Where to go shopping for GPS?

[Marc R]

What store stocks motorcycle GPS (Zumo 390, 660, etc)? Just want to make sure the screen is big enough and bright enough, rather than make an online purchase. Preferably stores in the Nashua area.

Thanks!

[GearHd6]

The only place I've ever seen Zumo's actually in stock was at Twisted Throttle. I've never run into them in dealerships.

There is a Zumo 590 coming out soon. Might be worth a look?

[Jaynnus]

Come on down to Twisted Throttle

[cdovego]

If you have an Iphone, there is a great app called gps drive ($2) and a killer bar mounted holder on amazon for $35.00.

[Stromper]

tomtom rider 4.3 $339 everyday routes 90% with Tyre

[AEG]

what is the benefit of using the m/c specific GPS at the price they go? what am I missing? I use a simple Garmin Nuvi from my car and a $10 handlebar mount. It helps to find a gas station, food and a way get home.

[Eric Baker]

The two main benefits are the motorcycle ones are weather proof so you can leave it mounted when it happens to rain, and they are easy to use with gloves on.

[nhbubba]

Weather proof/resistant.. vibration resistant.. tougher build.. IIRC all of the Zumo's let you upload routes; not all Nuvis do.. and Zumo's work with bluetooth headsets. BT enabled Nuvis do the opposite; they act as a handsfree speaker/mic setup so you can use your phone handsfree in the car. This is obviously pretty useless on a bike. The Zumo's will pipe nav audio to your BT headset in your helmet. I think you can also tie your phone in somehow too.

I am too cheap for the Zumo. I have an old, hand-me-down Nuvi that someone bought the lifetime maps upgrade for. This, plus a few bits from RAM, and I am 60% there. I don't care about nav audio. When it rains I throw a sandwich baggie over the device and secure with a bread tie. My Nuvi works just fine with gloves on.

The biggest thing I miss is being able to upload routes. I can only upload waypoints and let it auto route.. which means it directs me to the nearest interstate every time.

[Rosco61]

Motorcycle specific GPS is way to expensive. Hard to believe they even sell at that price point. I have a 1490t Nuvi some RAM hardware and I'm good to go. My I phone also has GPS but when your in the boonies and loses signal your out of luck. So I run both and it just works.

[RandyO]

My I phone also has GPS but when your in the boonies and loses signal your out of luck.

its not real GPS if it works off a cell phone signal

you are more likley to loose GPS signal in a big city with tall buildings, you don't even wanna know what survey grade GPS costs

[Rosco61]

its not real GPS if it works off a cell phone signal

You got me thinking and your right. I had the free version. No offline mode.

http://www.skobbler.us/apps/navigation

Description

GPS Navigation 2 is all this:
★ BRAND NEW next generation navigation including optional offline mode upgrade
★ NOW greatly improved version 4.2 including patented technology for stationary speed trap warnings in various countries
★ True voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation at an unbelievable price
★ One of the most successful navigation apps in the App Store with more than 2.5 million users worldwide
★ Best-selling navigation app in Germany and the UK for years, #1 positions in 11 countries

✩✩✩ WHAT THE MEDIA HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT:
☛ Auto Express
“The app looks slick, with easy to use menus and a clear display showing street names and location.”

★★★ AUTO EXPRESS BEST BUY ★★★

☛ MSN
“skobbler has taken the mobile sat-nav scene by storm on iPhone.......It uses OpenStreetMap Data (the "Wikipedia of Maps") to tell you where you need to go. It is becoming increasingly difficult to see how dedicated sat-nav device manufacturers can compete!”

The best in brief:

✔ FIRST HYBRID NAVIGATION
Online navigation or offline upgrade - it's your choice

✔ TRUE BARGAIN
No hidden costs - no subscriptions

✔ FULLY LOADED
Local search, map view, ‘take me home’ button, contact list navigation, iPod playback, stationary speed trap warnings in various countries

✔ REVOLUTION INSIDE
Powered by OpenStreetMap - the most dynamic digital map on the planet

✔ UNIVERSAL APP
Navigation for iPhones and 3G-iPads

[GearHd6]

Or if you ride off road or do any hiking there is always this option.

[RandyO]

I have to send my Zumo450 in for digitizer repair (3rd party repair, Garmin no longer does repairs on the 450) the good thing is the service is much cheaper than Garmin was last time I had the repair done.

my next GPS will likely be a Delorme USB reciever for a tablet, I like the availabilty of imagery as well as regular mapping and topography
http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELi...&section=10091

[Marc R]

... The biggest thing I miss is being able to upload routes. I can only upload waypoints and let it auto route.. which means it directs me to the nearest interstate every time.

I really want to discover some new roads this riding season. Maybe start with a topographical map, find some hills and water (where the roads get interesting), then stitch a route together. Uploading my routes is the feature I want, is it available on some Nuvi models? Yeah, $600-$800 is crazy money

[RandyO]

I really want to discover some new roads this riding season.

get a paper Delorme Atlas, for the states you plan riding in, study study them, get lost and find your way out

[GearHd6]

Yeah, $600-$800 is crazy money

Funny thing is, you're really only out the initial investment. Quality motorcycle GPS units bring top dollar in the used market. If you make yourself part with it every couple years you may lose $100 to "maybe" $200 but in turn you can go out and buy the current model with the most up to date maps. You can go buy a Nuvi for $150-$200 for a decent one and in a couple years it's worth nothing.

There are guys selling used Zumo 660's for $500+ on ADV and people snatch them up sometimes minutes after they're posted.

[AEG]

I will never find the way out or the way home without some kind of the navigational help. What can I say? I am directionally challenged I use GPS in my own town to pick up/drop off my kids to and from their friends.

[xrocket21]

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2617040

Kinda funny, both threads started on the 4th

[SprintPoser]

I bought a Garmin Zumo 550 about a year or two after they first came out. It was a LOT of money, for sure, but I have never regretted it. I use it in my car as well (it came with both mounts), and compared to most of the $100-$200 units I've seen it's far faster in acquiring satellites, calculating routes and regenerating the view as you move along. It has more features than my wife's much newer Nuvi 1450T, though a smaller screen. The Zumo 660's and up have the wide screen and came down in price a bit. I seem to recall paying around $764 for it new, and that was quite a bargain then.

There are a couple of small things it doesn't have that might be nice, such as a "Where Am I?" button that other units have, and showing posted speed limits like my wife's does. Overall though, I have NO regrets. It's been though 20ºF to 100ºF+ (sitting in bright sun), drenched in torrential downpours and dropped a couple of times. The only thing gone wrong is I actually wore out the main on/off soft button. It came off the membrane covering, so I made a very tight-fitting rubber plug and find I really don't even need the power button. Every time I pull it off either the car or motorcycle mount it gives me 30 seconds or so to choose to run on battery, power down now or automatically in 26, 25, 24....



Shortly after I bought it I went to upgrade the maps. Garmin wanted $89.00 for a 1 time update, so I waited. A year later I checked again, and now they offered one update for $79, or "lifetime maps" for $89. That was a no-brainer, so I got my wife's Nuvi on lifetime maps for the same price. Now most of their units come with that. The original price of a motorcycle-specific unit in long forgotten as it's value has been proven in durability and performance. Buying first quality only hurts once, just like in tools and many other things in life.

[Stromper]

I have both a Garmin Oregon and now a Tom Tom Rider II 4.3

I use either base camp or more tyre to generate routes
The newer units allow many more and then sufficient way points when you transfer a route from pc to unit

KNOW once the series of waypoints are installed the GPS's INTERNAL routing takes you from point to point if you failed to put a point om every road and intersection it may route you another way

PROBLEM the Oregon has is the route is FIXED a real world example in the Adirondacks was that a bridge was out the detour would take me near a subsequent point but the Garmin wanted to route me BACK to the far side of the bridge. IF YOU happen to travel down on the route later it MAY pick it up.

The TOMTOM (not tested yet) is supposed allow you to skip one as well as route on twisties I will do a write up when winter is really over

[Stromper]

Initial report on TomTom Rider II 4.3

Can be seen with sun on the screen
Nice big blue path with distance count down to turn

Rout can be edited in english on the fly

So far I am pleased

[TheIglu]

IPhone + OpenMaps (no downoading) + ram mount x-grip + $20 waterproof case + Sena Bluetooth headset

Turn by turn directions, voice controlled, while listening to your music, texting/calling the riding buddies, intercom for bike to bike, Siri control.

If you already have a smartphone, it's the way to go. Lot cheaper and less devices to manage with a ton more functionality.

[Manny]

Wirelessly posted

IPhone + OpenMaps (no downoading) + ram mount x-grip + $20 waterproof case + Sena Bluetooth headset

Turn by turn directions, voice controlled, while listening to your music, texting/calling the riding buddies, intercom for bike to bike, Siri control.

If you already have a smartphone, it's the way to go. Lot cheaper and less devices to manage with a ton more functionality.

I like this idea but that app requires you to download what you want before correct?
How much downloads at once? Lost in tv with no web access what do you do?

[GearHd6]

All those smartphone ideas are great in civilization, out of it and things start getting sketchy. By the time you get fully setup with hooking the phone up to the bike you've got some decent money invested. Plus you really need to wire to the bike or your battery is dead quickly, not a great idea on your only communication if something were to go wrong. Also you're now connecting to bike power through a weak USB port that can fail over time with vibration. Plus your phone is up in a vulnerable location if something goes wrong. The smartphone vs GPS debate has been going on for a while now. It's all in what you like and need.

[TheIglu]

Took 10 minutes to download all of Italy before we went there for a week. Can do the same for regions of the US and other countries.

If you got lost in a completely different continent than you planned on being in, you sir have more pressing concerns than finding a good gps solution. Besides, even good gps units are continent specific maps loaded. If you are riding around the backwoods of NH and find yourself lost somewhere in Indonesia, well then, time to revisit the notion of travel altogether.

Wirelessly posted



I like this idea but that app requires you to download what you want before correct?
How much downloads at once? Lost in tv with no web access what do you do?