| Author | Message | ||
     Dynasport |
I think I want to buy a GPS for my bike. I used my cheap Garmin Nuvi 200 on a trip last year, and it did OK, but I want something with some features the Nuvi 200 does not have. First, I would like something waterproof. Second, I would like something I can plug my headphones into and hear the commands. Third, it would be nice if it had an MP3 player built in that I could download music or books on tape on to listen to while on long trips. I don't need bluetooth or the ability to sync my phone and make calls. I am not opposed to those features, but I will not pay extra for them. I have only used Garmin units in the past, and I love their customer support. I don't love the fact that they don't update their POIs very often. My Garmin has taken me to restaurants that I don't think have been in business in years. Anyway, the vast array of available units and prices has me very confused. I have looked at some discontinued units that cost more, even discounted, than the current units cost. The Tom Tom Rider 2 seems very nice for the money, but I have never used a Tom Tom. I also ran across the Nuvi 500, which is not marketed for motorcycles but is supposed to be waterproof and is MUCH cheaper than the motorcycle specific units. The specs I have been able to find on it don't mention if it has an earphone jack or an MP3 player in it though. So, what do you guys recommend, keeping in mind my desired features. Basically, I want to spend as little money as possible and still have a waterproof unit I can listen to directions to through my headphones. Being able to listen to music is also a big plus. Traffic and weather updates are neat, but I am not sure I want to pay for them. Thanks Dan | ||
| Buellinator |
Garmin Zumo 550. Period. | ||
| X1_ |
There is a company in NC that will put a jack on the unit if it dosent have on my dad had it done on his GPS for his geezer glide. | ||
| Toona |
I have an iPhone and am waiting for pricing from TomTom. http://iphone.tomtom.com/ | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I wouldn't pay the extra dosh for a waterproof unit just buy a pack of appropriate size ziplock bags, & use the saving to buy a better unit. I think I'm getting a Nuvi760 for my birthday. | ||
| Froggy |
The older units are superior to the new ones, thats why they cost more. The new ones are like using Macs, they don't do what you want, the interfaces are dumbed down, and in general feel cheap compared to the older stuff. Anyway, the recently discontinued Zumo 450 is your best bet from the stuff you described. Its cheaper than the 550, but it lacks a few things, mainly Bluetooth, XM radio, and speaking street names. Here is a compo of all 3 Zumo units, including the even more inferior 660. https://buy.garmin.com/shop/compare.do?cID=164&com pareProduct=15000&compareProduct=414&compareProduc t=8582 | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
i had the tomtom rider 1. i loved it. but it had issues with the mount. i now have the zumo 550 and i hate it. i cuss at it every time i have to use it. although it is built like a tank. but it works so slow. when i am riding it lags it will show the street that i need to turn on ahead on the screen. when in fact i have already passed it. my tomtom never did that. it was spot on to where i was at all times. the zumo if you miss your turn which happens a lot because of the lag. it takes to long to reroute you so you end up missing the next turn. i am getting pissed at it just typing this...lol i would go with the tomtom rider 2. i am sure they have fixed the mounting issue on it. | ||
| Steve_mackay |
I picked up a Garmin Street Pilot 2820 from TigerGPS for $199. Included 2009 maps as well. I also bought the mount/wiring harness for $40. I had a Rammount handlebar mount already, or that would have been another $30-$40. But, I've used TomToms, and other units before the Garmin. On a motorcycle, the Garmins ROCK! There is no better IMHO. The Garmin 2820 does have an MP3 player(only to about 700meg to 1 gig worth of space however), and an optional XM reciever as well. It's waterproof, has bluetooth(I sync my phone to it, and it's synced to my Scala Rider headset) | ||
| Oldog |
find a used or referb quest, its not bad the nav is SQUIRLEY but the map and location is ok, the bike cradle is good and sturdy, team it up with a ram mount its ok, but Johnny Quest will get you LOST! LOL | ||
| Staves |
Another Garmin series popular with riders is the X76c (276c, 376c) Try finding a refurb. unit. They're waterproof, big screens and the 376c has XM real-time weather/radar. Lots of RAM-style moto mounts available. | ||
| Sifo |
Picked up a Nuvi 500 early this summer. It's great. Spent the extra $$$ for the motorcycle power harness. The harness comes with a nice solid RAM mount. Spent some more $$$ for the rest of the ram system to connect to the bike. Nice and solid! Nuvi 500 is waterproof and I can use it well with riding gloves. No earphone jack or MP3 capabilities though. I prefer not to hear it anyway. MP3 can be added cheap separately. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Garmin Zumo 550. Period. I concur. This was a motorcycle-specific unit from the ground up, and it really shows. I have one - got it for $611 from PC Nation. I think they sell for around $650 now. A STEAL at that price, and if mine were stolen or broke, I would buy another, no questions asked. The cheaper units are going to lack things like the ability to plan a specific route on your computer ahead of time, which is MUCH easier than trying to work throug the unit itself setting up waypoints and whatnot to force a particular set of roads. Zumo 550. Nothing else comes close. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Oh, and spring for a waterproof unit. Running wires out of a ziplock bag is hardly waterproof, and trying to read the screen while it's wet doesn't sound so great either. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Hmmm... my quest has never lead me astray Jim... and i have used it on countless trips. Maybe you mounted it upside down?  | ||
| Rich |
Here's a reasonably priced Quest 2. http://orlando.craigslist.org/mcy/1272439465.html I had great luck with my quest until it came off my bike at 80mph. Bought the zumo 550 then, and haven't considered anything else. And, as previously noted, Garmin's customer service has been great. | ||
| Rich |
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| Froggy |
Garmin recently warrantied my dead Zumo 550, it was about 4 months out of warranty. They absolutely rock. | ||
| Dynasport |
Well, now I don't feel so bad about being confused. There is quite the diversity of opinion here as well. The price on the Tom Tom Rider 2 is so good that it is tempting. I have been very pleased with Garmin customer service, though, and I really like to reward companies with excellent customer service with my business. It seems to make us both happy. I have to say, JimDuncan's negative view of the Zumo 550 is the first negative view I have heard of that unit. It costs more than I really wanted to spend, mainly because I don't get to take that many long trips on my bike and I don't think I'll get that much use out of whatever I buy. From that point of view, I would probably be better off buying the least expensive model I can find. The shopping continues. I think if I could run across a 2820 for $200 I'd pick one up in a heartbeat. I haven't seen a deal like that yet though. The shopping continues. | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Spend the Extra $$$ on the Zumo. The TomToms aren't in the same league. I've used a TomTom 720, which is nearly identical functionality as the Rider. There is no comparison to the Garmins. | ||
| Doon |
I have a quest2. And it has worked reasonably well. Now it seems that the wire into the flip up antenna has a crack in it or the like, as acquisition / signal strength is now flaky. Appears to be a common problem. We where moving it between the car the the bike, but i grabbed a Nuvi 760 for the car, so I am going to mount the quest2 on the bike run, actually run it power, and get a small external antenna (what the websites said will make it way better). But i've got 15K miles out of the quest, in all sorts of weather (Rain, Hail, even some snow...) | ||
| Reepicheep |
The external antennas will solve your problem Doon, and they do work much better then the built in antenna. I have gotten a couple from ebay, both direct from Hong Kong and dirt cheap ($20 or something to my door?). You can probably clean the connector (remove the screws on the back right of the case, snap the antenna off directly to the right... it's just a mini MCX snap on connector), but it will probably keep getting worse over time. The external antennas are cheap enough that I just leave one mounted to the bike... if I weren't so lazy I would also permanently mount one to each of my cars. | ||
| Oldog |
Bill, I was in Savannah, and was following a route through town, the unit had me go to the water front ( (where I wanted to) and showed me getting on a bridge That road was about 6 storries BELOW the bridge the indicated merge was not possible, I followed the elevated road back into town to a ramp going the wrong way (typical for me) and u turned in the grass to continue north. I refer to that incedent as laps around Savannah I made 2 passes. I was going to a meet a woman I had a date with in Jacksonville NC and the thing had me turn down a dirt road and the track ended, I turned out and got back on the road I was on and followed my original track , about a 1/4 mile later it recalculated and took me where I wanted to go. I tried to plan a route from Nauvoo Al to Wilmington Nc I locked it up! If I want to slab it seems to do ok IF I want to go over land I need to at times ignore it, or plan segments only I have the version with the small memory. So I plan staticaly and do segments at times even when not navigating It still tells me where I am It seems that I dont have a knack for using it well. But its cheap and reasonably dependable. I have used a Tom Tom i a car the interface is friendly and it seems to be reasonably good. BTW I finaly installed the voltage monitor rig that you built, its interesting to watch the system voltages go up and down, the turn signals and brake lights, make for an interesting show. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Cool! If that bottom light goes red, get ready to push.  | ||
| Reindog |
I just completed a 2218 mile ride through California with a Garmin Nuvi 265WT. I use a RAM mount to seamlessly and reliably attach it to my 06 Uly. It worked flawlessly and I now consider GPS indispensable for rides. It was aware of roads that I consider goat trails. The 265 has free traffic for life and the price has dropped nearly in half since I made the purchase last Thanksgiving. Operating the unit with gloves on wasn't perfect but worked well enough. I was able to change destinations while wheels were rolling. It never rains in Southern California so waterproofing is not an issue with me. | ||
| Greenlantern |
The new ones are like using Macs, they don't do what you want If you keep telling yourself that,one day you might believe it!  | ||
| Reepicheep |
Interestingly, my Quest with maps that are only a few years old are almost never wrong, except for two roads right near my house. I just do what I think I should do, and she patiently re-routes me when I choose badly. It's fun to try and second guess her and choose alternate routes, and see if I can beat her estimated arrival time. Knowing more about local traffic patterns, road conditions, and times of day, you would think I could smoke her almost any time... but more often then not I am lucky to "tie" her... | ||
| Atoms |
I dunno what's up with JimDuncan's 550. Mine never lags. The POI db has taken me to a few no-longer existing places, but I blame time and the economy for that. | ||
| Oldog |
= caution thread jack === Bill I get the "bottom" red light when the engine is off and the head light & ign are on, It flickers briefly when turning at low revs and when signals are applied, the top red flickers above 2500 rpm, and the top green comes and goes depending on whats happening, What were the trigger levels ? = please return to normal topic = I use the Quests Nav feature spairngly and should RTFM .... for less than 200$ 2 years ago its a steal ... and the PC software is good ( was part of the deal ) Im supprised that the Zumo has the negatives that it does, | ||
| Coops53233 |
I have to recommend the Quest - sure, its getting long in the tooth and doesnt have music, bluetooth, or a lot of memory, but its completely waterproof (ask me how I know!), very reliable, re-routes very quickly, and it was very cheap. The only issue is that if you go on longer trips, you have to take a netbook or laptop with you to swap in/out maps for different states because they don't all fit. For example, I was able to get all of the maps from DC to Milwaukee area, but really only had enough memory to store maps for just the interstate route itself. But the trade-up for this limitation is that the unit re-routes very quickly if you get off track (well worth the "hassle" of tossing my netbook in the saddlebag if you ask me). You have to upload all your photos for the long distance ride reports anyways, right? I bought a used one on ebay ($40), bought the new maps from garmin ($80), installed a power outlet on my inner airbox cover (about $12 and an hour's worth of elbow grease), and a full RAM mount for the stock mirror mount hole ($50). The unit has performed flawlessly for about 10K. One of the most useful mods I've done so far. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I think the voltages are written down in the garage somewhere, deep under a pile of KDX parts. As I rebuild the KDX, it will no doubt show up. The plan was that the bottom red LED only goes on when something is wrong... I think I tuned it on my 9sx, so it was *just* off when the headlights were on, the grip heaters were on, and the engine was off. The X1 is a lot different then a 9sx, and batteries are different, so no suprise it peeps on with yours. If it comes on while the motor is on, you are screwed. It was meant to be the "prepare to be pushing soon" indicator. If you have a variable DC supply, easy enough to just sweep it and note where the lights change. === pathetic attempt to stay on topic === $40 for a quest is great, even better if it comes with a reasonably up to date map set. Just for grins, I plotted a trip from New York to Los Angles, and had it "auto select" all maps adjacent to the route. They all fit in the quest at once (barely). In reality, I would just put detailed maps around my starting point, detailed maps around my ending point, and let the basemap handle lots of the "motorcycle on the interstate flyover country"... That has worked well for me to date, but thats for trips where I know where I am going. If I was going a wandering... a Quest 2 or new garmin would be called for... | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
The Zumo is the way to go. I had a Street Pilot 2820 and had to send 3 different units back to Garmin for having bad power cables. I have a 550 that I haven't installed yet and a Nuvi 205W that I use in my truck. If you go with a Nuvi, which isn't really what you want because it isn't waterproof, one advantage is that it runs on a charge. So you wouldn't have to install a power cable if you make short, 3 hour runs. Lowrance makes a unit called an XOG that may be worth looking at too. It only runs about 200.00 (Message edited by buellinachinashop on July 17, 2009) | ||
| Steve_mackay |
John, my 2820 has been FLAWLESS. It routed us on that 'rustic road ride' quite well | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
I was shocked actually, I never took one back at Gander and sold a bunch. The power cable connection in back was the issue. | ||
| Etennuly |
I have the Tom Tom 1. It is simple. I have noticed lately better mapping. I do not recommend it if you plan to ride off the interstate systems. It will not accept routing on back roads that you know exist, it will route the interstate highway and picking an alternate will get a secondary four lane taking you fifty miles out of the way. On back roads it is fun to argue with it as it is telling you to "go back 200 yards.....go back 300 yards". Two miles later it will reprogram the next shortest route to the damn interstate. So if you study maps and know where you are going, you can spend the entire day showing it where you are going. It will not remember it, it will find you a way home.....down the interstate. |
