I'm not convinced I need one...........

Hawk

Guest

but if I did go down the route of getting one, I was wondering, has anyone thought of using a car one (obviously, not in bad weather :blast) since they are far cheaper than the Zumo's I've been looking at?
Is it just a daft question, as the fact you couldn't use it in adverse weather would negate the point of getting one altogether? It would only be used on the odd occasion (I have a photographic memory when it comes to maps :reynolds) so I can't justify £300+ but I may be able to with one of the car versions. :wife would have it in her car when it wasn't on the bike.
 
Apart from the lack of water resistance, most of the car GPS receivers do not allow you to pre-plan a route on the PC and upload to the GPSR. I find this very annoying with my car-based Tom Tom (though it is good in other respects).

Try to find a Garmin 2610 which should be cheap and will allow off-bike route planning and storage of many routes. GPS Warehouse have some for £200: http://www.gpsw.co.uk/details/prod2034.html.

You can, of course, also use the 2610 in the car.

GJ
 
GlynnJ said:
Apart from the lack of water resistance, most of the car GPS receivers do not allow you to pre-plan a route on the PC and upload to the GPSR. I find this very annoying with my car-based Tom Tom (though it is good in other respects).
GJ
Click to expand...


Is pre-planning a must have option :nenau
What's wrong with just inputting the destinations on a daily basis?

If the questions sound daft (they probably are :mmmm) it's because I don't want to waste money on something like a Zumo if I'm not really going to use all its singing and dancing options.
 
Depends on what you want. If you are going to plan a tour and want to follow a particular route - say, a twisty road rather than a motorway, then pre-planning is useful. It doesn't sound much... but if you don't have the facility you will wish you had.
 
I use a car TomTom (and I can pre-plan all my routes on the PC using "TomTom Home"). It's a Go 910 if that makes a difference.

I "mount" it in the front pocket of my tank bag and if it's wet I wrap it in a plastic bag - the type for putting food in the freezer with the ziplock closing. It's pretty well protected by the fairing. I can see the directions although the menu bar at the bottom is hidden.

One advantage is that I can use it to play music through my headphones and the music is muted when the TomTom gives me instructions. I use a car charger with an adapter bought at Maplin so it runs off the bike's power source.
 
Tom Tom Rider v2 is now down to £220.

If you tour on the bike in europe. It's the best bit of accessory you can spend your money on .. next to fuel! :thumb
 
Hawk said:

Is pre-planning a must have option :nenau
What's wrong with just inputting the destinations on a daily basis?

If the questions sound daft (they probably are :mmmm) it's because I don't want to waste money on something like a Zumo if I'm not really going to use all its singing and dancing options.
Click to expand...

Hawk

I got a Garmin Nuvi as a pressie a year ago, and now use it on the bike when I need to - RAM make an appropriate mount, and I've navigated across Europe with the Nuvi. The main issue, that Glynn has already indicated, but you may have misinterpreted, is that most (if not all?) car orientated ones (such as the Nuvi series) dont 'do' routing. Forget for a minute about the pre-planning and uploading from a PC, and think about the basic idea of a car based system...in a car you tend to want to go from A to B via the quickest road - these systems do that extremely well. On some occasions you might want to go from A to C via B, again as efficiently as possible.....and again, they do this very well. Very few such systems are waterproof - I dont know if any are, but to some extent, you can work around this (ie stick it ina tank bag map pocket - not ideal to take you eyes off the road, though). Remember that you will definitely have difficulty (=danger!) trying to operate these on the move with a gloved finger as they are simply not meant to do this!

On a bike however, you are likely to want to go from A to Z, via scenic/interesting waypoints B,C,D,E, F etc.........this is where you're snookered - car systems do not generally allow more than one intermediate point. You may think that you only want/need a GPS to get you home from some unknown point, and for this a car system will suffice, but you will pretty soon outgrow this functionality and want the flexibility that a 'proper system' gives, and this is where looking at PC mapping and plotting your ride for the day/holiday then uploading it to the device comes in.

My Nuvi is fine, but if I knew more at the time, I'd have held off and organised a Zumo or the like..................!

Rgs

Vireo
 
My TomTom allows any number of intermediate points. Last Summer I navigated through Holland and Germany into Denmark and Sweden and back via Norway, Denmark etc, all using two routes I'd created at home.

It's a touch-sensitive screen but I wouldn't want to operate it on the move in a car or on the bike. It's simple enough to stop, take your gloves off and add a few more waypoints for a detour.

Is the TomTom Rider at £220 a Europe-wide one or just the UK? My 910 cost me £250 last June and it's got the whole world on it. Mind you, I got it cheap as it had just been discontinued in favour of the new, flatter models.
 
Hawk said:
.... I can't justify £300+ but I may be able to with one of the car versions. :wife would have it in her car when it wasn't on the bike.
Click to expand...
£300? :nenau

You can get a 2nd hand Garmin 2610 with Version 8 maps off e-bay for £125. LINKY HERE.

Wouldn't go on a big trip without mine - think the world of it. :thumb2
 
May still there for grabs ..

GlynnJ said:
Try to find a Garmin 2610 which should be cheap and will allow off-bike route planning and storage of many routes. GPS Warehouse have some for £200: http://www.gpsw.co.uk/details/prod2034.html. GJ
Click to expand...


Streetpilot 2610, Whitebox refurb, no A/C adapter, only £99.99.
http://www.gpsw.co.uk/details/prod3791.html

Garmin 2610 Streetpilot, Whitebox Refurb, full guarantee, all accessories, £129.99, one unit only.
http://www.gpsw.co.uk/details/prod3798.html

Garmin 2720 Streetpilot only £199.99, two only!
http://www.gpsw.co.uk/details/prod2774.html
 
Get a Garmin Quest 1 from Ebay for C£80 and it'll do everything you want, be totally waterproof, can be used in car, on bike or in the bath :)

No need to spend £300 on the latest shiny toy :nenau
 
(and I can pre-plan all my routes on the PC using "TomTom Home").
Click to expand...

All Tomtom Home does is allow you to operate the satnav via the computers keyboard. E.g. it is little more than a remote control for the Tomtom. In conversation with a guy from Tomtom, Amsterdam he admitted it was little better than shareware and they have a way to go to match Garmin's Mapsource.

Mapsource does not need the satnav attached to the computer, allows vastly superior viewing of the maps, defines and stores a large number of waypoints with one click and waypoints can be attached to explanantory data, stored under various user defined headings and linked to web addresses or computer files. Routes can be calculated from any combination of waypoints and then modified to suit by "dragging" from one road to another to get the ideal route. Routes can also be defined on the fly by simply clicking points on a map.

Full detailed text instructions and marked up route maps can be printed as back up or for those without satnavs and route data is easily emailed from within the program.

One click transfers routes to Google Earth where they can be viewed and "flown". Another click transfers all route and waypoint data to any Garmin satnav. Mapsource imports route, waypoint and track data from satnav to the PC for viewing and backup storage with one click.

Comparing Mapsource with Tomtom Home is like comparing a pencil to a word processor. Thye both do a similar job but I would not like to write a novel with a pencil!!
 
Hawk said:

but if I did go down the route of getting one, I was wondering, has anyone thought of using a car one (obviously, not in bad weather :blast) since they are far cheaper than the Zumo's I've been looking at?
Is it just a daft question, as the fact you couldn't use it in adverse weather would negate the point of getting one altogether? It would only be used on the odd occasion (I have a photographic memory when it comes to maps :reynolds) so I can't justify £300+ but I may be able to with one of the car versions. :wife would have it in her car when it wasn't on the bike.
Click to expand...
If you have photographic memory for maps I really envy you, and it leaves you really just needing to know where you are. Those refurb Streetpilot 2610 at £100 are a real bargain, waterproof, waypoint and route storage, touch screen and PC mapping. And don't let the word refurb put you off, these will be as brand new, thats the way Garmin does things.

If I didn't already own two Garmins I'd be very tempted...
 
I too questioned the logic of buying a satnav. I've used maps effectively for years and can remember basic routes with only a glance at a map. You can buy an awful lot of maps for the price of a new Zumo!

That was last year, then after getting some unexpected funds and in a moment of madness/impulse buying I bought a new Zumo. And I haven't looked back.

It provides music on my daily commute, links to my phone (so I can ring the wife to get the kettle on as I near home!) but more importantly it has enabled me to plan complicated routes along fantastic roads that I probably wouldn't have ridden had I used maps alone. You still need maps, satnav is only an aid to navigation and has it's disadvantages which you must understand or it will frustrate you.

The other useful feature is it's ability to calculate your estimated time of arrival at your destination, enabling you to plan rest/sightseeing stops with a good degree of accuracy so you don't end up with the 120mph dash down the A16 to get to the ferry on time!

I personally think they are worth the money for the increase in pleasure they give me on the bike and as an NHS worker with a large mortgage I have to weigh up carefully where my limited bike budget is spent.
 
What I really like about my 2610;
  • Is that I can have the full route and all the maps stored on one card
  • I can sit at home and plan the route whilst it persists down outside
  • I enjoy the planning side and can use the waypoints to ensure that I take in all the places I want see and build them to the route
  • When it comes to the trip I have all the routes saved and just pick the relevant day, no time wasting just select and go
  • I can save multiple routes for each day depending upon weather or how tired I'm feeling
I wouldn't ride without my satnav on long trips now as it means I can concentrate on the road rather than having to look for roadsigns all the time or stop to check a map.
 
I have a photographic memory when it comes to maps
Click to expand...

Pre-satnav I spent 25 years covering UK sales for a Swedish company. I rarely carried a map in my car and prided myself on my ability to drive to, just about, any town in the UK without one.

The snag came when trying to find some obscure back street industrial building in Machester,Stoke, Glasgow, etc. Boy do I wish I had a satnav then. Was it just me who always seemd to pick the village idiot to ask for directions. A classic was "just follow this road and it's on the right" Yes it was - on the other side of the Machester Ship Canal! Now it's easy, just type in the address and go. No frustration, saves loads of time and fuel.
 
Given me something to ponder.

Thanks chaps :clap

No really big trips planned this year, apart from Islay (Whisky festival end of May :boozer), Arran and Southern Scotland but next year it'll probably be somewhere in Europe :reynolds
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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