Motorbike or Car GPS
 

Hey,

I'm trying to decide whether it's necessary to buy a specific motorbike GPS system or just adapt a car one - the obvious reason being that the former are so much more expensive.

All in all the price isn't going to make that much difference in the long term, assuming I keep it for 5 years (for example) then I'm paying £7.50 a month for a really good system, whereas I'd be paying £3.50 for a good but non-specific one.

The question is whether it's actually worth the money. So, I was hoping people might give some feedback on their systems and whether in hindsight they'd have bought something different or whether it's all just marketing hype.

thanks,

Alex.

p.s. If you've got any advice for good systems, that have bluetooth capacity so it can tell you where to go - I don't like looking down at a screen whilst driving along - then that'd be appreciated too. :)

Hello Alex
Tricky one!
How much do you enjoy navigation by gps?
What features do you feel you must have (you mention blue-tooth so that's one to narrow the field with) and so on-

Contrary to you- I prefer peace and quiet on the bike and wear earplugs. I have no need for integration with bluetooth/autocom etc. Because of this I chose a marine gps (which also can go into automotive mode) - Garmin's 278C handlebar mounted and the handheld 60CSX (carried) as they give me the screen size/redundancy/options/menu & display customisations/track memory/custom POI's/facilities/etc. etc. that I need-
It really depends what your personal needs are, how important these are to you and your budget- Forget the marketing hypes- I made a list of the functions I needed and went from there - that will drive the 'which unit' decision.

Previously
I did have the 276C before and it was fine but that unit did not allow Custom POI's nor did it have an internal memory for maps- The max is 3000 POi's including the route ones and that was not enough for me after awhile- I've now loaded up over 325,000 of them on the 278C and still have kept the unit's 3000 vacant! The 278C also has the whole of the EU pre-loaded and has the same bespoke Garmin removeable memory cartridges which are expensive and a max of 512MB (my only wish would have been for it to have micro SD instead- but you can't have it all!) I chose that unit as it also made use of the same mount as the 276- another factor-

I also previously had the 60CS but that did not have enough internal memory nor the ability to send the tracks direct to the the micro SD slot that the 60CSx has - so I upgraded-

Garmin's website offers a unit comparison option which is quite handy.

So as to " The question is whether it's actually worth the money" - Only you can decide on how much to spend in the end and what works for you. I have no regrets with my units - they give me what I need -

I agree with Bertrand, I hate having the GPS lady banging on at me:

"In half a mile turn left... in 300 yards turn left... in 200 yards turn left..." its enough to drive you nuts.

When I was looking a few months ago a bike system was circa £400. I got a Garmin Nuvi with maps of Europe for £80. A pretty big saving. And its got all I need - maps, places of interest (garages, hotels etc). I mounted it like this:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-car-gps-41063

But if you have a screen I don't think the box would be necessary, just buy the bicycle mount and away you go.

Matt :)

I've just bought a 70 pound Garmen Trek in case i get lost and need to find out were i am. The GPS's are not that much use once you get out of Europe anyway.

I use the tried and trusted map and compass method.

Hello Russ
That's a bit confusing... a GPS will work worldwide provided it can receive the signals from the orbiting satellites- or do you mean that some countries don't have accurate/turn-by-turn/available mapping?
Good advice on knowledge on how to use a map and compass !

Agree with Matt - I like the lack of mobile phones whilst riding and dislike the voice prompts of GPS so bought an £80 nuvi 250 witha £4 mount from ebay, power straight from the battery and off I go!
If it rains I can either pop it back in my topbox or wrap a see-through waterproof bag around it.

I got the Nuvi 250 from Amazon for £85 and fitted it with a cheapo bar mount off ebay for £6.
It does all I need it to do.
I didn`t want bluetooth as taking calls on the move is stupid and unsafe and I could not see the advantage of glove friendliness as once you have programmed your route why would you want to touch it again?
I think bike specific ones are just a rediculous price.

Hi,

Not sure if a car GPS will take the shakes so well??? I know the standard charger unit won't (was a Garmin Nuvi that I tried)...

Take a map & compass too!

As far as I'm aware the majority of car satnavs use solid state technology so shaking won't be a problem. My nuvi 250 has withstood the 'shakes' very well.

The main problem with the "shakes" is the battery connections that get shaken loose. Tape them up and run on bike power.

Don't get a car or bike GPS, get a marine unit. So much better. 276c or its successors

John

You are right, I have been looking at gps myself, and the car one is 1/3rd the price of one for a bike. What is worse, the kit to use the bike one in a car is only marginally cheaper than a car gps complete. Unlike some, I want audio commands, and would be happy to have the unit in my pocket, as it takes a long time for my eyes to change focus from road to instruments.

Thanks for the replies, has given me some stuff to chew on. Simply on price alone I am drawn to a car GPS, but I'll have a ponder.

Thanks
:)

Alex

There are a few second hand 276c units around now. Fleabay?

John

Its just crazy money that they want for bike sat navs.

I fitted my TomTom one to my bike using a pedal cycle bracket from
Tomtom Accessories, Ram Mounts, Tom Tom Accessories, SatNav Store

Works fine and when it rains I cover it with a clear pencil case that I got from poundland that fits quite well. And if it chucks it down I put away.

Im only glancing at the thing now and again so Im not bothered about sound. Cost £20 for the bracket and I adapted it so it mounts onto the screen brackets. now covered by the screen it does not suffer from sun glare.

Works just fine and saves paying out daft money.

Roy:thumbup1:

ACE!!! that's just saved me £300, Ta!!