Why am I troubled with the Rider V2?

[hdfergie]

Does anyone have the problems I have or is there something wrong with my rider? The first strike against this GPS is that I live in the USA. I purchased mine without the cradle mount for my bike thinking that I could simply go to Tom Tom and get one. Wrong, only if you live in the UK can your buy one. I had to find a guy in the UK on our auction site and have him send me one, I paid dearly for that. I tried to use the Maps on the TOM TOM web site to plan a trip but could not plan my route. I had to follow the one it planed. Then it had me take off ramps only to get right back on the highway I was just on. The battery ran down before we got to our destination and the old paper map lead me there. Going home I used the battery saver only to have it oversleep and missed my offramp. It woke up after we passed the turn, Then it would not reroute me without pulling over. This had me taking a right turn when the road only turned left and sometimes a right even though it was the only way you could go.
I am thinking about selling this junk and buying a Garmen 660 for motorcycles and was wanting to know if anyone had any problems like the ones I had with the Rider V2? I think that it was made to be used in the UK and not the USA. All I do know is to have a paper map if you head out with this GPS....

 

[Shoegoo]

hdfergie,

It sounds to me like you bought an used TomTom Rider2 without all of the parts. That's not TT's fault.
I bet you thought you were getting a bargain.

 

[Pacific Coaster]

Hi hdfergie
You certainly sound like you have had more than a few problems with your new (to you) Rider. I too have found that the route that my Rider has SUGGESTED takes me right when no right turn is permitted, and even exits from motorways when no exit is possible. I dilligently note all these errors on my Rider and when I connect it to the internet, these corrections are sent to Tomtom. I have noticed that they ARE CORRECTED in updated versions of maps.
Being in New Zealand, I guess that the map designers have used satellite images and maps that only show streets and not what way one can turn, or even if streets are connected.
I am not sure of the exact wording of a note in the owners manual, but I am sure that it advises you that the Rider is only a navigation aid and that is how I use it - to aid me in arriving at my destination.
If you do choose to move over to the DARK SIDE and purchase your Garmin, I would recommend that you try it out carefully before you purchase it .... in my experience, none of the units available are totally without fault.

PC

 

[hdfergie]

It would not matter how or where I bought this, It does not work right. If this does not know the roads in the USA, What good is it at any price? Sounds like you paid retail. I'm glad I don't have that much invested in this thing so I might be able to unload it and not loose to much money, but back to the Rider V2, what can I do with my Garage Sale Special rider to use it with a map that can be directed to any roads I choose? I try to change the destination by choosing towns that are along the way but you should be able to drag and drop the path to any road you choose like the ride planner Harley uses. Is there any other map planners available that will work on the Rider?

 

[hdfergie]

Thanks PC for the guidance. I know all GPS brands will have their faults (new or used) but I feel that TOM TOM is more geared for the United Kingdom than the United States. We can't buy any accessories for this GPS here. I'm not sure who makes the GPS for Harley Davidson but if you could use a map like the ride planner to plan your route you would have a better idea about the road you choose. I noticed the written directions the TT will list can show two or three points on the same road, and this usually is a sign that it is going to pop up as a turn or ramp that should be erased to stop some of the confusion. Is there a way to do any of this? Does TT offer any kind of advanced Maps or some kind of software to let the user have more control in the planing?

 

[rcacs]

Sorry to hear that your unit isnt performing well. I have a R2 and it has performed flawlessly in the 60,000km it has been on my bike.

Have you connected to HOME and ensured that it has the latest application?....

Check and see which application and map number you have on your unit.

I dont bother using the TT route planner, rather I used the Itinerary planner on the GPS itself if I want to build my own route. It has never let me down.

As PC states, they all have a fault or two (they do have a massive job to do when you think of it).

My pal has a Zumo, and it has some "wierdness" to it as well.

Cheers!

 

[Pacific Coaster]

Hi again hdfergie
When you connect your Rider to your computer, Tomtom Home should start up. Tomtom route planner is now one of the opions available here. I have never used it however as I had installed an alternative piece of software that I use constantly when planning my rides. It is freeware called TYRE and is available at: Tyre. This uses Google Maps and is very simple to use. It is constantly being improved, so it is advisable to keep checking for updates.
Hope this is of some use to you.

PC

 

[hdfergie]

PC,
Thanks for the TYRE Tip. I am stil playing with the map. It is alot better but might take a while to find all the short cuts and if I can drag my route from one highway to another. I am going to give this another try before I go to the so called dark side. lol.

 

[mvl]

The rider doesn't have IQroutes, and is subject to the many of the inaccuracies in routing that Tomtom was known for, prior to them becoming the best routing GPS with the IQroutes introduction in 2007.

The rider is shipped with very old maps. The latest maps upgrades have improved things somewhat, you may want to consider a map upgrade. If there's a specific route with many offramp/onramp issues, let me know where it is and I can test if it is resolved with the latest map before you consider buying one.

 

[Schintzel]

IQ routes now available for Rider2?

Received an email from TomTom today announcing the availability of new maps for my device (v8.35). They say that Mapshare and IQ routes are available on all the new maps. Haven't purchased yet so can't confirm.

 

[mvl]

IQroutes requires application 8.x, in addition to map 800 or later.

Since the latest Rider application is 7.901, it won't support IQroutes even with the latest map.

 

[NailGun]

I have not had the sort of problems you are discussing. My TTR2 came with the Ram mounts and MC wiring harness. I've ridden with it from Florida to North Carolina and Tennessee with no real problems. Except that it insists on your passing waypoints (I just mark them "visited" and move on). At one point in NC it would have had me turn into a cornfield. The road I needed to be on was visible and my only choice. When I turned on to it, it was kinda funny becuase the TTR had a dotted line with where it thought I was supposed to be running parallel with where I actually was!

All of that is to say I think there's something wrong with the unit or your maps need to be updated?

NG

 

[monk69]

Hi.... I've routed using Tyre and like it, seems user friendly.... But I can never find it on my R2 when I'm ready to use it... I'm guessing I'm not doing something right, or at all... Any suggestions?

 

[monk69]

Hi.... I've routed using Tyre and like it, seems user friendly.... But I can never find it on my R2 when I'm ready to use it... I'm guessing I'm not doing something right, or at all... Any suggestions?

 

[Pacific Coaster]

Tyre is resident on your computer monk69 and uses google maps to plot your routes. The waypoints that you mark are then transferred to your Rider to be matched to the Tomtom map that is resident on your Rider.

PC

 

[monk69]

Thx for getting back to me on this, but I still can not locate trip download on my Rider2. Thx anyway.

 

[Pacific Coaster]

Hi again monk69

This is sounding very strange ..... I will give you a very long winded explanation of what to try. Please disregard anything you are doing already. Hopefully something here will be of some help.

Having created your route in "TYRE", either;
- File - Save As (and give your route a name that is meaningful you you so you can easily find it again.
Save the file in a folder on your computer you have created for your Tomtom Routes.

OR if your Rider is connected to the computer

- just click on the "Copy to Tomtom" command or icon ( I preferr not to do this at this stage as no name allocated to the route that is meaningful)

Now connect your Rider. Open Tomtom Home, go to the last item by clicking on the "MORE" arrow and click on "Run Tyre".

Click on "Open FIle" and find the route you saved on your computer and click "Open". The route will appear in the Tyre window..

Now with your Rider connected to the computer, click on "Tomtom" - "Copy to Tomtom". You will get a confirmation message that "The file has been copied to your Tomtom". Click OK. You can close Tyre now.

Click on "Disconnect your Tomtom Rider" in the bottom right hand corner of Home. You can now disconnect your Rider from the computer now.

To find the route you just transferred to your Rider, start your Rider.

Tap the Rider screen
Tap the right hand pointing arrow
Tap "Itinerary Planning"
Tap "Options"
Tap "Load Itinerary"
Find the route that you want to follow - it now becomes apparent why it is worthwhile giving it a meaningful name. Tap on the route you want.
Tap "Done" - Begin navigation.

Once you have done this a few times, as with all things, it will become a lot simpler ..... hope this is of some help???

PC