I plan on riding in uncharted territory next year.. Ive thought about a GPS in case I get lost. I have run out of gas a few times and thought of leaving an unattended bike at the side of the road somewhere bothers me. :bigsmiley5: Anyone have any thoughts. :bigsmiley5: Looking for ease of operation. Manufactures that you would not recommend. What features are great and what are not. Ease in downloading new software .
I have been thinking of a Garmin Zumo 550 or Lowrance IWay600c. The zumo can be had for $625. and the Iway is about $400. Zumo is designed for M/C use. Both are waterproof
There's the best reason for a GPS. I have one and they really come in handy. Nothing worse than not knowing which way to go, or even going in the wrong direction. Last night I was trying to find a one horse town I ran across in Colorado, called "Tincup" on the "Streets and Trips" I have on my computer. No go. I tried finding it in my atlas, nope. Went out and brought my GPS in and typed in the name, 5 sec later a complete route from NY to Tincup. I checked it, as I've already been there and it was right on the money, and this place is hidden in the mountains, only a dirt and rock trail to get there. Most GPS's are equal in their mapping. The extra cost comes from options that you can get along without. Pick the one that suits you. I have a Garmin Nuvi.
FWIW, the Garmin products have really nice user interfaces. And, they have a wide variety of models depending on what's important to you. For my money, you really need to have turn by turn audio announcements. That way you can have an earbud in your ear and get cues without having to look away from the road. In fact, since I don't want to mount one to my Sporty, I will just carry the Nuvi my wife already has in my jacket pocket when I need one.
You want to make sure it's weatherproof. I've heard good things on the MTF about Garmin, especially the 2610 or the 2720. You can get refurbs from getfeetwet pretty cheap.
I have a 2720 in my car and love it. Very easy to edit the route and avoid roads that you don't want to be one. (Like I-95 aka the "road of death" around here...)
Got some good advise on this site and decided to check out a few GPS units that were discussed. Immediate overload.. Decided to Google "motorcycle gps" and came up with this excellent gem. How To Choose Your Motorcycle GPS System It favours the Tom Tom, but the information provided will help in any decision making regardless of manufacturer. It mentions things I never would have considered in buying a GPS
I use the Garmin Quest 2..its perfect ..just installed a update 2008..even better now..Its like the Conquest Harley sells ..made by the same folks..just a whole lot less expensive we got it online for 299.00..not sure am allowed to say that..lol..Good luck..oh It gives yah visual..but I use the ear piece.Don't want to be lookin at the thing while your ridin..:coffee:coffee