K11 Owners Group

Scott_Anderson · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject: GPS Navigation, who has what.

I'm considering purchasing a GPS unit and was curious as to what everyone else has.
What they like or don't like about it, what they would they might buy if they replaced them.
Which ones work better for use on the bikes or not.
I know that TOMTOM and GARMIN are hot sellers nowadays.

Thanks in advance.

Ride safe

Scott.

Technician · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:02 pm Post subject:

I have a Garmin Streetpilot 2820 in service with a Streetpilot 3 stashed in the cupboard in retirement. I have had no problem with either unit, they have always been very accurate. You do get the odd spurious moment when the sattelite reception is interupted or interferred with but it normally sorts itself out very quickly.
I have always preferred Garmin as they have produced the automotive units but otherwise I would consider Magellan as an equal. This is because these two manufacturers have been producing GPS units the longest and are the ones supplied in different guises to the Department of Defence so you can be assured of the accuracy and quality.
_________________
Fat Ba***d with a K1100LTse
Squire D18 trailer
Garmin Zumo 660
"Run it round the block to see if the wheels fall off!!!!"

Ted · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:12 pm Post subject:

Garmin GPS-III+, Old reliable. I've had it for about 10 years now and it is bulletproof. I keep it as a backup as it is so small. Limited memory for local roads, monochrome screen, no turn-by-turn autorouting, but 25+ hours battery life, great base map, waterproof, and a voltmeter to boot.

Garmin GPS-V, new old reliable. Also bulletproof, it has more yet still limited memory, a higher resolution and brighter yet still monochrome screen, same awesome battery life, same small yet rugged and waterproof case, more detailed base map, no voltmeter but great address lookup and turn-by-turn routing.

Garmin SPIII, my current favorite and a big brother to the III and V. It is newer though still 5 or so years old, has a much sharper and higher rez COLOR screen, very readable in bright light, crappy 6 hours or so battery life, 256mb rewritable data card holds minute local details on half a dozen states, slow but thorough turn by turn auto-routing, uploadable routes with almost unlimited stops and ability to pick specific roads, larger but equally as rugged and waterproof case, plays well with the MapSource program.

My next will be the Garmin 27xx or 28xx, as soon as EdgeGPS.com has them as refurbs. Why refurbs? They look, feel and act brand new, have the exact same things in the box as brand new, and carry the same full Garmin warranty as the new ones (all for 50% or so less!)
_________________

Ted

KOG#1

Ted · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:13 pm Post subject:

Jim · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 6:13 pm Post subject: gps

Garmin StreetPilot III for the bike, C330 for the car.

The old SPIII is waterproof and has audio out. Yeah, you have to load maps on the Garmin memory cards, but that's not much of a hassle. If you like a ride, you can name it and save it to your computer, and pull it up later to use again.

I've heard some not so good stuff about TomTom. I also prefer Garmin.
_________________
Jim
1997 K1100LTSE 94,000 - still has gremlins!
1995 R100RT Classic 16,650 crashed - repaired!
1992 K75RTP 46,000

"We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed."

Mystic Red · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:45 am Post subject:

Bought my wife a Garmin Nuvi for her Pathfinder so I could steal her 2610 (waterproof) permanently. Evil or Very Mad

I love it. Both units are awesome but the 360 Nuvi looks more trendy and she can answer her phone through it so it was an easy sell. Wink

_________________
Scott Hespelt, '94 K11LT
K11 OG #466

mnb · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:12 am Post subject:

Garmin Zumo 550

It's far from the cheapest, but it does a great job, is designed for bikers, plays MP3s, can use XM radio/traffic/weather, and has bluetooth. I don't make calls with it, but it does connect to my phone and let me know when a call comes in and displays the number (or contact name) so I pretty much know if I need to pull over and call them back.
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M N B
1997 BMW K1100LT ABS Special Edition
2003 Husqvarna TE610e
2007 Harley Davidson Road King
2009 BMW F800GS
2011 Husqvarna TE310
2014 Ducati Multistrada Pikes Peak MNB Edition

Matt · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:27 am Post subject:

I have a Garmin Nuvi 250; in December it was the cheapest Garmin unit that spoke street names. It is fast to acquire a signal and very accurate. The feature I wish I now had was the route creation function so I could use mapping software on the computer, design a scenic route with waypoints I'm interested in travelling, and then upload it to the GPS. The Zumo 450 and 550 do this as well as the Nuvi 700's I think.

Matt

HoosierStu · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:17 pm Post subject:

I have a GPS Map 60 CSx . Super happy with this unit and mount. Also have a Garmin 2720 but would not consider putting in on the bike.

http://www.gpscity.com/item-garmin-gpsmap-60csx-gps/60csx.htm

I then mount is using these (where the radio controls used to be)
http://www.gpscity.com/item-ram-mount-zinc-coated-motorcycle-u-bolt-base-with-1-inch-ball/ramb231zinc.htm

http://www.gpscity.com/item-ram-mount-garmin-gpsmap-60-and-astro-series-cradle/ramholga12.htm

http://www.gpscity.com/item-ram-mount-long-length-dual-1.0-inch-socket-arm/ramb201c.htm
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"Still can't find 6th gear" 94 K1100LT

Adrian · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:13 pm Post subject:

Garmin Quest, small, portable, battery or bike powered, enough built in memory for me - holds all of UK and Ireland and quick & easy to chamge maps.

I had a problem with the unit after 10 months, rang Garmin, returned unit and a new one arrived in the post less than a week later - great service.

The tricky bit I always thing is where to mount it. Mine is currently on the left handle bar, I would prefer it to be near the map light as this would be more in line of sight, just need to work out how to do this.

Adrian
_________________
Adrian in Somerset, UK
K1100LT SE
145,000 miles and counting Smile

https://sites.google.com/site/worlestone/

Flying Duck · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject:

Off the grid · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 5:55 am Post subject:

I'm just getting into the GPS game and actually just got some good use out of a Garmin Atrex Vista I picked up used a few months ago.

Due to my new job, (home care nurse) I am looking to upgrade to a larger screen programmable Garmin model that is waterproof and transferable from bike to car.

By programmable I need something that will let me plug in the address and guide me to it.

Ideas?

Looking around the 500$ range, and I am not opposed to refurbished.
_________________
Bane of your existence since July 2006
2007 Triumph Tiger ABS. "Sabertooth"
2009 Husqvarna TE610. "The dirty Italian mistress"

Flying Duck · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:56 am Post subject:

rkildu · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:45 am Post subject:

I started out with a eTrex Vista handheld, that I bought for other reasons. I made up a simple mount to see if I really liked this GPS thing. It worked OK, but was limited.

I next bought a used GPS V and a RAM mount system. This worked pretty good, is water proof, but I found the small monochrome display to be hard to read in certain lighting conditions and the map memory was limited. Now it's my spare.

This winter I bought a refurb 2610. So far I really like it. Nice sized displpay, color, I have the entire lower 48 and parts of Canada loaded. It cost me $189 plus the cost of a 2 gig memory card. I think this is the one I was looking for.

Rod

Tim (Midland Section) · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:42 pm Post subject:

I use an Ipaq Hx2410 PDA with TomTom Navigator 5 & Bluetooth GPS. It's mount is screwed into the dummy switches on the upper fairing. I have made a "kennel" mainly to keep the sun off the screen. The GPS sits in the RHS pocket along with the Ipaq power supply. I use it because it is slim enough to be slipped into my top pocket when away from the bike & to use the WiFi in foreign hotels whilst on holiday (vacation) to research trips out & read the mail on the forum. Try doing either of those with a Zumo Exclamation

It's not waterproof, but in the kennel, it has always stayed dry. If severe rain is expected, a plastic bag is employed. Worked well for the last 2 years.
I also have an HTC P3600 XDA (GPS built in) with TTN6 & a Nokia N70 with TTN5.
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Regards Tim,

Grey haired riders don't get that way by pure luck
1996 Guzzi Cali3 LAPD
1972 750 Commando
G6HRN
#485

WVMSFKRS · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:46 pm Post subject:

I have a Garmin Quest. 115 mb of memory that you can use to load maps on the GPS. It has an internal battery or can run on the bikes power. The pictures are of the RS but I have mounts on my Harley and my Ural. I talked to Garmin before buying and the person I talked to suggested it. A few months later Harley can out with a GPS. It was the Quest with a Harley logo on it. Then came the Quest II, all the maps are already on there and it has an additional 145 mb of memory for Topos and such. I'm very happy with the Quest but if the price was right, I'd get Quest II.

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IBA#42211
MSF Rider Coach
Riders Edge Instructor
'09 K1200LT
'07 K1200GT Traded
'96 K1100 RS SE *SOLD*
'05 HD Ultra 82,000+ miles
'04 URAL *SOLD*

dietric · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:20 pm Post subject:

mnb · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:47 pm Post subject:

Zumo 550. Mounted to left side handlebar in the spare mirror mount hole using a RAMb252 (or Grab11) RAM ball mount[/url], 3.5" joiner and a standard garmin bracket and ball mount attached to the bracket. I ran power straight to the batter. The cable comes fused.

I never leave the GPS on the bike for longer than lunch. Even then, I usually remove it and lock it in the bags. The 'security screw' doesn't protect it. Besides, sometimes at lunch I'm updating my route or browsing around for stuff to see if I want to alter the route.
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M N B
1997 BMW K1100LT ABS Special Edition
2003 Husqvarna TE610e
2007 Harley Davidson Road King
2009 BMW F800GS
2011 Husqvarna TE310
2014 Ducati Multistrada Pikes Peak MNB Edition

Flying Duck · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:48 pm Post subject:

I love having a GPS - that way I can fill the map pocket on the tank bag with porn and stuff. Twisted Evil

_________________
93 LT (x2)
94 RS
86-97 K75F(K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick)
86 K75C w/paralever, hi perf cams,TURBO!
91 & 92 K75Ss
91 K1
86 custom K100
14 WR250R
IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC)
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fnord · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 10:27 pm Post subject:

I use TomTom on my Windows Mobile phone -- it's awesome, and it's always charged and with me, but:

a) It's not waterproof
b) The tank bag angles down and away from you, so it's hard to get it at a good angle to read. Even when it's all the way at the front of the bg and angled up toward me, I feel like I have to take my eyes off the road for too long to look at it. I'd rather have it up closer to the gauges.

I'm looking for a decent mount for it, so I can at least use it on dry days.
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1993 K1100RS
1999 Jeep Wrangler