| Author | Message | ||
     Davo |
It has been a long time since I have posted and I hope all my old BadWeb friends are well. I am trying to figure out what is the best GPS for touring on a motorcycle. I know that I can find some good advice on BadWeb. Thanks in advance. | ||
| Froggy |
An older Garmin, the new ones are dumbed down and lacking in features. | ||
| Hangontight |
+1 on the new ones being worthless. I just bought a nuvi 265wt for my wife's car. I thought I would be able to use it on the bike but i found out it has no capabilities for tracks or routes. I assumed this kind of thing would be standard on all new GPS units...I guess I should have known what happens when you assume. | ||
| Bishopjb1124 |
Just got a Zumo 550 and it rocks, but that is just my opinion. Jimmy | ||
| Jim_williams |
At first, I was bumbed when I "upgraded" to a zumo several years ago from a 276c. Lost lots of features, but having integrated music/phone is worth it for me, and I'd bet that's true for most folks. | ||
| Nwforester |
I will start that I am not a turn by turn guy only a where the hell am I guy. Have a Garmin 60csx - great, waterproof, glovable, I carry 15 or so states of topo and roads so I can get lost. | ||
| Davo |
Thanks for all of the suggestions. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
If money isn't an issue, I'd go with a Garmin Zimo 550. I feel it's the best all-round motorcycle GPS. O have a Garmin Quest which works for me but it doesn't compare to the Zumo | ||
| Bculy |
Zumo 550 gets my vote too! | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
The Garmin StreetPilot 27XX and 28XX series are good, and you can get refurbs priced reasonably. They use a hard drive rather than flash memory so they are a bit bulky, but they are pretty sturdy. Garmin customer service is top notch and you can get your GPS refurbed by them for a reasonable cost if it craps out. | ||
| Firstbatch |
Hey Dave, good to see you back on the BadWeb!. I am big fan of the Garmin Chartplotter, GPS Map 478. Perfect screen for outdoor viewing, very rugged as it was intended for marine use. Has the added benefit of being able to use live time NEXRAD radar which helped me many, many times last summer on a 6000 mile tour across the country. Picked it up as a refrubished unit from Get Feet Wet for $475    You planning a trip soon? | ||
| Jim_williams |
I'm halfway thinking of trading my zumo for the 478. I do miss the platform compared to the dumbed down zumo... | ||
| Froggy |
I am looking at getting a Garmin streetpilot 7500.  7" screen, fully loaded, only thing it isn't is wasterproof so I will have to rig up a custom shell. | ||
| Davo |
Firstbatch, Long time no see, Thanks for the advice and the pictures. Sounds like your Uly served you well on your 6000 mi trip. Stop by sometime when you are in Southside. Not doing too much with the XR's these days but I got a XB to tinker with next week. I still got software for the Buell if you need any assistance......Davo P.S. I still miss my Uly. | ||
| Ourdee |
I feel like I'm living in the dark ages. I just use an old yellow E-trex. No maps, just coordinates, direction, and speed. | ||
| Bdrag |
Davo On the cheap way to go. I just bought one of the Garmin Nuvi 550's. Delivered from a store on Nextag for $219.00. Water Proof and easy to use. Works great so far but I am a road rider 99% of the time. Off road I don't know if these will do ya any good. Here is a video showing its water proofness. Its the 500 which is the same but different. AHhahaaaaaaa. http://www.unitedgadget.com/2010/02/16/demo-how-to ugh-garmin-nuvi-500-waterproof-test/ BDRAG | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Frog, Which older Garmen units would you recomment? I'm just getting into the GPS thing now that I have a Uly.. Brad | ||
| Idaho_buelly |
I'm going with the ZUMO 550 also.  | ||
| Davo |
Bdrag, Thanks for the link. | ||
| Gamdh |
You could also get try the GPSMap 276C.. looks identical to the 478 (waterproof etc), but without all the Radar/XM (which is very cool by the way). Quite a bit cheaper. I've had mine for 5+ years... works very well. It's been used quite a bit, bounced around on the bike and the inside of my truck. Still works like a charm. | ||
| Trevd |
I've got a Garmin 2720 that I bought off of Ebay a few months ago for $170 or so... Bought a RAM mount, battery power cord and Garmin cradle and now I have a waterproof GPS and mounting for a total of about $280. It works well for me so far. | ||
| Two_buells |
Garmin Zumo 550 with XM Satellite Radio with the Best of Sirius, 8gb memory card filled with mp3's also   I had the Garmin Quest on my first Uly than moved it over to my 1125R You can get a Garmin Quest II for a good price these days. | ||
| Two_buells |
Custom Zumo Splash screens here http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show.cgi?142838/538498  | ||
| Bdrag |
Two_buells Will those load onto any of the other Garmin units? BDRAG | ||
| Two_buells |
Will those load onto any of the other Garmin units? only if your unit has the user changable splash screen feature and if the unit your going to use the 320x240 jpg files uses that size, sure. if not it might be a little out of size. some other bwb members posted that they loaded them on their nuvi without any problems. | ||
| 7873jake |
I have successfully loaded the splash screen logos on Nuvis. No one ever notices that it says Zumo. | ||
| Jkelly |
Froggy, I have the 7200 mounted and love it - and the fact I can read it without my glasses! I just pack a baggy if it rains. Jeff | ||
| Ratbuell |
I love my Quest II. Not very sexy (looks like an Atari compared to current-gen models), but dead-functional and so far, impossible to drown. I do wish it had MP3 capability, though, so I didn't have to unplug from the iPod and plug into the GPS when I get close to "turn-time"....time to radio-shack a headphone switcher  | ||
| Pherris |
I looked at the garmen 550 w/XM but declined when I learned the XM capability required purchase of separate components. I was hoping i could use the sat rad and gps via stereo bluetooth on the bike and also use it in my truck when not on the bike but the cost was prohibitive. I'd have to buy two of the add on xm receivers and pay two subs. Plus, if memory serves it wouldn't transmit xm over the bluetooth. so, i'm holding out. | ||
| Froggy |
Yes, you need to buy a XM antenna, but due to the cost of them they aren't intergrated bringing up the MSRP for the 90% of owners that won't use it.
Even if you bought two recievers (might not be nessacary depending on your setup), you get a discount on the XM subscription for multiple units.
Well your memory is wrong |
