Cheap Motorcycle GPS
 

Does anyone have any experience of these GPS systems http://www.amazon.co.uk/Peaklife-Wea.../dp/B0062EAGP2 ?

Looking for sat nav to use on bike mostly in UK and Europe but also in USA next month when hiring a bike in California and Arizona ?

Torn between one of these or loading up either NavFree or CoPilot on my smartphone .. wary of smartphone ending up bouncing down the road ..

Ideally want a system I can set way points on a route to follow ..

It looks like you will have to make the decision about this GPS without the benefit of other's experience - now a week has gone by since your OP.
I note the reviews on your link - they don't seem too positive about the manufacturer's support, nor is it clear what software is in use in the unit.

You might consider the benefits of being able to download and use open source mapping on both a GPS unit and on a PC - there are other threads in this navigation forum about this.

Also, there is a longish thread about the relative merits of GPS units and smartphones which contains ideas about the software to use in the phones:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...1-8#post393253

I hope this helps to make the call - you don't have too long available before your trip to the States!

there's a fairly longish thread ( they all are, though) , across the puddle on advrider, the general consensus seems to be that they are actually pretty good for the price.
There seem to be a lot of maps and stuff available on the net.
I'm actually thinking of getting one from chinavision.com, works out cheaper, since the device isn't sold on amazon italy.

Wow thats cheap...i used my Garmin to travel around africa and southamerica. The good thing on garmin is you can get all the maps or even run openstreetmap.org maps on them. Do they work on the cheap waterproof device as well? Would be great...my Garmin is not waterproof but for sale 100 Euro + Shiping PN me if anyone wants it :)

Even cheaper ...
 

... you can get them here Weatherproof 3.5 Inch LCD Peaklife Motorcycle GPS Navigator All Terrain Edition with Bluetooth

They come with iGo 8 software I believe ... which is used in many car / truck on board sat navs ... looks pretty good.

I'm using one at present. And it has managed to get me to Romania this week.
Matt is correct, they usually come with Igo8, I did also try Igo Primo 1.2. But in the end left Igo8 on.
All I can say is, it depends on what you want from your navigation. If your sticking to the tarmac then your fine, I dont go off road, so I cant advise on that.
These gadgets are cheap PNA's running windows CE5/6. The software is supplied as a fully working trial version. You will be able to update the maps using certain sites. If you know what I mean!!
The display is ok, not fantastic in bright sunlight. I cant say that I have tried it in the rain yet so have no proof of the waterproof ability.
If your happy to spend time setting up the software and re-skinning to get it working how you want, go for it.

That's the kind of thing I like to hear :clap:

How are they for up to date POI's - particularly gas stations and motels ?

I think I shall be ordering ...

Buy two over there
 

Wow, suddenly the information flows!
I can see the plan now - buy it in the States (the US website shows it as ready to use straight out of the package with fittings for both cars and bikes included).
In fact buy a couple, sell one to your mates back here, at a discount to the UK price, and effectively you get yours' for free.

As a backup, use your smartphone out of your tank bag (or even your pocket).

I know - thank God !! Toyed with getting one shipped direct to the rental place but think I'll order a UK one (ony £77 !!) so I can have a play with it here first.

The other alternative I've been considering is builing a unit .. get a cheap 4" Android tablet, bash proofing it with some Sugru (sugru | the exciting new self-setting rubber for making, fixing, and improving your stuff) .. would give me GPS+ functionality .. get a cheap PAYG 3G data sim for what ever country in ...

Never heard of that, but I would rather be riding, any day, than bodging.

I keep following that other thread - about using a smartphone for navigation - and there seem to be mapping apps that don't need connectivity to the web/3G.
So long as the map is loaded then the GPS function will show where you are, and maybe, just maybe, where you want to go i.e. routes (I'm a luddite with this stuff, you can tell).

GPS on steroids ..
 

Yep plenty of apps which have offline maps, the back up 3G would just be handy for hotel / motels in vicinity, live Google / Wiki look ups .. that kind of thing .. and device would double /triple up as Kindle type device for reading books / manuals etc. while travelling .. playing music ... watching the odd movie.

Does anyone know if you can get southern hemishere maps (downloads/disc) for the Peaklife?

sorry for the delay in answering Matt. Laid low in Romania with a bad stomach for a day or so.
Again, as far as POI,s are concerned I can only vouch for the hotels we have found, and that has been fine. Again there are masses of POI,s available for download, so I dont think that should be an issue.

I'm sticking with paper maps until I understand the software issues
 

This might be a part answer to Oldriders' question, shown below - but I am still a luddite so I really do not understand if mapping sourced from, for instance, OSM can work OK on this model of GPS.
Personal navigation assistant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia explains what a PNA is (!) but it says that iGo maps are in FBL format - is that compatible with OSM stuff that seems to be oriented to Garmin?


Nope, in fact, I have no idea what you mean - I could guess, but any enlightenment would assist.

Just sharing a thought:
I'd be very weary of any gps device which requires a girl in her undies on the screen to sell....