Where to go shopping for GPS?

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Originally Posted by 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.

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Decent money? Like a 12v cig lighter port ($3.99) and if you want to get fancy a $14.99 switched relay setup?

<$20 vs how much exactly for a true moto GPS?

All the GPS units I see have a mini-USB port for power and charging. Same level of fragility as a phone. As for wiring it into the bike, don't you need to do that for the dedicated GPS as well? With data shut off in the boonies, a smartphone will run straight for an entire day of riding.

Mounts, cables, waterproof cases, just a waste of money to me. Look at a true motorcycle GPS or quality handhelds, they don't use USB for charging. That is a major issue with units that see vibration. Not a risk I'm willing to take. I had that happen with an old Nuvi before right before a week long trip. I had routes all loaded and ready to go, messed everything up. Never again.

Also, I spent $15k on my bike, I can swing $550 on a GPS to set it up correctly. I keep my phone off and safely in my luggage when in the boonies saving it for those just in case moments.

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Originally Posted by TheIglu

All the GPS units I see have a mini-USB port for power and charging.

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not the Zumo, yes there is a USB port for data transfer and you can charge the battery that way, but when mounted on the bike, power comes thru the cradle

tom tom rider 2 $339 complete with ram mount

It clips in a cradle and power is thru multiple gold connectors on its back

Having a dedicated GPS is great. They are designed for navigation. Not calling your wife or texting or any of that shit.
There is a place for both devices on my handlebars.

That said, I won't spend $500+ on the GPS.

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Originally Posted by 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.

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No, you are not out of luck if you loose cell signal but have a smartphone with gps (the vast majority do) and an app that downloads the maps. There are many.

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Originally Posted by Garandman

and an app that downloads the maps. There are many.

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Your right. somewhere in the thread someone mentioned this and they were also correct. I just need to download the maps. Did not know that one. anyhow it's all good now. Thanks!

With Google maps, you can cache regions to make them accessible when you don't have data coverage. The only thing you can't do is create a new route because that still relies on phoning home to the Google servers. The route you are currently on will still function so long as you don't make any edits to it.

I'd go here .........
Coordinates:
43.602903, -70.370941

Sorry , I couldn't believe that no one else did this .