Newbie, Sat Nav on Motorcycle/Car

maddiver · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 21, 2004 Posts: 2

I'm looking at getting some gps gear for my car and motorcycle, either the Mitac mio 168 or a HP2210 with a CF receiver. The car is not a problem but I would use it in my motorcycle tank bag under the clear top, Which way is best to go as I would have to have the 168 gps folded, will it still work ok or would a HP 2210 with a CF unit be best. All suggestions and help would be greatfully accepted.

Dave · Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 9:57 am Post subject:

I know a number of people using Pocket PC's on their motorbike, but personally I wouldn't go there. Why ? They're not waterproof. You either have to hide them in your tank bag, or try and waterproof them by keeping them in plastic bags or otterboxes. Personally if you're looking to use it quite a lot on your bike I'd either go with a Garmin StreetPilot (or if cost is an issue) a Garmin Quest, or have a Pocket PC for the car, and a StreetPilot or Quest for the bike.

maddiver · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 21, 2004 Posts: 2

Many thanks for that Dave, Cost is an issue so I'll have a good think and work out which way to go. Again many thanks

Skippy · Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2004 11:29 pm Post subject:

I agree with Dave - Garmin units are good for bikes (and cars, and boats, and planes and walking!) because they are robust, waterproof and give good battery life. They also have buttons which you can press with gloves on which is very important to us bikers! 8O I have used my GPS-V on my bike quite a bit and it works well. Garmin's software is very good too, they have been doing GPS for a long time and they know their stuff. The downside is that their maps can be expensive and you are locked into running Garmin's software and maps only.

I now have a Smartphone with BT GPS which I use on the bike too, but weatherproofing is a problem and you can't press the buttons very easily when on the move.

I wouldn't completely discount a PDA solution though. With a PDA you get more flexibilty of what software you run (there is no speed camera alert for Garmins for example) and for the size of the screen it is probably a much cheaper option than a Garmin 26xx. You would have to factor in the cost of an otterbox or always ride with a tank bag though.

Good luck - let us know what you decide to buy!
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