In the age of smartphones, there seems to be apps for everything, and luckily for riders, that includes motorcycle apps. There are some apps that are not motorcycle-specific but none-the-less are incredibly useful. Even better are all the apps that were created with riders specifically in mind. Chances are some of the apps out there come with impressive tools that you’ve never even considered needing. Whether you’re interested in a better way to plan your next ride, a GPS system that can track your trip, planning and real-time weather updates, or even a way to ride safer—there’s probably an app for you. Here are just some of the best apps out there that riders love.
1. Eat Sleep Ride Motorcycle GPS
Possibly the most comprehensive and indispensable app out there for tech-savvy riders, Eat Sleep Ride includes more useful tools than any other apps currently available. Boasted by the creators as “the best tracking, social, and safety app for motorcycles”, the app certainly tries to live up to the description.
Eat Sleep ride allows you to track, save, and share all your rides using GPS. You can then review your ride, observing factors like speed, elevation, and even lean angle. Serving as a sort of social media for riders, the app then lets you share those rides with others, which means you can also check out rides shared by others, and if they look interesting, go on them yourself.
One of the most popular and unique features available in the Eat Sleep Ride app is Crashlight, and impressive tool that can actually help you be safer when riding. By using your accelerometer, Crashlight detects when you’ve experienced a motorcycle crash and will automatically send an emergency alert, to contacts specified by you, if you don’t deactivate it within three minutes.
2. Best Biking Roads
Best Biking Roads is the world’s largest and most comprehensive resource for motorcycle touring, containing thousands of routes worldwide tracked and added by riders themselves. Using the map searching features, riders can explore all the routes located near them, or somewhere they are headed. Many of the routes even include photos and videos.
Routes are rated by users based on a number of relevant factors, including road surface, straights, corners, scenery, visibility, hazards, and even police presence—so before heading out on a route you can see what others thought of it and decide if it’s the right ride for you. The app boasts more than 30,000 users, many of which contribute routes are leave reviews, making it a wealth of on-the-ground knowledge from riders themselves.
3. Rever
Rever is another great motorcycle app that helps riders explore and track new routes, but with more of a community focus. The app allows you to record your ride with some essential stats, like average speed, distance, time, elevation and more, and share all of this information with other riders on Rever.
Rever also encourages sharing rides with friends or specific groups by making it easy to plan group rides, either by sharing a route with a group that’s about to head out together, or helping you link up with new riding buddies through the app. A more unique feature of the app is the ability to complete challenges and unlock rewards. Some challenges include logging a certain number of rides, or logging long-distance rides, encouraging you to get out and ride as much as possible, in a fun and engaging way.
Lastly, the app also lets you download maps for viewing when you’re lacking cell reception, which could be an essential tool on cross country rides or on back roads that are lacking service.
4. Cycle Trader
Cycle Trader’s website is one of the more popular motorcycle trading resources out there, so it should come as no surprise that the app is similarly useful. Users can buy, sell, or trade new or used motorcycle parts and accessories. The app makes the process as simple as possible by using your location to show you the activity that’s going on in your area, so you can browse what’s close by.
Moreover, the app also helps you locate nearby dealers, get insurance quotes, and estimate payments, if you’re interested in getting a professional opinion or need help with some of the more technical aspects of buying and owning a motorcycle.
5. Dark Sky Weather
While there are plenty of apps out there that will tell you the general weather, many riders can attest to the usefulness of a weather app as accurate and detailed as Dark Sky Weather. The app provides minute-by-minute updates on weather, including rain, wind, and even the direction a storm is moving–making it much easier to efficiently avoid getting caught in bad weather. Being prepared for the volatile nature of weather can make or break a ride, so it’s definitely worth it to have an app like this.