Chinavasion Rage GPS Review - 1 Year And Counting

I 'upgraded' from the Chinavasion Peaklife (ZUMO550 size) to the Rage (ZUMO660 size) over a year ago for the larger screen size. I have used them almost every workday routing back and forth the work just to see how they would last under daily use and on various trips I have taken. The units were on sale for $108 when I bought mine, so I picked up 4 units (one for each ST1100 and a spare) since I can use the same software (IGO8) I use on the Peaklifes (which are now on my Veloster and GMC pickup truck).

WARRANTY EXPERIENCE -

I also now have experience with how well the Chinavasion 1 year warranty works.
One unit failed with USB port issue (may have been my fault). I sent it back, they repaired it, returned it and the USPS lost it. When I notified Chinavasion, they asked for a note from the USPS and upon receipt, refunded my purchase price plus $10 as credit on their site within 8 hours of the receipt.

I also had one that would not sync with the satellites while in the cradle. I contacted them, provided a video of the issue and returned it. They repaired it and returned it (got this one), and they fixed the problem.

In both cases, my only cost was the return postage. The whole process takes about 90 days (30 days each way for shipping by registered post) to/from China.

USER EXPERIENCE - SOFTWARE

I use the IGO8 software (not the PRIMO version) and have been well pleased with it. It has all the GPS functionality - POIs, download routes, bread crumbs, etc. - that I have seen on any GPS. IIRC, it or its 'variant' is used on a lot of automotive GPS systems, especially overseas. Periodically, I get an email from my supplier of the software when a map update is available which usually costs between $35 to $40 which includes the micro SD card. Everything GPS-wise lives on the micro SD card which can be copied to the hard drive of a computer for backup, which is nice. Updating is easy - put in the new micro SD card, tell the GPS to sync to the new software and you are good to go. The only pain is getting the micro SD card out of the slot - it just takes a little patience. The base WIN 6 CE operating system has games, e-reader, calendar, MP3 player - none of which I have used so I don't know how well they work. Another user on the board has figured out how to use the MP3 player and the GPS at the same time. IGO8 uses KML (Google Maps) as the format for routes. The unit looks like a removable disk drive, so routes just have to be dragged and dropped into the proper directory. I use MS Streets and Trips/AutoRoute for trip planning, GPS BABEL to convert to KML and it works fine. I also used the free plug in for MAPSOURCE for New Zealand to do my routing down there (GPS BABEL to convert to KML also). I have a VB App that does all of the 'conversion\copy' in one click but I have not found an easy way to distribute for free since it has a .exe in it.


USER EXPERIENCE - HARDWARE

The units are definitely waterproof as mine have been through many 'frog drownings'. The units are rated at IPX7 - must survive 30 minutes of water immersion at a depth of 1 meter. Use with gloves is exceptional - they work very well with my Gerbing T5 heated gloves. There are two issues I have with the hardware at this point. One is that the backlighting is a bit weak when the sun is directly behind you. No worse than the electronic screen on the ST1300 or some other GPSs, but it would be nice if it was 'stronger'. I make sun shades out of plastic homework notebooks and little Velcro which helps a lot. Also, I have found that the units connect to the GPS satellite system much quicker out of the cradle than in the cradle. As I am getting ready to ride, I just pull it out of the cradle, sync it (green indicators show on the sync screen) and pop it back into the cradle. An inconvenience for sure, but an easy workaround for me. I usually spend a few minutes checking my bike before I leave anyway it has become a 'habit' for me. Also, the units have survived a few 'drops' from my clumsy hands with no damage done. The unit has both Bluetooth audio and a headset jack built into the units. I have a 'wired' comm system but went with the Bluetooth option to save taking out the headset cord when I remove the unit from the cradle. I just picked up a cheap Bluetooth music receiver from Chinavasion (about $15) that is powered off USB (cheap USB to cigar adapter - about $2) and has a hardwired jack that I run into my comm system. This has worked fine with no problems at all and the Rage as an 'auto sync' with the Bluetooth music receiver once it finds it.

SUMMARY -

My experience has been these are excellent, waterproof motorcycle GPS units at the price point of around $129 for the hardware plus $40 +- for the software. If you have the need for multiple units, then they become cheaper as you can copy the software for your own use and are out only the cost of the hardware. Mine were especially a good deal as they had them on sale for $108 per unit. Also, the motorcycle rental company in New Zealand I used have these units as their 'rental' GPS systems. IIRC, their warranty is the same length as Garmin's - 1 year and they do stand behind it. If you are looking at GPS systems, it is just another cost effective option to consider. They also now have a 5 inch model but I have no experience with it.

https://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/GPS-Sat_Nav_Devices/Portable_GPS/All_Terrain_4.3_Inch_Motorcycle_GPS_Navigation_System_-_Waterproof_4GB_Bluetooth/#specsa

Hi Phil. I used your instructions to get the path set up on my Rage. Very easy to do thanks.

One thing I'd like to correct is that my preferences are not saved when I shut down. I have to set my favorite features each time. I know there is a configuration file that guys edit and save somewhere to personalise it, but I can't find any description of how to do that and where a complete list of parameters can be found online.

Also - it would be nice to be able to launch Primo and iGO8 from the main screen if at all possible. You find any resources about that?

I am going to try and install some file commander programs and see what they do for me.
Then I'm going to create a route on my desktop PC and play with getting that loaded up on the Rage.

Finally, my Points of Interest menu is greyed out in Primo. I have read that this is a common issue.

Never used PRIMO, so I don't have a clue on that one. The problem about launching both from the main screen is there is only one place you have to identify the GPS software. There is a 'hack' out there where you can open up the Windows CE interface but if you get anything wrong in the process, there is no recovery. Just curious - why PRIMO and IGO8 since they do the same thing? In the IGO8 root directory there is a file - sys.txt. It has all sorts of parameters in it that might give you what you want. Google IGO8 sys.txt and you will probably find the parameter list out there.