Innovv K5 Installation and Review
Dashcam’s are cars have basically become a necessity for many drivers largely because they help cut down on insurance fraud. But when it comes to motorcycles, a lot of riders tend to ride with a simple GoPro. But a company called Innovv has been working to change that. Their Innovv K5 dashcam features front and rear cameras, microphone, 5HZ GPS receiver, dual-band wifi for file transfers and an IP67 waterproof rating. But the feature that really makes this device stand out is the Smart Remote Control.
While installation will very widely depending on the bike you are installing it on, and how meticulous you are about hiding wires, but with our Multistrada 1200, I must confess it took the better part of three hours to install the unit as pretty much all the bodywork needed to be removed. Once installed, however, everything was neatly tucked away and only the most astute observers will be likely to notice the camera’s.
To get the most out of the camera’s you need to install their app, but it allows you to see the camera real-time to verify they are pointed the right direction, gain access to all your footage, play or download your footage to your phone.
The Smart Remote Control is really inspired. Anytime you see something cool, all you do is “push the button” and it moves the current file into a protected folder. Cool scenery, push the button, Animals on the road, push the button. A car pulls out in front of you, Push the button.
The problem is, these are big files so downloading from the camera to your phone using wifi takes a bit of time, time when your motorcycle ignition has to be on, so if you are moving a bunch of files it takes its toll on the bike’s battery. So I’ve found that it’s faster to pull the SD card. Which is hidden behind this small panel. One of my complaints is that it uses two itty-bitty flat-head screws, which are easy to drop and easy to use. I wish they were torx, and I wonder how waterproof this metal panel is??
So, along with water, I was also really worried about damage, especially to the front camera. I think it would probably be better placed in the cockpit behind a clear windscreen, but that doesn’t really matter because I don’t have a clear windscreen. The best place I could figure to put the front camera puts it out in harm’s way.
But after a few thousand miles, you have to remember to clean bugs off the lens at basically every stop, but I already have a little rock chip in the lens. So, I think this needs some sort of replaceable lens cover. At the very least, I’m going to try to install some sort of clear-bra protection over the lens.
The video footage is really good, the audio, so far, isn’t amazing. I think that’s probably due to my microphone placement. I’m still playing with microphone locations to get good natural sound.
Overall I’m extremely impressed with the Innov K5. If you commute and deal with traffic, having front and rear cameras constantly recording could make all the difference in a situation where your insurance company is involved. But even in my specific use case, it’s fantastic. If anything comes up that I can use in a video, I can just push the button.
Learn More at https://www.innovv.com/
