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Where do you carry your SPOT?

dwestly

New member
True Story:
A good friend of ours (another MSF RiderCoach and factory demo rider) was on a cross-country trip last year when he had a catastrophic blow-out of his front tire while on the interstate at 70 mph. After all the crashing and carnage had come to a stop, he found himself lying in the median strip, some distance from his bike. He was conscious but unsure of his physical condition. Fortunately he had his SPOT on his person, rather than attached to the bike. He was able to reach the SPOT without significant bodily movement and activate the distress beacon. Help arrived almost immediately. He was transported to a local hospital and kept overnight for observation, then managed to walk out the next day. (Something to be said for good, full protective gear here, as well...).

The point of this is that if the SPOT had been on the bike, he would have been forced to move to it to call for help. In a worst case scenario, he might not have been able to reach the SPOT at all. This taught me an immediate lesson, as I used to carry my SPOT on the bike. Now I carry it on my person.

So, where do you carry your SPOT?
 
I use the Spot in tracking mode to update friends and family of my whereabouts in real time.

Got tired of buying AAA lithium batteries which only last a few days in tracking mode, so I modified my Spot to run off USB power.

Therefor it lives in the map window of the tank bag.
 
Mine's normally in my sea-bag which I take along when on the boat... I have brought it on bike trips, but it usually lives in the luggage. My helmet has a SENA SMH10 and my iPhone will dial by voice command, so I guess all's good there. I'd have to hunt for it, but I think someone made "an app for that"..... If you crash the phone auto-dials 911
 
Mines mostly on the bike though I have used the the strap on my arm before with no problems but always felt that if I had a get off the arm strap would separate from me too I ride in many areas that have no cell phone coverage so that is really not an option.
 
Do you want responders to find the bike... or you? You could end up quite far from the bike under the right (wrong?) circumstances. I don't have a Spot but probably should, and will have one before my next trip - in my jacket pocket.

pete
Teachers make every other occupation possible.
 
If I was interested in self-preservation I wouldn't be riding a motorcycle :)

But seriously... For off-road use a Spot should most definitely be worn and not mounted on the bike.

However I think the chances of me crashing and immobilized and not being seen by another human with a cell phone are slim to none. (Hope I didn't just jinx myself!)
 
I don't have one, either. But if I did, and I have considered it, it would be in the left chest pocket of my Stitch. Hopefully activat-able without having to remove it if it had to be. The roads I ride on my regular 'commute' have limited cell reception, but ample areas where a bike and rider could disappear and all the dust settle before another vehicle came along. I do carry my cell phone in my jacket pocket, along with all ID, etc. I have one of the forarm document velcro attachments, but only use it for notes or directions as like above, I figure it would be ripped off in an event.
 
If you crash on an interstate; particularly in Florida, you're going to have first responders around you pretty quickly; with or without a Spot.
 
Besides possibly saving your bacon, the Spot provides an easy way of keeping your loved ones aware of your location and health. Plus it's fun tracking you on a long trip.

There's a review of SPOT in the April Motorcycle Consumer News, BTW.

pete
 
I have the first generation Spot and you are supposed to have it horizontal for best satellite reception and transmission. I use it in tracking mode on most trips so it lives in the map pocket of the tank bag because on my body it wouldn't work well. I just have to accept that if I need to hit the button for myself that I need to reach the bike.
 
When I'm flying I carry it clipped to my parachute rig - I want them to find me hanging in the tree and not the smoking hole for the plane. On the bike I put it under the window of my Motorrad tank bag but I'm also usually riding with other people so being unable to reach it isn't as important. For me solo rides, it probably would make more sense to put it on my jacket somewhere. Thanks for the awareness post!
 
I think if it is on your person, there is a probability that it would be destroyed in a crash. It might be destroyed on the bike, but probably not.
 
My SPOT is on the handlebar, but when I'm by myself in lonesome country I have a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) somewhere on my person.
 
Mine is on the GSA next to the winglet, held on with dual lock and a tether. My iPhone is on a RAM mount on the handlebars. I have a Scala Rider G9 that's paired to the phone but at best I could maybe get it to redial the last number called. I never do outgoing calls when riding so I'm not real sure how that works. This thread gave me a reason to check that out. I'd prefer to keep my SPOT on the bike since I routinely swap jackets for trips depending on the weather. Having it where I could activate the emergency feature makes sense.
 
Mine is on the GSA next to the winglet, held on with dual lock and a tether. My iPhone is on a RAM mount on the handlebars. I have a Scala Rider G9 that's paired to the phone but at best I could maybe get it to redial the last number called. I never do outgoing calls when riding so I'm not real sure how that works. This thread gave me a reason to check that out. I'd prefer to keep my SPOT on the bike since I routinely swap jackets for trips depending on the weather. Having it where I could activate the emergency feature makes sense.

Push the "phone" button and wait for your iPhone to do the "Beep beep" tone. Then say "Call such and such" and it'll do it. I've found my SENA SMH10 to be better at voice recognition than the speaker/mic on the phone itself.
 
Spot ? Where?

When riding in a group of two or three riders mine is mounted with RAM mount on handle bar...by my lonesome...in my pocket.

Also, SPOT I , really needed to be in plain view of sky...but SPOT II is much better on the transmitting the signal...

I have tested the tracking mode of the SPOT II on the Ram Mount vs inside my left chest pocket of riding jacket... I find little or no difference in tracking sends.

Spot II does come with an arm belt and couple other options..

With Spot II, I hit tracking first, wait a few minutes....then send a SPOT OK, to mark the start of the ride...the unit will revert to tracking after the SPOT OK is sent...at the end of the ride, lunch break or POI, I hit SPOT OK again to mark the spot or send to Friends and Family my location, after each SPOT OK, it will revert back to tracking mode automatically.

Hope this helps!
 
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