Battery GPS?

veefore

See you at my intervention!
Joined
Jun 4, 2007
Messages
658
Location
N.W. CT
Bike
15' BMW R1200RT
STOC #
3244
Installed the oem 12v socket in my RH pocket and love it..........I'd hate to have a low battery at the wrong time, say right as you drove onto Staten Island........don't ask how I know, lol
 

ST Gui

240Robert
Site Supporter
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
9,263
Location
SF-Oakland CA
Bike
ST1300, 2010
Aren't all or almost all GPS units "battery operated" with the option to hard wire to a vehicles electrical system?

If you're not on the road for a long time a 4-5 hour battery life could be acceptable. Don't know what units might have exceptionally long run time. But if a few hours works I see why no tying into the bike's power would be fine.

Another possible consideration would be a charging port on the bike. Run from the GPS' internal battery and if it looks like it may die before you like just plug it in. But maybe you don't need long run time and just want to keep it simple.
 

TPadden

Tom Padden
Joined
Apr 25, 2006
Messages
3,781
Age
73
Location
Brooksville, FL
Any recommendations for battery operated gps? Would like to avoid any electrical connections..

Thanks
Garmin Montana - mine lasts for about 12-14 hours on the road and is charged when I'm parked; moves easily between bikes. Internal lithium battery has NEVER let me down in over 3 years but if it ever does it will also run on AA's.
 
Last edited:

Tom Mac 04a

Site Supporter
Joined
Jun 24, 2008
Messages
2,039
Location
LI , New York
Bike
04 ST1300a
STOC #
8347
If you strictly battery... you can run most GPSs off a usb battery pack ( tho I dont see why u'd want to )

The last GPS that ran on AA batteries ( still own and use ) for cars was an I5 garmin... sort of small baseball round with 3" screen, stick on mount.
 

Andrew Shadow

Site Supporter
Joined
Jan 28, 2012
Messages
5,071
Location
Montreal
Bike
2009 ST1300A9
FWIW I have a Garmin Zumo 550 and depending on the size of the route and/or what you are searching for I find that it definately recalculates and performs the searches faster when powered from the bike as compared to running solely on its own battery power. Something to consider when fast recalculations are required in dense traffic in unfamiliar areas.
 

Phartz

Pat Thompson
Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
610
Location
a mile high in AZ
Bike
'06 ST1300
STOC #
6671
I use a Garmin GPSMap62s in a Ram mount on the bike. I do have it wired for power but the unit does run for quite a while on a pair of easily replaced AA batteries for use off the bike.
 

TPadden

Tom Padden
Joined
Apr 25, 2006
Messages
3,781
Age
73
Location
Brooksville, FL
( tho I dont see why u'd want to )
There are many reasons a person might want to use a "handheld" GPS on a motorcycle. I have almost as many GPS's as I do vehicles, including Nuvi's and Zumo's, but the one I use on all my bikes almost all the time is the Montana, unwired. The Montana with City Nav NT card recalculates as quick or quicker than either my Nuvi's and Zumo. The non handhelds, as people have said, batteries are for backup or occasional use and die when you most want to use them - the handhelds are meant to run on their batteries all day (16-20 hours) not use the batteries as a backup. They slap in an easily moved cradle for use in any vehicle with no muss or fuss, or plugs; and can be relied upon for an all day hike, ATV ride, or hours of tent planning sessions .....

Handhelds seem to be much more "ruggedized" than the motorcycle versions and have never let me down like my Nuvi's and Zumo's - the handhelds are a very satisfactory motorcycle GPS alternative for my use, but to each their own.

I still recommend the Montana 600 series that starts around $470, or look at the cheaper Oregon and eTrex series (all require a City Nav microSD card for street use).
 
Last edited:

Tom Mac 04a

Site Supporter
Joined
Jun 24, 2008
Messages
2,039
Location
LI , New York
Bike
04 ST1300a
STOC #
8347
There are many reasons a person might want to use a "handheld" GPS on a motorcycle ...snip....
Tom.... No, I have no problem with a "handheld" unit...some are better and/or what you want with it off the bike , a handheld may be better suited. (btw the Montana is a nice unit )

The " I don't see why u'd want to" was in ref to running ONLY batteries and not running some sort of connection into a bike that has pleanty of juice to spare... I see tapping into the bike as a way to keep the gps running so when off it's batteries are full... I know the OP stated no elec connections but even the stock cig lighter plug @ 2a will handle most if not all GPSs and if it's a switched curcuit there no way of running the bike battery down if you forget it on if that's the reason.
 

TPadden

Tom Padden
Joined
Apr 25, 2006
Messages
3,781
Age
73
Location
Brooksville, FL
Tom.... No, I have no problem with a "handheld" unit...some are better and/or what you want with it off the bike , a handheld may be better suited. (btw the Montana is a nice unit )

The " I don't see why u'd want to" was in ref to running ONLY batteries and not running some sort of connection into a bike that has pleanty of juice to spare....
In my case it's a matter of keeping it simple. Nothing simpler than a Ram ball, nothing to fail.

I'd need too many harnesses to wire all my bikes for each device ..... the Zumo has a dedicated mount /harness so I can just use it on one bike. All my bikes have Ram Balls so with one cradle I can mount the Montana on any bike as I walk out the door for a trip without worrying about which bike has which harness for which device. :D
 

T_C

Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Messages
4,341
Location
St. Louis, MO
Bike
2005 St1300
STOC #
8568
Check the Garmin Edge series. Made for bicycles but it lacks little in the way of features.

Sure it doesn't have XM radio or traffic monitoring. But it does have a heart monitor so you can see high your pulse rate shot when the moron almost took you out when they ran the red light.
 

ST Gui

240Robert
Site Supporter
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
9,263
Location
SF-Oakland CA
Bike
ST1300, 2010
I wish the OP would respond with more info and specifically why he doesn't want a battery connection. Otherwise he gets recommendations all over the map.
 
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
351
Location
Ottawa, ON
Bike
ST1300A
STOC #
8498
I went for the simplest option I could think of. I have a TomTom Rider on a RAM mount screwed on the clutch clamp. I power it from the running light in the left hand mirror housing. This light goes out when the left hand turn signal is operating - otherwise it is on and providing power. I set the TomTom to not switch off when not charging, otherwise left hand turns would be, umm, interesting. But this setup works a treat. No major plastic strip down to source 12V, it has a fused supply, the TomTom only needs milliamps to charge and run.
 

craigstys

STOC #8621 Now on my 2nd ST1100
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
41
Age
62
Location
Madison, WI USA
Bike
1999 ST1100X
STOC #
8621
I went for the simplest option I could think of. I have a TomTom Rider on a RAM mount screwed on the clutch clamp. I power it from the running light in the left hand mirror housing. This light goes out when the left hand turn signal is operating - otherwise it is on and providing power. I set the TomTom to not switch off when not charging, otherwise left hand turns would be, umm, interesting. But this setup works a treat. No major plastic strip down to source 12V, it has a fused supply, the TomTom only needs milliamps to charge and run.

I'd like to thank you personally for this tremendous post. This made it so easy to do with a hardwire kit. Green is ground and orange stripe power. Even I got it done in 15 minutes. And it is a great circuit to run on. I highly recommend this method.
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
8,115
Location
Cleveland
Bike
2010 ST1300
Most of the GPS devices that are designed for use in cars, boats, bikes, have relatively small batteries and will run for a fairly short period of time. One of my Nuvi's, when used handheld in NY city, died in less than one hour. The hiking style gps's (Montana, for one) use either 'AA' batteries or larger rechargeable batts and therefore have reasonable run times (measured in hours - some in the range of a day). If you ever have occasion to change the battery inside a car style gps, you will see exactly what I mean.
 
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
351
Location
Ottawa, ON
Bike
ST1300A
STOC #
8498
I'd like to thank you personally for this tremendous post. This made it so easy to do with a hardwire kit. Green is ground and orange stripe power. Even I got it done in 15 minutes. And it is a great circuit to run on. I highly recommend this method.
You're welcome! Key point is that this way of sourcing power should be limited to really low power consumption devices, GPS or phone charger etc.
My TomTom will run on its internal battery for about four hours, so it will easily handle thirty seconds turning left with the turn signal on and running light off. I chose the left hand side (clutch) mount instead of right hand side (front brake) as the TomTom doesn't hide anything important on that side - only headlight height adjuster and I hardly ever touch that.
 

craigstys

STOC #8621 Now on my 2nd ST1100
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
41
Age
62
Location
Madison, WI USA
Bike
1999 ST1100X
STOC #
8621
Same with my Garmin 2595LMT. Ram mounted it with cradle. I kind of like the beep off and back on charging after using the left signal. I plan no other devices. It's perfect for what is. Use a car socket for power now. Plug in the car cable and stuff the wires in the front cowl. Traffic now works!
 
Top Bottom