Review: OBDPROG’s Moto 100 Diagnostic Scan Tool

The Moto 100 Motorcycle Diagnostic Scan Tool promises to be a tool for a wide variety of motorcycles. I believe, in the right hands, with the right motorcycles, this powerful tool will more than pay for itself. But let’s look at how it works in the real world, and whether or not this tool is right for you.

I’m Adrian from YouMotorcycle, I make content that help motorcyclists, including a lot of videos showing you how to do your own motorcycle maintenance so you can save money. Today we’re going to be looking at the Moto 100 Motorcycle Diagnostic Tool, all of the things you can do with it, and whether or not it’s right for you. At around $500, it’s a serious investment, but it’s also a serious tool. Let’s see how it does when we put it to the test.

What is the Moto 100?

The Moto 100 is a motorcycle scan tool that can help you with both basic maintenance as well as advanced diagnostics your motorcycle. Motorcycles are only getting more and more tech-heavy over the years and it’s only a matter of time before even the average motorcycle DIYer has one of these in their tool chest.

The Moto 100 comes with different adapters so that you can connect it to a huge variety of motorcycles. The device itself comes in two versions: one Moto 100 version covers BMW, Ducati, KTM, Triumph, Honda, and Yamaha. Another Moto 100 version covers motorcycles from Harley, Indian, Victory, Polaris, BRP, Honda, and Yamaha. Unfortunately these don’t mix, so you wouldn’t be able to use the same device on your Triumph and then also use it on your Harley, that’s a bummer, you’ll need to buy two.

In this review I’ll be testing the BMW, Ducati, Triumph, Honda, and Yamaha version.

If I never get any error codes on my motorcycle, do I still need this thing?

If your ultra reliable motorcycle never shows any error codes, do you really need a OBDPROG Moto 100? In that case you definitely don’t need it, but it can still be super helpful and save you money in the long run.

My BMW F700GS’ service light will come on by itself every six months to remind me to service it. It’s annoying because I don’t know if I actually have a problem, or if BMW is just trying to drum up business for the dealership. Ideally, the Moto 100 would allow me to check it out and turn off the light myself. This is a great feature because these built-in reminders are only becoming more common across more motorcycles, annoying more riders.

The problem is that the Moto 100 can’t seem to clear this code. In fact, it says that there is no code present. I am able to change the light of he next scheduled maintenance light, but I can’t disable the current one, nor can I detect when I scan for errors or try to clear error codes.

When I want to activate my anti-lock braking system to bleed my brakes and really get all the old stuff out, I can do that myself now. When I hear a heatwave is coming through town and I want to test my cooling system by activating my fan or my thermostat at the tap of a touch screen, I can do that myself now.

Except that I can’t seem to do either of these functions with the Moto 100. It just doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of controlling my BMW. Which is unfortunate, because I’ve seen YouTube videos of people with other motorcycles able to activate all sorts of things, but this tool doesn’t seem to be having much success with telling my BMW what to do.

I’ve been motorcycle riding for fifteen years. There are literally dozens of things that I could never have done on my own before owning this tool, so I had a lot of high hopes. I looked around my garage for other motorcycles to try to compare it with:

My BMW G650GS has neither ABS, nor any error lights or maintenance interval lights, but I could test it to see if the fan works… Except that it could not activate my fan. There was no option to do so.

My Triumph Bonneville has neither ABS, nor a fan, nor any engine lights, but I could check and make sure that the mileage is correct because it’s suspiciously low… Except that it could not give me an odometer reading or an hours counter. There was no option to do so.

Your engine light comes on, now what?

But how exactly does the Moto 100 work, and what do you do if a legit check engine does come up? Grab your Moto 100 and the appropriate adapter for your motorcycle (it comes with several), plug everything in, and turn the power on.

The device has an easy to read 5” touchscreen, runs on Android, and you can even connect it to the internet for downloading new firmware and motorcycle database updates. Before you use it the first time you’ll want to set up an account and download the latest updates, which is as easy as following the on-screen prompts.

Once setup, you can let the Moto 100 know your exact motorcycle by navigating through the menu and entering your year, make, and model. If you aren’t sure you can just input your exact VIN#.

From the menu you can select Read Fault Codes. You’ll see individual codes and depending on the motorcycle you may also see information relative to how the motorcycle was operating at the time of the error. This information could give you additional clues which could help you diagnose the problem and may including how open the throttle was, whether or not the motorcycle was braking, engine temperature, and more.

On some motorcycles it will even show you error codes which aren’t current but are saved to the motorcycle’s memory from the past, giving you insight to what your motorcycle was up to months or even years ago. This is handy for checking if your current problem may be a recurring problem that a previous owner never warned you about.

It’s important to remember that what your Moto can do depends on what motorcycle it’s plugged into. I’ve seen people use it on plenty of motorcycles that I don’t own to do plenty of things it can’t do on my motorcycle. I’ll be honest with you, the scope of what the Moto 100 can do is way beyond my skillset, because you can use it to read all kinds of data, and you can also use it to reset a ton of values – assuming your motorcycle is actually highly compatible with it.

Here are some of the things the OBDPROG Moto 100 can do: Active tests of coils, controls, pumps, solenoids, sensors, fans, valves, fuel pumps, injectors, brakes, traction control, actuators, and more. These include manually activating functions on the motorcycle, even without it running, for testing purposes, and gathering data. That can help you to diagnose any existing or recurrent issues to see what isn’t working, or what might be causing problems.

If you’re lucky and your motorcycle is compatible with it, you’ll find active data on wheel speeds, voltage at various components, cylinder pressure, throttle positions, temperatures. The sky’s the limit. But some skies are much lower than others.

A little disclaimer

Before I give you guys my final thoughts on this product I just want to mention that I haven’t been paid to review this item. I don’t care whether you buy it or not. If you buy through my affiliate link I’ll get a small commission, but if you don’t want that you can just go to Amazon.com directly and type in Moto 100 and buy it that way – I won’t make any commission, but that’s okay.

I’m not being paid to make any content on this product. The Moto100 was sent for me for free to review but I still had to pay $98 in import duties and taxes when I went to pick it up, so it wasn’t exactly free for me either. I’m reviewing this product with a “How would I feel if I paid full price for this?” mindset, so I can give you the most non-biased feedback that I can. But before I give you my final thoughts, there’s one more thing to take into consideration:

Updates and subscriptions

You can update your Moto 100 for up to a year for free. If you’d like to update after that, you’ll need to pay $80 per year to renew your subscription. If you don’t want to update the software, you don’t have to. You’ll still be able to use the tool for your existing motorcycle, it just may not recognize any new motorcycles since the last time it was updated.

Overall review

Time for my final thoughts on the Moto 100 and whether or not you should buy one.

The limits of the Moto100 far exceed my own knowledgebase and skillset, however the compatibility and usefulness with my BMW F700GS is severely limited. That being said, the tool is simple and straightforward enough that I have no issues using it myself.  I really love that that whether or not a motorcycle has a problem, the Moto 100 would allow an owner to do practical stuff that they couldn’t do before.

Another big win for me is the fact that it’s so flexible and can be used across so many different motorcycles. But I think in the end that’s kind of a gift and a curse. The OBDPROG Moto 100 might plug into both my Triumph and my BMWs, but it can’t really do anywhere near as much as a dedicated BMW-specific tool like the GS911 does.

For example, on one of my BMW GS motorcycles, the tool can show me the total mileage on the motorcycle, which is great for knowing that the dash hasn’t been replaced or tampered with. On my other BMW GS motorcycle the tool cannot do this, but can instead tell me the vehicle’s total run time in hours. Finally, on my Triumph, it can give me neither of these pieces of information.

So should you buy one?

So we end up in this weird middle ground, with a Moto 100 that could be either the best tool the DIY’er motorcyclist or new technician could ask for, or it could be a total dud, depending on what your motorcycle is and how compatible your motorcycle is with it. Here’s who I think should, and shouldn’t buy one of these:

If you’re a new motorcycle rider, or new to wrenching on your motorcycle, you probably don’t need to buy this yet. I say that, but as I was learning about this tool I kept thinking of all of the moments over the last 15 years where this tool could have saved me time and energy. So if you’re a new rider who doesn’t mind investing in their tools this isn’t the worst idea.

If you’re riding a really old, carbureted, simple motorcycle, you probably don’t need this tool. Likewise, if you’re just one of those people who just doesn’t care for technology or for doing your own motorcycle maintenance once electronics get involved, this probably isn’t for you either.

Finally, if you’re on a really tight budget and you’d rather take your chances then dish out an extra $500 right now, this probably isn’t for you.

I do think that there are some people who would definitely benefit from the Moto 100. If you’re a motorcyclist who does your own maintenance, and you think you’ll be riding and wrenching for at least a few more years, the Moto 100 might be a good option for you. Also, if you’re a motorcyclist who might not have good local dealer support, or you just don’t want to spend money that you don’t need to with your dealer, this may be a good option for you too.

At the end of the day, motorcycles are only becoming less mechanical and more digital. Advanced diagnostics systems like the Moto100 will become more and more common, and it’s up to you to decide if and when one of these is a good idea for you. My vote: buy it, plug it in, see what it can do for your motorcycle. You have free returns for 30 days. It’s worth trying it for yourself on your own motorcycle.

Long term update

Now that I’ve had the chance to put it to the test for a while, here are the five things I love and hate about the Moto 100.

Promotions

You can get the Moto 100 Pro motorcycle diagnostic scanner here, currently on sale, and there are two other deals along with it:

1. You can get get a free KS21 Battery Tester with your purchase using the code OAURLIUJ.
2. You can get a free KC301 OBD2 Code reader for cars with your purchase using the code JLJJ7K3V.