BC-Basecamp ?
Can’t see why not
I am still using an iPhone 12 (old, not rich enough for a new phone yet)
Yes it would
IT = Info tech (laptop, desktop, tablet, phone, abacus)
.
I don’t need a phone that does all the things you seem to need. Mine basically makes phone calls and sends or receives messages. Oh, it takes the odd photo too, That’s about it. Some (like you) like all this tech shit. Me? I can take it or leave it. I’m not impressed by it. My phone, like all my previous phones is a hand me down. I’ve no idea which number or model it is. I’m not interested. My sat nav gives directions. I’ve no doubt it can do loads of other things like play music etc. Again I’m not interested. I have it on mute as it has been for the past 15 years or so. It’s not connected to my phone as I don’t need that either.IT = Info tech (laptop, desktop, tablet, phone, abacus)
BC = Basecamp, before Christ.
But the phone I have already. I didn't specifically buy it for it's GPS NAV qualities, I bought it because it can do about 1,000 things a dedicated satnav cannot. Conveniently, being able to navigate or use my location using a multitude of platforms happens to cover many of them, and its screen size, being half the length of my cock at 6", is the perfect size.
I "used" to use my phone, but have gone over to an INNOVV unit out of choice. It too does many things a satnav cannot, and was cheaper and more useful, but It wasn't really necessary.
The only disadvantages of using a phone are that the screens are not designed for the vibrations (just needs to be damped), and that they are are not so good in direct sunlight.
Three actually but the one in the motorhome has only been used twice in 12 years and the ones at home only get used for watching sport. I haven’t watched telly since before the covid thing.
I'm not trying to convince you.
I really wouldn’t waste your breath .
What he said, except I use Locus maps not OSMand.There is no best navigation system just the one that suits you best. A few observations......from three years of trial (and a lot of error)
Garmin have borked their routing algorithm for motorcycle devices. I have an XT and once I understood this I can get it to route on the roads I want to be on (lots of shaping points) but for point to point navigation its not great I much prefer my Zumo 340 and 390 in that context.
For the XT the online navigation offering from Garmin (explore) is poor. I have no knowledge of the tread app for the XT2/3 but it still relies on an underlying connection via your phone to explore…… I have connected to explore a few times to see if it had been improved but its still problematical. There are many issues but the main two for me are. The route planning aspect of the app gives straight lines so you only truly know what you are getting when the route is calculated on the device. The layers of routes tracks and waypoints may/may not become visible when you enable them and may/maynot sync with your XT. I’m not sure causes this is but it appears that your data on Garmin servers, does not update in real time so the whole thing becomes very glitchy
Basecamp still works well with the XT and routes/tracks waypoints stored on a local machine and I used my XT and Basecamp/mayroute app for navigation until 2025.
MyRoute app route planning app. This is great. I started with a trial of this and its really what Explore should have been the route planner is intuitive and quick and routes that you download can be sent to the XT via the Drive app. This works well. It means that with a phone or Ipad I can create or modify routes on the fly when on tour instead of relying on the rather tedious task of trying to achieve this on a Zumo Unit or carting round a device capable of running a local version of Basecamp. For me, this alone makes MyRoute app planner worth the entry fee.
MyRoute app navigation app. I got into MyRoute app in 2023 when they were developing the navigation next navigation app to enable your phone to be used as a GPS. At the time this was basically thrown in with the route planner if you purchased a lifetime gold membership. This was initially a bit glitchy and there was a major issue with phone power consumption. At the start it didn’t work particularly well with Android Auto or Apple Carplay which it was designed to work with from the outset. However, the app has matured quickly and since spring of 2025 I have been using it as my primary navigation tool on the built in Android Auto/Carplay screen of my Africa twin. Why this rather than the Garmin XT??. Purely because I can use the bar buttons on the AT to navigate the screen/select routes control my headset and particularly to select other Navigation tools on the screen when appropriate.
For example, if I’m on tour and the weather turns or we are running out of time and I want to get to the destination and abandon the remainder of the route I can summons Google Maps onto the screen and by selecting voice command I can say “OK Google route to…………” and off I go without stopping or taking my hands off the bars or using the bar buttons.
Do I still use my XT? Yes, its used as a backup with all the routes I use for a tour duplicated on it. I also run a track of the route I’m running in MRA on the XT. Also Basecamp and the XT handle POI’s (Particularly proximity alerted) better than MRA. This is important to me but I doubt its important to many others. Also Garmin GPS devices are just robust. I was (stupidly) touring Scotland last October during storm Amy and water started to cause problems with my wired connection from my phone to the Honda AA screen and I reverted to the Garmin which was unaffected by rain of biblical proportions.
OSMand...... I also run this app on the phone. It has some advantages over MRA and Garmin (not least that the navigation can be used for other activities such as walking and cycling) and would be very good for anyone who did a mixture of road/offroad riding. Its mapping is also more accurate (in my experience) than the HERE mapping used by MRA and Garmin. But it has a steep learning curve and its ability to be customised is a blessing and a curse. But it works well in Android auto and the maps look better than MRA maps (In my opinion). Also it works well with the MRA route planner and runs routes downloaded from the planner or shared from the phone app seamlessly.
So where have I ended up. MyRoute app planner for route planning and storage of routes (including those created in Basecamp.) I keep my folders and subfolders organised and for any given tour the routes are kept in a folder called AA this trip, which means that the folder is at the top of the list when I open the “routes” screen in Android auto.
Basecamp and the XT for POI’ handling and tracks.
OSMand for walking and on the bike if I feel like a change.
I’ve also looked at Kurviger and Calimoto. But neither offers more than MRA at the moment and I don’t use the auto generated routes in MRA, so calimoto holds no attraction for me. That said I was speaking with a few lads in the Buccleuch the other week and thats what they were using and loving it, fair play to them!
I’m thinking of changing the AT at the moment and have been looking at how to organise navigation. I think I’d rather have a dedicated (dumb) rugged phone that can be used with a gloved hand and powered via Pogo pins rather than a AA mirroring device. Why, because AA/CP reduces the feature set of the app. (For example using the native MyRoute app phone app you can long press a waypoint to make this your starting point you cannot do this via the AA screen). Also, the inteface between the phone and the AA/CP screen can introduce another potential point of failure.
I’ve been experimenting with a custom launcher for turning a phone into a dedicated navigation device that starts when you turn on the ignition. It looks like this so far so only the functions that you are likely to use on the bike.
View attachment 502476
Finally maps……...I always have a decent large scale 3miles/inch or 5miles/inch at a pinch maps for the area I’m riding in for giving an overview to create routes on the fly……….or to explain to riding buddies where they are/have been
.
