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....

New GPS on sale on ebay all seem to have that facility - but the second hand Garmin I purchased didn't come with it, and nor does my inherited, ancient Tom Tom. True life never seems to follow art :innocent:

What is it about a girl in her undies that makes you "weary"?

Funny that's what was selling it to me :rofl:

I will just repeat what I said before, they are fine if you like mucking around with software. If you want to turn on and go, buy a Garmin or Tom Tom. But I'm guessing that if you want to put "off road" maps or maps supplied by someone other than Garmin or Tom Tom you will need to be computer literate.

Peakview ordered an en route ... I'll post up when have chance to play with it and try it out !!

A lot of the TRF boys use old Road Angel navigators running Memory Map OS maps. They run windows CE.

So these might make a great/cheap green-laning tool now that the RA is getting difficult to find.

I wouldn't expect anything so cheap to work well in bright sunlight though. You'll have to make up a shade of some kind.

It's here ...
 

... arrrived and been charging it pre use .. first "feature" while on the charger for about 6 hours just kept showing charging on the display. Unplugged it, showed 100% charged - bit concerned that this could lead to the charging circuit having a problem ..

Came with no software installed .. I currently have iGo 8, IGo Primo and CoPilot as my options to try out .. think I'm going for the Primo first.

More updates to follow ..

A have a problem with bike specific GPS doobies, mostly because the manufacturers are taking us for mugs and pricing the GPS to an absolute insulting amount for making it basically waterproof-ish.

There are some very good GPS cases out there to mount to your bike, and this frees up the choice for what unit to fit.

Unless you are going full on Paris-Dakar offroad mode, do you really need to have a GPS that has been tested to withstand a 30,000m drop from orbit into a an empty pool full of angry monkeys wearing hobnail boots.. all doing riverdance?

I fitted a cheap as chips Car sat-nav to my bike for my Aussie trip ( lots of offroad ) and it was accurate and reliable, having longitude/latitude/compass for the map reading side of things.....it was mounted inside a clear sandwhich box, held onto some foam by two tie wraps.

HUMMMMM - sorry Andrew but: aside from debating the value of various gps's and their respective mounts- I do have to question your picture above!

Riding a bike off road with an axe across the front and its sharp blade facing the rider... REALLY cannot be a good idea.doh
(and yes, I carry a wildlife hatchet and carving tools but they are a) sheathed and b) in my bags behind me!

Good point.

I was however, hunting teenage tourists.

Great value ...
 

Installed the iGo 8 software with UK maps took it out on some local roads .. and all seems good so far !!

At £125 all in, including shipping from China and a bit of import tax it seems far better value than Garmin / TomTom bike specific satnavs ..

Glad to hear that Matt. Hope it works well.

Here, here, it's always good to get feedback. If you can update later about using the software (e.g. does this igo s/w accept OSM?) then that would be really interesting to me! :thumbup1:

How did the sandwich box perform for the touch screen functionality? I have looked at a load of the bags that are on sale for "non-waterproof" GPS and the polypropylene tupperware box is a great idea.
Did you run a power cable through the back, or is it running on batteries?

(Yea, a sharp axe with a hammerhead on the back face is one of the best tools available to mankind :thumbup1:)

From what I can see iGo won't work with OSm maps .. but this Navigator Free | mapFactor, s.r.o. will and will run on the device, I'm going to load it onto spare SD card and give it a go !

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.

User Manual
 

My Peaklife arrived today minus the user manual which, when you are a complete technophobe :helpsmilie: (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.

http://fotos.subefotos.com/5465fe61a...97172d3e1o.jpg

http://fotos.subefotos.com/5bcf0227e...9d7ac1cc4o.jpg

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.

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

http://fotos.subefotos.com/8a9681c86...13060ddb2o.jpg

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.

It worked ...
 

.. back from USA now and can say with complete honesty it's a great device .. more so considering the cost !! Yes the display isn't brilliant in the direct sun in middle of Arizona but nothing shading with hand couldn't resolve .. one of the HD's we hired had a HD branded Garmin and although slightly better still not brilliant in that sun. If I was using in similar conditions again I would fashion some sort of shade for it with Sugro or similar .. for this trip we found three bits of cardboard and some black tape worked a treat !!

The maps and software were superior to the Garmin in functionality .. both more functionality and simpler to use.

All in all would recommend one to anyone ... in fact both guys I was travelling with have already said they'll be ordering one !

Matt's most recent post gives good feedback of how the Peaklife performs in direct sunlight compared with Garmins.
I have a Tom Tom and a Garmin and there is no difference between them when it comes to visibility in the sun - I wouldn't expect much else actually, but, as Matt says, it is easy enough to make a sunshade (and I have seen a purpose designed "professional" one on a GPS fitted to a bike in the Pyrenees - I just wish I had taken notice of it's name/details).

Matt,
Did you get any outcome with this idea?

I've looked at the link and it says "Navigator FREE - is a OpenStreetMaps based free turn-by-turn GPS navigation by mapFactor for Windows, Windows Mobile devices and Android devices" - so it wouldn't work with your Peaklife necessarily, using other software??

John, I got mine today. Please tell me if you still need the manual. It has 22 tiny pages, so I could take pics and send them to you.

Those are great news. I'm looking forward to trying it! Thanks for sharing the info, Matt.

Never got around to trying it - but no reason it shouldn't work ... Peaklife runs Windows CE (Windows mobile) operating system ...

Fair one Matt!

For all those who have bought one of these Peaklifes, I am interested in what software works with this hardware. For instance, OSM?
I am still playing around with the OSM on a Garmin and I find the maps to be "interesting" i.e. much better than the standard product from Garmin - in fact that is why I got a second hand Nuvi; to experiment with OSM.
But OSM doesn't seem to be at all compatible with Tom Tom, to name the other major supplier of sat navs.

Spot on.....

I have been toying with the idea of buying a Zumo 660 in recent weeks to replace the Peaklife. Then today I had to dig out a Nuvi 205W to use at work. Just thought the map detail was poor compared to the Peaklife and has made me think twice now about the "upgrade".
My big issue with the Peaklife is the screen size. I now want something with a bigger sceen, waterproof and can run Igo/Primo.

Matt, what is sugro? I'm on about page 10 of a google search and still baffled!!

Fat fingers - meant sugru great stuff !!

As for the Garmins .. having used two on the recent trip, mates Nuvi and the HD branded "Road Tech" I think the software on them is awful and far from user friendly .. not a patch on iGo. Haven't used Primo so can't comment. Be nice to have a slightly bigger screen but I think the Peaklife will do me for now ...

Fat fingers and a fat brain, I have both of them. Not sure how I manage life!

Primo feels like their answer to Tom Tom/Garmin. A more mainstream GUI. Has a media player built in as well. I tried both 1.2 & 2.0 on the Peaklife, and had issues with them so stuck with igo 8.X.

Anyone got an update about how they are getting on with the Peaklife?
In particular, what maps work OK with it?

I own both a Tom tom and a Garmin so I am reluctant to get yet another sat nav right now, but it could happen sometime if I don't get better confidence in how the Garmin software works; in summary, I much prefer the Tom Tom, but it doesn't work with OSM mapping (as far as I can tell anyway).

Recommended !
 

Took mine to the States this year .. iGo software with Teleatlas maps .. outperformed both the Garmin my mate took and HD branded satnav (a Garmin) easily. We also tried a TomTom we'd taken as back up .. and while that was better than the Garmins the Peaklife was still better .. a lot of this comes down to the software I believe which you could take as iGo being better ..
It was particularly better in less densely populated areas.

Personally for the money I don't think you can knock them.

Thanks Matt.
You seem to be a convert to Peaklife.
Can you say how the software outperforms the other models of Sat Nav?
(I still don't like the way that my Garmin knows best which route I want to take and I realise that this can be overcome by using Garmin's basecamp capability, but, hey, life is quite short!!)

I find any type of Sat Nav of most use in built up areas; out in the country I prefer to be without them - I'm talking here about "developed" countries with well established road networks and associated signing.
At sea, or in featureless terrain - yep, I know the advantages of any navigation system.

:offtopic:
I think the software is the key in any case; every new car now seems to be fitted with Sat Nav as standard, so the hardware market has been won by who ever is supplying the car manufacturers; I do wonder who is supplying that software though - it's a big, big market, especially compared with motorcycles.

Well what I liked with the software was the way to amend the "best" route it found, adding way points etc. all on the device .. no need for Basecamp or similar. Also considering it was notionally using the same maps as the Garmins it's detail seemed much better. Generally the routes it found were pretty much what we'd thought was best by looking at map as well.

As for software found in cars, trucks etc. - I'm led to believe that iGo 8 which I installed on the Peaklife or its successor Primo, is one of the most commonly used in built-in systems.

Sounds good then, with no downsides :thumbup1:

Is there anyone in the Brisbane area who has iGo8 maps of Australia for the Peaklife that I could copy to a micro sd card? Realised how computer illiterate I've become trying to sort mine out. The installed UK maps work brilliantly but the maps of Oz I ordered were the wrong format and do not work. Had a guy in Sydney look at it but because of workplace constraints he was unable to load any maps. I've tried downloading maps to my netbook (as I was advised) but just seem to be running round in circles. Am about to start my journey and, while GPS/SatNav is not essential it would be nice to have it for riding in the cities. Thanks in advance.
John

whats in a peak life
 

Hi Iam interested buying a peak life GPS but do they have Europe already in them or do I have to install that Thanks in advance from (thick bloke)

A newer version has a bigger screen Wholesale GPS Navigation System - Motorcycle Navigator From China

You would need to install them .. but it's easy !

IGO PRIMO vs GARMIN 590LM SOFTWARE
 

A quick update from a biker who's used both the latest Garmin (c2015) satnav and IGo Primo...

If you ride on paved roads only IGo Primo is streets ahead of Garmin's navigation software. As standard you get a selection of voice prompt levels, hi-viz graphics as a default (none of those near useless pastel shades that Garmin have), multiple map themes, multiple voice characters, differentiation between dual and single lane roads, auto audio warning when you deviate off route, destination arrival confirmation... the list goes on and on. It's odd that Garmin fall so far short with their biker-specific navigation software when a general driver one like IGo Primo is so much better.