Review by David B. Cass for TomTom Rider 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Motorcycle Navigator
Rating:
Overall, I’m extremely pleased with this unit. The GPS directions are spot on. The convenience of having a GPS on a motorcycle can’t be overstated. There’s no such thing as reading a map while riding, and unless you can memorize the directions you printed off the Internet, they’re no good to you.

In searching for a GPS, I looked at a lot of different units that are currently on the market. There are a variety of different features, and a wide range of prices, this particular one being in the high end.

Top on my list of features were water resistance, route mapping, and spoken directions. This model has each of these. In addition, it has some motorcycle-specific features (included mounting hardware, glove-on menu selections, etc.) that make it great for a biker.

Overall, I’m extremely pleased with the purchase and would buy the same product again.

That said, I have some nit-picky things worth mentioning.

One of the things that sold me on the TomTom RIDER was the fact that it had a motorcycle-specific bracket included. The bracket itself is fine. When the GPS is not in place, though, the pins from the power connection are exposed, albeit somewhat blocked by the cradle itself. This aspect is definitely not waterproof. I’m hoping I don’t find out the hard way how easy it could be to short the pins out and blow a fuse. (See the user picture I uploaded.) I’m probably going modify my installation to add a toggle switch somewhere on the bike so there’s not power running to the cradle when it isn’t in use. I’m also going to add an in-line fuse, which also isn’t included. (I’m drawing power from the headlight bucket. I wouldn’t mind blowing a fuse and losing power to the GPS, but I can’t afford the risk of losing my headlights if the pins ever do short out.)

The power connection for the cradle leaves the individual wires showing at the connection point. The casing isn’t attached to the connector, so it slides back and exposes the wires inside. (See my photo.) I’m not sure what the purpose of a casing around the wires is if it doesn’t go the entire distance. I guess I’m going to have to use some electrical tape or possibly some heat-shrink tubing on it.

Tip from a frustrated installer: install the power cord onto the cradle before putting any of the mounting hardware on the cradle. The snap-in connector is so close to the mounting plate, it’s impossible to get it to snap in place with the plate installed on the cradle. I had the cradle completely installed on the bike when I ran the battery connector, and had to remove it and start again from scratch.

Also, when installing the power cable to the cradle, the installation instructions have no indication of which color wire goes to hot and which to ground. (In fact, other than appearing in the list of items included in the package, there’s no mention of the power cable anywhere in either the quick install instructions or user manual.) There was a black wire and a red wire, so I just had to assume red was hot. Nothing has blown up, so I guess I got it right.

When researching my purchase, I thought the bluetooth connection between the GPS and the helmet was a great feature. The down side to it, though, is that it’s a second thing that has to be charged. So, even if your GPS has a direct connection to the bike’s power source, you’re still limited by how long the headset holds a charge.

The GPS and headset share a single charger. You have to charge them one at a time.

There’s no speaker jack on the unit itself or the cradle. You have to use the bluetooth device to hear the directions. If using an intercom system on the bike, and desiring to connect the GPS to that intercom, you’ll need to use a patch cable between the bluetooth receiver and the intercom. This means the receiver needs to be installed somewhere accessible because (a) it still needs to be recharged after use, and (b) it needs to be turned on and off. Many intercom systems install beneath the seat, and aren’t readily accessible. (Prior to purchase, I emailed a question to TomTom asking if there was any intercom system that would interface with the RIDER using bluetooth. I also asked them if the optional additional receiver were purchased, if both headsets could hear the instructions at once. The answer in both cases was “no.”)

The car version of the cradle isn’t available yet. The description says, “Speakers not included” so I’m not sure if it will be necessary to wear the earpiece while using the GPS in a car, or if it will be possible to connect speakers. Connecting to speakers will probably require use of the bluetooth receiver and a patch cable. I’m still crossing my fingers, though, that the automobile bracket for the RIDER, unlike the motorcycle version, will have an audio out jack on it.

At 100% volume, the voice prompts can be heard okay at 50-55 MPH. At higher speeds, though, it becomes difficult. It is also more difficult to hear if you are in a group of bikes. I notice that the ear-piece is rather slim; I may just need to put some more foam behind it to bring it a little closer to my ear. (I’ve got an HJC helmet with built in earpiece pockets. They may be too deep.)

I don’t have a cell phone. Even if it did, though, the microphone that comes with the RIDER is designed only for full-face helmets. I wouldn’t be able to use it with my 3/4 helmet, as there’s no boom on the mike. There’s no compatibility chart on the TomTom web site to indicate if the unit will work with any of the bluetooth-enable helmets that have become available recently.

The unit comes with a small protective case to keep it in when it isn’t in use. (This isn’t the same as the leather one advertised as an accessory.) There’s no pocket or pouch to accommodate the bluetooth receiver and patch cable, though. I usually wind up sticking them inside my helmet.

I have the earpiece installed permanently inside my helmet, with the connector sticking out just slightly in the back. There’s no room inside my helmet for the receiver to fit comfortably. The receiver has an alligator clip on it, but I’m not sure what they’re thinking I’m going to clip it to, my leathers? I usually put it in an inside pocket and run the wire down through the neck opening. It would be nice to be able to just attach it to the side of the helmet, however, the location of the alligator clip, buttons, and power indicators don’t leave a surface large enough for a piece of double-sided tape.

Even with all this nit picking, I still would have given the unit five stars.

Here’s my biggest complaint: TomTom’s Customer Support, or lack thereof. When I got my unit, there was a technical problem with the secure data card that contains the US & Canada maps. This disk is required to get the unit to function. The RIDER wouldn’t recognize the card. When I put it in, it gave me a message that it wasn’t a valid TomTom disk. I couldn’t get it to read from the SD reader on my PC, either. I understand that in mass production, it is nearly impossible to find every flaw, and usually roll with the punches when I experience a problem like this. When there is a problem with a product that was missed by the quality control processes, though, as a customer, I expect the company to respond promptly to resolve that problem.

The customer support representative who answered my call to their toll free number was not able to help me with the problem. He took my contact information and informed me that a level two technician would contact me in one to two business days. This was on a Thursday. On the following Monday when I got home from work, there was a message on my answering machine giving me a mailing address and FedEx account number to return the unit for repair/replacement. While I would have much preferred to speak to someone directly during my initial phone call reporting the problem, TomTom did eventually respond and make the problem right.

Review by Jeffrey G. Nestler for TomTom Rider 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Motorcycle Navigator
Rating:
Installation was a snap. Took less than a half hour. Moving it from the bike to the car is a nice touch. You have to use the bluetooth headset for the car also but so what…with the car stereo blastin if you didn’t have a headset you’d never hear it anyway! With it plugged into one ear you can’t help but hear it. I’m COMPLETELY happy with mine! Only drawback is showing it off to everyone that sees it and wants a demo.

Review by James A. Stillman for TomTom Rider 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Motorcycle Navigator
Rating:
I am an owner of a Tom Tom Go 300 and have been nothing short of satisfied with it. I got word that Tom Tom was coming out with a motorcycle specific model and I was foaming at the mouth for it but then I saw the price $1,000+ WOW! Well needless to say I skipped on buying one. Well low and behold there is a store here called GB and they had a promotional sale and the units were going for 399.00 Euro. Even with the conversion rate of 1 Euro = $1.20 it was still $200.00 cheaper than anything I saw anywhere online. So I snatched it up. My biggest concern was the ability to transfer it from the bike to a vehicle since my wife who lives in Germany claimed stake on the 300. Also I had to make sure the maps for the 300 were compatible with it, which they are. I did a search online and nowhere was there a vehicle mount. I then went straight to Tom Tom and there it was! So for an additional $45.00 I got the mount which is very similiar to the 300 and volia! The unit itself is very very sturdy. I did run into one problem when starting it for the first time. It completely locked up on me and I had to let its batteries run all the way down. Luckily with this unit it comes with a wall charger and I was able to charge it back up and it started and booted with no problems. The interface is almost identical to the other Go products and the navigation is spot on. Tooling around Europe, esp for us Americans, can be an adventure beyond adventure but the software takes almost all (nothing is 100%) uncertainity from navigating. The mounting system I used worked pretty well. The tape used to circle your handle bars snapped several times and this led to some small frustration but in the end it worked as described. I did crack one of the mounts, it comes with but in the end I didn’t need it and it comes with three for different mounts. The wireless system works well with a full face helmet and at 100% volume, which I think you will need regardless, worked well. I do have a European Nolan helmet that is designed to accept an array of different communication systems with bluetooth capability so I will probably upgrade to one of those and utilize it in place of the one which came with it. All in all I highly recommend this unit esp for the price I paid for it.