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Device guide

Google Maps to BMW Motorrad Connected

BMW routes travel through the Motorrad Connected app on your phone. Convert your Google Maps route to GPX, import it there, and it reaches the bike.

Convert your route for BMW Motorrad Connected

Google Maps
SmartGPX
GPX
BMW Motorrad Connected

How it works

  1. 1

    Copy your Google Maps route link

    Plan the ride with all your stops, then copy the link from the Share button or the address bar.

  2. 2

    Convert it with SmartGPX

    Paste the link above and download the GPX file built from the real, calculated route.

  3. 3

    Import it in BMW Motorrad Connected

    Open the GPX on your phone and choose the Motorrad Connected app, which adds it to your saved routes.

From the app to the bike

On a BMW, the route doesn't go straight from file to bike: it passes through the BMW Motorrad Connected app on your phone. Get the GPX generated here onto the phone (by email, cloud storage, or downloading it directly from this page), then open it and choose to open it with BMW Motorrad Connected. The app adds it to your saved routes.

Once the route is in the app and the phone is paired to the bike over Bluetooth, guidance appears on the TFT screen and is controlled from the wheel. This is phone-led navigation: the app does the routing, the bike only displays it. On bikes fitted with a ConnectedRide Navigator, the dedicated unit syncs with that same app and picks the route up, with the advantage of a device built for outdoor use that no longer depends on your phone's battery.

Common issues

The most common mix-up involves the older Navigator VI and earlier units, which Garmin built for BMW: those behave like a Garmin GPS (copy the file over USB), not like BMW Motorrad Connected. If your unit predates the ConnectedRide Navigator, follow the process in the zūmo guide instead, which covers that transfer method.

As everywhere else, the imported route is recalculated by the navigation engine when you follow it: the app's own avoidance settings (tolls, motorways, curvy roads) win over whatever you picked in Google Maps. Check them before you set off rather than on the move.

Need a route from Google Maps instead? Convert it to a GPX file in seconds: one free credit to start, no subscription.

Convert a Google Maps route

Related resources

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to use the BMW Motorrad Connected app?

For current BMW bikes, yes. The app holds your routes and feeds guidance to the bike over Bluetooth. The GPX file is what you import into the app.

Does the route reach the ConnectedRide Navigator?

Yes. The Navigator syncs with the same BMW Motorrad Connected account, so a route imported in the app becomes available on the unit.

What about an older BMW Navigator VI?

Those units were built by Garmin and behave like a Garmin GPS: copy the GPX over USB rather than importing it into BMW Motorrad Connected. Our zūmo guide covers that method.

Will the route show on the bike TFT screen?

On bikes that support phone-led navigation, yes: the app does the routing and the TFT displays it, controlled from the wheel.

Does it work without mobile data?

That depends on the BMW app and its offline map settings, not on the GPX file. The file itself carries the full route and needs no connection once imported.

Is SmartGPX affiliated with BMW?

No. SmartGPX only produces a standard GPX file that BMW Motorrad Connected can import. There is no official integration or partnership with BMW.

SmartGPX is not affiliated with Garmin, Wahoo, OsmAnd, BMW, TomTom, Komoot, Strava, or Google; references to those names describe file format compatibility only.