What GPS do you use?

I'm starting to look into setting my bike up with a GPS for some Adv riding. What suggestions/kinds of GPS units do ya'll use?

Garmin Nuvi 550. Waterproof and cheap. If you plan to do more out there dual sporting rides, maybe one of the handhelds with topo maps would work better. But for adv, anything more than a nuvi 550 is a waste of money IMHO. (Got mine as a referb for ≈180)

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Oh boy, this is like an oil thread. Lots of opinions will come out. My adventure riding involves backroads, dirt and paved. So I like a unit that does street routing well since everything I ride on the big bike is typically on maps. On my DR650 I will get off into some other stuff and a unit that only follows routes is less useful. So, are you going to be following lost forest service trails in Arkansas or backroads?

If more roads then I'd say one of the Garmin Zumo series. Motorcycle use design and good routing. Get the lifetime maps versions so you have free map updates.

If more trails and some hiking/handheld use then the Garmin Montana is the current favorite. It is the top end. If your eyes are still really good then some folks use the smaller handheld units.

That's the high level view. Refine what you want to get from a gps and then that will help you narrow it down.

BTW, I have an older Zumo 550 that gets used 80% of the time I use a GPS and a Montana that gets used the rest of the time I use one. If the Zumo ever fails me I will attempt to make the Montana work from me as a full time unit. It is missing some street routing features that I use a lot, but that isn't its primary design so I don't expect it to have them.

Garmin 1490 LMT in a Ram Aquabox powered from a weather resistant USB power supply.

This is going to be an oil thread...
I'm using the Zumo 550, too. It's adequate for most road applications. Once you're off road expect the display to be more of a hint at your location rather than a fix. Riding in the CoCal desert I often noticed the track on my Zumo being far to one side or the other of the actual road I was riding. There was no road by the track on the screen. In fairness that may be a GPS issue in general rather than a Zumo issue.

I have two serious beefs with the Zumo. First the blue tooth is flakey. Second, if the touch screen gets dusty you can't wipe it off. A toggle switch to turn the touch screen on and off would be a neat feature and for that reason I would look at units with screens you can clean while moving without initiating some program.

Upside to the Zumo is that it is made for motocycles. It has some neat functions like the fuel gauge calculator. Most of the time I'm watching the display of trip statictics rather than the map. It works well with most gloves.

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Zumo 550. I use a coiled wire up to the helmet speakers for the MP3 music and audio books. It has done everything I've ever asked it to do including the Divide Ride and everything in Big Bend. It'll give you street names for turns and the young Australian lady has a nice voice. Never sounds mean like the American or snooty like the Brit. With a large SD card to expand the memory it can hold the huge maps of all of North America, several routes, and still have a couple gigabytes of MP3's. I think a Zumo 450 would do the same since I no longer use the XM radio function. I used the XM for about 4 years before the external antenna/receiver took a dump and quit working.

I have an old Garmin 2610 on my GS and an old Garmin 60cs on the Sherpa. I bought both of them new about 8 years ago, but they still work great for dual-sporting fun. New units have more bells and whistles, but you can save a pretty penny by finding older, used GPS on forums/eBay, etc.

Just an option if you don't want to drop a couple hundred bucks right off the bat...

I'm using my Galaxy S3 as a GPS. It's on the RAM mount. The rain could be an issue, I have a Ziploc for that case.

Garmin Montana. A few tricks make it the best I ever had and I've, unfortunately, had them all.

Zumo 550. Though if I could find a good standalone (something that isn't dependent on the data connection) GPS app for my iPhone that would also take custom routes I'd switch to my iPhone full time. Right now I just use it for when I don't need to program my route such as getting though a city using GOOGLE MAPS app with it's voice prompted directions.

After a few equipment failures, I try not to put all my electronic needs in one basket. This way I can still have some functionality if one decides it wants to be a brick instead.

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i guess my RANDY-MCKANALLY, folded & stufft in2 the clear plastic pocket on my tank bag, is a bit low-tech...

Oil type thread or not, here goes...

Believe it or not, I went cheap, and got a PeakLife form chinavision.com ($148.58 delivered). I then got some free maps and software from the Pirate Bay, and have figure it out pretty well, I think. It does have a software issue that will dump the software if you click on a turn when looking through all the upcoming turns, but seems to do well (for me, at least). Waterproof, easy to mess with, and you can select off road tracks, but I don't use those on my ST, so I can't say how well that works. I don't have any map updates (since I just got a software set from filesharing sites), but they are available (no idea on costs). I know, I know, not strictly the way I should go, and I'll probably buy a real software set eventually, but I just wanted to check and see if I was throwing money away, or if it was a good unit, and I think it's OK.

I have it mounted on my dash, using Ramball stuff, after modifying the mount that came with it. In direct sunlight, it's a bit tough to see, but it does have BlueTooth built in, so it can also talk to me (which I have yet to use). I now use it as my full time GPS on both the bike and truck. It's done VERY well in highly congested areas (like the multiple overlapping highways in Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio). One really nice feature (which may exist in every other GPS except my Nuvi 660, I don't know) is that it also shows which lanes I need to be in when coming to intersections.

I like the fact that I can create routes on Google, save them to a KML file, and dump it right onto the GPS using USB, then when the software loads, just load up the route. It will then take me to the beginning of my route, and follow it through. Nice that I don't need any special software to do this (like Garmin BaseCamp or MS Streets and Trips). The more waypoints I stick in, the more accurate the route I can create, using as few or many of those little backroads that we all love to ride.

I also have written a pretty extensive review, with lots of directions on doing these things with this GPS, but I don't remember if I posted it up here or not. If not, and someone wants it, I will cross post all the instructions here.

scottie said:

Garmin 1490 LMT in a Ram Aquabox powered from a weather resistant USB power supply.

Click to expand...

Same here without the box , baggie it when needed......

Well; I guess I didn't set the preferences properly and I didn't see all the responses until today. I didn't want to start an "Oil" thread but maybe I did. Oops. I was really hoping to just get an honest review about the various different units that y'all have been using. Seems like I got just that.

As far as what I want to do; I'm mainly looking for using it with my Xr400 for dirt/trail riding. It would be nice to have the ability to use it on my streetbike (Honda 919) also though. I have been looking at the Garmin Montana recently and that seems like its better than most at doing both well. I'm not crazy about having to pay more to get the street directions.

@woodbutcher and smiley. You both said you have the Montana. How does the GPS signal work? Do you loose signal much? I ask because most units seem to an external GPS antenna whereas the Montana doesn't. How hard is it to add .gpx route files. Finally, do you have it wired into your bike's electrical system for power or just bringing batteries.

Thanks!

I have the Zumo 660 and use it for both the road bike and for off-road. Just have to load different maps if you want terrain info. When riding on downloaded single track routes in Cloudcroft the accuracy was very good generally. Always best to have printed maps for reference when boondocking.

The biggest plus of this unit is the large screen. Makes it easy to get data at a glance. I had tried using a smart phone, handheld GPS, etc. and remember how those felt a little less safe due to the extra time I would have to spend looking for the details.

The Bluetooth interface is a plus I enjoy more than I expected to. I can tie the Zumo, Sena headset, and my phone together, listen to music, talk to my sweetie and get turn by turn directions from the GPS with a female Australian accent.

It easily interfaces to my computer for uploading and downloading tracks, waypoints, etc. and the Garmin software lets me plan routes easily on the PC, then take them with me on the Zumo.

There are always going to be little things that irritate me with electronics, but overall I have been very happy with the Zumo over the past two years, 30,000+ miles and many adventures.

I run a Garmin zumo 220 on the bike and have a back up garmin legend H
I also own a Magellan road mate 1400, Tom Tom 730 and a MIO R303

Boskru said:

@woodbutcher and smiley. You both said you have the Montana. How does the GPS signal work? Do you loose signal much? I ask because most units seem to an external GPS antenna whereas the Montana doesn't. How hard is it to add .gpx route files. Finally, do you have it wired into your bike's electrical system for power or just bringing batteries.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I got the AMPS rugged mount for the bike so I'm wired in. Reception is great. I get a signal downstairs inside the house. The Zumo seldom will in the same spot. .gpx routes are easy to add, multiple ways to do it.

I'm currently using a Garmin Nuvi 2555, the 3rd of a succession of Nuvis I've used. I'm not too particular as long as it's a Garmin and it supports custom routing, which this one does. Some of the new Nuvis use a different set of screens/menus, and if you're used to the old ones, they can be pretty annoying. I'm learning to live with it.

What I like about my current 2555:
- Mounts easily on your handlebar with a $10 adapter, available on Amazon.
- Screen is easily readable while you're riding (aside from sun glare - see dislikes).
- Lifetime map updates.
- Garmin, in my opinion, has the best routing of all consumer brands, if you just punch in a destination.
- Touchscreen works reasonably well through summer weight gloves. Winter gloves can be a bit problematic.
- Prompts me when new mapset is available.
- Programming a route on the GPS itself is quite easy, so you don't necessarily need downloadable routing software.
- Plugs into 12-V power with any standard USB cable. You only need the factory cable if you plan to use the traffic updates. This also makes it easily sharable between vehicles without having to move the cable itself.
- Costs about 1/4 of a Zumo. I can lose or break a lot of these and not sweat it too much.

What I don't like:
- Like all auto GPSs, sun glare can blot out the screen. Sometimes I have to lean or stretch my neck to read it in late afternoon sun.
- Not waterproof. I have to waste a 2-cent baggy to protect it from rain.
- The popup pictures - that show you what your freeway exit looks like - are often more annoying than helpful. But a quick touch of the screen makes the picture disappear.
- Compared to the older Nuvis, I find the menu system a bit distracting, ad not as easy to just touch my screen and get a different map view, while riding. Some features are too "nested", requiring multiple go-backs to get back to where you started.
- No MP3 player. To my great dismay, Garmin has ditched that feature in their Nuvi line.
- Unlike a Zumo, it may break if you drop it on concrete. Trust me on that one.

Bottom line - I like it. I'm sure I'd like a Zumo more, but I'm just not inclined to pay the price difference. A number of Nuvis will work just as well for riding. It's a matter of comparing features and prices, and figuring out what you want and how much you're willing to pay. Features I'm willing to pay for:
- Wider screen. A better view is, er, better.
- Lifetime map updates. That feature costs about $30, compared with $70 if you buy a single map update. A no-brainer.
- Custom routing. An absolute must for riders.
- Built-in MP3 player. I loved it on my last Garmin; saved me from carrying and powering a separate player. I guess nobody else felt that way because no new Nuvis have it. If the feature comes back, I'll buy it in a heartbeat.

I like the Garmin's and use a Nuvi 765 which allows me to make custom routes.