| Author | Message | ||
     Ratbuell |
Thinking of adding a farkle to the Uly, and want to find out folks' take on the different GPS units out there - speed, functionality, usability with gloved hands, interaction with other items like an iPod or bluetooth cell phone, etc. Let's hear it!  | ||
| Seanp |
I have a Zumo 550 that I love. It was designed for use on the bike, works with gloves, and can hook up with a phone through bluetooth no problem. | ||
| Supertoon |
I love my 550 as well. On a bike the interface has to be simple so as to avoid the frustration of fiddling with a complex system in the dark when it is raining and you have no idea where you are. I had a pda running the Tom Tom software that was very good at doing just that! No more with the Zumo, I just plan my trip on the PC, download the file and go! I have 2 gig card of music with good quality noise canceling ear buds. It will easily sync with my razor BT phone, but I have no interest to speak on the phone while I am riding. I have dropped it, rode in the rain all day with it and used it on virtually all my car and bike trips, so far so good! | ||
| Galloper |
Garmin GPSMap 278 Wired to het Uly's 12V output en wired to my helmet. No farkles like bluetooth or touchscreen. It kicks the lama's a$$. | ||
| Buelldualsport |
Garmin 2720 Good value for the $s Tried Zumo 550, too much frufru. Could not get BT to work witn Nolan NComm YRMV Buells to Alasks ALCAN 5000 2010 (Message edited by buelldualsport on July 15, 2008) (Message edited by buelldualsport on July 15, 2008) | ||
| Hooper |
Hey Supertoon...what kind of earbuds do you use? Do they really: - Block the wind noise? - Play the music at not-deafening levels? - Let you hear a car horn? | ||
| Froggy |
I have a Zumo 550, and while it has lots of great features, its too dumbed down. It feels like Apple designed it. Oh you want to rearange everything to your liking similar to your Garmin Quest? Nope. Want to disable the road lock? Nope. 3d navigation is useless and confusing. It makes it hard to judge turns, and the vehicle icons are too huge. | ||
| Rwven |
I have a Garmin 2720. It works well but is pretty basic. I've been jonesing for a Zumo 550 for awhile now because of the bluetooth and the MP3 player. Hooper had a question about earbuds. I use the Shure brand earbuds, the cheapest model which is about $100 retail and can be found for 80-90 if you shop around. I got the white silicone "barbed" style ear cushions for it (they cost extra, can be ordered from the Shure website). They block sound as well as a good set of foam earplugs and with the music playing you are in your own little concert hall. | ||
| Buelldualsport |
Zumo has numerous issues with Blue tooth, XM Radio and other deal breaker issues. YRMV Buells to Alaska ALCAN 5000 2010 | ||
| Supertoon |
Hooper,I got mine on sale from the Aerostich for about 100 bucks, I check what type and let you know. They are the kind that you wrap the wire behind and over the top of your ear. Excellent sound and they do dull ambient noise, wind becomes a distant "roar". However don't block out important stuff like car horns, wife suggesting we stop at the next restroom etc... I run the music volume around 80% and the directions prompts around 60%.My only hassle is that the soft rubber portion that goes in your ear is to "slippery" it will over time slip out, BPITA. I think if you never had a GPS you will enjoy the ZUMO more than a seasoned GPS pro who likes to fiddle. As far as routing in Canada and eastern USA it's heads and shoulders above the shitey Kenworth system in my Subie. | ||
| Slowride |
Magellan 4050 Works good on the bike and the trip planner is simple. I picked my up at Circuit City for $212.00 | ||
| Jayfredweb |
I'm not ready for this farkle yet, but does anyone have the Buell Quest Portable Navigation System?? How does this compare to the other GPS units from Garmin? I have a Garmin 60csx (not very practical for motorcycles) that I use in my 4x4 truck, and when I'm hiking. It get's the job done. However..., it is a PITA when you want to change from City Navigator Maps to Topo Maps on a run. You almost have to have one data card for street use, and one for off-road use. It the data card wasn't so fricken small this would be the way to go. Just my two cents. | ||
| Froggy |
Jay, I have the Buell Quest. Short answer, don't bother. If you got your heart on it, you can get them for a quarter of the cost elsewhere without the Buell badging. I like the interface on it better than my Zumo, but the Quest has a old chip, and it has only 128mb of memory, which is enough for about 3 or 4 states. So if you are riding cross country, you will need to stop part way and use your laptop to upload maps. There is the Quest 2, which is the same model but with enough memory for the entire country. I got the part numbers, so if you want the quest I can send you the numbers for the Uly mounting bracket. | ||
| Froggy |
Comparison of Quest, Quest 2, Zumo 550: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/compare.do?cID=135&com pare=compare&compareProduct=414&compareProduct=213 &compareProduct=338 | ||
| Jayfredweb |
In the Fall 2007 Edition of Overland Journal, there is a nice right up comparing different GPS units for use on Enduro Type motorcycles. The editor chose the Garmin GPSMap 276C as their favorite. I'm not sure if the Zumo 550 was released yet, and I'm also not sure how the Zumo 550 performs off-road. I've talked to many bikers who have the Zumo 550 and love it, but pretty much all of them use it for touring on the pavement only! While my Uly is primarily a street bike, having the ability to go off-pavement is part of the reason I was sold on the model. Whenever it is that I purchase a GPS Farkle for this bike, it will have to perform equally well on and off pavement. Any comments? | ||
| Buelldualsport |
You might want to go to Advriders.com and spend some tine in the Laying Down Tracks Forum. Very informative and interesting reading. Good advice from people who ride. YRMV Buells to Alaska ALCAN 5000 2010 | ||
| Harleywern |
I'm using my Harley Conquest = Garmin Quest 2 on both of my bikes. I have the original Buell mounting bracket installed. Covers most of Europe. Little slow but for me it works fine. Need to get the US maps now for the ALCAN 5000. Ride safe Werner | ||
| Atoms |
Zumo 550's been great for me. While you pay more for for the 550 than the 450 for stuff you might not use (XM Radio compat, BT etc) it comes with the bike mounting stuff, which more or less makes up the difference in price. The 550 is my first GPS and so far I've used more in rented cars than on the bike, but that is just bonus - it also comes with a car mount. The bike or car icons *are* absurdly huge though, that is true. The other disappointment for me was that while it comes pre-loaded with pretty darn complete maps and lots of POIs it does not have as many POIs as I was expecting. I could be missing something, but I don't recall seeing motorcycle shops in the default set. That seems pretty lame for GPS which is designed for use on motorcycles. | ||
| Jwnsc |
Garmin 478. Works on the Uly and other toys.  | ||
| Jayfredweb |
Jwnsc:Assuming that you have a Garmin 478... The Garmin site lists a feature of the Garmin 478, that allows you to change mapsets with the press of a button (i.e. from water to street). Is this true? As I won't be adding pontoons to my motorcycle, I would assume that this would work to switch mapsets, between road, and off-road (topo) maps?!?! | ||
| Keith_mahoney |
Well I guess I will be the first to chime in with the Tom Tom Rider2. At least for Europe this thing kicks ass. It has every road possible here on it, even ones I can't get down in my car. Plus it's nice to take it off in large cities like Amsterdam and set it to walking mode for foot navigation in case you get lost. I use it in car and on the bike. The traffic camera subscription has saved me lots of money, way more than the 50 bucks a year it costs. It has BT and all that other jazz too. Lots of functions I haven't even tried. | ||
| Jwnsc |
Jayfredweb The default setting on the 478 is straight line point to point the way you would navigate on the water. It will do the same thing on land unless you change the the nav setting to "Follow Roads." It will then ask you "Shortest Distance" or "Faster Time." Like all GPSs it is not perfect on the routing. | ||
| Jayfredweb |
Jwnsc:I understand that part of the switch. The problem I have with my current GPS (Garmin 60csx) is that it defaults to the City Navigator (Road) maps. You can load both Topo and City Navigator maps onto the same card, but in order to view the Topo maps you have to turn off the City Navigator Maps. And you can't just turn it off with a touch of a button or two. You have to go into the memory and de-select each quadrant of the City Navigator Maps one-by-one. It is a PITA!! Especially if you are planning a major cross-country trip! I was hoping that the 478 might have the ability to turn off all City Navigator map sets at once. Kind of as if you were turning off a folder of maps?!?! | ||
| Court |
I have a Zumo 550 that I love. | ||
| Jwnsc |
Jayfredweb I don't have any topo maps loaded in my 478 so I'd have to do some research to find how the unit works with them. It has two modes -Automotive and Marine, which handle the transition from City Navigator to BlueCharts of the US coast. BTW, the 478 is waterproof, which is another plus for motorcycle use. | ||
| Jayfredweb |
Thanks Jwnsc!! I'll do some research on this then. It might be possible to set it up so that the Topo Maps replace the BlueCharts. However, it seems that the Zumo 550 would be far superior on the road. Perhaps I should have both. The Zumo 550 (City Navigator Only) for my primary use on the pavement, and then an attachment for my 60csx (Topo Maps Only)for when I want to venture off-road. | ||
| Atoms |
Jayfred, That is the conclusion I came to also. I was seriously considering one of the 60* series because I also like to hike and stuff. Then I realized that I hike in places where I could actually use a GPS about once every five years. So the sensible thing *for me* was to get the best GPS I could find for a bike for the bike and then worry about getting a handheld GPS sometime in the future - when they cost less have better batteries and do more cool stuff. | ||
| Buelldualsport |
Be cautious of the Zumo, XM, Blue Tooth, Stereo music. Go to Zumoforums.com and take the time to understand what does and does not work before spending large dollars. Buells to Alaska ACLAN 5000 2010 | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I have the Garmin 2820. It's a more advanced version of the 2720. Bluetooth, stereo blah blah... It works very well on my Uly. It's been in some frog stranglers and lived up to its waterproofedness. It acquires satellites very quickly. The interface is pretty easy to learn, and easy to see, and the touchscreen works well with gloves on. The Mapsource mapping software is very archaic, but very useful if you invest the time to learn how to use it. It has no battery so it is not a portable device. Forget geocaching. It's got some weight to it and seems pretty rugged. | ||
| Helmetbolt |
Zumo 550 for me.  Click the link to try one out. http://www.goldwinggadgets.com/Zumo/ |
