If I pass roads with names such as Goat Track or Hell Hole Creek Road, it’s like a red rag to a bull and I simply have to explore it.
Sometimes these roads have warning signs that ban trucks or caravans, or warn of tight curves, gravel and other hazards.
It’s only more reason to explore further.
Road names
But it’s the road names themselves that sometimes give the best hint as to what lies ahead, especially if it includes of the following words.
Old, Historic, Heritage: if these words are present, it indicates the original road before bulldozers and surveyors with theodolites carved a straight line through the hills. These roads follow the natural contours, usually in a very entertaining fashion.
Way, Drive, Track: while you should avoid anything called a motorway or freeway, words such as Way, Drive and Track usually indicate much more fun. However, even some highways can be motorcycle roads. Anything called a street should probably be avoided at all costs.
Scenic, Vista, View: often these indicate roads that wind around a mountain, although they are also used by land developers to dupe buyers into purchasing a block which has much less than panoramic views.
Hill, Mountain, Ridge, Range: if any of these words are present in a road’s name, you have a pretty safe bet that it will be fun.
Valley, Gorge, Canyon: same deal.
Creek, River, Dam: ditto. The word “River” in a road’s name can even make a flat plains road interesting as rivers meander more through flat land.
Welcome to Hell Hole Creek Rd!
So, if you see a “Gravel road” sign on “Old Farmview River Track”, click down a gear and have fun. That’s a motorcycle-friendly road bonanza!
GPS to your aid
If you get lost you may eventually need to consult Google maps or your GPS to find your way home.
Every day, new technology is introduced to motorcycle gadgets to improve the riding experience and make it safer. More and more of the modern bikes have heated seats/grips, tire pressure monitors, rearview cameras, and more. Today, you can find some high tech accessories that will help you deal with discomfort, inconvenience, and weather. Even if you prefer the traditional route, there are several high tech gadgets that can elevate your experience. Below are some of the high-tech gadgets you can get to pimp up your ride.
1 Helmet Sound System
If you ride your bike regularly or for long distances, you’re likely to feel dull at times. Well, this can change with a helmet sound system which lets you listen to music and communicate. You can pick phone calls, connect with other riders via intercom, and follow GPS navigation using the helmet audio systems.When buying this gadget, look out for multi-device capability, sound quality, durability, battery life, and volume controls.
2 Motorcycle GPS Navigator
It’s never an option to use your smartphone for navigation while riding a bike unless you’re willing to stop and get off the road every time. That’s why you need a motorcycle GPS unit. A motorcycle GPS makes it easy for you to navigate while you focus on the road. In addition, the system offers extra features such as hands-free calling, streaming music, and alerts.
3 Rearview Camera
A rearview camera helps you to easily see what’s behind you, adding safety and convenience to your ride. Rearview cameras for motorcycles give you a rear vision that your rear mirrors can’t. The mini camera is usually placed on the bumper of your bike, giving you a perfect view of your rear. When buying a review camera, look out for key features like waterproof, night vision, and viewable angle.
4 Motorcycle Jacket Airbag
The motorcycle jacket airbag works in a more or less similar manner as the airbags in a car. When the system deploys the airbag, the air cushion inflates to protect the most vulnerable body parts such as shoulders, elbows, and the spine. You can use an airbag vest which can also serve as a reflective vest or get an airbag jacket. Modern airbags strike a balance between comfort, safety, and good looks.
5 Brake Free Helmet Light
The normal brake lights on your motorcycle work just fine. However, they are mounted low on your motorbike and are not easily noticeable in traffic. Brake Free Helmet Light mounts a smart brake light on the back of your helmet, making it easier for motorists to see you. It detects when you’re slowing down and responds accordingly to regular braking, engine braking, and emergency braking. It attaches to almost any helmet using a magnetic mount and uses LED lights that make it visible both day and night. It is a smart brake because it needs no wired installation or connected apps. The gadget is weather resistant and stays lit all the time, only becoming brighter when you brake.
Most riders love a good round-trip, but there are many dead-end routes that can be just as rewarding for motorcyclists.
I’ve been riding with people who never venture down a road that says “No through road”.
They figure that it will be like doing the road twice.
Yet I’ve ridden on famous motorcycling roads such as Mt Glorious Rd, the GOR, Putty Road, Big Sur (USA), etc, in both directions and it feels almost like two completely separate trips.
Big Sur
As they say, motorcycling is not about the destination, but the journey.
Who cares if the journey doesn’t have a destination, at all?
In fact, most destinations are a return to your home, anyway.
Dead-end paradise
Umm, it’s a dead-end that way!
MBW reader Tee Jay summed it up perfectly in this Facebook post:
If you think riding up and down the highway is freedom and it doesn’t get any better, then think again. SEQ’s (South East Queensland’s) back roads and dead ends are where the proper motorcyclists go.
The same goes for just about anywhere in the world.
Our tip for great rides is to look for dead-end valleys.
We recently used our TomTom Rider 550 GPS units to navigate three valleys south of Laidley in SEQ which go nowhere.
Stunning bike, stunning scenery!
However, the deeper we rode into the valleys, the closer the mountains and stunning scenery became.
And more importantly, the roads get twister and twister.
For those who know the area this is the Ropeley Rockside Rd
If you’re game, there is often a dirt road that will wind over the hills near the end of the valley to link to the next valley.
These SEQ valleys are only 40 minutes from the city, yet you feel like you are a million kays from home.
We were surprised at what we saw along the way: pecan plantations, camels, scenic creeks, stunning rock formations and more.
The things you see on a hump-day ride!
If you plan to do this ride on your own, wth friends or a group, you can stop for lunch at the pubs in Mulgowie (McGrath Crossing) or Upper Tenthill.
Tee also supplies this tip for those who don’t want to venture too far from the city.
“Go where the wealthy folks live. Their roads are brilliant. From Dayboro you can spend an hour going down two roads that end in dirt and return for coffee. How convenient is that? Do it before 10am because the sunshine through the trees is just; well it’s all part of the experience.”
I have another nearby favourite that I use to test the suspension on bikes I have for review: Upper Brookfield Rd.
It’s only 10 minutes from home and it winds through some very wealthy areas.
The road is tight and twisty, it has concrete dips that cross creeks, there are on-and-off-camber corners, the greenery is stunning and there is hardly any traffic.
At the 60km/h posted speed limit it’s still great fun.
Upper Brookfield Rd is a gorgeous dead-end!
As Tee says, “dead-end roads are excellent, less traffic, terrific scenery and all so close to town”.
Tell us about your favourite dead-end ride? Leave your comments in the section below.
If it wasn’t for the ride-sharing and mountain and wriggly route options on our TomTom Rider 550 GPS we might never have discovered a hidden gem of a mountain road.
Riding partner and map expert Peter “Worldmapman” Davis recently reviewed the TomTom Rider 550 for us and has been using it now for some time.
Usually one of our riding group decides where to go and then leads the pack. It’s usually me and I’ve almost run out of routes in the South East Queensland area.
I think I know every twisting, winding scenic roads in this region. But I was wrong.
TomTom decides
“Plan a thrill’ with TomTom Rider 550
This time we decided to put the TomTom unit to the test and let it decide a route for us.
Since it was hot, we thought a ride up to Toowoomba at the top of the Great Dividing Range would give us a respite from the heat.
So we put that in as one waypoint, plus Hampton and Flagstone Creek.
You can select the waypoints by typing in a place name or simply pressing a point on the screen to drop a waypoint “flag”.
We then selected a return journey with maximum mountain and winding roads options. There are two levels of each and we chose the top levels.
That increased an out-and-back journey on the highway from about 160km to about 250km.
Because we were riding cruisers, we chose the “avoid dirt roads” option. You can also choose to avoid toll roads, highways and even roadworks in the settings menu.
Sharing a gem
Sharing a route is easy
Route selected, we shared it among ourselves either with other TomTom GPS units or via their MyDrive app platform on their phones.
Sharing a route like this is great because it means you don’t have to bother about corner-man systems as riders can’t get lost.
You can plan your route on the GPS unit, or on the TomTom MyDrive app on your phone or your computer. Each allows you to share with other TomTom users via Bluetooth, email or message.
When we headed off on the Brisbane Valley Highway TomTom almost immediately took us off the highway on to back roads.
TomTom will include scenic back roads
This led us the long way round to Esk before heading up the only sealed road to Hampton.
In fact, it even bypassed some of Esk.
Peter says a good tip in selecting waypoints on this sort of route is to never select a town’s CBD or the name of a town.
Following the route
Always select a waypoint on a road past the town. That will actually throw in a nice little deviation and avoid sending you down every suburban street.
In fact, you should even start your journey out of town or it may take you on a wild goose chase around the suburbs first.
The great thing about the TomTom Rider 550 is that you can change your mind along the way.
If you decide to go into town for a coffee or toilet stop, just head on in and the unit recalculates the route very quickly.
In fact, it is the fastest of any unit Peter has used in his extensive mapping career.
You can also add more waypoints, or change the winding road option from super wriggly to less wiggly or to the fastest or most direct route if you are getting tired and want to head home.
Wriggly route
All it takes is a touch of a button on the screen.
If you decide to bypass a waypoint, the unit will try to recalculate you back to it, so it’s a good idea to delete the waypoint by going to your list of stops and deleting it.
Gem discovered
We largely followed the directions, but also chose to ignore them a little and explore.
But we are glad we did not ignore its advice when we came down the Range on Flagstone Creek Rd.
It pointed left on to Blanchview Rd which we have done before and enjoyed, so we followed.
Silver Pinch Rd is a gem
But shortly after TomTom took us right on to Silver Pinch Rd which looks almost like someone’s driveway. We’ve ignored this road in the past … but not today.
Just as well as it is a real rider’s gem.
It traverses several narrow ridges past Table Top Mountain, overlooking beautiful fertile farmland with jaw-dropping views on either side.
The road really does wriggle along and it seems it has only recently been paved along its entirety until it becomes Topps Rd and ends at the T junction with the Back Flagstone Creek Rd.
What a rollercoaster of a road it is with plenty of elevation, looping corners, esses and switchbacks.
We enjoyed it so much we stopped along the way for photos and doubled back a bit to ride some sections again.
Consequently we ended up running a little behind our schedule return time.
So at Laidley we simply decided to switch to the shortest destination and head home.
When we got home, we shared photos and maps with each other via MyDrive so we can do it again another time … maybe in a reverse direction.
You can do that by simply shuffling the order of the waypoints. Just drag and drop the last stop to the top and make the rest of the changes accordingly.
Map and satnav expert Peter (World Mapman) Davis provides some interesting background information for riders on GPS in this fourth instalment in our satnav series.
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) use satellites that are in a geo-stationary orbit. That means they rotate at the same speed as the Earth so they remain in the same place above the globe.
You need at least three satellite beams to “triangulate” your position, which means it is the average position between the three beams.
The original satellites were sent into orbit by the US military for their use in navigation.
However, tech-savvy people soon found out how to communicate with them and use their navigation services.
When US authorities discovered that their satellite navigation systems were being used by civilians, they allowed what they called “selective availability”.
They actually built in some positioning inaccuracy.
Map expert Peter Davis
Military GPS
If the military needed to use their satellites for operations, they would simply turn off selective availability and suddenly people would get very accurate positions.
It became evident that this was a very useful tool for the civilian population, so the last Bill President Bill Clinton signed was the abolition of selective availability.
These days we now get more accurate readings as there are a lot more satellites in orbit that belong to other countries and even commercial operations.
To obtain an accurate position, a GPS device needs to have at least three satellite connections.
A satellite is a transmitter, not a receiver. It transmits a signal which the GPS picks up.
The more satellites you get the more accurate your position.
Early GPS
Early GPS devices had a very narrow beam of reception to gain signals from satellites.
This made them lose satellite reception very easily if you were riding in dense forest or even through cities with tall buildings.
All GPS units need line of sight with satellites.
However, newer GPS units have a broad spectrum of reception which is basically horizon to horizon.
Consequently, so long as you can see some sky, it works. The satellite doesn’t need to be straight above.
They also now work in some tunnels that have repeaters in the roof to beam the satellite signal.
Land beacons
Satnav has become even more accurate with the introduction of ground-based GPS nav beacons or “differential nav”.
Your position can be triangulated using a combination of satellites and land beacons which can be radio transmitters or mobile phone towers.
Should north be at the top of your paper map or GPS satnav device for the best guidance? Satnav and mapping expert Peter (World Mapman) Davis looks into the phenomenon in the third part of our satnav series.
Paper maps always have north at the top. However, you can just as easily turn the map around to face the direction you are going.
GPS satnav units also have north at the top when showing your position on a map and sometimes even when a route has been selected.
However, they usually default to having the direction you are going at the top when you start navigation mode.
Using moving maps, you can select points on the map which creates a waypoint file.
These can be selected by going to the menu and usually clicking a plus sign.
You can then either nominate a latitude and longitude or simply touch your finger on the screen to drop a “flag” icon.
If you enlarge the map, you can move the flag to an exact point.
Give the waypoint a name and you will be able to find it easily later on.
The waypoints show up as a layer over the map and you navigate yourself on the tracks and roads to those waypoints.
If you save those waypoints, you can share the file with others no matter what moving maps app they use because it is just a series of lats and longs.
Once you import a waypoint file, go to the menu and it will show waypoints as a series of flags on a moving map.
Moving map nav also allows you to record and save the tracks you have done which allows you to view and share so you can repeat the journey.
Planning a route on guidance nav
GPS units allow you to plan a route using waypoints just like on a moving map by touching the screen.
But it also allows you to use POI (points of interest) or type in names of places, street names, towns, etc.
You can save the routes to favourites, my routes, etc.
However, once you have created a route, you can only share it with other riders who have the same satnav brand.
That’s because manufacturers develop unique software with features they continue to develop. They don’t want people to use their system unless buying their GPS unit.
You can export them via email, Messenger and sometimes Bluetooth or wifi, depending on the device.
They often include a smartphone app so you can plan a route on your phone or computer and then send it to your device or are it on an online community such as TomTom’s MyDrive.
How to become satnav savvy
The trend with most satnav software is to provide fairly limited instructions in the owner’s manual, or no manual at all.
These days you get comprehensive instructions on the internet or even in YouTube.
But studying the manual first will only get you so far.
By all means, explore the menus at home, but then get out on the road.
The only way you really get to know your satnav device, is to start using it and not worry about making mistakes.
Take your satnav device or app for a ride through an area you already know well so that if you get things wrong, you can still find your way home.
I’ve learnt more satnav quirks as I ride along, rather than from studying the manual.
Explore the settings and try changing things to see what happens.
You can also go for a ride with friends and talk to them and get their tips.
They don’t have to be using the same satnav device as you.
These days most systems are fairly similar in how they work.
Satnav and mapping expert Peter (World Mapman) Davis provides some interesting background information for those riders who would like to understand how to better use their satnav unit.
There are two forms of Global Positioning System (GPS) satnav (satellite navigation): moving maps and guidance navigation.
Moving maps
This satnav is basically a “raster” or computer graphics image of an actual map.
It is geo-referenced which means the map is embedded in the satnav device and knows where its latitudes and longitudes (or lats and longs as we call them) are on the map.
These are all used in apps for phones or computer programs on desktop or laptop computers.
It shows you where you are. Your position is an overlay on the map and as you move, the map moves with you.
It’s my preferred nav in a remote area because you see details such as water holes, tanks and gradients of roads.
These systems don’t supply turn-by-turn navigation, but you can still use them to plan a route.
Guidance navigation
This is turn-by-turn navigation as used in GPS satnav units from companies such as TomTom, Navman, Garmin, etc.
They use raw data collected by driving the roads, photographing them, mapping them and from satellite images.
The only map data collectors in the world are Navtecm, Teleatlas and Google. They also field-check maps and sell their data to the end users.
They collect the geographic location (lats and longs) and geo-reference images and features.
All of that data is then embedded in proprietary software that can be used on the GPS unit.
Teleatlas was bought by TomTom about 15 years ago and is not sold to any other user.
TomTom is the largest single GPS manufacturer in the world, closely followed by Garmin. But they do not have the majority of the market as there are so many models available.
Their software is set up like moving maps with similar designs for roads, rivers, and even the little position arrow.
The Hema Navigator and Mudmap are the only GPS units that include both turn-by-turn guidance and a moving map option.
Smartphone satnav
Smartphones have a built-in GPS device that allows you to use moving maps via a mapping app. Just make sure you have turned on “location services”.
These don’t need a mobile signal or wifi to work, although they will provide more accurate positioning.
You can be riding in the middle of the Simpson Desert and still use your GPS to access an app with relevant maps downloaded.
Even if you are riding overseas and do not have a mobile plan for that country, the program will work.
The best and easiest to use mapping apps are Hema, Mudmap and Avenza.
Mud Map and Hema Explorer apps for iOS and Android cost $99.99 and $49.95 respectively and come with some maps.
Avenza is free, but you have to buy the maps. They get 10% commission.
Some maps are free and some start at just a few dollars.
Once you buy them, you own them, they are on your device and the GPS will place you on those maps.
By the way, other smartphone apps that use maps such as Uber and Find My Friends won’t work unless you have mobile signal or wifi.
Smartphone maps
Smartphones also have either a proprietary map (like Apple Maps) and/or Google Maps that use mobile signal and/or wifi.
Apple started collecting its own data and bought some data, but didn’t do any field checking.
They introduced the service too soon and relied too much on free crowd-source data, so it was riddled with errors. They have since just bought known data, so it is now more reliable.
You can use both of these to plan a route, find where you are and source nearby points of interest.
In fact, this is how they get their funding as companies pay to be included on their maps.
Next in the series we will talk about how to plan your route.
TomTom has finally released their new Rider 550 satnav with new routes, wifi, personalised trips, smartphone connectivity, group sharing and voice activation.
It costs $599 and we wondered whether it is worth the money when smartphones these days seem to do so much of the tasks of a satnav.
The qualified cartographer has spent 20 years as Sales and Marketing Manager of HEMA Maps and five years running his own geographic information consultancy, so he knows what he is talking about.
Here is his review:
Tom Tom Rider 550
Out of the box the first thing that impresses is the handlebar mount.
It is RAM brand which I believe to be the best, most secure and robust range of vehicle electronic mounts in the world.
When I attached the mount to the handle bars and went for a run, it did not disappoint; solid with virtually no vibration.
It also allows you to quickly swivel the unit from landscape to portrait mode depending on what you prefer.
The Rider 550 came fully charged and ready to go. And with faster processing, it fires up very quickly. No more waiting for it to load.
It includes a short cable with a proprietary plug on the end to connect to a cable with bare wire ends to route it straight to your battery terminal. There is also a cable with a USB plug to go to a USB charging port. Handy.
However, on my first test I didn’t bother plugging it into power. I ran it on full nav operation for more than four hours and it still had 3/4 battery left. (It is claimed to have six hours’ battery charge.)
I haven’t yet got around to plugging in the power cable and might never feel the need with that much battery power storage!
Speaking of storage, I downloaded the complete set of free world maps. Not many satnavs have that much storage capacity.
The instruction manual is concise but tells you everything you needed to know.
Wifi connection
Since it has wifi, you don’t have to connect to it to a computer for updates.
Once connected to home wifi, the TomTom Rider 550 tells you if there are any updates required and you do this while you are connected.
Operationally it is typical of any modern satnav devices. It is easy to use and quite intuitive. When you take a wrong turn it is lightning fast at recalculating. So much faster than any other GPS unit or smartphone navigation app.
Its stored POIs (points of interest) are also extensive.
On the bike, the screen visibility is very acceptable even in full sun. I could read the screen in all light conditions with minor head adjustments. It automatically reverts to night mode when it is dark.
The mapping data is very up-to-date which is underlined by the accuracy of the speed zone, speed camera and red light cameras.
Another thing that impresses me is that during school hours the speed in school zones automatically change.
Here’s another impressive feature: the strip map window down the side shows distance to speed cameras, fuel, etc. Very handy!
As you would expect, the device can connect to Bluetooth intercom units. However, if you turn up the volume, it’s easy to hear without Bluetooth connection at all but highway speeds.
Given that I don’t use Bluetooth much, I wasn’t able to test the voice activation or the new feature that reads smartphone messages aloud in your headset.
However, that sort of technology works well elsewhere so Im sure it’s fine, if you like that sort of thing.
My only concern was that the view randomly swapped orientation between horizontal to vertical, but it did correct quickly. (We noticed this with the previous model if you set it too close to horizontal. It needs to be positioned closer to vertical – MBW).
Conclusion
TomTom Rider 500 is a useful navigation tool and much more suitable to the rugged conditions on your bike than a delicate smartphone.
Given that traffic warnings, speed camera locations and worldwide mapping is included free for the lifetime of the unit, it could be taken and used anywhere in the world.
Tech specs
Price
$599
Battery
Rechargeable Lithium Ion
Battery charge
Up to 6 hours autonomous operation
Screen type
11 cm (4.3″) touchscreen. Capacitive, glove-friendly, sunlight readable screen
Screen Resolution
480 x 272 WQVGA
Processor
Quad-Core
Memory
16 GB
RAM Size
512 Mb
SD slot
Micro SD slot
Waterproof
IPX7 – Protects again any wet weather conditions
Connectivity
Smartphone Connected, Bluetooth audio
Wi-Fi
Update and download without plugging into a computer
Features
Hands-free calling. Smartphone messages. Siri & Google Now
Services
TomTom Traffic, TomTom Speed Cameras, QuickGPSfix via Bluetooth® on your smartphone
Maps
Pre-installed Australia, New Zealand, North America, Canada, Mexico. Worldwide maps available to download. Lifetime map updates.
Services
Lifetime Traffic and Speed Cameras Updates
USB
Micro USB port and 2.0 USB cable
Dimensions:
136.8 x 88.4 x 30.5
Weight
280g
Mount
RAM universal mounting kit – fits nearly all bikes
