Motorcycle

Is the TomTom Motorcycle GPS Worth It?   by Derrick Bogaster

The TomTom Rider is one of two GPS units that have been designed and built for use on motorcycles. It was the original GPS device launched on the market and was a hybrid of TomTom’s successful car GPS units.

The TomTom Rider is water resistant and the mobile phone hands free feature means that you can pair the Rider with a compatible Bluetooth headset to receive and deliver calls. When using this feature, you will hear the sound in your Bluetooth helmet headset and the telephone number and caller’s name will appear on the display.

Some people have reported difficulties using the LCD 3.5 inch full color touch screen while wearing thick motorcycle gloves. The larger icons can be easy to use but the more detailed displays (such as when choosing the street address to travel to) can be difficult to use when you have gloves on. Therefore, you may have to input the address without gloves before you start your ride.

Along with the GPS unit, the Rider package includes: a Bluetooth headset, reference material, screen wipe cloth, an SD card, AC adapter, USB cable, 12 volt-power cable, wired headset and mounting kit.

The mounting kit has four pieces and can be installed on your handlebar, a mirror or a flat surface with an adhesive mount. All these options will securely and safely hold your unit to your bike even over the most rough terrain. A 12-volt power cable can also be attached using the mount in order to have constant battery charging, but this may be difficult to attach with out professional help.

The TomTom rider’s downsides? The Bluetooth headset has poor sound quality and could be improved. The screen could have been a little bigger with larger icons and the hooded sun protection case could have been a little longer to shade more of the screen. The POI database is out of date and can give the wrong street address or street names at times.

The TomTom Rider can sustain five hours of battery life, and that’s possible on a single charge. If you let it sit for a week without powering up, it will still have a half-charge left the next time you turn it on. The Rider feels like it can surpass knocks and bumps that it is inevitably expected to experience due to daily use.

While the TomTom rider does have some issues, it is a very tough, hardy and capable navigation unit for use on a motorcycle. The Bluetooth integration is a nice touch that will probably be soon picked up by other brands. Its just a pity that the Bluetooth headset is of average quality. But all in all, the TomTom rider is very much worth it and you should do some investigating for yourself.

About the Author

Attention all motorbike riders! Find fantastic online bargains at Derrik Bogaster’s Motorcycle GPS Shop. There are fantastic GPS devices and popular names such as TomTom Rider, Garmin and others on sale everyday.
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