Satnav

[lagauk]

I've never had a bike sat nav. Just use an old Tom Tom Go 720 which I've had for years. It's mounted via a RAM mount above the clocks on the screen bar of my GS. It works for me and maps got me through Spain and Morocco with no probs.

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Beware only the high end tomtoms now support itinerary planning.
Even some models that had it, lost it, during updates.

 

[Deleted account 181015003]

Depends what you want in a satnav be careful not to get a hard drive based one most are now solid state the vibrations on a bike will kill it.

Car ones do the job but can be hard to read in direct sunlight same as using a phone.

The best bike one in my opinion at the moment is the Nav5 or Garmin 590 but cost a fortune I have a Nav 5 but have upgraded each time a new model comes out and sold the older one so the outlay was not as bad not tried any of the newer TomTom's since the Rider V2 that the mount fell apart inside.

I have maps.me on my phone when touring and use this more than the satnav to browse maps

 

[dashfixer]

Don't forget that a phone needs to communicate with a mast and their ranges are quite short, where as a satnav talks directly to the satellites.
In most of the UK that will probably be ok but there are times when you wont have a phone signal and therefore no nav.

 

[Guigsy]

Don't forget that a phone needs to communicate with a mast and their ranges are quite short, where as a satnav talks directly to the satellites.
In most of the UK that will probably be ok but there are times when you wont have a phone signal and therefore no nav.

GPS is indeed satellite technology, both satnavs and your phone use GPS to accurately position themselves. And it's a one-way broadcast from the satellites that only give you position.

Your phone gets its mobile signal via a two-way communication to the local mast, so if you nav app uses online mapping, it needs a mobile signal to work. But just like satnavs, there are plenty of apps for your phone that allow you to download maps for offline use. If you've stored you maps offline, your phone will be just as good as a satnav (if not better).

 

[sparky56]

I use <a href="http://navmii.com/" target="_blank">Navmii</a> on my phone, these maps are downloaded to my phone so I don't need data turned on to navigate.

The maps are based on Openstreetmap which is what Garmin maps use.

 

[pitrat101]

Looking at the Garmin 340 as my 3 local aldi stores have them. Can they be set like the tomtom so you can program back streets and lanes? I will defiantly not be using a phone as I don't own a smart phone! Just one other question but may have to start a new post for this, does anyone know what colour silver BMW use on 2012 handle bars? I have just got a new screen and brackets but want to sand blast and repaint in work.

 

[Bendy toy]

Don't forget that a phone needs to communicate with a mast and their ranges are quite short, where as a satnav talks directly to the satellites.
In most of the UK that will probably be ok but there are times when you wont have a phone signal and therefore no nav.

Google maps os free for a reason. But with a maps app the phone will navigate anywhere with GPS signals. Garmin offer Streetpilot. There will be others.

 

[Pablo1]

Looking at the Garmin 340 as my 3 local aldi stores have them. Can they be set like the tomtom so you can program back streets and lanes? I will defiantly not be using a phone as I don't own a smart phone! Just one other question but may have to start a new post for this, does anyone know what colour silver BMW use on 2012 handle bars? I have just got a new screen and brackets but want to sand blast and repaint in work.

good choice, if your routing on the nav you can set avoidances such as motorways etc, also in routing you can choose between faster time and most direct route etc but in this way its all a bit of a lottery. To really get the best out of route planning do it on your pc in one of the many free software packages such as garmin basecamp to shape exactly the roads and routes you want to take, once you register your device and update to the latest map with garmin express you can go in to map options and download the maps to your pc or mac.
Loads of information in the gps section of this forum, if you need any help just send me a pm and i'll get in touch.
Good Luck