There’s a certain thrill that goes along with planning a long ride. You’ve got a loose plan of where you’re going, your saddlebags are semi-loaded, and all of a sudden you start wondering about the nitty-gritty. Which roads are worth riding? Where’s the next gas station? What if somebody falls behind?
Twenty years ago, the answer was paper maps and a lot of luck. Now, your smartphone can handle most of those issues for you.
Here are five apps you should get before you hit the road:
5 Motorcycle Riding Apps Worth Downloading Before Your Next Trip
1. Riding Verse
If you ride with friends or a club, RidingVerse is a motorcycle riding app built for group rides and shared adventures. Everything about riding together is on one app: Planning, tracking, chatting, whether it’s a quick breakfast run at the weekend, or a multi-state tour, it has your logistics covered and is free for iOS and Android.
It’s designed with Indian riders in mind, which is reflected in the community aspect. Rather than switching between a messaging group, a maps link, and a separate location-sharing app, you’ve got it all here. Every rider gets the same route, and the rider at the back doesn’t have to keep calling ahead to see where the leader has gone.
- Group ride planning with shareable routes and GPS navigation with turn-by-turn directions
- A live map showing where everyone in your group is in real time
- Crash detection with automated SOS alerts, and community alerts for road hazards
- In-app chat for coordinating stops, delays, and last-minute changes
- Rider profiles, badges and milestones making logging your rides a little more fun
- A directory of motorcycle clubs, community rides and meetups, handy if you’re new to a city and want riding company
Best For: Group rides, club members, and anyone who wants safety features and community in the same app.
2. REVER
REVER – the app many riders turn to when you need to do a little legwork to plan your trip. Rever’s website version makes it a little easier to plan your routes with its larger screen, then allows you to sync that to your phone for navigation and sharing. It’s ideal for someone who likes to do a bit of planning before heading out. It’s particularly valuable on a long ride because it’s not dependent on a consistent signal.
Once your maps are downloaded, you can keep navigating on the phone through areas with often-shaky service, so most riders don’t get caught out. (Because the service is free, you’ll likely find it easier to plan on a computer, but REVER makes it easy to plan while on the bike.) Some of REVER’s features:
- Downloadable maps, turn-by-turn directions, and voice navigation so you can keep your eyes up
- LiveRIDE to help track and share your location with friends and family or even auto-SMS your contacts when you begin or end a ride
- Butler maps that prioritize scenic and twisty roads over the quickest route
- The ability to record rides and share or review them at your leisure (free to try; free version, Pro version costs a few dollars per year)
Best For: Detailed trip planning, solo riders who want a safety net, and riders venturing into areas with limited coverage.
3. Scenic
Not all good rides have a destination. Sometimes you just want the best road between two places, and for that, Scenic is the perfect app. You can browse routes that other riders have put together, which means local knowledge and subjective experience rather than algorithms.
The app is kept intentionally very simple. It’s very clean with big text, so you can see the options clearly on the road without the need to squint at your phone screen.
- It’s idea-generation rather than planning.
- A route hand-curated by other riders rather than selected by an algorithm
- An interface that remains comfortable to browse on the move
- A decent alternative to the boring old highway
If you’re planning a trip to somewhere far away and are using REVER for the big-picture planning, then you can use Scenic to fill in those more interesting details that aren’t quite worth five hours in the saddle.
Best For: Weekend explorers and riders who care more about the journey than the arrival time.
4. Waze
Even if it isn’t exclusively a motorcycle app, Waze should make your list because most trips don’t go exactly as planned. It is the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app, and it is entirely driven by other drivers reporting on the conditions they experience on the road. So, if you’re blowing through a large city, or heading home on an otherwise-empty Sunday night, Waze has got you covered.
Use it to complement your regular route, rather than rely on it as your main navigation. Your planning bike is still doing the scenic route; Waze is the voice that cheers when you learn the bridge is closed, or you’ve been in a traffic jam for ten kilometres and finally get to turn around.
- Live updates on traffic and road conditions
- Real-time rerouting to help you find the most efficient way to your destination
- Alerts for accidents, roadwork, and other hazards reported by other users
- A useful backup when your planned route hits a closure
Best For: City stretches, highway days, and last-minute reroutes.
5. GasBuddy
Fuel Range is something you don’t think about until you’re staring at the empty light in the middle of nowhere. GasBuddy can take some of the stress off by showing you the cheapest gas prices in your area, and even lets you filter the search for a station offering a decent food selection or premium fuel for those long days in the saddle.
On a single tank, you’re not going to save a ton of money, but over a multi-day trip, it’s enough to make for a smoother touring experience, especially if that also means stopping somewhere for a proper meal.
- Comparison of prices at stations in the vicinity
- Filters for food and premium fuel
- A quick planning tool to help you avoid running out of fuel
- Helpful on multi-day trips, where saving a few cents here and there adds up and stops with food make for a better day
Best For: Touring long-distance and anyone on a bike with limited tank range
Wrapping Up
No one app can do everything, and that’s okay. As far as possible, build a little toolbox of apps that fits you as a rider. If you ride in a group, start with Riding Verse because it will keep everyone on the same page with the route and you can see everyone’s position. If you plan absolutely everything down to the second, use REVER for the maps and navigation. Scenic comes along as your backup for ideas, Waze and Gas Buddy quietly take care of day-to-day pain in the ass that turn a great ride into a bad day.
Most of all, remember that these apps are tools to make your ride better, not a puppeteer to run it. Leave a little room for the unexpected, like a roadside chai or a vista you saw on the side of the road. Plan just enough to feel confident and comfortable but leave space for a little detour. First, try a couple of apps on a short local ride so that you’re familiar with how they work in the back of your mind before you’re a thousand clicks from home. Then, pack your bag, check your tire pressure and go.
