I’ve read some user experiences of the Moto Guzzi MIA system and these have generally been negative.
I thought I’d offer my experience, for what it’s worth, on the MIA unit that I bought as an extra for my 2024MY V85TT. I had to select this option so that I could operate the heated seat (another £££ option, but definitely worth it) from the handlebar controls. So, at the time of purchase, I wasn’t really interested in the other functions.
The MIA unit was on back-order so was fitted some 4 months after I bought the bike. With the V85TT (and presumably the V100), you will know it is fitted as the screen features about 3 more toggle-through menus, including 1 just for heated seat! Great, this is what I needed and when I got home, I decided to try and pair my 'phone.
This is the process that can either (a) test the patience of a Saint or, (b) if you are lucky, it might just work first time. Having read a few guides (including the official one) and watched a couple of Youtube videos based on the older model, I somehow accidentally connected my 'phone with the bike and was able to use the navigation system. I then noticed that the 'phone itself had not connected for some reason, even though it let me use the navigation (!) so there was no available function to answer calls or play music. Now, this doesn’t bother me in the slightest as I have no desire to do either but it did strike me as odd.
Anyway, for various reasons I had’nt used my bike much and it seemingly stopped connecting with my 'phone (not that I noticed). Yesterday, however, I was determined to make amends and get the damned thing to work properly so I could actually try it out. After 2 hours of swearing, disconnecting, swearing, re-installing the app, swearing, re-connecting etc. I finally reached the point where my phone and the Moto Guzzi app connected with the bike AND I could hear spoken instructions through my headset.
What did such a simple thing take so long? Well, after trying to do it properly , the ONLY way I could make it work was by IGNORING the so-called official instructions and/or other guides I’d seen on t’interweb! Frustrations abounded, for example the official instruction that showed an icon for connecting the headset does not appear on my app and all the advice clearly states the headset needs to be paired to the bike, not your 'phone. Out of sheer frustration I tried pairing it to my phone and guess what? It works, with spoken instructions for the navigation.
So, how does it work in practice? I tried it out properly today on a 50+ mile ride and I was pleasantly surprised. The system shows speed limits on the screen and provided spoken warnings of speed cameras. The turn-by-turn instructions are never going to be as good as a map view but there is plenty of spoken warning for turns coming up and it does recalculate quickly.
My preference would normally be for a map view but I really didn’t relish the thought of another bolt-on sat-nav and I have no interest in mounting my expensive iPhone outside on a handlebar mount either. I was actually surprised by how useful the spoken instructions and speed camera warnings were which allowed me to keep my eyes on the road (the dash is quite busy). It also seems that my bike connects to my 'phone within about half a minute of turning the ignition on but I’ve opened the Moto Guzzi app at this stage (not sure how it works if you haven’t opened the app).
Compared to a traditional Satnav like Garmin, the MIA is at a disadvantage as it uses 'phone data, routing cannot be programmed unless the bike is on and connected to the app, the map view is only on the 'phone and you obviously can’t change things as you are riding if you keep your 'phone tucked safely in your pocket. The big benefit is there is no unit to buy (and be stolen if left on the bike), no ugly mounting paraphernalia and there are other recorded bike data functions which may or may not be of use.
The navigation function on my MIA has another 28 months to run before I have to pay for it (I think it’s about £26 for a further 3 years) but all the other MIA functions will work anyway. I don’t think I would have paid the extra for it, had I not needed it for the heated seat function, but now I’ve managed to work out how to connect it properly for the navigation etc. it is certainly better than I was expecting. I just hope I don’t run into the same issues that others have reported!
Opinions seem to be polarised on the MIA - What do others think?
Jon