TomTom Rider

Thanks again. I will watch closely. SMH10-11 was my second choice and will be the way I go if the Autocom does not work.

The earlier Tomtoms have serious issues with the docking stations.
From the pictures it looks like they are using the same solution.

The problem is that the docking station doesn't lock down the GPS unit solid.
It allows it to wiggle.
In a street application this might be OK, but any offroading and this wiggling will get you into problem.

The docking station has a number of spring loaded pins that transfer power and signal to the GPS. The GPS has an equal number of receiving plates.
The wiggling will make the pins wear against the plates until there is a hole in them, and very erratic contact.

I have also been through 3 docking stations since they stopped delivering power.

The plates in the GPS are attached directly to the circuit board and not a spare.

TomTom has added the Rider to their US website:

http://www.tomtom.com/en_us/product...motorbike-rider-series/tomtom-rider/index.jsp

They haven't listed a release date yet. The new Rider also isn't yet listed on TomTom's Support area. It is listed under the accessories area, but there are no actual accessories under the 2013 Rider category yet.

TomTom just posted on their forum that the official release/shipping date for the new Rider in the US is May 15th.

I'll review mine once it arrives.

You're not listening are you?

(or maybe affiliated)

You talkin' to me?

I've never owned a TomTom, and I don't work for them.

I saw your post about the dock, but I'm not planning on off-roading. I'm hoping the new version is more robust. Thank you for your warning? Is that what you were looking for?

Just keep a close look for it while you still have warranty.

I have two friends who also have been through the worn out contacts and voltage regulator thingy. I thought the whole thing had scared TomTom away from the bike scene. They haven't had a booth at the bike shows the last 3 years.

Best of luck.

Will do!

Hopefully the new mount just looks similar, but has new electronics inside it.

My contacts wore out in two years of street riding. It's a damn stupid system.

Anyone know whether there's any Mac-based route planning application/software available for this? I know an earlier post mentioned that the Rider software is Monoposoft only. For those of us with defenestraphobia, is there a Mac OS-based Rider route planning app? Or, can one import routes/tracks developed in some other application (or, say, Mapquest) into the Tom Tom?

I am looking at getting the touratech mount if I get the Rider. My hopes are that it will provide more cushioning and/or will hold the unit more secure thus alleviating the whole worn pin/contact problem.

Sounds like a good plan, one I might have to consider...

Have you checked with Touratech on if any of their existing Rider Mounts will work with the Rider 5? My guess is that they won't, as the dock and GPS size are different than the Rider or Rider 2. If they won't, when does Touratech plan on releasing a mount for the Rider 5?

The Touratech mounts look pretty robust, but wow, almost $300 for a Rider 2 MvG locking mount and mounting bar... How much Unobtanium goes into each Touratech product?

-Alec

FiveG;

I've been thinking about your question. I'd offer to test this, but my Mac is down for the count right now - I need a new HD or a new computer (Original Core Duo MacBook Black).

The company that created Tyre would love to make a Mac version, but don't seem to have the resources to do so any time soon:

If I get my MacBook working again after I have my Rider, I'll try to test what works. If you can run Tyre in Wine or Parallels or VMWare Fusion that's probably easiest, but means running Windows on your Mac...

I don't see an option in MapQuest to save a route as a GPX file. It has an option to export to a Garmin GPS, but that seems to require a Garmin plugin be installed on the computer. If that plugin lets you just save the file as a GPX format so you can import it to the TomTom, then that should work. But if that plugin needs a Garmin GPS plugged in so it can immediately push the route onto the Garmin, it won't help.

GroupRider.com should work, as you can create a route with waypoints and save it as a GPX file. Their site says they are about to go through a major change in the next few weeks though. You might need to convert the GPX file to an ITN file for the TomTom, though I believe there's some ability for the TomTom to do that for you for simple GPX files containing only a single route.

If I think of anything else, I'll add it here.

-Alec

Any word on these yet? They were supposed to hit the shelves on the 15th.

Buyers be aware, the "new" Tomtom rider doesn't support A2DP, so you can't listen to music from your phone, the lady telling you directions is in a tin can at times, very unstable sound quality, you can make phone calls thru the rider, but I haven't had the opportunity to test that in a real life traffic situation. I didn't even think that there would be a bluetooth item released in 2013 that doesn't support A2DP, heck, even iPhone does, but that is the case.... I got the ScalaRider G9, and a Samsung S3, when they are connected together, I got a fairly OK sound quality, it's no hi-fi but OK, but when the Tomtom is connected, the woman talking to me is everything in between OK, to beeing hardly understandable due to brittle sound quality. I got my Rider yesterday, and did a test ride today, about 80 miles, and I'm considering putting it up for sale, that's how impressed I am.....

Tried and tried, yes, I used it to make the trip today, but knowing the roads in this area it did an interesting calculation, not necessarily in a bad way, but it made the trip more of "a ride just to ride" kind of way, then to get from A to B on some more biker friendly roads, but it got potential, need to test it a little bit more....

Just so you know, Garmin's Zumo 350LM is the same way. And from what I understand, you can't play your phone's music *through* one of the Garmins that support A2DP, you have to upload your songs to the Garmin itself. I'm not 100% sure on this, so someone feel free to tell me I'm wrong.

From an engineering standpoint, it's much easier to design a device that only has to support HSP/HFP. Since smart phones and bluetooth headsets that do A2DP can talk directly to one another for music the GPS doesn't need to, you only need to get directions from the GPS into your helmet or maybe use it as a caller ID display.

I replied on the TomTom Forums to your post with some options that might help the Rider (or Zumo 350LM) work for you. They were written up for another person with a G4 and iPhone, but should apply to your headset and phone as well.

The Sena SMH10 allows for Media Selective Pairing, which opens up another option. If the G9 or S3 can force A2DP *only* pairing, then you could do: S3 -HSP- Rider -HSP- G9 and S3 -A2DP- G9 to use the Rider as your caller ID display and control outbound dialing. If they don't support it now, you could open a support case with Scala to ask them to add that capability.

Hope that helps.

-Alec

I am playing with the bluetooth connections now, and it seems like I can't manage to get the cellphone to "speak" to two units at the same time, I play a bit more and see if I can figure something out, the limit I guess would be the priority of bluetooth channels on the scalarider, if I could pair my phone directly to the scalarider, but still get the GPS messages in there in some way, it would be great, I might need to email Cardo systems and ask if they have an idea, if you could kind of rate the channels like this:

1: GPS directions
2: cellphone
3: intercom

that would have been awesome, caller ID is the least important feature in it all as far as I can see....

Edit: I've been reading on the Scalarider home page, it seems like it's possible to set it up as I'm hoping.....

I did some more riding today, and you can adjust the level of the winding route, I tried the middle setting today, and it works OK, it's more like avoid motorways, but get there in a descent time...

Other then that, I bet the sat nav market is ready for a android based motorcycle GPS unit, where you can use Google maps navigation features, the new waterproof Sony smart phones must be quite a good deal if you get an app that let's you make motorcycle friendly easy navigation, and support for the topo maps, an a good powered mount....

Skickat från min Nexus 7 via Tapatalk 2

I actually got tired of waiting on found the Garmin Montana on sale for $449 and bought it. Very happy with is so far and still much cheaper than the $600 + Zumo line while not being too much higher than the TomTom.

Hope everything works great for those who purchase the Rider. I have a car unit and have had zero problems with it so hopefully the stories that have been posted throughout this thread have been addressed accordingly.