TomTom Rider 400

Steven

Member
I bought a TomTom Rider 400 mostly because of it's claims of being able to be seen in daylight. It lives up to those claims. The only time there was a problem was when the Sun was directly behind me and low in the sky. Even then, all I had to do was block the sun a little and I could see it again.

Unlike some of the motorcycle GPS's, it has audio for voice direction, but I can't hear it over the bike and wind. It does have bluetooth connection if you have a communication device in your helmet.

It also claims that it can be controlled with gloves on, but while that is somewhat true, I don't think it's that great of a feature, nor do I want to do that while riding.

It also has a feature for finding winding roads and it does work, but sometimes it can give some strange routes. I've seen twice where it tried to guide me onto gravel roads. Still I like it. The other thing is that if your route is long, it can take forever to calculate a route.

As for the controls, it's much different than the normal GPS's I've used so there is a slight learning curve.

I also bought the locking mounting hardware and it seems to function well enough, but not well enough to leave your GPS on the bike unattended for long periods of time. The weak point is that the entire device is held on to the handle bars with a u-clamp and a pair of pliers can easily be used to remove it, given enough time. Still, if you're only going to be away from the bike for a short while it works well enough.

As for mounting the GPS, it is easy and seemingly very secure, it won't fall off the bike. The electrical connections are built into the mount.

The other thing is that the GPS can be rotated vertical or horizontally.

I'm glad to have it.
 

Merlin III

New member
I bought a TomTom Rider 400 .......................................................................................................It also has a feature for finding winding roads and it does work, but sometimes it can give some strange routes. I've seen twice where it tried to guide me onto gravel roads. Still I like it. The other thing is that if your route is long, it can take forever to calculate a route.
Let me throw this out there. I would not be surprised if buried in your settings somewhere is an "Avoidance" menu that has as an option "Avoid Gravel Roads". My ancient Garmin 500-550 has such a menu. It wasn't easy finding it and it took a trip half way across Canada on 10 percent gravel roads before I figured out why. Fortunately, I was on the GS. :)
 

ofdave

Member
You guys and your GPS crack me up.
I don't mind getting lost-you meet nice people when you ask for directions.
Problem is that you sometimes run pretty late!
 

randy1149

New member
If you want GPS communication, helmet to helmet communications, telephone communication and music all on one device here's what you need.
A bluetooth helmet.
An iPhone / Android Phone.
A FREE GPS stand alone app that does NOT need data or Wifi connection. CoPilot App here: https://copilotgps.com/us/

I have only one device (iPhone) on my bike with all the functions on that one device. The CoPilot is the one that makes this work. It's FREE, you download the maps you need to your phone so you don't need a data or wifi link to operate the GPS function. All future map updates are also free and this GPS App works as well as my Garmin. It only has one time "Voice Navigation upgrade" for $7.99. In affect get a GPS with free maps for life for $7.99. It has all the POI and search functions needed.

You don't need the Voice Nav to make the GPS work, download it give it a try without it and then decided if you want to get the Voice Nav.
 
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Steven

Member
Just FYI - The locking device that I installed works. Someone tried to lift the TomTom off the bike when I was in a store and they failed. This was the first time I left the Tomtom on the bike for any length of time (about 10 minutes) out of my sight and some jerk tried to steal it. What kind of a world do we live in? Anyhow, I think that next time I'm going to remove the device and keep it out of sight under those conditions. It's safe enough to use if the bike is in my line of sight like at a gas station, but any longer and it's just too tempting for thieves.
 
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