GPS for the VFR

Hey Everyone!

I need to get a new GPS to use in my car and on the VFR. I have been using a little Garmin Nuvi 205 that has decided not to work very well anymore and I think it is just time for a replacement. I have a good RAM mount that has worked well and I transfer it back and fourth from the car to the bike when needed.

It would be nice to have one of the motorcycle GPS units from Garmin but I am not going to spend that kind of money right now on one. A regular little GPS will have to do me. When ever I got in the rain in the past, a plastic bag and a rubber band is what made my old one water resistant.

I saw these TFT Touchscreen Motorcycle GPS units on Ebay for around $150. They are suppose to be water resistant and come with mounts to use on the bike and in the car. Anybody know anything about these? Could not find much info on them.

Or I may just pick up a decent remanufactured Garmin off of Ebay and get Ram mounts to fit it and just use it like I have used my old one in the past. That seems like the cheapest way to go and have a good unit with good software.

Any thoughts guys?

 

Double check for what ia meant or implied by "water resistant" A vague term IMO.

Remanufactured implies something went haywire and now its fixed. Refurbished is another one that is kind of vague since it is used as a sales incentive. Not all bad though. This same term is used when the merch is brand new and maybe just the seal on the box was broken.

Buy a GPS with free map updates. Updates can add up.

Your back up is a paper map or maps stuffed under your seat in case your new GPS craps oot.

 

Randy has a Built in GPS-just keep going and you will find your way that could take a 26,000 miles. How many PR 4 tires is that=2.6 I believe on a average.

 

I have the weather proof Garmin Zumo 660. It is a nice unit but it does not come with lifetime maps. That is an extra 100 bucks or so. To be perfectly honest with you, if I had to do it over again, I would not spend the stupid high price for that unit just because it is weather proof. You can get a Garmin Nuvi for about 1/3 the cost and I think the touch screen will be as sensitive to biker gloves as is the Zumo. It basically has most if not all the features of the Zumo except weather proof. I have to admit, I am totally satisfied with the way this unit has performed in the shit weather I have ridden in for several years. Only thing is though, crack that case and it is a $200.00 fix. They send you a reconditioned unit and will not sell you just the case so you can replace it yourself. Just had a go around with them over that. Duck tape and or silicon worked quite well in the crack I have had in mine for several years.

BTW. I don't know where SOW gets his info about mine being built in. As far as I know, he has never seen my bike in person. Mine is not built in. The only bikes that I am aware of that gas a built in Zumo is the Beamers.

 

I think he meant built into your brain, I believe the gold-wings also have gps built in

 

I use my Iphone with the tomtom app. I have a lifeproof case that keeps it waterproof and use a Ram Mount stem mount. It has lifetime updates and the tomtom app does not use data unless you use Traffic. Also works with my Scala communicator.

 

I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 that I have an Otterbox cover on. They are suppose to handle being rained on and such without a problem but I am still trying to avoid that one. I have a good GPS map program in it now but I could never confirm if it used Data or not. Some say it does and some say it doesn't. I can completely understand that having it on the traffic mode would use data though. Only problem with it is that I cant find a RAM mount that will hold it with the Otterbox. I have seen the ones that have the 4 finger type of holder thing but according to my measurement, with the case I have, they wont open enough to hold it. It is about a 1/16" to wide for it and I have not been able to put my hands on one to try it. Those make me a little nervous too. Do they really hold a phone or GPS good enough to handle being on a bike?

 

WTF happened to just riding the bikes? One of the biggest killers besides being fucked up on booze is target fixation. A screen on a gadget the size of a deck of cards with as many as ten data points at speed ain't a really great thing to be trying to read at any speed. Here we go with texting somewhere above and below the ton.

My apologies to those who can multi-task and have special gifts and prepaid funeral arrangements as well.

 

I use a ram-mount with a custom-built case and mount for my Samsung Galaxy S2, with a USB port tied into a switched hot line. That gives voice directions through the Bluetooth headset. Easy.

~Jack

 

I can totally agree with you on that, but sometimes I ride somewhere with no clue where I am going and need to figure out a good rout back home. I don't try to use the GPS and ride at the same time. When we took our long weekend a month ago in the mountains, the GPS was a very valuable tool for us. But I also still use a good old fashioned paper map too.

 

You know? I thought that they may have them too but I didn't know for sure so did not say so. I do know that the BMW that accompanied me down to R3 this year had the exact same GPS unit as I had, except it was built into the cluster of the bike. Nice touch.

 

Garmin nuvi 50 with lifetime maps - $85 for Amazon Prime subscribers - w/ free shipping. I know it's not weatherproof, but if caught out in bad weather, I'll stash it in the tank bag.

 

That's what I'm talking about. Or wrap a Glad Bag around it with a twist tie at the base. That might not have the music capability on it but the Bluetooth music quality on the Zumo is far from good anyways. I use my cell phone for that.

 

That's all I did with my old one was keep a plastic sandwich bag handy and a rubber band. That's probably the rout I will take is getting a new Garmin, something like that and new RAM mount that locks in in place nice and solid.

I did find a good GPS map app that down loads the states you want and does not use data. I put that one in my cell for now to use in case I need it.

Has anyone ever messed with that TFT GPS unit that I mentioned earlier?

 

I have an old Nuvi 250 & use a RAM mount. I also put it in a ziploc bag to make t waterproof. I also have a USB port for charging but havent use the GPS much...

 

I picked up a used Nuvi 760 for a buddy since he didn't have any, and wanted one. I use a Nuvi 750 so I knew the Nuvi 7xx units work well on the bike. One of the best things about it is that the power plug locks into place rather than using a USB port type connection. I've had it for 8 years and it still works great. You can create a route on Garmin Basecamp and upload it to your Nuvi if the unit allows custom routes.

Using Baxter maps for reference I ginned up a Arkansas route that tacked together as many good looking roads as I thought we could handle. It worked great, and instead of just wandering around and hoping to hit the good roads, we knew in advance that we had some great riding in store. And no more checking the map in the tankbag map cover to see if we needed to take a right or a left at the next intersection.

Just going out riding is great, but it is sure nice to have options.

And the riding down here was superb, no traffic, good surfaces, and a ton o' corners. :glee:

On the bikes and ready to go: