Max Pro);
turn the bike ON, start the motor or not, doesn’t make any difference;
then wait maybe 15-20 seconds; and 95% of the time everything it works just fine.

Compare to before, it was really hit and miss thing.

What I don’t like about the update - normally, I like them on different devices, they usually seem to fix issues and bring more options, but on BRP (and I do love my bike) it seems that the system needs to be studied and tested to see how it will work. I do understand that there’s a wide array of com system ect, but Bluetooth is Bluetooth! All the rest of my electronics works 100000% better then than this bike!

What they need is to really test the system and improve stability by doing more in-house CarPlay testing of the integration.

As well, since they supposedly test this before releasing it, why don’t they include tips on how it work? One example is the clock - it took me a while to realize it works on the time zones, it wasn’t like that when I bought the bike. Plus, the manual is way out of date and there's no updates available. It’s not like they don’t know what they change, just a quick note about them would be very useful.

 

[racoon]

I took a look at the specs for the Sena SRL3 system, and the only difference I noted between them and the Sena 3S Plus Boom that I use, is that mine has Bluetooth 5.1 and the SRL3 is Bluetooth 5.0. But I don't see that the changes in Bluetooth 5.1 would make any difference?

I agree that the BRP/Can-Am's handling of the Apple CarPlay update, and software updates in general, has been annoying.

And that it requires a specific startup/connection sequence to get everything working correctly, with zero help from BRP/Can-Am on how to do it, other than "oh, yeah, we support Bluetooth."


And as a retired computer software developer, I've come to believe that my Spyder RT runs "beta" version software.
But, I also see that it has gotten better over the year and a half that I've owned my Spyder.

 

[RogerC60]

And as a retired computer software developer, I've come to believe that my Spyder RT runs "beta" version software.
But, I also see that it has gotten better over the year and a half that I've owned my Spyder.

Knowing how things work and how they could work only makes it worse, right?

 

[racoon]

Knowing how things work and how they could work only makes it worse, right?

Yep. And that the Apple CarPlay in my 2023 Honda Ridgeline has worked perfectly using the same iPhone.

And I purchased the Ridgeline 10 months before I bought my Spyder, and CarPlay worked from day 1 on the Ridgeline, while it took months before CarPlay worked at all on my Spyder, and only with the 4.1 update released in July 2025 has it worked reliably, more than two years after I bought my Ridgeline.

 

[Mikey]

I got a new 2025 S2S and for me, the jury's out, I've got to play with it a little more before I put my seal on it. I have done the updates, and I am not impressed. I believe there will be a Garmin in the future for my bike! That's what my last RTL had on it, and it worked well!