Premium Member martyl Posted June 9, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted June 9, 2016 Title says it all... A Motorcyclist's Church is the open road.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chikung Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Yes it is brilliant. The twisty ride mode is quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baretta Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 would it be better to buy a cheaper GPS and put it in a waterproof casing than spend 600 on a "motorcycle" GPS. I'm looking at the tom tom, but holy cow, expensive. I can pick up a magellan or a garmin for a vehicle for much less and waterproof it. anyone have any thoughts on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member DavidS Posted July 5, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted July 5, 2016 You wouldn't have some of the motorcycle specific features, like water proofing, ability to use touch screen with your glove, and find twisty road options. But you could certainly go that route, or just mount your tablet or phone and pull up google maps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humblebub Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I have used a zumo for many years and it has been through a lot and never let me down. That said, I have many friends who use automotive GPS on their bikes and are quite satisfied and happy with price. Before the zumo I had a Tomtom and the mount failed. It was a known issue and no doubt resolved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I use a Garman Nuvi550, its like 7 years old but is waterproof. If you can still find one I would recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisner955 Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I have the 400 but just got it installed. Word of warning - I use to use a TomTom OneXL but after a half dozen multi-day trips the USB charging port got loose. I attribute this to vibration. It would only power if you held the connector in with your hand. The 400 and others have a dedicated power mount that eliminates this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omarf Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Like David said, why not just use an iPhone, google maps and a pair of Bluetooth earbuds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member bugsplatered Posted August 18, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted August 18, 2016 GPS City has a Garmin 590lm group buy on AdvRider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member estell Posted August 18, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted August 18, 2016 would it be better to buy a cheaper GPS and put it in a waterproof casing than spend 600 on a "motorcycle" GPS. I'm looking at the tom tom, but holy cow, expensive. I can pick up a magellan or a garmin for a vehicle for much less and waterproof it. anyone have any thoughts on this? A used car GPS is easy to find for $60 or less. At that price, I leave mine on the bike all the time. I mounted it above the instrument cluster, where it is protected by the windscreen. No waterproofing needed. You wouldn't have some of the motorcycle specific features, like water proofing, ability to use touch screen with your glove, and find twisty road options. But you could certainly go that route, or just mount your tablet or phone and pull up google maps? I tried using a phone before I got the GPS. The problem is that phone screens are hard to read in sunlight through a tinted visor. They also require data service, and lots of it if you roam outside the boundary of the map that you saved. Those may be the areas that are least likely to have data service. My car GPS, a Garmin Nuvi 2557LMT, doesn't have the twisty roads option but it does tell me the distances to gas stations and other points of interest. The main downside to the car GPS vs the motorcycle GPS is the power connection. I had to wire in the guts of a USB power adapter, splicing it into the accessory plug power wires, because the power plug kept vibrating out of the accessory power socket. 2015 red FJ-09: Cal Sci screen, Sargent seat, ECU flash, slider combo, cruise, Rizoma bars, Matts forks, JRi shock, slipper clutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfart Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 I first went the car GPS route to marginal success. I bought a clear plastic holder for it but the cigarette-lighter plug kept vibrating out of the bike's receptacle (I wrapped a rubber band around the GPS plug and crammed it in the receptacle which seemed to reduce the number of times it popped out). But then the car GPS crapped out completely on a big trip perhaps due to vibration, heat, or who knows what else because it wasn't designed for outside use. So then I got a Garmin Zumo 660LM on sale from Walmart online for $334.95...full retail is $599 but since it's being discontinued retailers are slicing the price. Revzilla had it "on sale" for $499 and I'm sure glad I shopped around some more. And it comes with a Ram mount, so you don't have to buy that separately. I mounted it on the left side of my handlebars. Anyway, it's a great GPS unit at an excellent price. Sure it cost more than a car GPS but the peace of mind that comes with having a proper set-up greatly outweighs it, in my opinion. Bottom line....be sure to price-check Walmart for these items and not just the motorcycle equipment websites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member wessie Posted August 18, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted August 18, 2016 I was on a trip with a friend using his iphone in the top of his tankbag - it worked okay when the iphone was on but every hour or so it would get too hot and switch itself off. My Android phone has done this in my car when being used as a satnav. Fortunately, I had my trusty Garmin Zumo 390LM which kept us on the planned route. Mate has now bought a Zumo 660. I can't comment on the Tom Tom as I ride with a cabal of Garmin owners. Garmin make it easy to plan & share routes via their Mapsource or Basecamp software and most come with free, lifetime map updates. Take heed of the comment above about searching large retailers for discounts on satnavs. In the UK, the likes of Lidl & Aldi sometimes get a batch in. I bought mine when Halfords had a 30% off discount promo over a bank holiday weekend. Amazon and Ebay sellers have factory refurbished units. This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Order66 Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 My iPhone + LifeProof case + UClear intercom = waterproof GPS/music/phone system. Doesn't get too hot because air is circulating around it, and it's a 'one stop shop' for any digital needs I might have. I have gloves with the touchscreen threads, and for the ones that don't, I have the touchscreen 'goo' that works amazingly well on my fingertips. s e t h 2015 FJ-09 (The Me Bike) - CalSci, RAM, Shad, Givi, CrampBuster, Grip Puppies, GoPro, my custom Garage Door Opener Mod 2014 Valkyrie (The We Bike) - Too much to list, and no one on this forum cares anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxtrot722 Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 I first went the car GPS route to marginal success. I bought a clear plastic holder for it but the cigarette-lighter plug kept vibrating out of the bike's receptacle (I wrapped a rubber band around the GPS plug and crammed it in the receptacle which seemed to reduce the number of times it popped out). But then the car GPS crapped out completely on a big trip perhaps due to vibration, heat, or who knows what else because it wasn't designed for outside use. So then I got a Garmin Zumo 660LM on sale from Walmart online for $334.95...full retail is $599 but since it's being discontinued retailers are slicing the price. Revzilla had it "on sale" for $499 and I'm sure glad I shopped around some more. And it comes with a Ram mount, so you don't have to buy that separately. I mounted it on the left side of my handlebars. Anyway, it's a great GPS unit at an excellent price. Sure it cost more than a car GPS but the peace of mind that comes with having a proper set-up greatly outweighs it, in my opinion. Bottom line....be sure to price-check Walmart for these items and not just the motorcycle equipment websites. Like he said above, the ZUMO 660LM with the ram mount kit is the way to go. The reason I switched from the automotive style is the "route" feature. I can draw a 350 mile route on Google map, as many crocks and curvy roads as I like. Export the map as a "KML" file, import the KML in the 660 and name it. It will show up as a track, then convert the track to a route. Now you have a route listed in you favorites. When you are ready to ride, select the route and it will follow it just like you drew on Google maps. Sometimes my route starting point is a 100 miles away, so I use the feature, "go to start of route" it will make a direct path to the beginning of the route. Paid about $350 on eBay with the ram mount kit. 1970 DT-250 / 1972 250MX / 1973 360MX / 1974 250MX & 1974 CZ 400 Red Frame & SC 500 / 1978 YZ 250 / 1979 YZ250 / (2) 1980 YZ 250 / 1986 YZ 490 / 1989 YZ250 WR / 1994 YZ 250 / (2) 2002 YZ 426 / 2007 YZ 450 / 2007 DR 650, 2015 FJ 09 / 2020 YZ 250 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member 1moreroad Posted September 2, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted September 2, 2016 Replacing a nuvi with a zumo this week. The nuvi charger plug would come loose periodically. Sometimes it just kicked to battery power, sometimes it would reboot, and sometimes it would shut down for several hours. Amazon has new, last gen TomTom and Garmin GPS on sale around $300 right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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