The VALR Motorcycle Adventure Alliance is a digital platform that supports all motorcycle adventurers at every stage of their journey; from planning, to preparation, execution, troubleshooting and documentation of their experiences.

VALR also provides custom bike gear including a sturdy, versatile luggage system and survival kit essentials.

On a 2240km motorbike trip through Eastern Europe on my old Honda CBX550 from the 80s, I tested the VALR Kit from a user experience and product design perspective.

Passing through Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia, I developed and documented a testing framework that captured feedback on all aspects of the existing experience.

After many kilometers in the saddle across various terrains, weather conditions and only two mechanical breakdowns, I provided an in-depth experience report, including a roadmap of innovation opportunities for further development.

As part of the exploration, a competitor and parallel market analysis created an in-depth understanding of the current market, and the gaps within it.

It became clear that while much of the motorcycle world is geared towards maximising the driving experience, the existing tools often neglect the intricacies of planning an adventure trip, and truly understanding the potential of the community surrounding the drivers; motorcyclists didn’t just want a navigation tool, they needed a digital co-pilot that provided technical, emotional and skillset support throughout their journey.

I ran multiple user interviews, as well as an aspiration workshop to verify initial research insights. The adventurous participants were selected specifically for their varying travel expertise, range of age and approaches to motorcycling, and revealed multiple aspirations that competitor products had failed to address.

The exploration workshop uncovered essential insights into the needs for a community driven application across all stages of the journey, catering to a broad motorcycle audience.
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I designed bespoke workshop conversation tools and activities to uncover the ideal tone of voice, support systems and experience details, which were then used to develop foundational design principles for the VALR brand.

There was a gap ready to be filled with an emotionally supportive co-pilot, that harvests the strong bond within the motorcycling community and can seamlessly support an adventurer from planning to execution and beyond.

Next steps in the process are still confidential.

They revolved around setting the design foundations for the digital experience that supports riders on their adventures.

The digital platform is re-imagined to be a comprehensive, user friendly and unobtrusive co-pilot that supports the rider at every step of the way.

Funding was successfully raised for the next phase of development, so get ready for an adventure!