Tested: TomTom Rider 410 Premium satnav review
TomTom's premium motorcycle satnav tried and tested
I USED to place riders with satnav in the same category as those with heated grips and hand muffs. I’ve since seen the benefit in all of those things. Okay, not the muffs.
Definitely the satnav though. I’ve ridden 2,600 miles testing the new TomTom Rider 410, with world maps, including a 1,600-mile trip to the Isle of Man TT.
With its intuitive user interface, the Rider is aimed primarily at motorcyclists who enjoy day trips or those who go on long, straightforward cross-country tours. You can set it to choose winding or hilly roads, allowing riders new to an area to immediately zero in on the most enjoyable routes. The device does the work for you and cuts out any homework. You will be astonished at the roads and tracks you will travel.
I was. I set it to twisties on the way to Liverpool, and found the device and I didn’t always seem to agree on what constitutes a road. Mud, gravel tracks and farm lanes with loose gravel had not been part of my plan. It felt like an adventure route, as confirmed when I met a group of guys out on their GSs. At least I got off the beaten track.
The system has a stylish and compact design. The design looks robust and it’s waterproof, of course. And I can definitely vouch for that first hand, as I spent part of my trip riding in rain of biblical proportions.
The user interface is easy to navigate with some useful short cuts, and the touchscreen features a crisp display with smartphone-like zoom and swipe capabilities. Audio instructions and hands-free calling via Bluetooth are also available on this model.
It was really simple to install. It comes with a docking station that bolts to a handlebar, using a u-clip and two nuts.
I wired it up the simple way, straight to the bike’s battery terminals, and it took about 10 minutes.
It’s probably a good idea to check for space on the bike and work out the best mounting option.
Once mounted, you can rotate the unit to a portrait or and landscape screen orientation. I went for landscape because, well, that’s the shape of the landscape.
The simple graphics on the screen make it easy to plan a trip or change it quickly. It’s just as simple to adjust the audio settings for the Bluetooth headset feed.
A few times when I was low on fuel I had trouble scrolling through menus to find the petrol station icon. Wearing gloves, I found that I was going into menus I didn’t want. You can move the icons to custom positions much the way you can with smartphone. I dragged the fuel icon to a more accessible and that made selecting it much easier.
The device can be plugged into your PC to display your trips, as well as plan new ones or use routes created by other TomTom owners.
The ability to record your route is a great function that lets you go back and retrace your favorite rides.
Overall, the TomTom Rider 410 is a smart, well-built device that delivers a simple user experience. It comes with free ‘lifetime’ updates to maps and speed camera locations.
Product tested: TomTom Rider 410 Premium Pack Great Rides edition with ‘thrilling routes’ preinstalled and lifetime world maps
Price: £399.99
