motorcycle gps for newbe

svdave · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 20, 2005 Posts: 15

I sorry if this has been asked before, im on a budget so the tom tomriders out of the question, i ride an sv 1000 and want a unit i can use in uk and europe i would like voice derections to my lid "is this a problem"ive been reading about the garmin quest and navman 520, but would like to here some advise from people who use them as aposed to sell them. Im totaly new to gps so any help from fellow riders would be great.

EasyD2 · Regular Visitor Joined: Aug 13, 2004 Posts: 137

Hi svdave,
I would recommend the Mio 269+. Costs a lot less than Rider and is a pretty decent machine.
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StevenGourlay · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:56 pm Post subject:

the problem is the Mitac is not waterproof and the rider is designed to take the vibration of being on a bike. A lot of bikers use Garmin Quests as they have been out for a while but the Rider which I have used is smart and would recommend that you look under the Motorcycle section of the forum.
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Skippy · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 4:39 pm Post subject: Re: motorcycle gps for newbe

svdave ! As Steven says, come on over to the Motorcycle forum and have a look too - there are a few of us bikers there!

There are a couple of things to consider when buying your system:

Is is waterproof and robust?

Many units aren't. The TomTom Rider and Garmin Quest or StreetPilot 2610 and 2720 are the the waterproof/robust ones that come to mind.

Do you ride in all weather? If you want Europe maps then I presume you aren't afraid of getting rained on so you will want something waterproof.

You can get a PDA and some sort of waterproofing system ranging from a zip lock plastic bag to a tank bag with clear window in it to an Otterbox fully armoured and waterproof box to put the PDA in.

Does it come with full Europe maps included or is this an extra cost upgrade. Watch out, the full EU map upgrades can be seriously expensive!

Can you get a mounting system for the unit? Have a look at RAM mounts, they have a mount for almost everything. Also check out Touratech mounts, beautifully built but not a budget item!

Does it do speed camera alerts? Some do, some don't. I presume that if you are riding a litre bike that this is of interest to you. Wink

So, what to buy?

Quest 1 - about £300-330. Quest 2 is due out so price may drop.

Pros:

Comes with full EU maps on CD.
You can plan routes on the maps on your PC and load them into the Quest.
Waterproof and Robust.
12-18 hours battery life (built-in rechargable battery)
RAM mount is about £25 but doesn't include power or headphone as standard. You might have to take the car mount apart and wire this into the bike or buy Garmin's bike mount for about £40.

Cons:

You can only upload 240 Meg worth of maps. All the UK is about 150 Meg, all of France is about 330 Meg. You can selectively upload maps for certain areas only. Map chunks are about 1 Meg each and they don't have to be joined up.

Quest 1 DOES NOT do speed camera alerts.

Quest 2 - Not available in the Uk yet? Should be here real soon now. Might be £400-500.

Pros: As for Quest 1, plus

Comes with full EU maps PREINSTALLED. No uploading of maps needed.
I think it DOESN't come with maps on your PC so you can't plan routes like you can with the Quest 1.
Quest 2 DOES do speed camera alerts.

Cons:

Price?

StreetPilot 2610 - about £550

Pros:

Rugged, waterproof.
Large, touch screen
Full EU maps on CD which can be uploaded onto SD memory card. You can upgrade the SD card to a bigger one if you want more maps loaded.

Cons:

No battery, must be powered from the bike
Quite a chunky unit

StreetPilot 2720 - about £770

Pros: As the 2610 plus

Full EU maps preloaded - not on CD
Traffic report integration possible (fairly expensive add on)
WILL do speed camera alerts

Cons: As the 2610 plus

Expensive

TomTom Rider ~ £600 ?

Pros:

Large touch screen
Software optomised specifically for bikers
Bluetooth integration for wireless headset
Speed camera warnings

Cons:

Lots of people have complained about the "safety mode" that locks out many functions while you are moving
UK maps only, EU maps are extra cost (maybe £100?, not sure off hand)

I don't know much about the PDA units. Generally, they have a fairly large touch screen, camera alerts and you can get a memory card big enough to load all the maps you need. They are delicate units so you will need to look carefully at mounting/protection options.

Good luck and let us know what you buy! Thumbs Up

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StevenGourlay · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 5:14 pm Post subject:

jesus you got a lot of time skippy Laughing

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svdave · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 20, 2005 Posts: 15

thanks for the swift reply very helpful. Im not sold on anything with a hard drive, 1000v twins dont half thump. the quest does look like the best on my budget . im waiting till after january to buy a gps as the weathers grounded me so until then il pop across to the motorcycle forum and try and understand it all. cheers everyone

Skippy · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:12 am Post subject:

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