Product Review
TomTom Rider MSRP: $600
The rider made headlines in 2005 as the first GPs designed specifically for motorcycles. it was touted as having the right bells and whistles: a plug-andplay interface, preloaded maps and a substantial points-of-interest (Poi) database. But being the first has downsides, too-like not having the benefit of previous models to work out the kinks. so when we tested the rider last month we found plenty to crow about but also a few things to fault.
The rider comes packaged with a mounting kit, power cable and Sd card, plus an Ac adapter, usB cable, carry pouch, wired headset, Bluetooth headset and reference material. With the included handlebar mount (there's also a mirror mount and an adhesive pad) we fit it onto a triumph Bonneville (note that the clamp fits only 3/4-inch bars). A special cradle holds the rider, though after a week of thrashing across voracious potholes some readjusting became necessary. too bad those small screw heads on the mounts are easily stripped.
Encased in hard plastic with rubber trim, the 4.5 x 3.6-inch rider looks like it could withstand a serious fall. tomtom says the rider is water-resistant (not waterproof), and the usB port, power socket and sD slot are safely stashed under a protective panel at the bottom. you have to press the power switch on the side pretty hard, but after that just pop in the sD card preloaded with maps of North America, and off you go.
From a cold start the unit took about a minute to nab a satellite signal. The rider's 3.5-inch touch screen is crisp even in sunlight thanks to the built-in visor. Hitting menu icons was a breeze with summer gloves, but it was a different story with thicker ones-typing in street names meant having to ditch the mitts if we wanted any kind of accuracy on the detailed screens.
En route you get 2-D and 3-D maps and information such as speed, time and instructions displayed onscreen. text and voice-guided directions supplement this, while options like trip time, distance and arrival time can also be selected. the comprehensive Poi database has listings for banks, gas stations and more.
Voice prompts get shunted through the included headset, but we found that setup uncomfortable and with subpar sound quality. so we paired the rider with the Nolan N-com Bluetooth helmet we were testing, and everything worked like a charm. the integrated Bluetooth also provides for hands-free calling on your cell, but for annoying safety reasons the rider won't let you make calls or use navigation features when the bike's rolling (though you can take incoming calls).
With its state-of-the-art sirFstariii chipset the rider consistently pinpointed our location, but the maps were just oK. in some cases secondary street names were off, and occasionally the rider calculated insane routes to our destination. some of the Pois were outdated, too. on the upside, automatic route recalculation was lightning-fast. If we missed an exit it immediately refreshed with an alternate route. real-time traffic info is offered as well with a subscription to tomtom's Plus services.
The rider claims five hours of battery life, and we got just that on a single charge. overall we'd rate the rider a solid navigation tool for motorcyclists, though the 2nd edition seems more refined (albeit pricey-generation one can be found on sale for about $500, while the 2nd edition retails for $700). either way there's stiff competition from the Garmin Zumo. -AC
Dimensions:
3.6 x 4.6 x 2.3 inches, 11 ounces
Screen:
3.5-inch tFt touch screenMemory:
32 mB internal, plus SD card
Addendum: Just after we wrote this the rider 2nd edition was released. it's virtually identical to the generation one unit we tested, though it adds features that address most of our beefs. the 2nd edition rider comes with rAm universal mounting hardware to fit almost any bike and a cardo scala-rider wireless headset we're sure will greatly improve audio quality. tomtom says the power button has also been tweaked, and the "new" rider is waterproof to the iPX7 standard, which means the device should be functional even when submerged for 30 minutes.