GPS on eBay

[Mick F]

I was looking at this motorcycle GPS on eBay.

 

( eBay motorcycle GPS, waterproof )

 

4.3"TFT Touch Screen Waterproof Bluetooth Motorcycle GPS Navigator 4GB Flash+Map

 

 

 

$140.00 it might be a knock off of a tom-tom rider. I wonder if anybody has had any experience with these. My last tom-tom rider to lasted about five or six years. And it was much more expensive. This one comes from China, but I'll bet most of them are made in China these days. I wouldn't be surprised if it was made at the same factory. I use one only once or twice a year and I am not inclined to spend over $500 for a new one.

The tom-tom rider died on me last year in the middle of a trip out west, along with my fuel gauge. The rest of the trip was maps and trip meter.

 

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

Mick

Lots of smart phone apps out there that do everything a GPS does...since they have a GPS antenna.

But, they also bring weather, traffic and several other handy things into the equation with a few other apps.

 

 

[Guest Kakugo]

Mick, my experience with Chinese electronic goods has been about one quarter good at this point.

The only thing I am happy with so far are some lithium-ion batteries (Sino-Cameron all of them) and a multi-card reader.

 

The rest is, sadly, mostly junk, including GPS units.

You have chiefly two problems.

The first is the defective rate "out of the box" is still very very high. Chinese and Hong Kong sellers are very helpful and will swap the unit on a "no questions asked" basis however.

 

The second is they won't last. That's the main problem. You got five years out of your Tom-Tom which, given the horror stories I hear about that brand, isn't too shabby. You will probably get two out of this knockoff unit, provided it's really waterproof.

It's your call: if you can live with changing your GPS every couple of years or so (and at that price it may be an option) and dealing with little if anything in the way of firmware updates, consider the purchase.

 

[dirtrider]

Morning Mick

 

I'm not familiar with that particular GPS but am familiar with a multitude of GPS units.

 

For motorcycle usage you really need to define your intended usage before picking or buying a GPS unit.

 

Do you need waterproof?-- if so the cheaper units will usually need to be inside something that covers them in the rain.

 

Do you need specific routing directions-- (like make your own routes on twisty back roads then follow them to a Tee?) Cheaper

automotive units, or Cell Phone GPS units, fall far short in these areas.

 

Do you use other's routes? -- If so then the cheaper GPS units usually fall short here also.

 

Same with using, or following, tracks-- Those cheaper automotive GPS units usually fall FAR short in the track handling department.

 

If you only need a GPS to get you somewhere in a basic straight line, or need a GPS to break out if & when you get lost then those cheaper GPS units will work on a motorcycle.

 

If you want to use other's pre-made routes, or route through complicated twisty back roads, or use tracks, or have the GPS glove usable, or have easy access to the GPS controls in the rain, then spend a bit extra & get a GPS that has those abilities.

 

[BULLman]

Pm sent

[Mick F]

The trip I will be using the GPS for is from the North Shore of MA to Asheville NC, off highway. I am going to follow a route that roughly follows the Appalachian trail, I will just use it to expedite finding a route on a map and from a publication on the route. I will be riding my 1975 Norton Commando, the GPS will be kind of a backup. With this bike it will have to be waterproof, vibration resistant. I want something on the bar that i can see riding. Cell phone is OK but not for this type of travel.

 

Thanks,

Mick

 

[greiffster]

Mick,

If you're a little bit handy with a computer, you can get a Garmin StreetPilot 2720 for about $50 off ebay. Update the maps or don't if they're only a couple years. Figure out how you want to mount it and get that off ebay as well. You're well under a 100 bones for a perfectly capable true motorcycle GPS that's waterproof.

 

 

[ElevenFifty]

The Norton will be very happy on the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway and, unless you've already done it several times, so will you. Back roads to get to the start of the Skyline at Front Royal, VA are a bit of a challenge but consider this:

 

Rt 2 into NY ... Taconic Pkwy to Rt 80 ... 80 to 209 ... 209 to 81 South and pick up 66 east to Front Royal.

 

Rt 2, Taconic, 209 and the Skyline and BRP are all good rides. No GPS required. There is no better long distance single road in America that compares with the BRP.

 

[DavidMantle]

Mick,

If you're a little bit handy with a computer, you can get a Garmin StreetPilot 2720 for about $50 off ebay. Update the maps or don't if they're only a couple years. Figure out how you want to mount it and get that off ebay as well. You're well under a 100 bones for a perfectly capable true motorcycle GPS that's waterproof.

 

I bought one off fleabay and yes - easy to mount and better than spending millions on new stuff that is NO better