New Tom Tom 550 Rider

^^^ Thanks for your detailed report. Very helpful. I think this will be my next GPS :)

It’s different from Garmin, no real learning curve but just different. Not in a bad way though.


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Here are some pics of the installed unit. I moved the entire setup from one of the ztechnik steering mounts to a $25 accessory shelf that I picked up on eBay (which I am very happy with). I was lucky enough that when I went to power it, the old Garbage (Garmin) unit had been hardwired in, but it had a plug hidden way up under the fairing, so I disconnected that, pulled the old cut wiring entirely clear of the RT and was able to solder, apply dielectric silicone grease, and heat shrink wrap the entire joint...came out really nicely. I hid the long wiring way up inside the fairing tie-wrapped to the fairing mounting frame (doing so kept all the length if I want to change bikes later). Pretty easy installation.
I don’t have the security kit, but I am seriously thinking of snagging one and installing it.
If you look closely on the left side of the accessory shelf I have pre-drilled holes for another ram mount, I’m planning on popping my cell phone up there with another USB power cable running down on the opposite side to power behind the fairing. I’m going to bolt a smaller two hole ram ball to the back of an otter box belt clip and mount it that way. The otter box belt clip grips like a pissed off gorilla so I don’t foresee any problems accidentally losing it.

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^^^ thanks for the pics.

Are you able to build a route on mydrive and then modify the route on the fly or start the ride at anywhere along the route?

Not sure at this point. Haven’t been able to ride this week at all. I will see what I can report back the next time I get a chance to get out.


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Well they came back in stock on Tomtom’s site and I have one on its way.

I’m still grounded. Having to look after my six year old twins while Mom is back at work. Hopefully the week after next I can get out on the bike and do a little riding. However you should have yours by then and answer those questions you had yourself.


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Yea no worries. Sounds like you will have your hands full. Ride safe.

Finally got the 550 out for a first ride today. Planned my routes in the MyDrive app the night before, with settings for motorcycle/Thrill routing; with the Rider on & connected to WiFi it brought the saved routes over instantly from my TomTom account. Adding points along the way to get it to follow my preferred route home worked really well, and by and large it found interesting and curvy roads to take me home via (with a couple pointless detours <1/2 mile for a curve). Directions were flawless, recalculation was almost as fast as a smartphone, and charging via the USB plug worked great as well.

Only downside is that it did such a good job keeping me away from populated areas I missed out on lunch .

Haha. Might want to toss a waypoint at a lunch joint in for future rides. I actually tossed two meal stops into the first ride I did with it. Old habit from furkot.


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Thanks for the feed back. I’m looking forward to this addition to my bike.

I actually got a chance to test mine in the rain yesterday on a ride (I know...rain in Texas in August). I saw no problems at all with the screen being affected by direct rain, mist from truck tires, or any other kind of moisture.
I did notice that it does not like picking up a planned route from a point other than the original start point, it fought with itself a bit at first then settled down and was perfect. I think that using my places vs planned routes for short runs might be way easier in future rides, you can still set it for thrilling rides etc, just no set route at first. Starting from the actual start to a planned destination is flawless and gave me no trouble at all.


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Pretty sure this is my next gps, got on the tomtom site and was playing with the mapping software, seems so easy compared to Garmin, (what isn't ☺️).

It’s very easy to use. Syncing over WiFi is flawless too.


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I received mine yesterday. I took it out and played with it. The directions were great and the screen was much easier to read than my phone. But when I tried to update the unit it keeps loosing the WIFI connection and I had to power it down and forget the connections and reconnect. Anyone else have this issue?

Flawless connection to my router.

Same

You might take it somewhere and connect to another WiFi. If it doesn’t work on that one you may have a faulty unit, return it and get another. Mine has been perfect so far.


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Well I did it with another WiFi source and everything seems cool. I just need to sort out the issue with my router I think.

Can't seem to find these for sale on ebay or Amazon, anyone know where to find them? Thanks