Is it worth getting a dedicated bike SatNav anymore?

[OBxx11]

Interesting thoughts tho Al, thanks for your input..

surely there has to be some sort of upgrade with the new 350 tho, chipset /software ??? or something...

with the 660 coming down in price why bring a lesser spec model out for more money ??

is there something Im missing here or shall I just go and get a 660 at the knock down price

 

[Rasher]

So what waterproof case / satnav works for you or is one of the dedicated bike units still the way to go?


Brian

These guys are great, I used one of the waterproof cases and a mount kit on the GS, when I put it on my tenere they just supplied an extra part to extend it up a bit higher.

They sell on E-Bay but may be easier to give them a call, good guys who know the stuff they flogg

 

[JanAP]

Dedicated motorcycle GPS

Yes.
That is the short answer that I recommend to buy a dedicated motorcycle gps. I have two Garmin's for my motorcycle (550 and 660) and also TomTom for my car. I never ride without a gps, and I think it is pretty cosy just to mount it, and not need to think about rain ect. It is not a big problem if the gps gets wet when riding around in the local area, but when on holiday, it is not the best situation to get stock with a too wet car gps.
Motorcycle gps are much more expensive, but to me they are worth it. Also I enjoy plan my motorcycle rides, and I use www.tourstart.org which is a free of charge web site, where anybody can make and share motorcycle routes and download to Garmin, TomTom and Navigon.

 

[Fanum]

No, it's not worth it Imo.

People like to have the latest gadgetry and will always try to justify their own purchase choices, and if that's what they want, fine.

I run a farming Nuvi 200 on my k
bike.
15 quid from ebay.
I mount it under shelter behind the screen, but the few times it's got wet haven't hurt it. If I forget to take it off the bike, so what

I don't want it to do music, I don't want to be talking on the phone when I'm riding and it does everything i need it to do.

I do have some other gps units, including a quest 1, but when you can pick up a perfectly adequate gps for 15 quid, I won't bother buying another dedicated bike unit.

 

[Mav]

I think it depends a lot on what you're using the bike and GPS for.

When riding for fun - a cheap one that basically tells me approximately where I am and won't be the end of the world if I lose it (because I have time to work out where I'm going), is fine. In fact, when riding for fun it's often more fun to get lost!

If you're using your bike for commuting/work - a unit that is pretty up to date, can search on post codes, can lock on in urban areas, and is fast enough to keep up and/or recalculate, makes a big difference.

Likewise, when you've reached the end of your 500 mile day on your European tour, you're knackered, it's pouring with rain and you're trying to find the one hotel you found on the phone with availability - a GPS that can't find it is bloody annoying! Or has died because it's in the rain...

So really it comes down to what you need/want it for...

 

[Timpo]

Garmin Montana 600 here, used on the trail bike, road bike and in the car/van/4x4.
Also, I had a note on advrider by a Garmin Techy saying that new mapping and new Garmin units are no longer designed to run with Mapsource, but Basecamp. Althought Mapsource has 'some' influence on them, they will not run correctly. The guy advised me to download Basecamp, which i was not too sure about at first, but it seems to be fairly easy to use.

I still have my trusted GPSMAP60CSX though....just in case!

 

[Mav]

Garmin Montana 600 here, used on the trail bike, road bike and in the car/van/4x4.
Also, I had a note on advrider by a Garmin Techy saying that new mapping and new Garmin units are no longer designed to run with Mapsource, but Basecamp. Althought Mapsource has 'some' influence on them, they will not run correctly. The guy advised me to download Basecamp, which i was not too sure about at first, but it seems to be fairly easy to use.

I still have my trusted GPSMAP60CSX though....just in case!

I have the Montana too - love the ability to switch between proper OS maps and full turn by turn navigation

 

[STUBBS]

street pilot III still in regular use gets me where i want with no problems

 

[Timpo]

I have the Montana too - love the ability to switch between proper OS maps and full turn by turn navigation

The Zumo screen selection during navigation, also extremely handy, eg, speed and ETA or Distance to Destination, etc.

But believe it or not, I find the navigation whilst using the OS sheet weird, I can not get my head around it. Show me the City Nav sheet during that time for sure.....

 

[Paul Rochdale]

street pilot III still in regular use gets me where i want with no problems

A few years ago I was persuaded to buy a Garmin Street Pilot III and after struggling with it, finally gave up and put it away in it's box never to see daylight again. Because I used it so rarely, I could never recall how it worked. Neither could I work it wearing gloves. It didn't seem to show any roads in Wales and regularly told me to leave a motorway when I knew that wasn't correct. I decided that GPSs weren't for me and loved paper maps anyway, but then three years ago we bought a Garmin Nuvi from Halfords in a Winter Sale and never looked back. This wonderful little device is as far removed from the old StreetPilot III as it can get. It covers all of Europe. Touch screen, user friendly and both of us can use it without recourse to the instruction manual. In central France last summer we met a couple on a Pan returning from the south coast and they had the same Nuvi as us but in a waterproof cover. No earphone link needed as he claimed to be able to hear the instructions if turned up loud enough. Wonderful piece of kit.

 

[kevingrahambutler]

I use a iPhone with the water proof case, I run both navigon and tomtom also offline maps that came in very handy when traveling in country's that don't have all road mapping. The iPhone comes in handy when you need to locate hotels or campsites as it gives you numbers to call in advance to make reservation so its a all in one unit.
This year I used a iPad it was fantastic the screen was great,
I was thinking of getting the iPad mini out this year It would be a better option next year instead of the large iPad
My iPhone has bike power lead, loads of fitting options to fit to the bike, connects with my autocom system Bluetooth,

It works well for me