Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories GPS - Which One?

I want to get a good handheld GPS with a relatively large monochrome screen. Any suggestions? THANKS!

I have a portable Garmin myself. It workd pretty good when I remember to put batteries in it.

Don't have one yet for my bike but here is a positive review of the Garmin I5 on webbikeworld.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/garmin-gps/garmin-i5/garmin-i5.htm
They also reviewed the new TomTom Rider but it seemed mixed.

Side note: i strapped my runners watch GPS to my handlebar this weekend to check speed. It fit and worked great! Of course no map but it verified my Triumph speedo is 5mph fast around 60+.

I have a Quest that isn't monochrome, but it's a nice little gps and can bar mount or works well as a handheld. I prefer the old SPIII on the bike. The monochrome screen is bigger than most. But it's way to big to be carrying around and certainly wouldn't fit in a pocket.

I've got a Navman that I really like. They make dedicated GPS systems, but I had a Compaq iPaq pocket PC (PDA) that my father in law gave me when he got frustrated and couldn't figure out how to use it. They make a GPS sleeve (GPS 3450) that fits over the Pocket PC and works fantastic. Even integrates with the PDA's address book for address lookups. They also make them for Palm pilots and I believe some other PDAs if you got one. Comes with routing software, which like all of them out there, may not take you on the most efficent route, but it has never let me down yet. Has a nice suction cup mount for the windshield, but would be pretty easy to modify or fabricate a different one to mount on the handlebars of the bike. The routing software has multiple view and routing options and it has voice navigation where the thing talks to you and tells you when to turn, how much further you need to go, etc.. The best part is they are way cheaper than the dedicated models.. I think I paid something like $150 for mine.

Cheers,
Brad

Like jj I've got a Garmin Quest. Fits in your pocket and can be used both in the car and on the bike. Pretty small screen, but big enough and very easy to see even in bright sunlight.
(OK Johann and Martyn - have a shot )

I have a TT700, not for use on the bike, but could be mounted on the screen if it is dry weather. I use it in the motorhome and car and I am very impressed with it..

Someday, I want to get a GPS. But mostly to map where I have been, not neccesarily how to get somewhere. There have been some back country roads that I have gone down that I enjoyed, but have no idea how to get back to them.

Soren

Dennis,I've had Lowrance on my last two Ranger boats and they've always served me well.I've seen in their sells bosurse that they have many styles of small units for the hunters available.

Pitiful... Drop me out of a plane over the North pole at 20,000 feet with only a reserve parachute, naked, handcuffed, shackled, blindfolded, penniless, with your address written on my forehead in Braile and I'll be sitting by your pool wearing a big straw hat and tropical clothes waiting for you when you get home. Please leave the key to your BA or Speedy in the bike along with a couple of helmets so that I can pick you up at the airport if you get held up. GPS devices are great for the military, EMS and Fire Departments, Medevac Helicopters, aviation in general, Police, Marine, etc., but take the challange out of the everyday Joe's trip. I will admitt that I cheat and use Mapquest to get some ideas and distances if I'm going to be towing the camper. Monitoring a GPS while driving ranks right there with talking on the phone. It is distracting and dangerous, especially on two wheels. I just read some great advice on another post about being vigilant of our surroundings while riding on a bike and keeping an escape route in mind if we need to get out of impending danger. Anything that requires concentration reduces our ability to keep this vigil at a peak. Personal GPS devices are for the directionally impaired amongst us. I've never been lost in my life, only temporarily on the wrong road.... HA HA Actually, I think GPS is great, I just couldn't resist throwing a barb or two on this topic that everyone was giving such helpful info for.

I agree with Longmtman...part of riding a motorcycle for me is once every 100 miles, stopping for gas, stretching your legs, sitting in the shade and checking the map to plan out your next 100 miles. If you see a different road along the way...take it and recheck the map when you've figured out where you ended up. For me, that's part of the freedom of riding.

GPS is that Go Putt Somewhere? 'cmon half the fun is getting "lost" & discovering new places I don't even carry a map.

Yes, I believe most all new GPS units have a memory recall function where you can "bookmark" a set of coordinates such as "home" or whatever and it'll tell you how to get there.

I've been considering getting one just for the true ground speed feature. I know my bike can put the speedometer needle up near the end of the numbers, but it would be nice to know what that really means.

I like the ride and ride and ride some more, too. As someone here said, "As long as you got gas in your motorcicle, you ain't never lost".
Try an Iron Butt Rally or ride without a GPS - you might make it. And, like my phone - I'd pull over to use it.

I've used mine to confirm distance. Try an IBA ride without it and hope your odometer is something close to accurate. Although it seems a Triumph odo runs short rather than long (meaning you will run over the minimum distance which is very ok), some Japanese branded equipment will have you stopping well short of the mark which after many hours and miles is not very ok.
I think if you don't want a gps, that's great. But when the signs in Arizona was saying I was riding above 5000', I had to look at the gps to believe it.

Also the Quest and I think the SPIII are waterproof.

Yea,I have a suggestion, do not get one! Vegas

Could, but I haven't. I use it as an accurate odometer and speedometer. The stock gauge on the bike is ok for daily use, but it's handy to know how fast you're really going and in real-time how far you've really gone, when the distance has to be somewhat certifiable.

Come to think of it, I don't know that I've ever used it to find my way around. Got it in the first place to mark coordinates for aircraft accident investigation. Only when I stopped doing field work did it occur to me to attach it to the bike. I may plan a route with it, but not generally on the fly. And even the route planning is ballpark. For routing, the SPIII (my personal fav) doesn't autoroute so all you get is the big compass arrow and distance (along with the mapscreen or switch to a screen that looks like a car dash). The Quest will tell you when you've gotten off the plotted and will auto-recalc a new one while you're driving (that's why the Quest is the wife's).

I love my Garmin 2720. It's the 3rd Garmin unit I've owned. I use it on a RAM mount on both my bikes and never ride without it. I use a passive mixer to route the voice promts to my headset along with the tunes from my Sirus radio.

I have a Garmin GPS Forerunner unit I use for running. I occasionally will strap it to the handlebar to check speed(I am 5 mph on highside). Anyway, I connect it to my computer and can see the "route" that I road, after the fact. I love technology and stuff like this.
Someday I'll spend the $ to get a nice one for my bike...but not for directions...just because it's a gadget and I love seeing where I've been.