Sat Nav For Bikes....

Wonda-Boy

A biker mate of mine asked me to stick this up for him.....looking for a system for his VFR800, what are the best ones to go for? Haven't a clue about them only that a car system will not do (no weather protection)

Anything in particular to look out for, would only need maps for the UK and Ireland and western Europe (France, Holland, Germany etc)

Thanx

fleet

I use handle bar mounted case for my phone.

No point paying for a dedicated GPS anymore IMHO.

You can use a bluetooth helmet or earpiece if you want the audio.

Wonda-Boy

Yeah we taught about that but he wants a dedicated unit, sure he will use it in the car aswell when not on the bike.....

Cienciano

I have a garmin zumo 550, it's a great unit, but bloody hell they're not cheap. A few on ebay for €400.

BrokenArrows

Just get a car one and buy a generic clear cover and mount for it online.

Manufacturers tag on a huge premium for a little waterproofing.

Wez

Just throwing my 2c in here, been looking at a secure way of mounting my phone on my bike. I can't put much faith in some of those fiddly plastic contraptions when it's a €250+ device, so I wanted a low-tech solution.

After much thinking I intend to order a magnetic, waterproof case that I intend on attaching to the tank, rather than risk a pothole or similar have it come flying off, when a clip breaks. I'll likely pop it into a Ziploc bag for the really wet days, to be safe (maybe with some silica gel too, to absorb moisture).

Looks like this:



Just another option.. Although I'm sceptical if the magnets might affect the phone, but I'll likely place something between them to reduce the possible effects.

Wonda-Boy

Cienciano wrote: »

I have a garmin zumo 550, it's a great unit, but bloody hell they're not cheap. A few on ebay for €400.

Yeah I was looking at them and the 600 series very expensive but are brilliant.

P.K.M.

Cienciano wrote: »

I have a garmin zumo 550, it's a great unit, but bloody hell they're not cheap. A few on ebay for €400.

I have one of them too, great piece of kit!!

Eight Ball

Have one called "rage" myself, got it off a Chinese site and it's the business cheap as chips. Used it several time whilst away and has been out in the rain out a bother.
Here it is..... http://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/GPS-Sat_Nav_Devices/Portable_GPS/All_Terrain_4.3_Inch_Motorcycle_GPS_Navigation_System_-_Waterproof_4GB_Bluetooth/

thecivvie

I have the 2013 TomTom Rider, excellent bit of kit. Highly recommend it

Cienciano

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Yeah I was looking at them and the 600 series very expensive but are brilliant.

Some people prefer the 550, the 600 series supposedly is prone to crashing and freezing. On the bmw gs forums any second hand 550's go really quick.

Del2005

fleet wrote: »

I use handle bar mounted case for my phone.

No point paying for a dedicated GPS anymore IMHO.

You can use a bluetooth helmet or earpiece if you want the audio.

Even though you can preload maps to your phone you still need to have mobile data, on my S3 anyway, to access them. Can start getting expensive if you don't have a roaming plan or free data at home.

Wonda-Boy

Cienciano wrote: »

Some people prefer the 550, the 600 series supposedly is prone to crashing and freezing. On the bmw gs forums any second hand 550's go really quick.

Got this off the main motorbike satnav site:-

Over the last few years we have sold a lot of 660s and in spite of our inclement weather at times these units are trouble free and we have no issues to report with them.

The power issues and pin corrsion problems of the zūmo 550 have been properly corrected in the 660.

We would absolutely recommend this as the premium motorcycle GPS of choice.

I have read up on the 550's and they are a super unit.....all the same.

MonstaMash

Cienciano wrote: »

garmin zumo 550, it's a great unit

+1 great piece of kit, worth paying for the lifetime map updates, around €70 once off payment for up to 4 x updates per annum.

Pataman

Nuvi 220. Not bad either.

Cienciano

If you use your phone you need to wire it up so it charges. I prefer the dedicated gps, even when in the car. And don't forget to preload maps, very easy to go out of phone coverage when you get to mountains

BrokenArrows

Eight Ball wrote: »

Have one called "rage" myself, got it off a Chinese site and it's the business cheap as chips. Used it several time whilst away and has been out in the rain out a bother.
Here it is..... http://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/GPS-Sat_Nav_Devices/Portable_GPS/All_Terrain_4.3_Inch_Motorcycle_GPS_Navigation_System_-_Waterproof_4GB_Bluetooth/

What maps does it come with?
Do the maps get updated?

Plopli

Got a Garmin Montana 600 with powered handlebar mount.

Fully readable even with the sun shining on it thanks to the anti-reflective screen protector.
Works perfectly with the gloves on, fully weatherproof.
Lifetime map update.

Also have the support for the car so can move it between the two and also use it on the trail.

Interface is not the most intuitive but you'll get used to it.

Wonda-Boy

Seriously thinking about getting one of these now myself.....wish I never paid top dollar for the GoPro3 black edition should have got one of these instead lmao.

Cienciano

They're very handy if you go abroad, but just used one to head up to north donegal and across to achill, and tbh, in ireland you're better off just looking at signposts. Unless you're using lots of 3rd class roads

galwaytt

I have the Tom Tom Rider 2. Expensive though. And works as a phone kit as well.

galwaytt

Del2005 wrote: »

Even though you can preload maps to your phone you still need to have mobile data, on my S3 anyway, to access them. Can start getting expensive if you don't have a roaming plan or free data at home.

There's a way around that : start navigation before you leave - say in the hotel lobby on their WiFi - once it starts you can knock the data off - the route will already be on the phone.

All you need is the odd McDonalds if you want to update. .

ligertigon

Having been through this before, and seen the astonishing prices for bike gps etc. My solution was found on the adv rider site.
Get a car sat nav put a plasti ziplock bag over it, and buy or make a cheap holder.
OR
Buy a cheap tablet pc and holder and do likewise. you can then download various apps for offroad riding, speed checks, etc

If you want audio, there is bluetooth to connect to your helmet etc.

fleet

Del2005 wrote: »

Even though you can preload maps to your phone you still need to have mobile data, on my S3 anyway, to access them. Can start getting expensive if you don't have a roaming plan or free data at home.

If you don't have data included, even on prepay, then you should move network!

Besides, MapsWithMe or any of the offline mapping software for Android woks without data.

hondavfr

I hope to put a gps unit on my bike also and would like to know if they are difficult to wire up to a power supply and if is a job for a mechanic?

BrokenArrows

hondavfr wrote: »

I hope to put a gps unit on my bike also and would like to know if they are difficult to wire up to a power supply and if is a job for a mechanic?

You can buy a USB power socket that you can connect directly to the battery. So its just a matter of running that up to the handlebar area. No mechanic is necessary.

Plopli

And for the record, the best offline android mapping application I found is OSMAnd(+) (osmand.net, available on play store).

It use maps generated from openstreetmap.org, you can get coverage for the world for free.
It need plenty of space on the device if you want everything.

Sometime a bit slow and sometime the routing algorithm pulls strange route.

The worst problem I've with phone + some weatherproofing solution is that usually it does not work well with the sun (reflections) and the gloves.

hondavfr

BrokenArrows wrote: »

You can buy a USB power socket that you can connect directly to the battery. So its just a matter of running that up to the handlebar area. No mechanic is necessary.

Thanks i had presumed that it had to be wired to the ignition.

Cienciano

hondavfr wrote: »

Thanks i had presumed that it had to be wired to the ignition.

Well, it depends on wheather you want power cut to the unit when the ignition is off. Probably an auxilary port in your fuse box you can use.
I did it on my BMW, but it's a canbus system, so it was different from me. But I rather have power to the gps cradle off when the ignition is off.

BrokenArrows

hondavfr wrote: »

Thanks i had presumed that it had to be wired to the ignition.

Its a good idea to wire to the ignition with stuff you are going to leave on the bike with high current draw eg. Heated Grips.

But your never going to leave a GPS unit connected and even if you do its not going to kill the battery.

hondavfr

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Its a good idea to wire to the ignition with stuff you are going to leave on the bike with high current draw eg. Heated Grips.

But your never going to leave a GPS unit connected and even if you do its not going to kill the battery.

Thanks that clears it up