TomTom Rider

Totally!

I'm wondering how dedicated GPS manufacturers are going to be able to complete in the long run... Using Siri while on the go to ask for directions in the car is amazing. Almost enough for me to not need a dedicated GPS - except for the need to have the data connection on all the time.

A motorcycle specific GPS app for the phone would be awesome, with downloaded maps. When you have a data connection, the phone could pull in map updates, POI, etc. But it would work when data is off.

Voice control of the GPS app would be a must, since it's nearly impossible to use a capacitive touchscreen with motorcycle gloves. (Yes, there are some gloves out there for this purpose, but really?)

They would also need to have the ability to do route planning on the phone, or import route plans.

I suppose Garmin and TomTom could make their phone app software do all this to stay in the game, and just get out of the hardware business.

Does anyone know if when riding a Pre planned route will the unit let you skip a waypoint? Or will it forever try to nav you back to a spot you might've missed.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I'm test riding again tomorrow, I got a pre-planned route installed, about 200 Miles, I know that I'll be away from that route a couple of times....
I let you know how it works out....

OK, I tried and it went bonkers at the first waypoint, I drove straight past the waypoint because the waypoint was at a parking lot just a few yards away, and I didn't figure out how to skip it, so I had to just quit the pre made route.... I need to play with this a bit more, the experience so far is that if you make a route in Google maps, and import it thru tyre and then the TomTom, you get a waypoint about every mile, and if you're not exact enough when you create the route you got problems....

Skickat från min Nexus 7 via Tapatalk 2

Missing waypoints by a few feet is the bane of any nav. They need a big "skip" button so you can keep going.

Have these things been released in the US yet?

Nope...

I've had one in order sine April from Amazon, and as if now, they have no estimated ship date. (Originally, it was supposed to arrive between May 15th and 24th, but I was notified in the 24th that Amazon couldn't keep that date and didn't know when they would be shipping.)

Rumors seem to indicate that TomTom originally expected to ship to retailers/distributors on May 15th, but something happened and we are awaiting a new firm date. No official word has been provided on what happened to cause the delay, which is frustrating for sure.

I just got an email from Amazon cancelling my order because they say they don't know when it'll be available.

Everyone who preordered seem to have gotten the same email...

I'm pissed.

TomTom finally gave an official reply on their forums:

I pull out of my driveway on a trip to Newfoundland on the morning of June 26th. I really wanted to have an itinerary capable, weatherproof GPS all prepared for that trip. Doesn't sound like I'll be able to get the Rider in time. Not sure I can afford a Garmin Zumo at this point, or if I want one given some of the complaints about them. I may just have to live with my Garmin 255W and try to make it work (under a plastic bag when it rains).

Alec

Yup, just too late for this trip.

Maybe for Christmas.

I bought a Zumo 665 finally .. I have an old Tomtom rider (2).. with scala headset , etc.. maybe I should sell it?

I posted this on the TomTom Rider forum this morning, cross-posting here for visibility. I ended up ordering the Rider to arrive the afternoon before my trip, and I'm happy I did.

Please note, this is my first Motorcycle-specific GPS. Also the first GPS I've owned that allows itinerary planning.

Less than a day ago, I got home from a 12 day motorcycle trip through Maine, New Bruswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. My TomTom Rider 5 arrived from Amazon about 16 hours before I left on the trip, so I barely got a chance to play with it before setting out.

I have NOT yet connected the Rider to a computer to update the firmware or Maps, so I'm not sure if there have been any changes that would have helped with any of the issues I encountered... Overall, I'm very happy, so please keep that in mind.

Bluetooth Pairing with SENA SMH10

I was able to get the TomTom to pair with my Sena SMH10 to deliver spoken directions, but it wasn't perfect. I ended up removing the bluetooth pairing after the first couple days. I need time to test when I'm not relying on the Rider to get me to my next stop for the night.

• The Rider seemed to make announcements too frequently, and interrupted the intercom communication with my passenger to a point that was disruptive. This was before I found the settings option to disable the "upcoming turn" announcements though. Some additional configuration options here to be able to fine tune how often the Rider makes announcements would be very helpful.
• I did not test syncing the Rider to the iPhone, I just used the multipoint pairing option with the Sena and Rider to get the voice commands. This seemed to work fine, but took a couple attempts.
• I probably would have left the pairing intact if the Rider's Mute option worked correctly. As it was, when I muted the Rider, it would still open a channel to the Sena every time it would have made an announcement... This seems to be a bug, and hopefully is or will be fixed in firmware. Mute should disable the bluetooth communication of spoken directions completely, not just open the channel and keep the volume at 0... Edited on 7/15: There is a setting under Options > Voices > Disable voice that prevents the voice from opening a bluetooth channel and interrupting your intercom or music. Any other warning beeps stay active. This setting cannot be added to the Quick Menu, but it is available.

Maps & Navigation Issues

Again, I didn't update the firmware or map before I left, so hopefully some of these are already being corrected.

• Route 1 from Saint Stephen to Saint John, New Brunswick wasn't updated for the major road changes that were completed in October of 2012. Several sections of that route really confused the Rider, and made using the Winding Roads option impossible. Hopefully the most recent maps have this corrected.
• The Rider tried to direct me down a couple dirt roads in Newfoundland without asking if that was OK first (and that setting is set to ask me). About 25 km of route 91 was gravel, and I didn't really have time to backtrack and go another way around. It ended up being fine, but bumpy, dusty and hard to stay relaxed on. (I'm on an R1200R with PR3s...) On the plus side, it added to the "Adventure" of the trip! http://goo.gl/maps/hBXZh
  
• I was staying in a bed and breakfast near Amherst, Nova Scotia toward the end of my trip. The B&B lists their address as being on Hwy 302. I could not find it by that name in the Rider. I had to figure out the name of the street for that section of 302 to enter the address on the Rider. If I didn't have an internet connection available for my phone in order to figure this out, I might have been in trouble. The Rider also didn't have the B&B listed in its POI database. Normally, before leaving for a trip, I would have identified all the major stops and added them, but in this case, I didn't have time before leaving.

Other...

• I wish it were possible to set the threshold when the current speed background turns red. The default seems to be a little too low.
• Adding waypoints to an itinerary seems to take several steps more than it ought to, especially since you need to calculate the new route, then go back and adjust if you want to take or avoid a specific road in the middle. The new waypoint seems to always be added to the end of the list as a destination, requiring that you edit it at least a few times to move it to the correct position in your route and change it from a destination to waypoint.
• I wish the winding roads route option would let you select how winding you wanted when using it. As it is, I had to jump into the settings several levels deep to find the slider and adjust it. I wish there were an option to have the slider appear each time you chose to ask for a winding route, as there are times I wanted a very scenic back route, and times I just wanted to avoid the major highways.
• The Rider shows a green battery icon when it is fully charged, regardless of if it is still being powered or not. It would be nice to have some indication that it's still receiving power even though the battery is charged. The only way you find out if it's not getting power is once the (very small) battery icon drains enough that it starts changing from green to yellow.
• Default zoom levels - I would prefer to have the 3D map zoomed out a little bit more than the Rider defaults to, and it doesn't seem to save the zoom level for very long. After a little while, it resets to a closer zoom, meaning upcoming POI, crossroads, and turns don't show up for very long on the screen.

The good stuff!

My complaints aside, I was really happy to have the Rider on my trip! It was a great purchase, and I don't regret it at all. Not having it would have made things much more difficult.

• I still need to get the dock wired up for permanent power, but I was able to use a USB cord to keep the Rider powered while riding.
• Brightness - In full, direct sun, the screen was a bit washed out, but still readable. It could have been brighter, but it was usable, even with a dark sun shield in place. My Nuvi 255w would not have been usable.
• Route planning and re-routing on the fly... Quite simply, this was amazing. The interface was a little clunky, but it didn't take too long to get used to, and I was able to get the Rider to route me where I wanted with only a few minutes of itinerary creation. This is directly on the GPS itself, no computer involved.
• Waterproof! One day of traveling was in the pouring rain, it was really nice to be able to use the GPS without having to cover it with a plastic bag.
• In general, I also really liked the screen layout, and how information was presented. The ability to always display the compass is a great option: I always hated how my Garmin would only show the compass info when I wasn't following a route.

I've got a lot to catch up on in the next couple weeks, but I hope to be able to provide more feedback on the SENA syncing option and such once I've had a chance to update the Rider and get some more riding in.

-Alec

I've had my new Rider for a few weeks now and used it on a 2700 mile 4 day trip using the winding roads feature exclusively. I'm really happy that I waited for this unit. It's easy to use, very intuitive menus, has a good mounting system and it took me down some nice roads.

Just got mine. As far as direct sun light- if you go options on the 3rd page there is "change pap colors", select "advanced" , and scroll- you will find the option for "Sunlight visble colours" that works great for daylight.
Winding roads took me on some real nice roads. the mount works great, very secure. So far like it a lot.

Hey Guys!

Got my Rider 5 a couple of weeks ago and I'm very enthousiastic, especially the winding roads option!

The basic RAM-mount which comes standard is not my final way to install the device on my bike.

Any experience here how to install the Rider 5 onto you bike in a more slick way?

Especially KTM 950/990 pictures are appreciated!


'04 KTM 950 Adventure (orange)

Hey SRAdventure,

I use on of these on the handlebar clamp bolts: http://www.whitehorsegear.com/ram-mount-bolt-on-ball-base

There are a bunch of other options at http://www.whitehorsegear.com/mounts?cat=83 as well.

-Alec

I use the handlebar mount which is a U bolt but use a longer adaptor- the one on the second link to Whitehorse, so the GPS is located higher then it would be on the short adaptor that came with the unit. This setup keeps the dashboard clear of obstraction and puts it right at line of sight. a litttle clancky but works great. I use the Rider on both my Ulysses and M-2 Cyclone.

Finally I've made a solution myself (together with a friend, he's better with installing en inventing 😃.

I'm very satisfied with the results!

What do you guys think?


'04 KTM 950 Adventure (orange)

Thanks!


'04 KTM 950 Adventure (orange)