| Author | Message | ||
     Toona |
Background: Looking for a GPS unit to use 4-5 times a years for business travel when driving my truck towing a 12' trailer. So I don't classify myself as a "Road Warrior". I've been looking/resarching at the fully loaded, i.e. units with all the maps already installed so I don't have to update/buy maps separately. I'm leaning towards either the Lowrance IWay 350C: 3.5" touch screen, color, 4 mb hard drive, mp3 Player, FM modulation or a Garmin 330C: 3.5" touch screen, color, preloaded maps etc. I'd like to stay in the $500 range, as I can't justify spending $1000 for something to use every other month. A bonus would be to use it on the Buell as well. Waterproof?, Bluetooth would be nice, but not required. I've been to a few GPS forums and it looks like the Magellan doesn't have a good track record and the Tom Tom units seem more like a toy? A concern for the units that have a hard drive is vibration when used on the Buell, I dunno... Thanks in advance, Dan | ||
| Barker |
Buell™ Quest™ Navigation System 92165-05Y $699.95 http://www.buell.com/en_us/gear/accessories/Product.asp?Menu_ID=2&ProductLineID= 1&CategoryID=7&ProductID=4058 | ||
| Doon |
I grabbed a Garmin Quest 2 from newegg and ram mount (non powered) from cycle gadgets and have about 5K miles with it on my lightning, Comes preloaded with the maps, has a battery that was 1/2 full after a 460 mile ride. I've ridden in drenching rain and hail with it. Oh yeah I use it in the car also  You can grab a way point file of HD dealers on line. I pull tracks off it, to use on the web (http://patrick.muldoon.us/rides) and I was right around $600 for everything. s/Buell Quest/Garmin Quest/ (Message edited by doon on September 08, 2006) | ||
| Xbenign |
I can't comment on the types of units you're looking at as I have a hand held Magellan Sportrak Map. I can comment on my personal experience with Magellan as a company though. I'll sum it up this way: Good Products, lousy tech support and they didn't honor their rebate. | ||
| Hammer71 |
After seeing Doons setup I got one on ebay... soup to nuts $327. | ||
| Interceptor |
pioneer has a new model out called the S-1 I believe. handheld or can mount on dash in your truck. Its under 500. | ||
| Cruisin |
I've had a Garmin Street Pilot 2610 for over a year now and love it. I think all the Garmins are waterproof (something like can be submerged in a meter of water for a half hour ). I think the 2620 was the only model with a mini drive - everything newer than that uses solid state memory. The StreetPilots don't have battery power, but it's easy enough to hard wire it onto the bike. Check out http://www.gpsdiscount.com - factory overhauled ones available there (depending on stock). As a side note with Garmin, the anti glare coating on my screen just flaked off (not sure, but I think something scratched it while it was parked outside in a windstorm). It's a factory overhauled unit and past the one year warranty. I contacted Garmin to see about repairs and they gave me an RMA to fix it no charge. They definitely stand behind their product. | ||
| Statik |
After seeing Doons setup I got one on ebay... soup to nuts $327. when we gonna go play with this thing? | ||
| Deltablue |
I can't really comment on the road models, but We have been using a Garmin hand held unit for over a decade sailing, and I would go out of my way to put my hands on a Garmin over anything else, kinda like my Buell  | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
i have the tomtom rider. it is great. very easy to use. comes preloaded with all the maps. has bluetooth. i can recieve calls on my cell while riding. it has a bluetooth headset that mounts in your helmet. it also comes with a mount for your bike and it is water proof as well. i rode 150 mile in the pooring rain with it and had no problems with it what so ever. but it is pricy. if you look around on line you can find some good deals. | ||
| Toona |
I appreciate all the input so far, keep it coming. I like to research stuff as best possible, so I don't waste $. Jd69 - the TomTom has all the features you like? or is it missing features. I saw that the TT Rider was esp. for motorcycles, but wasn't sure if it was the same as a car unit re-labled as a MC unit. | ||
| Xbenign |
Garmin, Lowrance and Magellan all make their owners manuals available on their web sites in PDF format. Try downloading them and taking a look to get a better sense of the features and how the units operate. That's what I did before I bought mine. Also, try emailing each of their tech supports a simple question about their units to see how quickly they get back to you. This will give you a sense of the quality of their support. Another good place to shop online is TigerGPS. (Message edited by xbenign on September 08, 2006) | ||
| Rich |
I have the Quest, it's been a great unit. | ||
| Toona |
As an update, I bought the Lowrance IWay 350. The unit works well in my truck, very intuitive. I made up a quick mount for my Buell that allowed the unit to shake too much, to the point it turned itself off. I'm looking for a supplier for the Ram Mount. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Quest owners... I had that hinge vibrate itself into a failure mode while running with the antenna sticking up. If I were you, I would strongly recommend spending $30 (probably less on eBay) and getting an external antennae and mounting that to the bike, and leaving the antenna snapped down (maybe even taped snug) for longer trips on the bike to save vibration wear on that joint. It's one more connector to undo, but not a huge deal, and you will get better reception anyway. Even if the hinge fails, the external antennae still works, or you can pay Garmin the $150 for repair. Don't try taking it apart, you can't get into the failed area without breaking stuff. |
