motor bike pda/gps

[ninjabika]

hi-ya all

new here don't know what i'm on about so be gentle please, as the subject line says , i would like to add somekind of gps to my bike this year and kond of like the pda route , i don't really know anything about gps but could i have a bluetooth enabled pda mounted on my bars and say some sort of bluetooth gps reciever hidden away under the seat , i know the pda's arn't water proof but as an engineer/machinist by trade i feel sure i could make a bracket and watertight box for one, ideally i would to be able to plot a course and be given street by street directions also the ability to wonder off course and be re-routed , any ideas, suggestions please

martin

[Number6]

I just bought a Garmin Quest for the bike, self-contained and waterproof and swaps from car to bike in seconds.

[Skippy]

Hi and

There are a couple of options:

A PDA and a Bluetooth GPS under the seat. You can mount it using a RAM mount http://www.ram-mount-uk.com/ and get an Otter box http://www.otterbox.com/ (or a plastic bag) to keep it dry if it rains. You may want to wire it into the power on the bike or you may find that the battery lasts all day and you can just charge it up at night.

or, like Number6 says (and I would recommend)

Get a Garmin Quest or Streetpilot 2610 http://www.garmin.com/mobile/products.html#automotive and a RAM mount. Garmin's are waterproof which makes them ideal for bikes.

I think the Garmins are more reliable than a PDA, they rarely crash, they won't wipe their memory if you reset them and you don't have to mess about getting it to rebond with your Bluetooth GPS because it has decided to become disconnected. Just switch it on and go.

A PDA is more flexible than a Garmin though. You have a choice of mapping software to run (not all of it is very good though) and you can run other software to alert you when you are approaching a speed camera - not that you will be speeding, of course .

GPS on the bike is pretty damned cool. I like to pick out some nice looking roads, plan my route on the PC and upload it to the GPS. It will tell you the distance and give you an estimation of how long the trip will take. The "Avoid Motorways" option is also very nice to have for the times when you want to "take the long way home". :D

Let us know what you decide to buy!
_________________
Gone fishing!

[ninjabika]

hi-ya all

thanks for the reply's, have been looking at the garmin quest , looks a good bit of kit also can get one for £330 so far , does anyone know if you can plug ear phones in for the directions , also if i went the pda route, rather than use a bluetooth reciever does anyone the size of the tomtom reciever or similar and are they powered if so do they take there power indipendantly or are they powered by the pda, i'm quite drawn by the pda route because of it's uses -mp3's notebook and the like . those otter boxes look ok aswell,
i also like the safety camera warning updates.

once again thanks.

Martin
p.s it's a yamaha fazer 1000 i've got

[StevenGourlay]

What I use for short distance is:

iPAQ 4150
TomTom Bluetooth

I plug the iPAQ into my helmet speakers and keep the PDA snug in my jacket and put my BT GPS in my tank bag. Obviously you cannot see the screen but you do hear voice instructions well. This works for me but if you are going for long distances then it would help to see what direction you are heading in.

Only a small honda so i cant go that far yet need to do my Direct Access
_________________
Regards
Steven Gourlay
Bike Pics! Bike Chat! Visit-Ullapool

[Number6]

[Skippy]

Not sure about the headphones on the Quest. You can probably connect them but it doesn't have a standard connector.

I don't like wearing earphones (uncomfortable) so I don't bother with voice directions on the bike and at high speeds it can be difficult to hear. I would probably reconsider if I was going to go for the full monty autocom type system and connect the mobile phone, iPod and GPS to it but that would be over the top for my needs.

I have my GPS setup so that the backlight comes on about a minute before I reach the next turn and that gets my attention. There is also a "Distance To Next Turn" countdown on the Garmin which I keep an eye on so I know when to look out for a turn.

Bluetooth GPS receivers are generally about the size of a small mobile phone, have a rechargable battery and last about 5-12 hours on a charge (depending on your model). You could easily put it under the seat and wire it into the battery. Not sure about PDA battery life - I would guess that it would last for a full day of navigating as long as you didn't leave the backlight on permanently?

As Steven suggests, you can may be able to keep the PDA in your inside pocket and just listen to the directions for shorter trips, but given the choice, I would prefer to be able to see the screen. The spoken directions aren't allways 100% clear when you come to a complex junction and a picture is worth a 1000 words.
_________________
Gone fishing!

[ninjabika]

hi-ya all


finally bought my new toy, got it all off ebay, ipaq 1945 with tomtom 3 software and a tomtom bluetooth receiver, superb bit of kit, right then i've already installed the speed camera database , and the audio warnings but they seem very quiet is there any way i can modify the volume of these, i don't think i can do it in the pda's settings as all the volume settings are set to max.


Martin

We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
Have you considered making a donation towards website running costs?.
Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!