Satnav’s, yes or no???

[Eng]

Lots of good advice posted above. I have tried most Satnavs over the years up to and including Nav 6. I now use a Tomtom 550 on my classic and modern BMW with a back-up on the phone of the Waze App if required (Tomtom has never let us down) which I find the best phone navigation app in this country and Europe. I even use Waze through Apple car play on my brand new 911, much better than the Porsche system. Certainly for Europe I would have a dedicated Nav unit for primary use with a phone back-up.

 

[Morety]

....paper maps are a must! Phones can be lost, broken, go flat when you need them and a paper map allows accurate route planning. I always carry a map with me and then if the satnav goes down, I break my journey into segments I can easily remember using the map. I usually fit to my tankbag which has a clear map window on it, with the route highlighted using a highlighter pen.

 

[Thermo King]

....paper maps are a must! Phones can be lost, broken, go flat when you need them and a paper map allows accurate route planning. I always carry a map with me and then if the satnav goes down, I break my journey into segments I can easily remember using the map. I usually fit to my tankbag which has a clear map window on it, with the route highlighted using a highlighter pen.

A Sat Nav is only an aid to a good map. £600 buys an awful lot of maps, petrol and beer.

 

[Hartley]

Nav 6 is ok for pre planned routes in Basecamp or MRA. However I have found that rural routes entered 'on the fly' are somewhat erratic and can take you to all sorts of places you didn't really want to be.
One such case was a recent visit to the Lakes. Just outside Kendal I entered Sedbergh and with a group of 6 ended up down a gated very minor road, the sort with grass down the middle, and following a herd of cows some distance. No other optional routes were given. Checking out the route back home it should have been straight forward.
Im going with a phone and Quadlock as a bit of backup and confirmation in similar circumstances.

Ive used Basecamp for many years, its definitely not the easiest to use and can do some random stuff. Ive been through laybys, one way streets, a very dodgy farm track two up with luggage. I call them Garmin Games, you need to keep a close eye out for its antics.

 

[Hartley]

I also use Calimoto to plan routes. Its PC/Laptop based planner is a doddle to use and you can convert the files to GPX but they seem to have loads of unnecessary waypoints.
Calimoto on its own is also a brilliant way to find good routes, ive discovered places 20 mins from my home i didnt know existed.

 

[Pablo1]

The NAV 5 you have is a perfectly good device with no reliability issues, stick a 32gb memory card on board and get maps and software updated, then try loading some bespoke routes and test out, Ive been making up bespoke routes for many years and its part of the fun preparing for trips abroad, theres loads you can get wrong if your settings on device and software are not correct, Id stick with the Nav 5 for the moment, I just sold my XT, issues are well documented in the GPS section.

 

[theoneandonly]

....paper maps are a must! Phones can be lost, broken, go flat when you need them and a paper map allows accurate route planning. I always carry a map with me and then if the satnav goes down, I break my journey into segments I can easily remember using the map. I usually fit to my tankbag which has a clear map window on it, with the route highlighted using a highlighter pen.

this ^^^ ( make sure the map can't disappear ..so when you look down , and there it isn't, ...in the middle of nowhere , in the dark and rain )

he's too clever for his own good !

 

[glenn2926]

Enjoy the NC500, i did it a few years ago and enjoyed it even though we got wet most days.

Both the sat nav and phones work so you cant really get it wrong. My preference is the Sat Nav and i've had my Nav 6 for 5 years and its worked without fault. I prefer something that's designed mainly for the one job and it also copes reasonably well on sunny days.
The only negative I find with garmin is that basecamp can be hard work on the mapping side so i much prefer using google maps (mymaps) and then convert the files, its a faff but I use it a lot so its fairly quick for me.

Sat navs come up regularly on this site at good prices so you could always buy and try and if you dont get on with it you could move it on without losing a great deal compared to buying a brand new one.

I am the complete opposite re Basecamp. I find it very easy to use to plot routes and also to share them with others. Google maps only seems to allow 10 waypoints whereas Basecamp allows as many as I want. Luckily we’re all different or there would be only one system.

 

[Steve398]

I’ve used TomTom Rider since they first came out with V many years ago, I now run a TT550 and regularly travel through Europe with absolutely no problems at all.
When I first got the RT 3 years ago I bought a nav 5 as it fitted with the bike, I had so many problems with it that I got rid and replaced it with the TT550. It has never let me down, sulked, or crashed, and has always delivered me to my destination, which is all you want it to do isn’t it?
I also tried the god-awful Basecamp mapping program which only served to raise my stress levels alarmingly, I strongly advise MyRoute app for route planning.
One final warning, both myself and riding mate both experienced difficulties pairing the Sena headsets with the Garmin, he still has his and is still having problems whereas the TT pairs first time every time.

 

[Arsey]

I just use MRA in my phone now . Works very well via CarPlay on Wing.
On Tracer I’ll just use iPhone on Peak Design mount .
Gave my XT away when I sold 1290 as seemed a waste of time planning routes on MRA then sending to XT , when I could just use my phone instead .
I ran both in parallel in 2021 and the iPhone was flawless .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Arsey]

I used my phone recently and did all the above, i created a trip on MRA on my phone and couldn't transfer to my Nav6
so following MRA on the phone my quadlock wireless charger couldnt keep enough power... it was draining faster than it could charge it.
i didn't realise until my phone turned itself off.

The Quadlock charger must be crap then as I used a RAM X Grip wireless mount for a few years and it charged phone to full stayed there when using nav on the phone .
And used phone on Peak Design mount with usb cable and that also maintained a charge


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Barnoe]

The Quadlock charger must be crap then as I used a RAM X Grip wireless mount for a few years and it charged phone to full stayed there when using nav on the phone .
And used phone on Peak Design mount with usb cable and that also maintained a charge


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think the issues is MRA
I sometimes use a navigation app called Sygic and never had an issue before, although sygic is more of a destination and go kind of app rather than fancy routes

 

[Arsey]

I think the issues is MRA
I sometimes use a navigation app called Sygic and never had an issue before, although sygic is more of a destination and go kind of app rather than fancy routes

I use MRA too but not had an issue.

 

[Morety]

this ^^^ ( make sure the map can't disappear ..so when you look down , and there it isn't, ...in the middle of nowhere , in the dark and rain )

he's too clever for his own good !

I rarely ride in the dark unless I have to, especially on tour where there's scenery to be missed
Before the advent of satnavs, a group of mates and I used to tour with one map between us. Made for an adventure!

 

[stick]

I use MRA too but not had an issue.

Does it re route you after a wrong turn rather than the garmin which allows you to wander off route but still lets you follow your nose / zoom out to find the route again . When I used the MRS on my phone it would not do this , am I missing setting as I like the App and do most route planning on it then send to the garmin .

 

[stick]

I rarely ride in the dark unless I have to, especially on tour where there's scenery to be missed
Before the advent of satnavs, a group of mates and I used to tour with one map between us. Made for an adventure!

Me too but the Gps units make it the same as following your chosen marked routes , I still have the same routes marked on the fold up maps and have them in my bag ( old habits) never need to use them yet but makes sense as a back up.

 

[malcopopolo]

SatNavs as obsolete as a land line.
Tomtom app on your phone. You can download any world map to your phone and use minimal data and certainly works without data.
20 notes a year.
Yes you can share gpx files via the tom tom Web page.
Wonder wheel?
Never missed mine when using a nav5.
Plenty of wireless charging options.

 

[stick]

SatNavs as obsolete as a land line.
Tomtom app on your phone. You can download any world map to your phone and use minimal data and certainly works without data.
20 notes a year.
Yes you can share gpx files via the tom tom Web page.
Wonder wheel?
Never missed mine when using a nav5.
Plenty of wireless charging options.

Not to sure as the Garmin is a GPS that you can plot precise routes so you can choose the roads , the turns etc as I like to do when plotting trips. The phones just get you there either fastest / shortest / windy , but they still re route you.
I can make a route to go exactly where I want , I can stray off it and explore , but still dip back into the exact route I planned where ever I want as its still running in the background , I have found some nice roads this way. I have tried phones etc but they are just sat navs not a plotting tool.
Wonder wheel , a great tool , missed that when I had the Ducati , glad to get that back its so useful . The MRA app is very good for planning as you can send and plot in different formats for different units.

 

[cookie]

You can certainly plot routes on a phone.

 

[stick]

You can certainly plot routes on a phone.

You can but it runs as a sat nav not a GPS as it will recalculate the route as you wander off , so missing the bits you planned . I tried the Sygic on the V4s... bloody useless .
The routes I plan are complex and a Sat Nav would not do it a GPS will as I go to off beat stops and sections of good tarmac.