Hedgry Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hi everyone, I need some advice about GPS units for use on my bike. I've never owned a GPS unit before and with an upcoming birthday (April) I'm hoping to score one! Price range would probably be up to $400. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. I'm thinkng a bluetooth earpiece would be nice but I'm sure I could survive without it. Any recommendations and wisdom would be appreciated. Thanks, Henry Link to comment
hopz Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Garmin... more bells, more whistles are worth it. Link to comment
randy Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 More specifically some recomendations If you can find a good used or refrubished Garmin 2820 those make great starter units. almost indestructable and I think Garmin still does repairs on them for around 125.00 plus shipping. If you want to go new, and you want XM (I love xM on the bike) the new Garmin 665 is out. It seems to have had lot's of software related problems in the first Generation, but seems Garmin has now worked them out. I currently run the 2820 poor man's version, the 2730, and I will be buying a Garmin 665 with XM as my birthday present in April. Just as an FYI I have had my 2730 for about 5 years now, only one problem it was covered under warranty. The XM attenna went bad this year and was out of warranty. the 2730 and 2820 have proven to be reliable and quality units. I am moving to the 665 primarily for the larger screen (old eye's) and smaller size of the unit. As far as functionality goes, there is not much difference in the actual mapping capabilites of a 5 year old 2730 and a brand new 665. Link to comment
Dave39 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Like a saddle, type of bike, or it's color, a GPS is a personal thing. You can spend a lot of $$$ for all the bells and whistles if that's what you desire or just go go for the basics. I use a Nuvi 255w with a home-made mount and hard wired to battery all of which cost not much over $100. It does everything I need right now. The water-proof issue has never come up. It's mounted close behind windshield and has never gotten wet even in heavy rains. A friend recently got a Nuvi 265 with Bluetooth and demonstrated it to me. It was neat being able to control cell phone completely by voice. I might up-grade to a fancier model one of these days. Link to comment
TampaJim Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I use a Garmin Nuvi 500. Not real fancy, no XM, bluetooth etc. but it does everything I need it to do. Waterproof, bright screen, and can be had for around $200 including Ram mounts. Link to comment
elkroeger Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 My $.02 Keep the price down. Some kid is going to snatch the thing the first time you turn your back. Or maybe I'm paranoid. Beyond that, I'm partial to Garmin, and I don't use most of the bells and whistles. My Nuvi 500 took me 6000 miles x-c, no problem. I do bring and consult the paper maps, but you could just about toss 'em - that's how good these things have gotten. Link to comment
randy Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 interesting, I have had the 2730 on my bike for 5 years and 50K miles. left it on the bike almost 100% during the day. At night I do take it into the motel room. Never had one missing yet. maybe I just travel in nice area's :-) Link to comment
marcopolo Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 interesting, I have had the 2730 on my bike for 5 years and 50K miles. left it on the bike almost 100% during the day. At night I do take it into the motel room. Never had one missing yet. maybe I just travel in nice area's :-) Ditto for my Garmin 276C. I've had it on my bike(s) since early 2005 and 100,000+ miles. Link to comment
cali_beemer Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I love my 2730 for the price. I got the GPS, all the accesories, the Xm antenna, Garmin M/C cradle and RAM mounts for $150 on craigslist. It works good. Link to comment
bubbamoore Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I've had several over the years (from handheld to bike specific units)and Garmin has no serious competion in my mind. I've never used nuvi (on the bike ) because water resistance isn't an option in Florida. A good 276c would be a great entry level and should be relatively cheap used. I went to a 478c after that to get XM and weather capabilities , maybe a used or re-manufactured one could be had in the $400 range you mentioned. I went to the Zumo 665 recently to add a slightly larger screen , touch screen , bluetooth and MP3 however you won't find them in your price range. There are advantages in the zumo 660 and 665 when entering destinations and waypoints because of the touch screen qwerty keyboard also the quick release motorcycle mount allows you to remove the unit without messing with individual wires whose plugs can (and will) fail over time. I've never owned a zumo 500 but have friends who have , and had no complaints. As for any glitches , While they do occur from time to time , Garmin is good about working these things out and resolving them with free software updates. Just my 2 cents worth but once you get used to having one you wonder how you did without. I've routed myself around too many traffic jams and accident scenes to count , and even the best map wouldn't give you the availability of local back road info that you can easily access with any of the units described here and in prior posts. Good luck , Ross Link to comment
mfbeemer Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I've got a Garmin Zumo 550 that's been working well for me. Bluetooth connection to my Chatterbox xBi works great for getting directions. I use a locking Ram mount that fits on top of the clutch fluid reservoir. Link to comment
g_frey Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 NO NO NO part of the reason I ride is to get away from directions! Link to comment
w2ge Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Hedgry... Main thing is: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO USE THE GPS FOR? If you are using it as a "Point-N-Shoot", as in how most people use them in a car, that is put in a destination and have the GPS take you there, then just about any will fit the bill. (But get Garmin, the map algorithms are the best). BUT, BIG BUT.... that to me is TOTALLY wasting what a GPS on a motorcycle can do for you... and what most people have no idea about. That is... CUSTOM ROUTES! What that means is, you can literally have your GPS take you for a "tour" pre-programmed and all you do is follow it. i.e. I have probably over 100++ rides that I have created on the computer in a program called MapSource that are from 55 mile loops to 300 mile loops, to multi-day rides over the exact roads I want and to the exact destinations I want along the way.. and with this you can send them to your friends, etc.. and they can go for incredible rides. I upload them to my GPS, choose the route and it literally will take you turn by turn along incredible scenic backroads rides and all the way back home, and on the way, favorite restaurants pop-up, gas stops, etc.. (these are "waypoints" that you add- but you create your route with "via-points"- similar, but different) To save money.. many have listed the Nuvi 500/550- GREAT WATERPROOF cheap GPS that can hold 10 custom routes.. I used it for a few years and it is fine. I recently bought the Zumo 660 cause I wanted to go all Bluetooth, i.e. phone, GPS, MP3 etc.. linked to SENA SMH10 headset. IMHO, buying a GPS for a motorcycle that cannot hold custom routes is a waste... give to someone who needs it for their car... and as I said.. go with GARMIN. P.S. Place to go is: ZUMOFORUMS.COM That's where you'll really get the info you need to learn how to use your GPS. Link to comment
bubbamoore Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Sorry about the mistake on Nuvi and waterproof , honestly didn't know 550/550 were sealed. When I 1st got the 276c and 478c there were no waterproof options other than marine/auto units and no nuvi ! Didn't mean to mislead ! Link to comment
Dave39 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 One thing I find useful with a GPS is to scan road conditions ahead. When I'm on unfamiliar mountain twisties, I zoom way in and monitor the GPS for upcoming sharp bends. I use an Etrex vista on my bicycle and can prepare routes in Mapsource and Topo and download them to the vista. I miss that with the Nuvi 255w, a major reason I would consider an upgrade for the Beemer. Link to comment
ThomasJ Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Have the Garmin 2720 for a year or so...inexpensive...works every time...wish it had a battery though...would like to get the kind with weather too. Checked out a map update couple days ago...being a cheapskate I had to pass. Link to comment
Hedgry Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Thanks for all the input. The main reasons why I want a GPS are a) to be able to anticipate upcoming intersections when I'm out on unfamiliar roads b) to have a map that I don't have to stop and rearrange as I travel and c) to be more spontaneous about choosing routes on the fly. Another cool thing would be the ability to record a route for future reference...that's about it. Link to comment
PDX Greg Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I use a Garmin Nuvi 500. Not real fancy, no XM, bluetooth etc. but it does everything I need it to do. Waterproof, bright screen, and can be had for around $200 including Ram mounts. +1 on this Nuvi. I was using our Nuvi 760 from the car with a Ram Aqua box for weather protection. Cumbersome but effective for weather protection. Got a good deal on the weather proof Nuvi 500 and picked up a card w/ Canada, Mexico and Alaska maps on ebay (I believe the 500 comes preloaded only w/ continental US + topo maps, 550 I think has all of North America but no topo). I think it's a great bargain for a waterproof GPS and Ram mounts are inexpensive and work well. Link to comment
RT_Ross Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Just Mounted a Garmin Nuvi on my 00 R1100RT. I was able use the standard mount Over the Right grip brake fluid reservoir. Purchased 4 hex head bolts from home depot with washers. Remove the existing bolts place the standard mount in-between all 4 and tighten it down. Link to comment
w2ge Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 If you want to see "how waterproof" the Garmin Nuvi 500 is... Check this out! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.