TomTom Rider 400 review

Motorcycle satellite navigation - testing the TomTom Rider 400

Map applications on mobile devices have become a popular form of navigation for bikers in recent years. As you already know, mobile phones can be fixed to a bike using various mounts, or they can be kept in your pocket and directions can be listened to via some earphones or a bluetooth headset.

This is great, but what if you want to go overseas? Or If you want to plan a particularly twisty route? Well, that’s where the TomTom Rider 400 comes in.

TomTom Rider 400 - ready for an adventure

Unlike other makes of satnav, the TomTom Rider 400 (let's call it TTR400) allows you to program an unconventional route based on how twisty the road is, or even the altitude! This means you can avoid main roads, and enjoy all those hidden ones that you dream about riding when you’re bored at work.

A screenshot of a lovely twisty road in Northern France

We tested the TTR400 during our recent trip to Italy on our GSXR 1000 (#Bthou on Instagram). We covered approx. 2k miles in 3 days and we discovered that there’s a big difference between using a mobile device and the TTR400.

@Birotar_Max about to set off after checking tyre pressures!

Here are just some of the most obvious differences:

• Battery life
• Device access
• Touch screen ability
• Satellite/mobile signal
• Waterproofing
• Charging
  

After a full charge, the TTR400 lasted for approx. 8hrs and once it was plugged into the charging point on the bike, it didn’t forget our route, which meant there was no faffing around. The TTR400 got well and truly soaked and showed no signs of water ingress. The touch screen usability wasn’t effected by thick soggy gloves and the TTR400 functioned perfectly between -2 – 24 degrees Celsius.

The #Bthou posing just after crossing Mont Blanc

Max, BirotarUK test rider (@Birotar_Max on Instagram), is very good at getting lost. But the TTR400, allowed Max to do the whole journey without taking one wrong turning. This meant that there was no wasted time at the side of the road looking for the correct route. This was thanks to TomTom’s easy-to-follow visual directions on the colour display.
 


Mounting the satnav is super easy thanks to the bike-specific RAM mounting system. This requires some preparation, but once installed, it is a very solid and reliable mount that can be used for a variety of other phones/cameras/satnavs. Preparations to the mount include some cutting of a rubber tube and some minimal bolt/nut adjustment (it took approx 10 minutes to install the RAM mount).

The TTR400 comes with a quick release system, but you can also purchase the anti-theft system for an extra £80. This might be worth considering if you don’t have much space on you to put the satnav away in a pocket. It’s not overly sized, but you’ll notice it in your pocket if you’re stopping for a coffee or going for a stroll.

The moment you pick up the TTR400 you realise that TomTom have worked hard to make this device durable. It’s not so heavy that it will effect your 0-60 times, but you can immediately tell that it s a well constructed device.

The menu, maps and navigation are intuitive and responsive to your movement. The satnav can be used vertically or horizontally, and it will automatically adapt your surroundings with the night and day riding modes.

TomTom Rider 400 night mode

The TTR400 will alert you as you enter an area where speed traps are used, even in France and Italy. The TTR400 will also give you a countdown to the exact location where the cameras are. But we didn’t tell you that!

The TTR400 will tell you the speed in MPH as default, but this can be easily converted to KPH in the settings. We kept the setting to MPH for the duration of the trip, and it was nice to see that the TTR400 gives you a constant reminder of the speed limit and it alerts you when there is a new speed limit approaching.

The #Bthou relieved to be recovered

It was our fault for not being prepared enough, but there was something that disappointed us about the TTR400. On the way down through France on the A26, cruising at the speed limit, the GSXR’s throttle cable failed.  Once pulled over in a lay-by, we discovered that our mobile phones had no signal. We immediately reverted to the TTR for support but unfortunately; there were no emergency service, breakdown or motorcycle dealer information on the device.

The #Bthou being recovered on a rediculous flat bed truck.

This was our own fault completely. We should have written down all the numbers for the emergency services of the countries we would be traveling through, and possibly the break down service details also. But it would have been nice, for TomTom to have thought about emergency situations when loading the software. Fortunately, we were able to walk some distance to access mobile internet and get the bike fixed to continue our journey.

If you are thinking about doing a trip like this, we would highly encourage you take out European break down cover and to bring a spare mobile phone with a sim-card loaded with some credit just in case you get stuck – especially if you are travelling on your own!

Lesson learned!

A big bonus about this satnav is that you automatically receive 'lifetime' maps of Western Europe (45 countries), lifetime TomTom Traffic and lifetime TomTom Speed Cameras - all pre-loaded. It might be worth noting that you can also use this satnav in your car, by purchasing the additional windscreen mount.

Taking all of this into consideration, we can highly recommend the TomTom Rider 400 to any biker looking for a versatile and sturdy navigation system that enables you to reach any european destination, regardless of the weather!

The TomTom Rider price ranges on the package you purchase:

TomTom Rider 40 £249.99 (Lifetime maps of Western Europe (23 countries) and Lifetime TomTom Traffic)
TomTom Rider 400 £269.99 (Lifetime maps of Western Europe (45 countries), Lifetime TomTom Traffic and Lifetime TomTom Speed Cameras)
TomTom Rider 400 Premium £349.99 (Lifetime maps of Western Europe (45 countries), Lifetime TomTom Traffic and Lifetime TomTom Speed Cameras; as well as a Car Mounting Kit, Anti-Theft Solution and Travel Carry Case)


You can find the TomTom Rider 400 for sale on the Bike Stop website.
Do you have any questions? Comment below!

All the best

BirotarUK 

#BirotarUK

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Max Cook – Round 1 race report

Max Cook – Race Report – MotoStar Moto3 Championship – Round 1 (1/2 April 2016) - Silverstone

‘Max Thrives at 1st Round of BSB at Silverstone’

 
Last year Max made the step up from the FAB-Racing Junior British Championship, which races on National Go-kart circuits, to the Aprilia Superteen Championship which was his 1st taste of big bike racing on big circuits.  Last year Max rode historic circuits like Brands Hatch and Donington Park, but despite competing in 20 races, in 2 championships, he never got to ride Silverstone, much to his disappointment.  However it all changed this weekend as Max could tick off Silverstone GP Circuit from his list and experience the same stretch of tarmac as the MotoGP riders have in the last few years.

There was a mixture of nerves and excitement going into the 1st round as Max was really looking forward to being re-united with the team and getting back on the moto3, but there were also lots of unknowns, like the circuit, level of competition and riding in front of lots of spectators (plus Live television).  This was all new to Max, but he dealt with it in his typical laid back and professional manner.   Max also had his mentor, coach and friend, Danny Webb (Ex-professional GP rider and Isle of Man TT rider) with him this weekend for support. 

With all things considered, the objective for Max was to have a solid weekend, enjoy the experience, learn the circuit, place top 15 and achieve a dry lap-time of 2:25sec – 2:26sec.
 
Practice Session

Practice was on Friday morning and the conditions were not ideal. The track had been closed for some time due to oil spillage, it was wet and cold. Max managed 2 laps before a culmination of track conditions, bike and rider inexperience resulted in a highside crash at Stow. Max was ok and the bike suffered minor damage, but it was disappointing as Max needed to learn the circuit and track time was precious because the next session went straight into Qualifying!

Qualifying 1

With the bike back together and conditions improving, Max went out for his 1st of 2 qualifying sessions on Friday afternoon. The track was dry and bike felt good, Max upped his pace and started learning the circuit. The best lap-time he could achieve was a 2:29s which put him in 35th out of 47 riders. Sadly the lack of laps from practice meant Max didn’t learn circuit and put him on the back foot. However the positives were; max did learn the circuit quickly and the team had good usable data, which meant everyone was positive a significant improvement would be found in second qualifying session the next day.

Qualifying 2

Going to bed the previous night Max felt confident he would wake to a dry day – sadly this was wrong as the heavens opened early in the morning which meant the second qualifying session was wet!  None of the riders on track could improve their times from the Friday, so the grid for Race 1 in afternoon remained the same.  The good news for Max was he placed 21st out of 47 riders in that session and was immediately comfortable on the Dunlop Wets that he had never ridden before.

RACE 1 (8 laps)

For Race 1 Max was 35th on grid, which put him 13 rows back from the front. The conditions were still wet, but the rain had stopped. Taking advice from the Danny and the team, Max just needed more laps, finish the race and improve his grid position. 

When the lights went out Max had a great start and immediately made up 5 positions by the 1st corner.  By lap 3 Max had made up a further 5 places to 24th.  Max continued to push and the lap-times began to tumble.  By lap 6 Max was in 20th and hunting down a group of riders ahead of him. As the track dried Max was able to pass the group of riders ahead of him into 17th position. On the last lap the rider ahead of him fell at the last corner which gave Max an overall placing of 16th out of 47 riders. However, because the Northern European Moto3 Championship were sharing the BSB race, the riders in that class were removed from the BSB result which meant that Max actually finished in 12th position and secured him 4 valuable championship points.  

Max was so happy after this race as he felt competitive and it was so much fun overtaking and battling through the field. After the race Max spent lots of time with Danny and the team going through the race, bike telemetry, circuit etc and were very confident that between Max and the Bike more could be found for the second race the following day.

RACE 2

What a difference a day makes!  Sunday brought out the fans and spectators. After finding his mojo on the bike and feeling confident Max was excited to race in front a few thousand people. His grid position had also improved from his race yesterday and he was on Row 6 in 16th place.

Again Max got a good start and ran with the leading group of riders for the 1st few corners.  Max was then avoiding falling riders as 6 riders fell in front of Max, which propelled him to 11th place after the 1st lap. Max was in a group of 3-4 riders for a few laps and his lap times improved lap on lap which enabled him to pull away, which put him into 8th place overall.  Max continued to push throughout the race, despite being on his own, and managed to achieve a brilliant lap-time of 2:24s which was better than his target for weekend. At the end of the race he finished 8th overall and when the Northern European Moto3 class were removed it placed Max in a fantastic 6th place.

With both races combined Max is joint 8th in the BSB Championship. For Max to place this highly after his 1st race weekend in the class, at an unknown circuit with tricky conditions, was simply outstanding and shows the potential Max has.

Max:“At the moment I feel absolutely brilliant. After a tough start to the weekend I thought I’d do well to come away with a couple of points, but to come away in the top 10 and have 14 points is awesome. During the races I just wanted to get my head down and do my best, but enjoy it as well. The circuit was new to me and to begin with was pretty scary, as most of the corners are really fast and I’ve never ridden a circuit like it, but once I got used to it I absolutely loved it, especially in the dry. I’m looking forward to seeing MotoGP here later this year as I sort of know what they have to deal with.  

The bike was awesome all weekend and Gary, Stefan, Trick and Andy from Kais Suspension did a great job improving it over weekend and fixing it for me when I crashed on Friday, so a massive thanks to them. It was awesome having Danny with me this weekend, he taught me so much and gave me more confidence, so a huge thanks to him as well”

Overall this was an amazing 1st round, which is a solid start to start building for the remainder of year.

A huge thank you to all of Max sponsors for help and continued support for this season.

Stay tuned for more as we cover Max's racing season! Well done Max, and good luck for the next round.


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BirotarUK 

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Bikers’ plea to drivers ahead of summer riding season

Campaign reminds motorists that looking is not seeing 

An image with a serious message has been released, to coincide with the start of the new motorcycling season, to remind drivers to stay vigilant of bikers on UK roads despite the lighter nights. Many will struggle to see biker, Graham Butcher, in the image despite the presence of his motorcycle at a junction – it’s a stark reminder of what happens regularly on the roads.

There has been a significant reduction of two-wheeled fatalities since the Think! Campaign first launched its biker awareness campaign 15 years ago, but visibility is still believed to be one of the leading causes of motorcycle road traffic accidents. According to statistics from the Department for Transport, the most common reason for accidents caused by car drivers is by failing to look properly (24%), and 30 motorcyclists are killed or injured every day at junctions.*

The man depicted in the image, Graham Butcher, was himself affected by a driver failing to see him. The resulting accident, in which a large agricultural machine turned into the path of his motorcycle, impacted his life significantly and led to his retirement as a police officer.

Graham has since retrained in a new profession and has refused to let the accident dampen his passion and enthusiasm for riding. He’s spearheading the awareness campaign on behalf of personal injury solicitors, Minster Law, who supported him after his accident. The company currently handles 20% of all motorcycle personal injury claims in the UK.

The law firm recreated the image of an everyday traffic scene using a specifically shot picture of a road in Lincolnshire. Graham then underwent six hours of studio-based painting by artist and motocross Mum, Melanie Hancock, at ViZard to create the illusion of invisibility.

It’s hoped that the picture and campaign will serve as a reminder to motorists to pay extra attention to trying to see bikers as the summer biking season begins.

Biker and Minster Law Managing Director, Michael Warren, said: “Over the past 10 years, we have supported more than 23,000 bikers who have been injured in road traffic incidents. Many of those cases appear to have taken place at junctions or in another situation where a motorist failed to see the biker. We understand it’s not always because the driver didn’t look; sometimes the narrower profile of the vehicle or one headlight instead of two can unwittingly fool drivers.”

Artist Melanie added: “As a mum to two boys who ride motocross, I’m conscious that my kids may want to ride motorcycles on the road when they’re older, that’s why I was passionate about supporting this important campaign. I hope it helps to have an impact on driver behaviour and bikers’ visibility.”

Bikers are being encouraged to share the image and video across social media using #canyouseemenow to continue raising awareness of the importance of motorists looking properly for bikers’ in their field of vision.

For further information, please contact the Minster Law press office on 01652 680060
or email MinsterLaw@rbpagency.com

* SOURCES: Department for Transport, Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2012. http://think.direct.gov.uk/motorcycles.html

The clothing for this campaign was kindly supplied by Merlin Bike Gear.

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Cambridge glows red as Ducati dealer opens

Cambridge glows red as Vindis Ducati franchised dealership opens

On Saturday 12^th of March 2016, the iconic Desmo sound filled the air of Harston, Cambridge, as Ducati enthusiasts arrived to visit Vindis Group’s new Ducati Franchised Dealership.

Jamie Vindis, Managing Director of Vindis Group, stated: “Audi’s ownership of Ducati makes this a very natural move for the Vindis Group, but much more fundamental than this, Ducati holds the same core values of our other brands and of our wider organisation; strong brand identity, heritage and customer loyalty, allied with creative modern delivery and a focus on customer experience.

“The team and I are very much looking forward to adding Ducati to our customer offering and being able to meet the mobility needs of both new and existing customers with something this exciting.We are proud to be a part of this incredible journey, and we can’t wait for you to join us.”

We visited the launch and were excited to see the pristine bike parking, showroom and workshop filled with all the latest Ducati range, including the Panigale 1299s Tricolore and the new XDiavel.

The dealership will be retailing the usual Ducati line up, Scrambler products, Ducati Apparel and Accessories all backed up with experienced customer service.

We're very pleased to know that there a local Ducati dealership, making it even harder for us to resist a visit (or three) to the showroom this summer!

All very exciting, on the lead up to the Peterborough Ducati Dealership launch in a few months! Keep an eye on their website for the exact date.

Check out our photo gallery from the day on our Facebook page! 

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A matter of safety, or style?

A matter of safety, or style?

Addressing the gap between safety and style for bikers.

During our most recent visit to Bike Stop, we started discussing the risk of not wearing gear during a ride. The conversation was prompted by a recent ride out to Ace Café. We spotted a biker wearing casual jeans, trainers and a hoodie on a ZX10R – not the most sensible choice of clothing in our opinion, and we imagine that you might also be thinking the same thing. “I’m only going round the corner, there’s no point in putting my leathers on” said the ZX10R rider.

The reality is that our opinions won’t stop people riding in jeans and a hoodie. Coming off at 30mph is the same, regardless what bike you’re riding. Maybe it’s a culture thing? In Italy for example, many bikers and scooter riders will ride in jeans, and sometimes a leather jacket (and in some cases, a helmet too!). We can see from YouTube videos, that this the case in the USA too.

So the question is – are bikers riding with jeans because of the expense of decent riding gear? Is it a lack of motivation? Or is it because riding gear is just not stylish enough?

We've put together a line-up of 3 riding jeans – that are in every way better, than riding in normal jeans and stylish too.

Here they are; the Dainese Bonneville jean, the Revvit Orlando H2O jean and last but not least, the RST Aramid jean.

The Dainese Bonneville regular jeans retail at £154.99
The RST Aramid jeans retails at £89.99
The Revvit Orlando H2O jeans retails at  £189.99

We can tell you immediately - get a pair that fits not only when you are standing, but a also when you are sitting on the bike. The cramped position of the GSXR means that the jeans ride up quite high and expose the ankle. Then again, we are wearing TCX casual boots - would you wear track or touring boots with riding jeans? That's up to you - but the Bike Stop team will be able to help you find the right fit.

The Dainese Bonneville jeans

The Dainese jeans have the 'nicest' fit in our opinion. A slim 'worn denim' style jean with knee protection, albeit little knee protection. This jean looks the best and is the most comfortable off the bike - but quite a bit more expensive than the RST jean. Making them the premium and quality option - but hey, what else would you expect from Dainese...

Whilst sat on the bike, the Dainese jeans are a little tight around the thigh - but we imagine this would be very different on a more upright machine. None the less, these jeans look great and would definitely fool someone! They don't look like riding jeans at all.  

The RST Aramid Jean 

The RST Aramid jean is the 'baggiest' of the set - but this pair also has the best knee protection. The knee armour on these jeans is much thicker than the others, and the armour takes shape to your knee when sat on the bike. 

The stitched detail on the back pocket is nice to see, usual RST style. From the picture below, it appears that the jeans are long enough to cover the ankle, but unfortunately they are not. This means over compensating in length to ensure that you're ankles are covered if you are wearing a low style boot. 

We found the RST to be very comfortable on the bike, and we were reassured by the knee armour. With this pair being the most affordable, we definitely recommend trying them on for size.

The Revvit Orlando H20 jean 

Ahh, this is a really nice pair of jeans. Warm, comfortable, and water proof. The only thing we thought this pair could improve on is the knee protection. Only slightly thicker than the Dainese jeans, but in all fairness these are all jeans with added protection over your casual denim pant.

We would recommend going a size down in this jean, as we found them a little loose around the waist. Style wise, this is the pair we preferred out of the trio - and it was nice to have a waterproof zipped pocket. Very useful for your phone and change for a brew! 

The water can be seen beading on the top the jeans. It's great re-assurance to know that you don't have to worry about getting caught out by the rain. 

Over-all, this trio of jeans are pretty brilliant. Truly well made and we could recommend them all but it really depends on your budget and what you're looking for in a pair of riding jeans.

A great selection of Men's and ladies jeans are available to view on the Bike Stop website.  

There is one thing we need to address though...

These jeans will NOT protect you in the same way leather or textile bottoms would. You should always wear gear on a ride, but these jeans are 100% better than normal jeans or track suit bottoms.

Just think about what is more important - arriving in style or arriving at all? But hey, who's saying that a leather or textile suit isn't cool?!

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BirotarUK 

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