Gps

[gothtec]

Mi dad got a Navman, for his car, for xmass and I love it...so I want one...

I've looked around and found that the Tom Tom Rider is common but retailing at around £250. I can't seem to find anything as good or cheaper...

Any ideas?

[blackhack]

I downloaded Tom Tom navigator from the internet and it cost me nowt.....

That cheap enough for you ???


All you need then is a "Smart Phone" or a "Palm" that's gprs enabled and away you go......

[jabba]

My old man has a garmin it hates motorways always takes you cross country but has got me to the door when helpin mates with bikes. oxford manchester huddersfield spot on everytime you can get one for £150

[Kingo]

I've got an IPac with Tom-Tom on it, never had a problem with it.

[eigerton]

map book, £1.99 at morrisons - hasn't got me lost yet

[gothtec]

map book, £1.99 at morrisons - hasn't got me lost yet

Having to stop to get bearings/turn page/refold, especaily in wind/wet conditions is getting on my tits and taking away the enjoyment of the ride...

Yes following a map book £2.99 from BP has got me lost, due to not having the fine detail...

me want to get on bike and find that dirt track slightly left of the A47...

[Simon B]

Cheapest one I know of is

A bit of paper in a plastic envelope on the tank with all the directions on it, always worked for me.

[cxdemon]

Map reading is fast becoming a dark art on the moors during the summer, gps sets all over the place, but show em a map and theyr'e buggered, i would like a gps but, would still rather rely on my mapreading to get me there.
:D

[Mortis]

I have recently considered buying a sat nav and, after checking the blackbird owners forums, they all seem to recommend this particular GPS system

http://www.gpsw.co.uk/details/prod3320.html

I don't know whether to buy it as I've only really been lost twice abroad when one would have been very handy to have.

[Peirre]

as someone who covers between 1000kms- 4000kms per week driving around the UK :eek:
I use a IPAQ running tomtom navigator 5, but be warned that using any kind of satnav equipment has its risks, so don`t go blindly setting off and take the satnav instructions as gospel, ALWAYS check the route given by the satnav with a map so you are sure that your happy with the route what the unit is sending you along.

you can`t beat using eyeball No1 and intelligence No1 equipment for accurate navigation

[Rhythm Addict]

Totally agree with not relying exclusively on GPS cause they sometimes have a strange view of the quickest route.

On a trip I made to a rally gig, mine took me over some hills in Cumbria that were single track roads with passing places. On the way back I deliberatly ignored it's advice to retrace my route and stuck to the major roads I'd seen on the map and it was faster despite no doubt being a longer trip.

[eigerton]

i had a gps tell me I was in gosport high street - not bad for a 40' yacht which was a few miles away at port solent. as was posted earlier they are an aid to navigation not a substitute for it

[gothtec]

Cheapest one I know of is

A bit of paper in a plastic envelope on the tank with all the directions on it, always worked for me.

Thats what I'm using at the moment via the AA route finder web page... Its just getting annoying.

I usually plan a journey to day before, which includes the AA route finder. I am very aware of the technicalities and get by these by using "points of interest" this then uses a route that I specify rather than shortest.

the great thing about sat nav is that you can vary your course (set something interesting off the beaten track) and it will get you back on track with no effort...

[griff2000]

Jesus fuckin christ! Satnav!?
Some of my lads dont know how to get from one side of Bedford to the other without the fuckin thing switched on. And I have to trust these idiots to follow regs and plumb correctly when they finally manage to get to the property they're visiting.........
Buy a map or an A to Z.
Or join the Army and they'll teach you how to use it.
And while you're at it, learn how to use a bus timetable. Thats a real dark art that one!
As for having to stop in the wind and rain to check your bearings when out riding............dont remember reading anywhere that Marco Polo or Ghengis Khan had a bitch and moan about the lack of satnav facilities.

Got a tongue in your head intchya?

The way things are going, they'll be letting you use calculators in maths exams next.....................................

[Urban Terrorist]

The way things are going, they'll be letting you use calculators in maths exams next.....................................

Well they did in '94 :D :D

[eigerton]

The way things are going, they'll be letting you use calculators in maths exams next.....................................


o levels - calculators first allowed 1977 - I know I was there, still failed it

[gothtec]

Or join the Army and they'll teach you how to use it.

I have a spot on sense of direction that is uncanny and have a few weeks army orienteering training...youth thing!

The main annoyance is that I go off track and take longer on a journey than I want too...


And while you're at it, learn how to use a bus timetable. Thats a real dark art that one!.

What's a bus...? oh hold on... big leaking diesel things that take me to my bike when its down the shop..

Marco Polo or Ghengis Khan had a bitch and moan about the lack of satnav facilities..

Ghengis Khan had the privalige of owning where-ever he rode, or someone to do the mapping and tracking for him...along with tents and big sword...


The way things are going, they'll be letting you use calculators in maths exams next.....................................

Amazing things thumbs... enables you to create the tools to make a job easier... People should learn to make a calculator before being allowed to use then...

[John Hopkins]

I mostly use autoroute, print a map and directions, and glance at it for major direction changes, road signs are a help, and asking works..I have a garmin entrep hand held which draws a snail trail and is handy for finding where I parked my bike in a strange town, and a palmOne with GPS and ViaMichelin ..the problem with these gadgets is that you have to hold it out flat so that the sky hits it, otherwise it loses the satelites and you have to wait five minutes for it to locate them again, so no bunging it into your pocket and just looking at it now and then...Also no good in the rain..so not much good on a bike...you cant leave it on the bike or in the car when parked, it will be a tealeaf magnet....So to be honest, unless you want it as a toy...don't bother.... :cool: John

[BigBod]

I'd never intended to have GPS but an opportunity came up to buy one secondhand, Garmin 2610. Great on the bike and I have it interfaced with the intercom so I can hear it through the headphones. It's also touch screen and works with gloves on.

I can also just unclip it and use it in the car.

I've had some brill rides out this summer putting in routes to avoid motorways and main roads when I've had nowhere in particular to go. (you can go offroad on a Wing ;) )

It's been even better for getting me to rallies in Europe, taken me straight to the site everytime.

I was always dead against em but wouldn't be without now.

[Worjorj]

GPS? Fekkin awful things. Terrible for guiding you round cities. Leeds in particular, trying to get you to take the next right across 5 lanes of traffic which is a no entry anyway. Otherwise, just knowing the major routes around Britain gets me 90% of the way then follow a stream of bikes with a tent on the back gets me the rest.

[Louis]

For all weather use on a bike Ipaqs PDA's etc are no use at all as they don't like water and vibration as are car Gps units as they also are allergic to water ..Garmin outdoor units are ok as they are usually pretty tough but also cost a lot of money for a useful one ......I have found out how to use a basic Garmin GPs12 as a bike unit but its a lot of hassle programming it up compared to the modern units needs a computer and a lot of mapping software but is very robust and rain don't bother it but you are stuck with the set route you have set up. the cheaper garmin outodoor units with mapping work ok but don't cope very well with the batteries bouning around on a bike. the only real way is to buy a bike toughened system but you gets what you pays for as you can pay a lot of money for them....

[ernie the dwarf]

Get a GPS and drive like a *****why not :rolleyes:

[STEViE]

All we took this summer were the pages from a European map book that we required an' the printout of the route plan from the 'puter as a really rough guide. It was as much as we needed. I occasionally took us off in some weird or wild direction but on the whole it was ok .... we made it (via Estonia) to Hel an' back. An' we'd sit an' write the road numbers on a piece of paper to place in the top of the takbag whilst havin' a beer in the evenin or over breakfast .

[Mitch]

Mrs R's after a GPS thing for the car, as she has to go from point A - her base in Eastbourne to point B, C, D, E and F and then back to A again with about five minutes in between each one (working as a podiatrist doing home visits).

Most maps are useless as they don't give you the postcode of the old folks home, for example - the building might be called 'Penis Court' (or whatever), arsehole road, Eastbourne.

The map won't tell you what part of Arsehole Road you've got to be on, so you end up spending the half hour appointment slot driving from one end of arsehole road and back again until you find it.

[divebiker]

poor misguided fools....piece of string, some chewing gum and a threepenny compass was all we had and we always got lost but at least it was cheap

[Peirre]

For all weather use on a bike Ipaqs PDA's etc are no use at all as they don't like water and vibration as are car Gps units as they also are allergic to water ..
get an Otterbox (http://www.otterbox.com/products/pda_cases/) and mount that on the bars of the bike. You could even be smart and create a foam molded version, by sticking your PDA in plastic bag/cling fiim then squirting some of that expanding foam stuff around it while its in said box, then remove the PDA from the box, take it out of the plastic bag/cling fiim, then you`d have a custom made moulded water proof box.




Personnelly I`d rather shove the GPS unit in the map pocket of the tank bag

[John Hopkins]

Mrs R's after a GPS thing for the car, as she has to go from point A - her base in Eastbourne to point B, C, D, E and F and then back to A again with about five minutes in between each one (working as a podiatrist doing home visits).

Most maps are useless as they don't give you the postcode of the old folks home, for example - the building might be called 'Penis Court' (or whatever), arsehole road, Eastbourne.

The map won't tell you what part of Arsehole Road you've got to be on, so you end up spending the half hour appointment slot driving from one end of arsehole road and back again until you find it.
I thought everyone knew their way from arsehole to breakfast time! :D John

[Matty]

Many of the Garmin units are waterproof (I have an oldish Streetpilot III). Mount them using stuff from http://www.ram-mount-uk.com/, great for video cameras too; cheap as chips, solid as a rock and very little shake.

As for why: Year before last I was riding with a mate in the middle of France on a Sunday afternoon and he ran out of petrol on a slip road to a dual carriageway. Most petrol stations are closed on a Sunday afternoon in France, and I couldn't just retrace my route to get back to him cos we were on the slip road. So, I marked his position, went off to get petrol (the fourth station marked on the GPS was open), and then followed the GPS route back to him. Try that without GPS!

[wearthefoxhat]

If you MUST have a GPS for a bike, there are a lot of complaints about the mount of the Tom-Tom Rider. Apparently the mount allows the TTR to move in the bracket thus removing the electricity connection. Worse, it has the effect of 'drilling' out the contacts on the back of the GPS and it has to go back
There is a lot of info here
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84987

The above was a contributing factor in me buying a Garmin 2610 and getting a RAM mounting kit. The Garmin came with MapSource for Europe V8 and entitled me to the free ugrade when V9 comes out.

Maps are fine. GPS and maps are better
By the time I've found a place to stop, taken my gloves off, oiked the map out of the tankbag and turned the page, taken my glasses off so I can read the damn thing, found where I am and where I am supposed to be going - a good few minutes have passed.
I will use mine mostly in Europe where it will really pay off.

[guyver1]

Buy a very cheap Garmin quest off ebay, dont matter if it works or not, then contact Garmin direct, tell them its packed up and need it repairing, they offer a replacement service for £110, BUT they DONT charge you, it makes them look bad, so you get a brand new one for not a lot of cash, and the kit for fitting to a bike is dead easy to fit

[gothtec]

Got a Garmin Streetpilot III off ebay for £66, getting the father inlaw to download me some up to date maps..

Works a bloody treat... :D

Now have to figure out how to mount it on the bike soe it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

[Peirre]

Got a Garmin Streetpilot III off ebay for £66, getting the father inlaw to download me some up to date maps..

Works a bloody treat... :D

Now have to figure out how to mount it on the bike soe it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.
to mount it get a RAM mount (http://www.ram-mount-uk.com/)
and theres plenty of software updates around try looking on some torrent sites, atm I`ve got a copy of Garmin.City.Navigator.Europe.NT.v.9 which I downloaded the other weekend