Best GPS ?

[1olbull]

Just last night I headed out planning to ride the local roads for an hour, but ended up exploring a long back road with no cell service… went about 95 miles over 2.5 hours.

The road ended up coming out exactly where I thought. But on 30 miles of back road there were maybe two dozen ranches, no cell service, and I only passed two cars the whole time. Would've felt a little better having the GPS with me. Plus it was approaching sunset and cooling off quickly. Sometimes you reach a point when exploring time is done and you're ready to get home NOW, though I'm glad that wasn't last night.

But the other thing I had forgotten about is on an unfamiliar curvy road with limited visibility around terrain, having the GPS running without a route and zoomed in fairly close can be a huge help in knowing what's coming ahead, which way the road curves and how sharply. Taken to the extreme it's a bad habit. You can end up riding the map instead of the road. But as a tool to help now and then, it's great.

I have always used a Garmin Zumo on long trips.
But this is an excellent point as I have AT&T and my cell service is always going out on trips, especially when off the Interstate corridors.

 

[warp9.9]

Hey Rob,
I have sent in my DD214 to apply for post exchange benefits.
Curious what the exchange rate for that Garmin 595LM is.

I was in the NEX Norfolk last week and could not believe they only had a couple of the cheap Garman car GPS's on the shelf no motorcycle stuff. Ya must have to order the good stuff.

 

[barbagris]

I was in the NEX Norfolk last week and could not believe they only had a couple of the cheap Garman car GPS's on the shelf no motorcycle stuff. Ya must have to order the good stuff.

Stand Alone GPS sales are dying off here. The only way to sell is to have lifetime maps and all sorts of other stuff thrown in.

More and more cars - even quite base models now come with SatNav from factory. Add that cellphone coverage in most of the EU is close to - if not actually 100% and Data Tarifs are dropping and it will not surprise me at all if they all pretty much disappear. Roaming charges are being made illegal pan-EU too. A big issue with GPS on bikes is being able to see the ruddy display too. Not seen one GPS or Phone I can read in summer sunlight.

 

[R3Tex]

This is what I use. The top is spring loaded. Phone is held very secure.

 

[ThisGuy]

One thing I would never do is use my only cell phone on the handlebars. I want my phone in a protective case in a pocket on my body, so if the bike goes down and I'm laying in a ditch alone, I have the best possible chance of being able to summon help.

 

[Old N' Grumpy]

One thing I would never do is use my only cell phone on the handlebars. I want my phone in a protective case in a pocket on my body, so if the bike goes down and I'm laying in a ditch alone, I have the best possible chance of being able to summon help.

Not to mention they will easily overheat, quickly becoming temporarily useless.

 

[Gregger]

Considering installing a GPS on my R3. Would like to keep the cost in the $200 range. Is there a best choice at that price point?

I was in the same situation a few years ago looking for a low cost GPS. I looked closely at the Chinese GPS units but my research showed a number of problems getting appropriate maps or updating them. I also tried the automotive GPS units (Tom Tom) relying on just the screen for directions. These didn't lend themselves to quick removal/installation and there was always the need to protect the GPS in rain. The cell phone route was tried but again hooking the phone up, making sure it was charged, loss of signal issues, etc etc finally got me to look at the Garmin Zumo or the TomTom Rider motorcycle specific GPS units. I ended up with a Zumo 660 which I picked up brand new at GPS Central for $495 Canadian. Best money I've spent. Easy to install, quick to place on the handlebar mount, self charging, waterproof, bluetooth several ways, fairly large screen, equipped with a car mount for quick conversion between vehicles, etc etc. I've used it for 3 summers with no problems. Great unit.

I realise you are looking for the low cost alternative but I feel you get what you pay for. If you can, wait for a Zumo or TomTom especially when they are bringing in a new model, they often clear out the older units with a big discount.

 

[rocketjohn]

Speaking of cheap GPS, there are Chinese units on Ebay, which come with NO maps. You have to locate and install them yourself!

 

[HansO]

I was in the same situation a few years ago looking for a low cost GPS. I looked closely at the Chinese GPS units but my research showed a number of problems getting appropriate maps or updating them. I also tried the automotive GPS units (Tom Tom) relying on just the screen for directions. These didn't lend themselves to quick removal/installation and there was always the need to protect the GPS in rain. The cell phone route was tried but again hooking the phone up, making sure it was charged, loss of signal issues, etc etc finally got me to look at the Garmin Zumo or the TomTom Rider motorcycle specific GPS units. I ended up with a Zumo 660 which I picked up brand new at GPS Central for $495 Canadian. Best money I've spent. Easy to install, quick to place on the handlebar mount, self charging, waterproof, bluetooth several ways, fairly large screen, equipped with a car mount for quick conversion between vehicles, etc etc. I've used it for 3 summers with no problems. Great unit.

I realise you are looking for the low cost alternative but I feel you get what you pay for. If you can, wait for a Zumo or TomTom especially when they are bringing in a new model, they often clear out the older units with a big discount.

just another note to add, as you would have read in earlier post I have three different Garmin units and after my big off which smashed a few things in the cockpit area I was amazed that while the power cable was cut by something crushing it the Garmin mount and the Ram mount survived the impact and the Garmin 395LM unit itself seemed OK, to get to the point the good News is that I was able to buy the power cable separately and I did not have to buy a whole new mount which surprised me in this throw away day and age, well then the big test came and hooked it up to a battery straight away it started up as if I had turned on ignition key, I feared the impact may have scrambled the insides, but all recent data was still there, now I have reset all the logging screen ready for the Explorer.
So in short It is a tuff unit and I'll stay with Garmin All the way if you want to use a money pinching way, go ahead it is Your Wallet waste your money (as I did with the Aldi unit) but if you want a reliable way to Navigate don't waste your time or money with cheap chinese knock offs or phone Apps

 

[rocketjohn]

When I went over the cliff, my Garmin also survived unmolested. One tough bird!