Ummm... you'll never know if the axle is also persuading the GPS on back of the neck to work efficiently. To chase teenagers, I mean.

The power came from hard wiring the car adpater onto the bike battery and then simply plugging it in with a generous smearing of silicon putty over anything that looked like it would leak.

For normal travel in dry conditions the GPS was open to the air/dust and was reliable as hell.

Light rain I put a sheet of heavy duty chefs clingfilm over it to get a waterproof and touchscreen friendly cover...but to be truthful, the routes I was following were of such distance like on the Maree Trail that you went about 300km before a turn came up.

When the monster of all storms kept catching me up, I just put the clear sandwhich box lid on it and rode to the nearest pub and regailed the females with my ever increasingly impressive stories of being a pro-camel spider wrestler when out in Iraq.

I like the initiative and ingenuity in providing a system that dealt with all 3 types of weather conditions.
I've been playing around with making a Garmin Nuvi somewhat weather resistant (bearing in mind that not even Rolex claim the word "waterproof" nowadays) but it hasn't been tested out in any sort of bad weather to date.
For riding in really foul weather I have the thought of reverting to my well tested post-it notes stuck on the inside of the bike screen (stuck on while the screen is still dry) while the nuvi goes into a polythene bag, temporarily - as you say, it kind of depends on how complex the roads are at the time of the heavy rain.
As for camel spiders, I'll pass on them.

__________________
Dave

My Peaklife arrived today minus the user manual which, when you are a complete technophobe (related to anything with the words software, operating system or computer) is a complete nightmare. Is anyone aware of an online site where I may be able to download a copy? I have emailed the seller and will await their reply but in the meantime...... I'd appreciate any help/info anyone can throw in my direction.

John

I've ordered one yesterday in regular mail (taking my chances to avoid customs duties). If in a couple of weeks you didn't get anything, PM and I'll take photos of the manual for you... if I actually get the manual (and the GPS)!

This device has quite good reviews in a Spanish forum, since it accepts any software you may want to install in it through an SD card. And it is sturdy and well built. People have also adapted a Touratech Nuvi holder, since the original in plastic is not very solid for off road.

Wish you good luck. I also hope it is easy, since I'm a novice as well!

Esteban

PS: Some pics.

Thanks Esteban, I'll wait to see what happens. The bits I've received look quite sturdy and I am looking forward to using it - if I can work out how to! I'm a bit of a neanderthal when it comes to computers but from things I've read and seen on youtube it looks fairly straightforward. I hope you get yours in one go.

John

It's really quite straightforward ... head along to NaviTotal.com ... all the help on setting it up, what software etc. can be found there ..

is the screen sun viewable?

Any pictures?

Matt,

Thanks for the link. I will be on there shortly.............. and then back on here asking stupid questions no doubt!

John

If you're still stuck after that - PM me on here .. I'm in America from tomorrow for couple weeks but may be able to respond from there ... if not definitely when I get back.

Due to the recent weather in UK not been able to test in much sunshine ... I don't think they'll match a Garmin or Rider in the sun .. but that's the price you pay ... I'm thinking I'll end up fashioning a sun shade / peak for it if need be from sugru

I'll let you know for sure when I get back from California and Arizona in a few weeks time !!

+1, that's a great link Matt, it looks like it contains a vast amount of information about all forms of GPS hardware and the software, most of which I have never heard of before!
Looking forward to reading of your experiences on the road in the States.

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Dave

From my experience with it, the short answer has to be no. But to be fair, that's with direct sunlight on it. And during a recent trip I did find that playing around with the swivel mount and moving my head or hand to add a bit of shade sometimes helped.
My only problem with it was the fact that it shut down a few times on its own. I suspect it to be the mount and not the GPS itself. Not good in the middle of a traffic jam in Prague! So that bracket in your photo's Esteban looks a good idea. Can I ask how you remove the 5pin connector from the original bracket? I have been looking at it for a few days and it looks like it should pull out somehow, but for the life of me I cant see how yet.

I've read the same about the screen under direct strong light. Well, it's much cheaper, so that's the downside, but no one "said it's terrible, you don't see anything at all".

Ok, I asked about the mounting. If you understand some Spanish, here you are:

Creo recordar que el sistema encaja en las guias laterales del conector y queda sujeto al soporte original por una pestaña de tope a modo de click, estaba colocado a presión y retirarlo no es facil (hay que retirar doblando la pestaña), no recuerdo si se rompió el tope porque yo tenía claro que lo iba a poner, así que lo mejor es que cada uno se lo piense, no les invites a "retirarlo" o te culparán si se les rompe, como te comento, en mi caso era quitarlo si o si, como recurso creo que algunos gps venían con dos carcasas de soporte, una para coche y otra para la moto, si alguien tiene las dos es menos riesgo pero si no lo tienen y se rompe no hay plan B, por esto te comento que valores el animarles a hacerlo, te paso una imagen de como creo que era el tema

un saludo



Otherwise, I try to translate:

I think I recall that the system fits on the rails on the sides of the connector / plug and it gets fixed to the original support through a flange (?) which sort of “clicks” at the end. It was places under pressure and remove it was not easy (you have to fold the flange). I cannot remember if the “stop” broke or not because I was certain I was going to install it (on the Touratec), so better to warn everyone to think twice before doing it. Don’t recommend to do it, or you will be blamed if it brakes, in my case was for sure. In some gps boxes here were two supports, 1 for car and 1 for bike, so there’s fewer risk, but if you have only 1, there’s no plan B, so watch out about fostering this. I attach an image about how I think it was done.

IMAGE:
Lowered are so that it fits
Under this support there’s the click flange to fit it.

I don't want to misled anyone, so I'll ask what's the Touratech model, i think it is the Nuvi support.

Hope it helps. And thanks to TXINGUI for the picture and explanation. He's definitely an EXPERT on the so-known "Chinese GPS".

Esteban

Thanks for that Esteban. I had an idea that it was something along those lines.

As for the display on the peaklife, no its not terrible. I always managed to see it when needed. But never having owned a Garmin or Tom Tom bike GPS I don't know how it compares.