A good GPS

[cyjo]

Avoiding highways is one way but there are a couple of motorcycle road websites out there as well. I enjoy the planning of the trip almost as much as I do going on it. Get some guide books. I look for a motorcycle specific book and then also I may check out websites owing to roadside attractions or oddities such as: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/

Somewhere I have a file from a while back of their locations that is GPS loadable. One of the most reliable sources though is the ride reports from here. I will do a search in the forum for a location. They often offer a great deal of knowledge concerning places to eat and roads to ride.

[JReazor]

If you're looking to ride in the area that Garry covers, you won't do better than http://www.motoroads.net/roads.htm.

[Cablebandit]

I plan my routes in Basecamp. Then just load them in the GPS.  I load them as a route and a track so I can guarantee that the GPS goes the way I plan.

Otherwise just set your avoidances and enjoy the dirt roads.  

[bomber]

ADVRider dot com has links to many routes . . . . . . . not all feature pavement, so pay attention to that ;-}

[sprint_st]

I have been very pleased with my zumo 450 and if it ever got lost/stolen/dies I would likely replace it with another zumo. It gets used a lot, has been through torrential rain more than once, and has been stone axe reliable since 2008. The Garmin software for crafting your own routes isn't the most intuitive stuff out there, but it works well enough once you get your head around it.

^this -- my 450 is great!
if it went walkabout, I'd likely get a Montana, mostly for the off-pavement features, but, if the 450 stays healthy, I'll happily ride with it  . . . ..

I would have added my agreement to this but my 450 went belly up.  Called Garmin Tech Support, they fixed it --- sent me a 550 at no cost.  Both were/are great units.

My only comment on all Garmin stuff is that you have to be careful using someone else's maps.  If you don't check them out and just load them and go, stand by for issues right when you need them the most (or so it seems).  Part of the reason for this is you need to be on the same version of maps and mapping software because the roads aren't always in exactly the same place from version to version.

[bomber]

My only comment on all Garmin stuff is that you have to be careful using someone else's maps.  If you don't check them out and just load them and go, stand by for issues right when you need them the most (or so it seems).  Part of the reason for this is you need to be on the same version of maps and mapping software because the roads aren't always in exactly the same place from version to version.

Amen.

[sleazy rider]

Avoiding highways is one way but there are a couple of motorcycle road websites out there as well. I enjoy the planning of the trip almost as much as I do going on it. Get some guide books. I look for a motorcycle specific book and then also I may check out websites owing to roadside attractions or oddities such as: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/

Somewhere I have a file from a while back of their locations that is GPS loadable. One of the most reliable sources though is the ride reports from here. I will do a search in the forum for a location. They often offer a great deal of knowledge concerning places to eat and roads to ride.

Available on www.poifactory.com . You're welcome.  

[Cablebandit]

One more reason to stick with a unit that supports tracks. You can easily swap tracks between units since its a breadcrumb trail. Convert that track to a route and overlay them both on the map. That way you can see that the route is identical and still get turn by turn directions.

[Skee]

I've never been happy with the way my zumo550 handles route and track conversions.  While it accurately converts tracks to routes, it recalculates routes when you load them, so there is usually a difference between the track and the route.  You can see the difference in MapSource, but it is still really annoying when zumo routes you onto a different road then the one you had wanted to take.  Most annoying.  

Not sure if other systems have the same problem.

[Cablebandit]

No such issues on the Montana.

Can you overlay the track over the route on the Zumo's?

[mbishara]

Lots of information to absorb. It's a good thing that I'm with an experienced group. I just don't want to follow blindly.




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[sprint_st]

I've never been happy with the way my zumo550 handles route and track conversions.  While it accurately converts tracks to routes, it recalculates routes when you load them, so there is usually a difference between the track and the route.  You can see the difference in MapSource, but it is still really annoying when zumo routes you onto a different road then the one you had wanted to take.  Most annoying.  

Not sure if other systems have the same problem.

Hi Skee,
Been using Garmin's since the GPS45 and their routing has always had issues, but so has all the others.  I rarely use tracks except to build a new route from where I just traveled.  What I have learned from using routes generated by others, and even using my old routes from a Quest or GPS IV is it is the same garbage in garbage out principle from computers.  It may seem like a lot of work but if I want to use someone else's route, I build it completely over in my MapSource and load that into my 550.  Far too many times I have gotten into places where there are a whole bunch of tight vertices and saw lines shooting all over my screen.  Talked at length with Garmin Tech support on these incidents and it always comes back matching the exact versions or, and this is not well advertised, a map upgrade didn't load right.  Looks OK but remnants of a previous version are still lurking in the unit.  You are absolutely right, and IMO, it isn't easy, but a little extra work makes the process much more reliable.
Rod

[mbishara]

My iPhone is always glued to my hand and air use it for my car's navigation.

The To, To, app works great and you can disable data connection while roaming and it works via satellite alone.

But what worries me is that I can't seem to import GPX files to the iPhone's Tom Tom.

Also when in the case while it's mounted I'm worried that the screen won't be responsive.

Does anyone have any experience with the iPhone?


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[mbishara]

In addition to the Tom Tom app there's another app called GPS Drive that allows you to import GPX files with way points.

I would find that really helpful in just idling out on my own when I don't have a group to ride with.

I can use an app called greatest road that other riders upload their GPX files to and import it into GPS Drive.

I'm trying to find this type of solution because I don't want to have to many units mounted in the bike.

Sometimes I still need to be accessible by phone because life and business don't stop just because I want them to unfortunately.

Or am I dreaming?


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[PatM]

My only comment on all Garmin stuff is that you have to be careful using someone else's maps.  If you don't check them out and just load them and go, stand by for issues right when you need them the most (or so it seems).  Part of the reason for this is you need to be on the same version of maps and mapping software because the roads aren't always in exactly the same place from version to version.

True. Also, we had 3 zumos 665 with different software version but same maps give three three different directions at a round way. All three were programmed the same. All roads would have got us to our destination but only one was the twisties we wanted.

[mbishara]

I bought the Navigon app this week and wow it's all over the place in my neck of the woods in Montreal.

It chooses the worst routes and insists on them. It keeps trying to re-route me back to its first choice.

It took me twenty minutes away. Even though it's my home town I gave it a chance and followed it around a bit. It was almost like following my pet puppy aimlessly.

Maybe it's a good GPS but I don't trust it at the moment.

Tom Tom was on the ball for each route as I had them running simultaneously. I've been using the iPhone Tom Tom app for several years now and I guess there's comfort in familiarity.

Tom To, may not have the nice pictures that Navigon does but it's on the ball for the straight forward turn-by-turn navigation requirements.

So my surch for GPX file importing continues. Too bad I spent the money on the Navigon but better that I find out now than when I'm 2,000 KM from home.


http://www.maged-bishara-montreal.ca/

[sprint_st]

True. Also, we had 3 zumos 665 with different software version but same maps give three three different directions at a round way. All three were programmed the same. All roads would have got us to our destination but only one was the twisties we wanted.

I run a county GIS which provides roads and addresses to our 911 center, along with a whole bunch of other map related issues.  The maps that go into GPS units come primarily from NavTec and Tele Atlas.  All of them get their data from guys like me.  There is a very good reason that 911 uses our data and not Google Maps or MapQuest.  If you think your yearly update from Garmin is truly up to date, think again.  They update things like gas stations and hotels more often than roads.  Personally, I almost never use the auto routing function.  I build my routes on my computer, road segment by road segment and load that into the unit.

[Neub]

I use MicroSoft Streets and Trips to do my routing as it is so much easier than using Gramins Map Source...$25 wellspent

[napper]

I have been very pleased with my zumo 450 and if it ever got lost/stolen/dies I would likely replace it with another zumo. It gets used a lot, has been through torrential rain more than once, and has been stone axe reliable since 2008. The Garmin software for crafting your own routes isn't the most intuitive stuff out there, but it works well enough once you get your head around it.

Agree 100%.  Had mine since '09 and have used it extensively.  Even lost mine from the cradle one time (user error) and watched it slide about 150 feet down the road.  Recalculating.  

Totally saved my ass riding into D.C. this summer: middle of night, pouring rain, no visibility (eye glasses and face shield were totally fucked), never been there before - definitely not an easy city to find your way into.  I might still be riding around those freeways today if not for my trusty Zumo.

Only issue I've had is the battery would lose connection occasionally and unit would not come on at all.  A little dielectric and it's been a champ since.

No bluetooth.  No sat radio.  But it will play MP3's and get me where I'm going.

I almost choked on the cost when I bought it (and it was the low end of the Zumo line at the time) but I'm glad I did.

Of course, this is no help to the OP as you can't get the 450 anymore.  But barring any major jump in smart phone capabilities, my next unit will definitely be a Zumo.

[cyjo]

There is also something to be said about abandoning the auto routing too. Last summer after moving to Maryland I discovered there were a few covered bridges in the area and my gps has an off road mode that just gave me an arrow to the bridges. I fumbled around the roads trying to get close to bridge and it helps me learn the area a bit better and introduces me to roads that may look uninteresting on a map.