III or III+ ?

[POB/London]

Hello!

It seems most people here are using the Garmin III+. Is it very much of an improvement over the simple III? I am trying to find a unit in London, but I'm a student and building the bike is costing me a fortune, so 2nd hand would be best.

Thanks people.
Street level mappng isn't a huge priority for me, the unit will be used on an XR650 for a London > London via Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Turkey trip.

Help!

PS > I have only used very old GPS units before (and an Etrex Legend while walking).

[A.B.]

Well in that case then a II+ would be even cheaper and would still work great. That's the one I mostly use after all these years believe it or not.

------------------
A.B.

OasisPhoto.com – Images from the Magical Sahara.
ShortWheelbase.com – Jeep preparations.

[Margus]

Originally posted by POB/London:
Hello!

It seems most people here are using the Garmin III+. Is it very much of an improvement over the simple III? I am trying to find a unit in London, but I'm a student and building the bike is costing me a fortune, so 2nd hand would be best.

Thanks people.
Street level mappng isn't a huge priority for me, the unit will be used on an XR650 for a London > London via Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Turkey trip.

Help!

PS > I have only used very old GPS units before (and an Etrex Legend while walking).

Garmin IIIs originally are very vibration sensitive, slow indeed compared with V. V is equipped with a faster RISC processor. I know many KTM offroaders, also and a man from my country who took a part from Paris-Dakar rallye, they all say the same: only good and fast GPS that will resist in vibration is Garmin V, all others die just in matter of time including most of high-end Magellans when you use them on your motorcycle's vibrative cockpit with most of usual-cheap mounting hardware.

So if you buy III, make sure you get the best mouting hardware possible first that reduces the vibration considerably for GPS unit.

As i know Touratech fills all Garmins and Magellans they sell with special vibrative and tightening glue/gel - they're a bit more costy than the originals, but with significally reduced brakedown risk possiblity numbers. So maybe buying GPS unit from Touratech is a good idea too.

Margus

[RichLees]

Lewis - pop down to Maplins and get a tube of RTV silicone for a fiver. carefully open the GPS unit and fill it with RTVS to "pot" it like TT do and then re-seal it. should help reduce risk of vibration-induced failure ... assuming you don't wreck it when you do it!
how is the bike re-build going?
Rich

[POB/London]

Hello!

Thanks for the tip Rich - is that what you did? Unfortunately I just missed a fully-specced III+ on Ebay (all European MapSource CDs, Euro basemap, lots of exrtas) for £225.

What sort of price am I looking at? I'm a little concerned that I may be looking around in rip-off London. All of the dealers at teh NEC show wouldn't discuss the III+ - they were only selling the V.

So, what are other Europeans paying?
And what about people outside London (mail order??)

Cheers.

[PanEuropean]

POB:

I have used a StreetPilot III for 70,000 km on a ST1100 (granted, not an off-road bike) and never had any reliability problems. The SP III is the same form factor and chassis as the III and III+ you are considering.

Leaving the reliability issue aside, the main considerations for you are processor speed and memory capacity.

Because you don't plan to use street level mapping (I am presuming you would use WorldMap cartography), I don't think processor speed is a concern. Considering that WorldMap will give you major roads only, how fast do you need to see the screen update? In my opinion, either of the 3 proposed models (III, III+, or V) would provide equal performance, even though the V does have a much faster processor.

Next consideration is the storage capacity (memory capacity) of the GPS. I'm not fully familiar with the III, but the III+ has only 1.44 megs of internal map storage. All the WorldMap segments for your proposed route (London to Jordan and back) add up to 11 megs. That means you will need to frequently reload your III+ with map data appropriate to your region - in other words, carry a portable computer. That's a PITA unless you intend to carry one in any case.

The V has 19 megs of internal memory, which is sufficient to load your entire route ahead of time. That makes it the most appropriate choice. It's also considerably smaller than the other two.

You might find it helpful to go to Garmin's website and use their "comparison" feature to compare the specifications of the three different GPS units side by side. The URL for that site is:
http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/compare.jsp

You may also want to consider the Garmin eTrex Legend GPS. This is not normally thought of as a automotive / motorcycle product, but for what your stated needs are, it would do the job. If you purchased a European unit ("Atlantic basemap"), you would get pretty much the same cartographic data as WorldMap provides, the unit is very small, lightweight, waterproof, and rugged enough, if you treat it the same way you would treat a cell phone (handy). You could probably buy one new for the same price as a used III, III+, or V. You mentioned you are already familiar with this unit, for the benefit of others, there is more information about it here:
http://www.garmin.com/products/etrexLegend/

PanEuropean

[This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 26 November 2003).]

[RichLees]

yup. I potted mine after the first one failed in algeria.
check out gps warehouse - they're normally pretty good value cf Tottenham Court Road. www.gpsw.co.uk. they're out at feltham/hanworth. turn north from a316 onto a312 and left at first lights. they're round the back on the right.

if you can wait a week, we can see if we can have a better deal on two or at least "share" software

[frnas]

Hello

I have an 12XL that stopped working after a fall from the seat of my bike. No visible damage to the unit. Actually i am quit disapointed, i think that a model they sell as one of the most sturdiest units should the more beating than that before its quit.

But can you explain in some more detail how to open an GPS unit?

Frode

[RichLees]

don't know about yours, but will have a go if you like ;-)
fwiw, the etrex has a rubber seal/grip. under that are two "sellotape" seals which also retain the buttons so remove with care! the split shell is pressed together and partly welded. the fun bit was pressing the clips in enough to release the two halves having cut the weld. don't suppose the 12XL is the same, though!