TomTom Rider 400 Portable Motorcyle GPS - Motorcycle Navigator

UPDATE ON MY UPDATEI've now used it on several rides. It really works nicely. Very responsive to location so when it shows a turn it's because you are 'right there.' And if you miss a turn, it updates quickly. The screen is very readable in daylight. The audio is almost totally useless in motorcycle world because of road & wind noise (probably works fine in a car environment). However (1) it can bluetooth sync with compatible earphones, which is the right way to go anyway, and (2) even without the audio feature the visual display is very biker friendly and easy to follow at a glance.The RAM mounted holder for the TomTom unit is extremely secure and well-designed. It's an easy rotation even while riding to go from landscape to portrait viewing. And it is easy to unsnap the unit for taking with you when parked for food or at the end of the day on the road. The included wiring harness integrates with the holder so that snapping the unit in place automatically connects it for charging; great design feature.Accordingly, I'm 'upping' my rating now to 5 stars. (If you're keeping score: initially I had it at 2 stars, then in my first update I upped to 4 stars, now I'm at 5).UPDATE: TomTom EM'd with instructions, which I followed and got it to work. It appears that they've also fixed their PW so that you can have longer ones on both the iPhone and the 400. Then my maps were totally out of date, as was the system s/w. After an hour + of downloading onto my Mac (it DOES work with a Mac computer!) and then onto the 400 I got a failure message, which required a partial retry which did work. One CAN do route planning on the "MyDrive" s/w freely downloadable from TomTom onto the Mac and then sync it with the 400, but it takes some playing with it. The "thrill" rides have to be less than 300 miles, likely b/c of storage limitations, so you have to stage some long trips. I did succeed in getting a 3-stage 'thrill' ride from Tampa to Key West ('thrill' must be mostly taken metaphorically as the mean elevation change is about 6 feet, max). So for now I'm upping my recommendation to 4 stars.BELOW WERE MY COMMENTS FOR MY OUT OF THE BOX EXPERIENCE (UPDATE IS ABOVE).Doesn't work. Yes the screen comes on. Yes one can download the necessary TomTom app from iPhone apps store. But after all the trouble of creating an account on the TomTom app screen, and then trying to synch the unit itself with THE SAME EM AND PW it won't sync, and you cannot change your account PW, so you basically have a slave unit. And if you try to plan a trip on the unit, say to Key West, the search screen gives you various streets having the words "key" or "key west" and lock smiths that have "key" in their business name. The 400 unit itself is way too small to do any route planning on it, especially as there is (apparently) no straightforward way to just enter a city destination and just 'go.'I just do not understand why someone would configure a pretty high end technical product without designing it user friendly. I'm better off just using my iPhone with maps on my motorcycle as I did last summer, apps that cost a few dollars.(I did send TomTom my feedback; I'll see if they ever respond, and if such response is anything useful beyond the usual boilerplate / stock answer).And, BTW, it was promised for delivery, PROMISED, by 5 p.m. on April 1. Must have been a joke because I got it April 5. That itself is not the end of the world, and it is not TomTom's fault; but if you are counting on a specific delivery date (1) don't count on it, and (2) be prepared to spend some significant time trying to get the unit to sync and connect, and figuring out how to get to Key West without swinging by a couple dozen locksmiths along the way (on the other hand, that could be how their "windy road" feature works).FURTHER UPDATE AFTER NEARLY 21,000 MILES, 84 DAYS AND 35 STATES OF A GREAT SUMMER MOTORCYCLE TRIP:The unit has worked fantastically well. I have travelled all over North America, Key West to Fairbanks, and the thing has gotten me everywhere I wanted to go. My advice for travel is: 1. Select the no interstates option on the settings screen on the TomTom itself. 2. Type in the address for your destination on your iPhone (or whatever) using the provided software "MyDrive" by TomTom. 3. Ignore the planning options that the MyDrive software offers, and just click "send to device." (you have to previously pair your TomTom with your iPhone via usual Bluetooth process. 4. Then when your TomTom says it received a new destination, press on your screen "Let's Ride" (or whatever the exact wording is) after it has had a moment to process the ride. That's it. You will have a beautiful ride.You can type destinations directly into your TomTom, but: (1) the screen is small, (2) if it's raining--forget it, the drops of rain will be perceived as inputs, (3) TomTom does not have the universe of addresses that you can find on Google Maps or wherever your determined your destination so it sometimes doesn't recognize where you want to go. However, if you are for some reason having trouble with the TomTom connecting with your paired iPhone (which I've had happen about once a week), you can enter the destination on your TomTom.I've had a couple of 'freezes' on the TomTom. I just power off the TomTom and then power it back up, and it is good to go. I've had a few failures to recognize the already paired bluetooth link with my iPhone. But I restart the TomTom and cycle the Bluetooth on my iPhone on and off and somehow they find each other again.The TomTom screen has been readable in all manner of conditions day and night, and has worked in very cold rain and very hot desert conditions. I've become a huge fan of the product.I have used my iPhone with Google maps via a RAM mount, but there's no comparison as to utility or screen readability. But so far there has been (just once) an address that TomTom would not recognize and I did use Google with my iPhone (hey TomTom, there is a 118 Commerce STREET in Branson MO!).I highly highly recommend the TomTom for motorcycle touring. (and I've got another 4,000 miles to go to complete my 24,000 around the world in miles, 47 states of the US plus multiple Canadian provinces and territories, over the reaming 16 days, and I'm counting on TomTom to get me home, which I'm confident it will do.

The "buttons" on the touchscreen seem a bit small. I can't imagine them working well with winter gloves. The power switch takes a lot of pressure to power on and off - either two hands or just push it into it's mount hardware and the have to reposition it every time. There is no good way to review the whole route - like a map of the route. you can zoom in on parts, but that takes pressing the + button over and over and over....If you want simple point-to-point instructions and never see the big picture, then it's ok. You are not able to plan on the fly visually, like you don't really know where the next town is, but would like to see what's "out there." You will need a paper map or google maps on your phone....The third-party computer-based planning software that communicates with the Rider is a Windows version only. No other platforms are supported. So unless you use a PC, you don't have any planning software at all.Overall, this is a bit overpriced for what you get. My decades old Tom Tom, one of the first models (fat boy thing), does about as much as this does, except for the "thrill" ride part. Given that my old Tom Tom is still working after all these years I expect the same from this unit. But I would not buy it again and do not recommend it.After being out on a couple of trips and using TomTom to route and reroute on the go in real time I am a bit happier with it and added a star (from 3 to 4). The "thrill ride" feature is pretty nice and despite my extensive experience with local backroads TomTom found a few I had not ridden before - not the ones I chose based on maps, but pretty scenic, hilly, and curvy. The buttons push fine with riding gloves (but it's not winter yet). If you want to hear voice directions you will need earphones, earbuds, or speakers in your helmet. Getting around the menu is not intuitive - the names of things doesn't make sense until you get used to what they do. And the menu items change depending on what you are doing, or want to do, or something; it's still unclear to me how it all works.It is bright and despite glare on the glossy screen you can still see it quite well. I'm thinking a matte screen protector may help reduce the glare. Waterproof and vibration proof is nice too - I hosed down the bike without even thinking about the GPS unit.There is not enough room from handlebars to windscreen for me to be able to twist the mount and use the long-view screen, so that feature is a waste - depends on your bike and windshield I suppose.Is it worth the money? Not if you want a basic GPS to get around. If you like to ride off for the day and try new twisty hilly places then it will do that and bring you back (round trip planner - so you don't return the same way you went). Waterproof, fun local "thrill rides," vibration proof, bright screen you can see in full sun, then it's a great little unit. If you want offline planning/mapping, and you like switching from short to long views (forget about using the + and - functions to zoom), and a glare-free view, you won't be happy (PC-only mapping/sharing).