Who needs a BMW navigator.....

malcopopolo

malcopopolo

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Removed the factory BMW sat nav mount and fitted a quadlock mirror mount and a case to my Samsung s9 phone.

Purchased Tom Tom go for 15 pounds a year which includes traffic and allows full download of maps. Another major bonus which ultimately swayed me is that you can import box files.

Purchased a 30cm per lead to connect to the usb dongle in the accessories socket.

I hardly ever use the wheel on the handlebars. When out and about I only have one device to put in my pocket. I also can see who is ringing or texting and decide if I want to pull over and answer.

Quadlock kit cost me 37 pounds in the black Friday sale. I also purchased a car mount.
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Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Tapatalk
 
Nav’s are biggest over priced pieces of !
I’d have gone done the phone and Tomtom app route if my phone was waterproof, but got a Tomtom 550 instead. Far superior in every way to the Nav (with the exception of screen size).
 
These nav’s are only overpriced if you don’t use, or don’t know how to use their complete route planning. Lock a NavV or VI on and forget about it in all weathers . Try that with your posh smart phone .
 
GrinningGSer said:
These nav’s are only overpriced if you don’t use, or don’t know how to use their complete route planning. Lock a NavV or VI on and forget about it in all weathers . Try that with your posh smart phone .
Click to expand...

And all the live info onscreen you get also, I love specially the speed real time, in big figures, handy if you do not have TFT..........:hippy
 
I do the same, but have a bar mounted waterproof holder to put my phone in... Nav would be nice, but I can't justify spending the money on one...
 
I did the same. Removed the BMW cradle and attached an X Grip for my phone. Have the Optimate USB can bus charger to plug my phone into but I use Waze on my phone instead of TomTom.
 
GrinningGSer said:
These nav’s are only overpriced if you don’t use, or don’t know how to use their complete route planning. Lock a NavV or VI on and forget about it in all weathers . Try that with your posh smart phone .
Click to expand...

I do and I can

Any route planning software that exports as a gpx or itn file is no problem
Samsung S9 has IP68 dust and water-resistance rating. This means it can withstand being submerged in fresh water up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.

Having owned a 660, nav 5 and 6. This is really a decent alternative for most people...

Another brilliant feature is that if you google a place on your phone you can navigate directly to the location. Try using google on your Nav 5 or 6 :D
 
To me the biggesr drawback of using a phone as nav (done it) is that you can´t use it with cloves and if for some reason you have to access it while riding and not being able to stop (highway) it can be a pain, happened to me and had to take a glove off with my teeth to operate it and than stuf the glove down my jacket and keep riding with one glove until I found the next resting area, not too fun
It happened to me 3 times on a 5000km journey and it was than that I decided to purchase a dedicated Bike GPS
 
Pit said:
To me the biggesr drawback of using a phone as nav (done it) is that you can´t use it with cloves and if for some reason you have to access it while riding and not being able to stop (highway) it can be a pain, happened to me and had to take a glove off with my teeth to operate it and than stuf the glove down my jacket and keep riding with one glove until I found the next resting area, not too fun
It happened to me 3 times on a 5000km journey and it was than that I decided to purchase a dedicated Bike GPS
Click to expand...
My Rukka gloves have a touch tip on two fingers per glove.

For anything else there's Google Assistant. Works for me at least 90% of the time.
 
Everything is a compromise. I would always stop to alter/use a sat nav.

Nav 5 and 6 are very good. I was fed up of carrying round with me a satnav and a phone every time i stopped or lock them in the top box etc.

What did it for me was back in May in 32c heat in seville my nav 5 was struggling to find my hotel. I had go into booking.com select my hotel and navigate via google maps. I also had to use insulation tape to tie my phone to the sartnav cradle. This happened several times over a three week period.

The turning point for me to use my phone is when tom tom go supported gpx and itn files.

At the end of the day not all people can afford the cost of a nav 5 or 6 and if you have a decent water resistant phone then this solution is good alternative.

Satnavs will become like DVD players - obsolete in time.

I could go out a and buy a brand new nav 6 this second but its is not the right solution for me.
 
I have a satnav and also a ram mount with a X-grip to place the phone if needed, as app I use Sygic, world maps offline and you pay for it only once
 
malcopopolo said:
Everything is a compromise. I would always stop to alter/use a sat nav.

Nav 5 and 6 are very good. I was fed up of carrying round with me a satnav and a phone every time i stopped or lock them in the top box etc.

What did it for me was back in May in 32c heat in seville my nav 5 was struggling to find my hotel. I had go into booking.com select my hotel and navigate via google maps. I also had to use insulation tape to tie my phone to the sartnav cradle. This happened several times over a three week period.

The turning point for me to use my phone is when tom tom go supported gpx and itn files.

At the end of the day not all people can afford the cost of a nav 5 or 6 and if you have a decent water resistant phone then this solution is good alternative.

Satnavs will become like DVD players - obsolete in time.

I could go out a and buy a brand new nav 6 this second but its is not the right solution for me.
Click to expand...

Interesting thread — I’m also considering this option.
Out of interest - what helmet comes do you use?



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Are all the phones everyone is using resistant to a splash of fuel and vibration?
 
Pansmiker said:
Are all the phones everyone is using resistant to a splash of fuel and vibration?
Click to expand...

That is a very good question...

It probably is not fuel resistant. However do not recall splashing fuel on my previous navigators. Are the bmw navigators fuel resistant. With the quad lock system you can purchase a waterproof skin if needed and may help if worried about fuel splashes.

Regards Vibration the quad lock system is very secure with no noticeable vibration.

Note. just checked BMW navigators are fuel splash resistant
 
I do like the nav 5 for all the info but it’s a bit rubbish as a satnav. It got me lost several times on tour this year. The worst was navigating to Ripol in Spain which is a big enough town to find. It took me into a pine forest on a hillside and told me I had arrived in Ripol. I was actually about 30 miles away.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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