The wind blowing through your hair as you roll along back roads with no destination is one of the feelings that motorcycle riders love. While we are driven by these traditional thrills of riding, we cannot ignore the fact that technology continues to evolve and improve, impacting our daily lives. In 2017, there are new apps designed for motorcyclists that help make riding safer and more enjoyable.
Here are a few of the apps motorcycle riders are choosing.
Waze
The Waze app calculates the quickest path to your destination by gathering speed information from all other Waze users in your area and at your destination. Based on a community approach, the Waze app works with input from other riders to help you avoid accidents, traffic and hidden speed traps.
By using a smartphone paired to a Bluetooth communicator in your helmet, Waze’s robotic spokesperson will give you turn-by-turn directions to ensure you take the most direct route possible. Waze also lets you search for the nearest and cheapest gas station, caravan with others to check on progress and electronically send your route and arrival time to someone so they can track your progress on the internet.
Road Cruncher
Riders who enjoy keeping up-to-date with their bike’s performance will love the Road Cruncher – it’s like having a mechanic in your phone! With this app, you can get comprehensive data on crucial elements of your motorcycle’s performance, including fuel mileage, service and repair logs and average speed. The app will also send you a reminder when it’s time for service and can track trip expenses to help you calculate the cost per day, per mile and provide a moving average.
Skymotion
We all know how unpredictable the weather in New England can be and how fast it changes. If you are planning a day trip, it helps to know if rain or heavy wind is in the forecast. The Skymotion app features up-to-the-minute weather forecasts based on your GPS location, combined with user-submitted, ground level observations, to give you reliable data that will help determine if the ride is worth the risk.
Camp Where
If you enjoy taking a cruiser on a weekend trip to camp sites and biker rallies, then the Camp Where app can come in handy. This clever app gives detailed information on over 11,500 public campgrounds in the United States and Canada. These include national parks, national forests, state parks, state forests and city and county campgrounds. The app also provides helpful information including phone numbers, reservation info, RV hookups and weather information to help you prepare for trips.