BMW Motorad Make Life a Ride Navigation App

[Fun Bobby]

I require a savvy BMW Motorrad navigation app expert as I’m at my wits end with it. I ride a 2022 BMW R1250RT that I would like to use the navigation app for rally routing. Here’s is the steps taken, 1) a GPX file built on Basecamp with 33 waypoints (not a route) all with a unique 4-letter names is successfully imported into the BMW nav app, 2) the BMW app automatically converts the waypoints into a route, 3) the “Convert to list of waypoints” menu option is selected, 4) the nav app shows a map with the 33 waypoints as a route where waypoints are sequentially numbered and can be individually deleted, 4) the waypoints are not named as they were when imported. The app renamed the unique 4-letter waypoint names to a street address. 5) there is no list of individual waypoints that I can select to ride to individually.

Bottom line, I want the imported list of waypoints so I can select them individually from the BMW nav app as I want to ride to them. I don’t want the app to make a route from the waypoints.

Am I missing the obvious with the BMW Motorrad app functionality?

Cheers,

Fun Bobby

 

[Russ Black]

Google converts the Lat and Lon into street addresses too. That is one reason I don't use it. I use Basecamp and a Garmin (Car) or my Nav V (Bike). Neither changes the data from how I have it in Basecamp. Perhaps look for a POI (Point Of Interest) or custom setting or the importing of. I hope this will not be a case of "Newer" is not necessarily "Better".

 

[Fun Bobby]

I’m familiar with the Nav V and Zumo XT as I used them for years on a K1600GT. Unless someone chimes in with a great idea to the BMW Motorrad nav app issue I’m experiencing, I’ll be going back to a rally proven Zumo XT. Someone must have cracked the BMW nav app waypoint issue?

Fun Bobby
IBA 606

 

[LeMaitre]

I am no expert on GPX files but from working with WordPerfect back in the DOS days. I learned, sometimes you have to look at the encoding to fix the issue.

Let's take a look at a GPX and KML encoding of the same location.

GPX

<wpt lat="44.58341" lon="-104.70952">
<name>AA902-8-Anytime</name>
<sym>Green</sym>
<extensions><gpxx:WaypointExtension><gpxx:Categories><gpxx:Category>AAAA6</gpxx:Category><gpxx:Category>AAAB1</gpxx:Category></gpxx:Categories><gpxx:Address><gpxx:StreetAddress/><gpxx:City>#VALUE!</gpxx:City></gpxx:Address><gpxxhoneNumber>#VALUE!</gpxxhoneNumber></gpxx:WaypointExtension></extensions>
</wpt>


KML

<Placemark>
<name>AA902</name>
<description><![CDATA[43.86807: 44.58341<br>-103.43432: -104.70952]]></description>
<styleUrl>#icon-1899-0288D1</styleUrl>
<ExtendedData>
<Data name="43.86807">
<value>44.58341</value>
</Data>
<Data name="-103.43432">
<value>-104.70952</value>
</Data>
</ExtendedData>
<Point>
<coordinates>
-104.70952,44.58341,0
</coordinates>
</Point>

Both have <name>, which should be your 5 digit code.

Location is by Lat. and Lon.

It would be interesting to see the export of the GPX file from the BMW Nav, to see how it formats the information.

-Mark

 

[Russ Black]

I searched the documentation and neither Export nor Share exist so it seems like it's SOL time.

 

[LeMaitre]

My gut instinct is that the problem has to do with the field name the BMW Nav is looking for.

A deeper dive into GPX encoder file:

The following was created with GPX editor. The coordinates and name were imported into Google My Maps from a CVS spreadsheet then exported as an KML. That KML was imported into GPX Editor and exported as a GPX. There are three parts to the waypoint, lat(iturde), lon(gitude) and name.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<gpx version="1.1" creator="GPX Editor 1.8.0.1760" xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1/gpx.xsd">
<wpt lat="43.86807" lon="-103.43432">
<name>AA901</name>
</wpt>
<wpt lat="44.58341" lon="-104.70952">
<name>AA902</name>

The above GPX was imported into Greg Rice's Rally Planning Spreadsheet. After updating the points and availability, it was exported to the GPX in my first post and them imported into Basecamp.

Basecamp exported GPX of the same bonus is:

<wpt lat="44.583410024642944" lon="-104.70951997675002">
<time>2026-02-11T23:32:10Z</time>
<name>AA902-8-A</name>
<sym>Pin, Green</sym>
<type>user</type>
<extensions>
<gpxx:WaypointExtension>
<gpxxisplayMode>SymbolAndName</gpxxisplayMode>
<gpxx:Categories>
<gpxx:Category>AAAA6</gpxx:Category>
<gpxx:Category>AAAB1</gpxx:Category>
</gpxx:Categories>
<gpxx:Address>
<gpxx:StreetAddress>Wind Circle Sculpture - Devil's Tower</gpxx:StreetAddress>
<gpxx:City>#VALUE!</gpxx:City>
</gpxx:Address>
<gpxxhoneNumber>#VALUE!</gpxxhoneNumber>
</gpxx:WaypointExtension>
<wptx1:WaypointExtension>
<wptx1isplayMode>SymbolAndName</wptx1isplayMode>
<wptx1:Categories>
<wptx1:Category>AAAA6</wptx1:Category>
<wptx1:Category>AAAB1</wptx1:Category>
</wptx1:Categories>
<wptx1:Address>
<wptx1:StreetAddress>Wind Circle Sculpture - Devil's Tower</wptx1:StreetAddress>
<wptx1:City>#VALUE!</wptx1:City>
</wptx1:Address>
<wptx1honeNumber>#VALUE!</wptx1honeNumber>
</wptx1:WaypointExtension>
<ctx:CreationTimeExtension>
<ctx:CreationTime>2026-02-11T23:32:10Z</ctx:CreationTime>
</ctx:CreationTimeExtension>
</extensions>
</wpt>


-Mark

 

[Russ Black]

Interesting... I especially like the happy faces...

So what have you discovered? Any fixes? The instructions only talk about entering addresses. The only mention of POI's are for the usual provided gas, lodging, food, tourist traps. Nothing about making custom ones.

GPX is an open format and the absolute minimum data required for a functional GPX file is the XML structure containing at least one waypoint (&lt;wpt&gt, route point (&lt;rtept&gt, or track point (&lt;trkpt&gt with mandatory latitude (lat) and longitude (lon) attributes.

Minimal data options = easy and minimal programing. It written for a phones so they have to keep the program size as small as possible.

 

[LeMaitre]

All those happy faces got inserted by the websites html encoding. Insert ": D" without spaces for each smiley face.