I got a TomTom 400 a while back and I ride a big V Twin. Aprilia conveniently preinstalled a power supply under the front dash with a TomTom connector and marked the cable "GPS" so they must have anticipated something!
So far I have no issues with the unit, in fact I am very happy with it. The interface is very easy to use and has done exactly what I want it to. There are a couple of features I like. When selecting a route you can choose how twisty a road you want to go on, they call it "plan a thrill" The other one is that the mount is designed to rotate through 90degrees. The display goes from landscape to portrait while displaying the same information, just you can see the more of the shape of the road to come, useful when on a new road.
The display is clear, works pretty well on a bright day although dark glasses or a sun visor does change how you view things. Change mind, not make it invisible. I tend to use the audio prompts more than what is on the display so its not such an issue.
You get access to TomTom software AND an application called Tyre which I found easy to use. You plan the route on a PC for instance for loading on the unit after but you can do most things on the unit itself, just a bit more fiddly.
I probably havent even begun to scratch the surface of what the unit can do but like you have mentioned they are significantly cheaper than the Garmin offerings.
I was advised for general use the TomTom is more than adequate but if you want to do serious adventure riding the Garmin copes better with being off the roading network.
The unit is built to handle exposure to the elements and the vibration from a bike and comes with a complete mounting and wiring kit. When I looked at the car type units and then having to waterproof it and make provision for mounting and powering one of those, the Rider400 represents pretty good value then.
Life is not measured by how many breaths you take, but how many times you have your breath taken away
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