rider gps on Dakar

[Markblox]

Hi, I am thinking of getting a tom tom Rider for my 04 Dakar and wanted to know the mounting solution others had solved. I mounted the BM tank bag today and realised that the only obvious places to mount it are the small diameter cross brace or the left side of the handle-bar. I don't know if there is enough room on the handle-bar or if the cross brace is too small a diameter. Are the supplied mounts ok or do I need other mounts? Can anyone help?
Mark.

 

[Nick Marshall]

this could be your lucky day

there is a load of mounting hardware that is supplied with the tomtom rider, handlebar clamp is very slim, so should fit. Mine is available. See for sale section or 01869 346186 for details nick

 

[Pondboy]

markblox,

The Rider is very much a go from A to B system. If you fancy planning more complicated routes a Garmin will give you more options. PC route planning for starters.

After my play with the Rider, I can see its sexiness is appealing, but I don't believe it gives the functionality available from the Quest or 2610. I also think the Riders mount is extremely flimsy PB

 

[Markblox]

markblox,

The Rider is very much a go from A to B system. If you fancy planning more complicated routes a Garmin will give you more options. PC route planning for starters.

After my play with the Rider, I can see its sexiness is appealing, but I don't believe it gives the functionality available from the Quest or 2610. I also think the Riders mount is extremely flimsy PB

Thanks Pondboy, If I'm not bothered about planning routes on a computer, would you say the rider is the best?
Mark.

 

[Tim Angus]

I've just bought a Garmin Quest with Garmin bike mounting kit for £350 via pricerunner. You only need the £10.00 block from BMW ( 71.60.7.671.108 from Rainbow) to mount it on the cross bar. You will need 4 additional 4mm x 35mm countersunk screws as the Garmin ones are the wrong thread.
What you will have then is a GPS system that you can use on the bike, plus your car, plus a handheld unit as the Garmin has a built in rechargable battery like your mobile. The kit includes both euro and uk plug adaptors for the supplied charger. Altogether a much more adaptable piece of kit and it is waterproof so its OK on the bike.

 

[Pondboy]

It has too many limitations to get my vote. Only having a touch screen would drive me nutty. Not being able to do anything with your route while in driving mode (ie when its in the cradle) The covers for the sockets are not even close to the Garmin standard. The launch of the units was seriously delayed due to waterproffing and vibration breakage problems.

On the plus side, the screen is good and the processor is fast.

In just about every other aspect, I would choose a Garmin unit and most probably the Quest for the reasons Tim Angus gives. (Wotcha Tim)

This is a hard thing for me to say as my Bro in law's company designed the Rider, but it is just too much money for what you get. PB

 

[Markblox]

It has too many limitations to get my vote. Only having a touch screen would drive me nutty. Not being able to do anything with your route while in driving mode (ie when its in the cradle) The covers for the sockets are not even close to the Garmin standard. The launch of the units was seriously delayed due to waterproffing and vibration breakage problems.

On the plus side, the screen is good and the processor is fast.

In just about every other aspect, I would choose a Garmin unit and most probably the Quest for the reasons Tim Angus gives. (Wotcha Tim)

This is a hard thing for me to say as my Bro in law's company designed the Rider, but it is just too much money for what you get. PB

Yea, thanks both of you for the info. Its funny isn't it how we can be single minded about things. I have been looking forward for the last five months or so to getting the Rider and have not given anything else any thought, even to the extent that I don't know much about the other models in the Garmin range. One of the things I would appriciate is full postcode search. I just found out the new quest II has that and Europe included as well, which is an extra on the Rider. One problem with the rider is recharging the bluetooth helmut dongle when away from home unless I invest in an Starcom. It all adds up! I need to use it in a car as well and I know I can do this in both units. Do you know of anything else I should consider?
Mark.

 

[Pondboy]

markblox,

From what I have been reading in the GPS forum, the Garmins postcode search capability is not just down to the firmware on the unit (which is freely upgradeable) but also the hidden data in the City Navigator map set. As I read it, the v8 maps and the latest firmware will allow Quest 1's to perform full postcode searching.

v8 maps should be released this month, so this assumption should be provable very soon.
A Quest 1 or 2 is certainly top of my wishlist at the moment. PB