| Author | Message | ||
     Advoutlander |
Was the Buell quest gps any good? Who was it made by and how much did it cost? Can a UK unit be updated to US maps? If I just had the cradle mount would any other gps units work with it? | ||
| Harleywern |
Compared to the Zumo series, the Quest was a piece of crap. I had the Harley Conquest, this was the better version. It is real slow and the screen is small. Do yourself a favor and get a Zumo. The bracket will fit the Uly well. I have the lockable Touratech unit. | ||
| Reepicheep |
It is just a quest I with a different boot splash screen, and preloaded points of interest for Harley dealers. If it is good or not probably depends on how you want to use it, and if it comes with the unlock codes and source CD's. It is durable and waterproof, provided you get a $15 external antenna to use with it (get two so you have a spare, they live a hard life). The Buell mounting system put it rigidly in a kind of awkward place, but it's not awful. The locking cradle part of that mount setup is as good as it gets and will work until you crush it into the side of a Corolla (DAMHIK). You also need the CD software of the right version of desktop software, and the unlock codes for the unit, in order for it to be useful. It's getting harder and harder to scare up that information. We can probably help you in a pinch for the CD versions, but we can't help you with the unlock code. And Garmin may or may not help you. Without that, the GPS is a borderline doorstop. But if you do have all that, there is a way to use the quest that makes it still an incredibly useful tool... 1) Sit down on your laptop and pre-plan the trip for your ride that day. Drag the route to hit every last little goat trail twisty and godforsaken intersection, no matter how many backtracks and turns you need. 2) Download that full detailed route to the Quest, including supporting maps. 3) Tweak the Quest defaults so it doesn't reroute, so it shows the "next turn" direction and distance on the routing screen. 4) Load the route and start the ride you planned. At any given time, can glance down and know everything about "the next thing you have to worry about". You will see the distance until you need to do it (i.e 29 miles or 1.2 miles) and what you have to do when you get there (i.e. hairpin right or sweeping left). If you have to go offroute, you see a genera l arrow and distance pointing back to where your route was, so you can flail a while and still know which way to turn to try and recover. It works brilliantly for that kind of role, and makes some pretty remarkable rides possible that would be impossible any other way (i.e. a 30 mile ride with literally 80 turns). It also "destresses" me on the ride. I can glance down and know I am not lost, and know how long I can concentrate on my riding without scanning for street signs or turn offs. So in that regard, I love it. If you want to be on the road and plan a new route without a laptop, forget it, it's impossible on the quest. It can do OK finding some destinations (address for example), but the map data for it is getting REALLY old, and sometimes it will take longer to find the place than it does for you to ride there in the first place (I've seen it spin for an hour for finding a non local point of interest I told it to search for). I still use mine all the time, and gathered a few spares to keep in boxes just in case. A Zumo would be a fantastic little device, but I just can't justify the price. Especially now that i carry a smart phone with some pretty cool "just route me there" GPS software with up to the minuted updated maps (forget just knowing the right roads, they tell me where the current traffic jams are, and where there may be hazzards with cars slowing suddenly because of a police speed trap). |
