| Author | Message | ||
     Joseb |
I've been trying to figure out what is so special about Motorcycle GPS units that they can charge $500+ for them vs $80-$150 for a really nice car unit. I know they are weather-resistant, but aren't there pouches for just about every car unit out there to help protect them from the elements? I might be completely off here, any thoughts? | ||
| Iamike |
The brightness can be a big issue plus the ability to use it with gloves on. The biggest problem that I have seen with any of the navigation type ones for vehicles is the map detail doesn't show much when zoomed out aways. I want one to look like a map would, showing county roads, towns and minor highways. Pretty much every one that I have looked at loses that info too soon as you zoom out. My hand-held hiking GPS has a better map than the auto units do. Unfortunately the screen is a little small. BTW, Garmin's website has them on sale right now. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
The best compromise is the Nuvi 550. It's your basic car Nuvi unit, with the addition of being waterproof. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I use my phone. Works great. Ram mount makes a mount for everything. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
1492...sextant....... was where it was at.  | ||
| Maximum |
I think that I will be dropping 8 bones on the Zumo 665 this coming year...I've wanted Nexrad color radar on my bike since I purchased the Zumo 550 four years ago and was disappointed by the lame weather information it provided. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
I have the nuvi 550 and like it. Not all the bells and whistles, no blue tooth, but has everything you need. Can get them in the 200-300 dollar range. Good compromise if you do not have 500 bones for the zumo. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Aaargh GPS, the devil's tool! Ok I admit it's a useful thing for finding addresses, & warning about fixed speed cameras, but it's no substitute for a decent map & a brain. The company I've just finished working for had to produce a bulletin to inform drivers that blaming the GPS for taking an uneconomic route was unacceptable, & that any accident caused due to a driver taking the GPS route, would be classed as gross negligence & render the driver liable to dismissal. | ||
| Rwven |
Joseb, Waterproofing,"glovefriendliness", a way to get the voice prompts to your headset, a cycle friendly wiring harness....just enough difference to kill the economies of scale they get with the mass market car units. Add to that a significant number of users that will pay a premium to get a motorcycle specific unit. I ride with folks who do quite well with a cheap car unit and a zip-lock bag.... | ||
| Phelan |
I'm with Fatty; I just use my phone. RAM mounts are AWESOME. | ||
| Fuzzz |
Seems to me that taking a "wrong" turn, and finding yourself in some quaint village not shown on a computer is part of the charm of motorcycling... The folks I've ridden with that have gps are constantly taking the roads I avoid, and missing the really cool, curvy ones. Give me a map, any day! | ||
| Xl1200r |
but it's no substitute for a decent map & a brain. When on moto trips, I use mine in combination with a map. I could do the same things without the map all together, but having one makes it just a little easier. I also always preview any auto-calculated route to make sure it makes sense. The folks I've ridden with that have gps are constantly taking the roads I avoid, and missing the really cool, curvy ones. They're not taking advantage of what makes moto-specific units more expensive - the better route planning (both in the unit and on your computer). The typical fashion in which I use my GPS is to pre-plan a route on my computer, load it into the GPS and follow it. On my last big trip I did some on-the-fly reroutes when I decided to make some drastic changes for 2 days and it worked just as well. I'm betting I can see more nice curvy roads from my computer screen that you can from the side of the road  | ||
| Phelan |
Not if I bust out the iPad  . Talk about a distraction... Can you imagine one of those mounted on the handlebars?  | ||
| Argentcorvid |
I emailed Garmin a couple months ago about what "motorcycle-friendly" means in their literature, and they replied that "This means that the device is vibration tested, waterproof, and made for gloved hands." The waterproof and vibration issues would be why they are more expensive. | ||
| Joseb |
Thanks for the responses guys! I wanted to plan a trip out to San Diego or Parris Island (depending on where my nephew gets sent for boot camp) next September and wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Based on my previous cross-country driving experience and my overall willingness to get lost while out on the bike, I think I'll just set a course in the general direction I'm headed and use my phone if it's required. Although now it makes a little more sense why they charge so much more for those units, vibration tested, waterproofing and gloved hand use are very while riding. I also really like the fact that it can pipe directions into your helmet via BT. Ah well. | ||
| Reepicheep |
If price is a factor, buy and old Quest or Quest II on ebay, along with an external antenna. If it's a quest 1, make sure you get the activation codes and map software. I wouldn't pay more then $40 or so for a Q1, or $60 or so for a Q2, but thats what I still use and it works just fine (just with older data). You don't want to route on the thing, so plan your trip at your desktop and download it to the quest before you go, along with all the waypoints you think are of interest. Then you can just choose the route, or route to your preloaded waypoint, quickly and easily. The Quest will do just fine "route to address" as well. In a pinch it can search for stuff, and should work at the end of the day, but can be slow. | ||
| Iamike |
I enjoy getting lost once in awhile. The GPS just tells me where I'm at when i'm lost. | ||
| Tiltcylinder |
I used an Otter box for an Iphone and RAM mount set up to hold my Mio C320?(no buttons an a 4.3" touch screen). To get around the glove thing, im using one of those plastic spring shaped tethers to hold a plastic stylus. Box has areas to hold stylus and it works great through the membrane (PSP or some other hand held game stylus... 3 pack was 6 bucks) My only complaint is brightness; in full sun it's hard to read. I love GPS, go to another state, ride random interesting roads and get lost, then when you're running low on fuel or ready to get back to base use the GPS to find your destination quickly. Often enough, it wants to use routes I don't, I ignore and ride where I want, it'll recalculate quick enough. Bluetooth with a dongle, plays mp3's and voices over with instructions when required. Prefer to have a paper map whenever possible, writing simple direction changes on a piece of paper for the tank bag ie: north on 28, west on 9, north on 4 and so on... Eventually want one that will allow downloaded files with all the silly waypoints I want to put in and weather and all the rest of the bells and doo-dads. For now it's better than nothing and probably cost less than 200 bucks total. Waterproof enough and hasn't failed from vibration after 20k or so on different bikes. | ||
| Reindog |
I use a Garmin Nuvi 1265WT with a RAM mount on my Uly. You can work around the glare issue and it is a little fumbly bumbly with gloves on but not that big a deal. This unit was indispensable on our 2000+ mile 25th anniversary California ride last year. The unit knew about really obscure roads in the wilderness. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Magellan Meridian Plat. It's getting a bit long in the tooth, but it still works extremely well for on the bike. |
