GPS hire

[Andy Michael]

A friend has contacted a few GPS shops on line to enquire about hireing a unit for a trip abroad as of yet none have done a hire package for bikes, although one company says it has had a few requests for this service and would consider it if there was enough demand.
So the question is does anyone know of a company that hires gps for bikes now and also your views on the whole rental versus buy thing.

 

[Mollers01uk]

i did a quick google search and it came up with a fair few options see if this helps at all.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=gps+hire&domains=garmin.com&sitesearch=

 

[Andy Michael]

Thanks also did google search none that he checked were bike specific

 

[DodgyGeeSer]

Well, if your friend is travelling to Ireland, there is a local company that rents these out.. Personally, i don't think it's a very good idea. GPSRs are a complex mix of hardware and software that tend to confound you more than aid you for the first week or two... You really only get the value out of them once you have a good idea of how they work, understand their quirks and limitations.

For instance, if you've travelled to the US recently, hired a car from Hertz and been given a Magellan 'everlost' with out of date mapping, it serves more as a hindrance than a guidance aid. You might be lulled into the false belief that the nearest petrol station might be 15 kms away, where in reality it might be just around the corner, etc. etc..

I say go down the buy route.. Have a couple of people chip-in and take turns on trips.. Look at second hand units listed in the buy and sell forum, and on eBay (air on the side of caution on eBay!). Or just buy and sell it on if it doesn't meet all needs.. They tend to hold their value quite well and seem to be relaitively straightforward to sell-on..

My 2 cents.. (pence?!)

 

[peterh]

Might be worth a call to these people:

http://www.adventure-motorcycling.co.uk/products/?product=73

but the data looks a bit old.