Rambling and considering

[thad]

When you come to these forums, sometimes the visitors forget that the reason for so many complaints, is that the people with no troubles seldom come here. You have to remember that if you say something bad in the Zumo forums, 60 people will immediately attack you. Blind loyalty with absolutely no ethics.

I promised myself that I would never ever buy a tom-tom again, since they stiffed me on the tom-tom 1. However since I am a cheap sapsucker, I am now reconsidering that decision. Plus I don't like the type people on the other forums. I have a strong suspicion that they are fixing to come out with a new rider GPS.

I am considering picking up a Ryder 2 because where the 4 bolts go into the back ol mine, the case has broken. off horizontality and leaving nothing for the head to grab a hold of. The danged thing hasn't been used that much either.

I have been using a 550 Zumo (my grandson's) and it isn't all of that. I find it has a better quality case and Mount but to me it is harder to use. The price of the 550 is nothing but a rip off -- they can't have over $100 in the unit at the store and they want $800 for it.

 

[rcacs]

For what its worth, I have a TTR2 and love it. It does everything I want/need and has been basically trouble free to this point. It seems most of the problems you might incur are when TT rolls out either a new application and/or HOME.

My pal has a Zumo 450, and he has stated that he likes the features and operability of my Rider over his Zumo. The Garmin has the ability to play music and look at pictures. Personally, that isnt what I was looking for in a GPS.

I used my TTR2 for over 35,000km last summer, from one coast of Canada to the other and many points in between without a single hiccup.

Cheers!

 

[thad]

rcacs
My Ryder 1, gave me 42 miles of excellent service and 1900 miles of intermediate service. The unit still works, but you cannot attach the back half to the front half. I thought I had a guaranteed unit and that Tom Tom would stand behind it. This time around, I know, Tomtom will not stand behind anything, and if anything goes wrong, it's all on me, even though the unit is brand-new. The only thing Zumo has going for it, is that Zumo will stand behind their product.

I am like you, I don't need pictures and I certainly don't need music. I need a GPS that will get me from one point to another point without using a map and has a button that will get me home when I mash it. I don't care about elevation or any of the other hupla.I really wish the other brands would start making a motorcycle GPS and then you would not have to pay a $700 profit.

 

[CynicX]

Excuse my ignorance although I own/ride/race a sport bike I have never seen a Ryder in real life. Can you possible post a picture of what is broken on it? I'm just trying to imagine something that can not be fixed by you with a little ingenuity....

 

[thad]

Excuse my ignorance although I own/ride/race a sport bike I have never seen a Ryder in real life. Can you possible post a picture of what is broken on it? I'm just trying to imagine something that can not be fixed by you with a little ingenuity....

The only ignorance is when you dont ask. Right now the unit is drying and cannot be disturbed. It has to sit 24 hrs.
While I have a digital camera, I will in no way claim I know how to use it, but I will try.

Go here for a shot of it on one of my motorcycles. Trip to Georgia's Guide Stones - LiveVideo.com

It will never be strong enough to use on a motorcycle but can be used in a car possibly.

 

[thad]

I located a rider 2 at Target for 299.00. I talked with the head of electronic sales and he said they are clearing them out for they will be no more.
They had had more returns and problems with the rider than any other GPS. He stated that Tomtom had cut too many coners with it. Now whether that is true or not is up for grabs but I believe him.

 

[rcacs]

I would be interested in knowing what he meant by "cut too many corners". As I stated previously, I have had no issues with my Rider2. I know some have had some troubles with the dock, and it seems that most if not all recieved new ones on warranty.

I would hate to see the model dropped, as that would probably end up affecting support for units already out there.

My Rider2 has been on my bike for well over 30,000km, bouncing from one end of Canada to the other and many points inbetween.

299.00 is an incredible price, mine was 800.00 canadian, which I do believe is way too much.

Cheers!

 

[thad]

There is the Rider 1 and there is the Rider 2. Different problems with both. The rider 1 is the one I am familiar with.
I feel he is talking about the use of the cheapest contractor in China, instead of the cheapest quality contractor.it's sort of like the IBM hard drives, as long as they used the one contractor in China, they had nothing but returns and headaches. As soon as they changed contractors, their troubles went away.

The cases in the Ryder 1 was a hit and miss proposition, I am certainly not the only one to have trouble with them and yet a lot of people had no trouble whatsoever with them, however everyone had trouble with the Mount. Even Tom Tom admitted they were faulty.

From the people that I personally know, there are 21 of them that have the ryder2 and most of their faults are with lockups, pin drilling, spotty charging and from not knowing how to use it properly. The ryder2 seems to have what I need in a GPS and I am certainly going to give it a try. I am going to also purchase a cheap GPS and keep it in my bag just in case.

I am finding most of the problems is with the user, things like not putting a snake in the handlebars or not using end weights to help control vibration. Just not sitting down and reading the book in order to learn how to take advantage of the unit. Six of the problems was fixed by cleaning the contacts.

I have no evidence but if you look at the prices, you will see them coming down and that generally means one of two things, a new model is coming out or they are going to drop that line altogether. They have had so many returns and this has cost them a lot of money, so I am guessing that they are dropping it. I am like you, I would hate to see them do this.

 

[gatorguy]

The current Rider line is definitely being phased out and any new production for the current Riders may already have stopped.

I had heard a few months ago that TomTom had plans for a replacement model. but since then, not a peep. With the economic pressures on TomTom right now, I wouldn't be surprised that an updated model might be delayed or canceled altogether.

 

[thad]

gatorguy

That was the understanding I got from him at Target. He dosen't look to see anymore Riders. He also stated that Target was still making a profit even at 299.00.

That tells me, we are really being ripped off with these prices

 

[ofdlte101]

While I will readily admit to not being very savvy about electronics I have to tell you that my Rider 2 had been a huge disappointment. I spent months researching the different GPS units before buying. What I found after I got it was, what could only be described as, false advertising. TomTom support has been completely useless. The shortcomings have been only marginally addressed over the last 9 months that I have had it. It still will not do much of what they said it would do and when it will do it the thing is so cumbersome to use that I often give up trying. In my view, if TomTom would not take care of the customers of its high end products (I think the cost of the Rider 2 qualifies as that) why would you ever think that they would take care of an entry level purchaser. Even if some folks have had good luck with theirs are you sure you want to take that chance given the evidence? When mine is finally done either due to discontinued service or mechanical malfunction I will never buy another TomTom product

Art.

 

[drledger]

Support can be confusing and less than consistent. We have found from listening to many posts on this forum that the best method is to call not email. That being said it is also apparent that there are discrepancies in answers and that often a second call will get action a first did not or different answers. While none of us work for TT their people do cruise this forum at times. Maybe if they see the complaints about inconsistencies and lack of response they can take actions to correct some of those problems.