So this past weekend I joined Rob out in WV on a rainy Saturday for my first bmwbmw ride.
Around 1pm we stopped, I took out a nalgene from the back panier, than for some reason put my pda style cell phone and the nalgene in the case together.
Between 1pm and 3pm the nalgene decided to call my wife a total of about 20 times. Poor woman thought I was in a ditch somewhere incapacitated and trying to signal her.
So, anyway, to get to the point - I bought the Spot online the next day, it arrived on Tuesday and I have been playing around with it ever since.
I opted for the 'tracking' mode which costs an extra 49 bucks a year. I thought it worth it to track my riding and our sailing forays out in Annapolis.
All in all I found that the transmit can get a little sketchy under any tree'd landscape, or - in general - limited southern exposure.
I tried a few different spots on the bike, and for now, the tank bag map case seems to have worked the best.
It doesn't quite get out a track message every 10 minutes as advertised but will get it out 10-10, then 30mins, then 20, then 10, then 1 hour later. The "I"m OK" has worked about ... 70% of the time. One feature I thought was pretty cool is that you can configure a publicly accessible web site (password protected or not - your choice) and send that to friends/family so they can see where your track is at any given time. Very cool.
In general I think this would not be a guaranteed mechanism for 911 help on a solo ride (for a variety of reasons - you may be stuck in a canyon, or separated, or god-forbid unconscious) but it will really make a lot of sense if you are paired up and another person with you knows how to use the device.
They could always travel a few hundred yards or what-have-you and initiate the 911 transmission with a clear line of site of the sky.
If you happen to be an REI member, it would be a good place to buy it - they are charging the same price as the web site, you get your REI redemption next year, and they will take anything back for any reason if you decide it doesn't meet your needs.
http://www.rei.com/product/766529
Hope the mini-review is helpful.
-Ken
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2006 R1200 GS