The Moto Guzzi Multimedia Platform - The little black box

When the Moto Guzzi Multimedia Platform arrived for me to attach to the Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber, I was delighted to find that it really is a little black box. It’s simple enough to fit behind a side panel and wire to the battery.

The idea is that your smartphone connects to it by Bluetooth, and your phone – which you mount to the handlebars – can than act as a supplementary instrument, letting you see a combination of revs, power, torque, acceleration and trip info.

Assuming your smartphone has enough memory and processing power to keep up, and assuming you can find a suitable way of attaching the phone to the handlebars, it all works well on the Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber, much as it does on the various other Moto Guzzi motorcycles sold in Thailand.

But I soon found myself not bothering to look at it. None of the information is terribly useful while you’re actually riding – not useful like a satellite navigation – and this wealth of instant data seems out of keeping with the simple looks and feel of the Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber. The Moto Guzzi Multimedia Platform costs 5300 THB, plus 3000 THB for the fitting kit.