Is the new Tom Tom Rider FINALLY here?

[escapefjrtist]

Always balked at the price of the MC specific GPS units. Been using a cheapo hand-me-down Nuvi from the SO w/o many capabilities...this one might push me to a MC specific unit.

Keep the reviews and feedback coming y'all. Maybe Santa will visit early this year!

--G

 

[TomInPA]

I'm still using a Garmin Streetpilot with Bluetooth, XM receiver and 2014.2 maps. I can't justify the cost of the Zumo 660 that this Tom Tom unit competes with. It is a temptation.

One of the navigation methods I use is to set a distant destination and set the unit to avoid interstates. Does the Tom Tom have a similar navigation option?

 

[CheesyRider]

I'm intrigued by the "winding roads" feature. Is it any good?

 

[majicmaker]

One of the navigation methods I use is to set a distant destination and set the unit to avoid interstates. Does the Tom Tom have a similar navigation option?

Tom/Cheesy, that's what the "Plan winding route" bottom does. It says: This will plan a route that gets you out of the city as quickly as possible while "Trying" to avoid highways. If the interstate has some sweepers in it, it'll make you ride them. If not, it will "Try" to keep you off them. I think that's as good as it gets.
Edit: I went through all the options and found a button that says "Winding route preference" it says: Minor roads offer more bends in the road than Major roads but take longer. Major roads will make more use of highways. I clicked it and its a slide button just like turning off your iPhone. On the left side it's Minor roads. On the right side it's Major roads. You can slide the button to each end or anywhere in between.

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

One of the navigation methods I use is to set a distant destination and set the unit to avoid interstates. Does the Tom Tom have a similar navigation option?

Tom, that's what the "Plan winding route" bottom does. It says: This will plan a route that gets you out of the city as quickly as possible while "Trying" to avoid highways. If the interstate has some sweepers in it, it'll make you ride them. If not, it will "Try" to keep you off them. I think that's as good as it gets.
Edit: I went through all the options and found a button that says "Winding route preference" it says: Minor roads offer more bends in the road than Major roads but take longer. Major roads will make more use of highways. I clicked it and its a slide button just like turning off you iPhone. On the last side it's Minor roads. On the right side it's Major roads. You can slide the button to each end or anywhere in between.

Thats some cool stuff right there. Wish I had one before taking off for CFO / EOM next week.

 

[majicmaker]

One of the navigation methods I use is to set a distant destination and set the unit to avoid interstates. Does the Tom Tom have a similar navigation option?

Tom, that's what the "Plan winding route" bottom does. It says: This will plan a route that gets you out of the city as quickly as possible while "Trying" to avoid highways. If the interstate has some sweepers in it, it'll make you ride them. If not, it will "Try" to keep you off them. I think that's as good as it gets. Edit: I went through all the options and found a button that says "Winding route preference" it says: Minor roads offer more bends in the road than Major roads but take longer. Major roads will make more use of highways. I clicked it and its a slide button just like turning off you iPhone. On the last side it's Minor roads. On the right side it's Major roads. You can slide the button to each end or anywhere in between.

Thats some cool stuff right there. Wish I had one before taking off for CFO / EOM next week.

That's exactly what I said about 4 months ago. I pre-ordered it through Amazon and hoped for the best. It showed up in the mail box last month. It's Sweeeet!! I'll let you play with it at EOM. )
Edit: they might be in stock now. Give it a try. You might get lucky and have it before you take off.

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

One of the navigation methods I use is to set a distant destination and set the unit to avoid interstates. Does the Tom Tom have a similar navigation option?

Tom, that's what the "Plan winding route" bottom does. It says: This will plan a route that gets you out of the city as quickly as possible while "Trying" to avoid highways. If the interstate has some sweepers in it, it'll make you ride them. If not, it will "Try" to keep you off them. I think that's as good as it gets. Edit: I went through all the options and found a button that says "Winding route preference" it says: Minor roads offer more bends in the road than Major roads but take longer. Major roads will make more use of highways. I clicked it and its a slide button just like turning off you iPhone. On the last side it's Minor roads. On the right side it's Major roads. You can slide the button to each end or anywhere in between.

Thats some cool stuff right there. Wish I had one before taking off for CFO / EOM next week.

That's exactly what I said about 4 months ago. I pre-ordered it through Amazon and hoped for the best. It showed up in the mail box last month. It's Sweeeet!! I'll let you play with it at EOM. )
Edit: they might be in stock now. Give it a try. You might get lucky and have it before you take off.

I'm leaving for CFO Thursday morning before EOM so I don't think there is any chance of getting one here that quick. Even less of a chance of me figuring out how it works on such short notice.

 

[majicmaker]

Understood. I've had it for a while now and I haven't put a dent into all it can do.

 

[mcatrophy]

I'm intrigued by the "winding roads" feature. Is it any good?

I commented on the "winding roads" feature on my TT Pro here.

It sounds as if the wording used has been adapted for the American market (we don't have "interstates" here in the UK 'cos we don't have states!), but I expect the results are similar.

I use its "Winding Roads" much of the time for my "fun" riding (and sometimes for my non-fun rides to make them a bit funner).

 

[NightShine]

I had the original TomTom Rider, replacing that with the Rider 2 when the original's mounting cradle died its designed-in death. My Rider 2 has been very solid. It just won't die and force me to replace it. May eventually have to leave it behind just due to losing out on new and useful innovations.

My only peeve with it is the very annoying and superfluous directions while on the slab. Each exit you pass on the freeway is announced with a "Keep left ahead." "Stay in the left lane." When all it really means is, "Hey, idiot. Don't take this upcoming exit." "No. Don't turn off here". Cuts out the music on each announcement, and obscures the bigger, more important "positional awareness" picture. Like "Gee, how far ahead before I do have to turn off?"

Anyway, it sounds like this new unit is an improvement:

• Bigger screen
• More routing options
• Good pricing
• Mo' better everything

I see the new unit gets rid of the SD card. How much flash memory (map storage) is built in? And does it now charge off-bike using its USB port?

Hmm. I have a birthday coming up...

 

[majicmaker]

Yep! That thing where it tells you not to turn at the next big intersection is silly but, I'm used to it. Don't know about the map storage space. It must be in the brochure somewhere and yes, it comes with a wall charger and USB cable to charge it in the house.

 

[TomInPA]

One of the navigation methods I use is to set a distant destination and set the unit to avoid interstates. Does the Tom Tom have a similar navigation option?

Tom, that's what the "Plan winding route" bottom does. It says: This will plan a route that gets you out of the city as quickly as possible while "Trying" to avoid highways. If the interstate has some sweepers in it, it'll make you ride them. If not, it will "Try" to keep you off them. I think that's as good as it gets. Edit: I went through all the options and found a button that says "Winding route preference" it says: Minor roads offer more bends in the road than Major roads but take longer. Major roads will make more use of highways. I clicked it and its a slide button just like turning off you iPhone. On the last side it's Minor roads. On the right side it's Major roads. You can slide the button to each end or anywhere in between.

Thats some cool stuff right there. Wish I had one before taking off for CFO / EOM next week.

That's exactly what I said about 4 months ago. I pre-ordered it through Amazon and hoped for the best. It showed up in the mail box last month. It's Sweeeet!! I'll let you play with it at EOM. )
Edit: they might be in stock now. Give it a try. You might get lucky and have it before you take off.

Thanks for the feedback on the Winding Roads feature. This might indeed be a Garmin killer. I have navigated over 1000 miles at a time using Garmin's avoid major roads feature, but the sliding scale seems like it could result in more logical routing than the absolute avoidance the Garmin results in. Neither the Fastest Route nor Shortest Distance has ever gottem me what I wanted in GPS navigation. Winding Road could be the answer.

 

[mcatrophy]

... Don't know about the map storage space...

4GB. Reference here. Twice my TT Pro.

 

[majicmaker]

... Don't know about the map storage space...

4GB. Reference here. Twice my TT Pro.

Thanks, MC. That's good to know. That's a whole lot of space! It'll come in handy. I'm going to use that quite a bit.

 

[NightShine]

... Don't know about the map storage space...

4GB. Reference here. Twice my TT Pro.

Lots of good bits to read on the forum you reference, mc. Thanks!

 

[Bruno]

I recently bought a TomTom Rider. Took it out twice and am extremely dissappointed. After the 1st time I thought I must've missed something in the manual for toggeling the map auto-zoom on/off but now I don't think so.

Most of my riding is for pleasure, not necessarily having a destination or needing direction. I like being able to see 5/10/20 miles, or more, down the road and be able to see upcoming road intersections and towns. My TomTom Rider allows me to zoom out but when I do, it stops displaying road names/numbers, city names, and sometimes roads altogether, including the road I'm on. Then, after a few seconds it zooms back in to a point where just a few blocks is displayed - I don't care about this info unless I'm in town or need to turn soon - hell, I can see intersections/turns ahead of me before they're displayed on the Rider! Also, the view doesn't indicate a scale so you can judge any distance. I keep hoping that I'm just being stupid and have been searching for help but I think this might be TomTom's intention. I've learned from TomTom's forum that some users had complained about this auto-zoom on other models and TomTom reacted with a software update to provide an on/off toggle but my Rider is up-to-date and still frustrates the hell out of me.

Anyone have similar experience or suggestions?

 

[richsp51]

Spud, thanks for the post. Like you, I currently have a Rider 2 and have had it since it first come to the marketplace. I agree it's solid. While it does have some limitations such as Bruno's comments regarding the Zoom capabilities, the biggest problems are that you cannot get map updates and the very limited headset compatibility, TomTom basically abandoned the Rider 2. All said, the Rider 2 was great for the price at the time and it appears the same goes for the new Rider.

As far as the argument regarding a purpose built motorcycle GPS vs. smartphone GPS capability, it's been well discussed but one thing I can add (maybe already stated, but I didn't see it) is that unless you have a data plan (which I do NOT) using a smartphone GPS is going to cost you! (I use Ptel pay-as-you-go, 5 cents a min. talk and 2 cents a text !)

 

[Just Krusen]

Tomtom Rider Revue

I just jumped ship. After 7 years and 175,000 with my Garmin Zumo 550 I decided to give the new Tomtom Rider a try. The TTR like the Zumo series is a motorcycle specific GPS. And like the Zumo it comes with everything you need to mount it to your motorcycle. Also like the Zumo the TTR is waterproof so there is no need for baggies or putting the unit away when the rains threaten. I liked my Zumo 550 but it's on death row and I did not want to send it back to Garmin again for the 3rd time. Garmin has been great with the repairs in the past with quick and free service. I don't think they had my unit for more than a week either time. I'm looking forward to trying out the new Rider. At the price $349. (half of the new Zumo 390LM) it has a lot of features, many seem better than what Garmin offers at this time. We'll see.

Fast forward. I sent my TTR back a few days ago after giving it a 6 day trial. Can't beat the no cost 30 day trial from The Home Shopping Network.

I feel that I spent more than enough time trying to learn the new GPS but I could not get past some of it’s shortcomings. Hell the TTR has a compass that has east and west wrong. The processor is much slower than any Garmin I have ever used and I've had many models since 1990 when I started using them on my boat. The worst thing was that it could not even follow the simple route I programmed for Saturday’s ride to Honda of Winter Haven. In the middle of the ride I could not get it to finish the route for the last 50 miles. It kept sending me back to the route stating point no matter what I told it. Coming from a Garmin I found the menu structure to complicated. Way too many steps just to load a route. I think it was 10 button pushes to load the route and another 5 just to cancel it. While following the route I created (before it caused a problem) I hit the gas station quick link button and TTR locked up and shut the unit off. I restarted and tried again only to get the same results. At the gas station I tried it again and it worked fine, but who cares I'm already here. At lunch we were only 3 miles from our destination but no matter what I did the TTR took me back to the start of the route (Ft Myers) and then back to where I was, 190 miles. Good thing I'm not stupid enough to follow it. Just backing out of the menu structure was a pain. Garmin uses one back button, and if you hold it in it will back all the way out to the main menu. TTR has you using several different buttons and a whole bunch of tapping to do the same thing. On the way home I just hit the home button and the route worked OK. It's idea of the fastest way home and mine were slightly different but nothing worth griping about. I did like the fact that roads were named with both route number and name. I never liked Garmin's using name only for major routes. The TTR has a winding road routing feature that seemed to pick some interesting routes. The simulations I ran at home were actually similar to routes I would have chosen, especially the ones in the mountains. That was pretty cool. It also is Bluetooth only which is of no value to me. But, Garmin is going the same route on some of its new models now also. I don’t listen to my GPS as I find it annoying so none of that matters to me and I did not test it.

I am very picky about the GPS units I use on my bikes. The Tomtom Rider just did not make the cut for me. I would not recommend this unit if you were in the market. Better to bite the bullet and get a Zumo 660 or 390. Or get the cheaper Nuvi line with a supply of baggies for when it rains. Stay tuned next month to see what route I decided to take next.

==================================================================

Zumo 390

I have a new 390 on my bike now. I had a 550 and it only lasted 7+ years and about 175,000 miles.

I bought mine from the GPS Store. With the TPMS package I basically got 1 monitor for free.
GA01186S Garmin Zumo 390LM Tire Pressure Monitor Bundle 1 $764.99

The TPMS can be used to monitor up to 4 tires. It can be used on trikes & MCs with trailers. The monitors are not numbered until you put the labels on them. They can be set up for any pressure you want. You set both the max and minimum pressures where YOU want them, not some percentage. It works very well and even graphs and records the pressure. It's also not intrusive on the GPS screen unless you have a low pressure. To check pressure you need to change to another screen.

I did not want to spend this much on a GPS but now I'm happy that I did. I don't do baggies so that was never an option. The unit works. Curvy roads seems to pick routes that I would normally choose (tested in the mountains). But here in south FL it does not do very much other than avoid interstates. I do not use the bluetooth features or do I listen to the GPS so I have no comments about them, but there is an audio out jack on the unit.

I hope my 390 lasts as long or longer than my old 550. If it does I'll consider it worth the price. If not, what choice did I really have?

I did buy a new TomTom Rider just before getting the 390. Used it on 1 ride and sent it back. I thought it was a major POS. The interface was hard to work with and it did not even want to follow a simple route that I created. Even at half the cost of the 390 it was $400 overpriced.

Ed “Just Kruse’n”

 

[Hudson]

I am a GPS junkie, with four currently in my collection. So far, Garmin seems to offer the best routing, editing, and map support. The older Zumo is the most glove friendly, but the Montana is my current fav. If you use it on multiple vehicles, and mix on-road and off road/topo maps, nothing comes close. Map support is great, you can use Basecamp software to verify a route you created in Streets and Trips will actually work, and you can set up macro buttons to avoid complicated multiple steps.

But... it doesn't have Bluetooth. so what, I says. The new headsets will pair directly to your phone, and other than lack of XM support, why would you really need Bluetooth via your Zumo?

Not a fan of the phone as a GPS.

 

[hppants]

Great thread - fantastic "real world" info.

Here's my beef:

I can't understand why Tom Tom won't play fair with google? I want to be able to create a route in Googlemaps, which is by far the most accurate map on the planet, coupled with the easiest way to create a route. I then want to export/import that Google route directly into the Tom Tom without any back door aftermarket, kid in the basement programming crap that likely comes with bucket loads of spam and viruses and by the way, doesn't work worth a darn anyway. Then, if it's not asking too much, I want the Tom Tom to direct me on that EXACT route without any deviation. If I choose to deviate myself, I want to be able to tell the Tom Tom to put me back on the route and resume it.

Save it - the mapping/routing software that comes with the Tom Tom is absolute BUSH! At least 20% of the roads depicted are inaccurate, and I'll be dammed if I can understand how that itinerary feature works. I tried using that package on my current TM50 and it guided me directly into a sugar cane field.

The Garmin map software looks more decent, but Garmin rapes you with the map updates and the rest of the user interface is very hard to follow for me.

So for now, I've got a cheap Tom Tom and a Ziploc bag. I design my routes at home and print turn by turn directions. I then bring the State road map and hope for the best.

My research indicates that I am NOT alone in my thoughts. One would think that world-wide corporations would invest a few pennies into listening to what their customers are saying about their product, and translating that into research and development.

Rant over.