GPS Recommendations...

[Andrew Shadow]

Good question. I was only thinking about using the stylus on a GPS because that is what this thread was asking about but I just tried it on a Samsung Galaxy and it doesn't work.

 

[Tankereng]

Excellent info my friends! I went with the Zumo 595LM... should arrive tomorrow. Seems like it’s been forever since I’ve done any farkling. Guess I better get out to the garage while it’s warm (61 today).. and figure out how to unwrap the Versys


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[drrod]

You've described the TomTom's behavior exactly; it modifies the route once you load it. I have the TT Rider 5 GPS (which came out several years ago and has been superseded by the Rider 550), and use MyRouteApp for route planning. I have to remember to put plenty of waypoints into the route to force the TomTom to go the way I want.

I find that if you use the TomTom map, built into the MyRouteApp(gold edition), when doing route planning, that it translates correctly to my TomTom GPS. I suppose that is why Basecamp translates accurately to Garmin (ie same mapping algorithm) but other route planning tools do not. One neat feature of the MyRouteApp gold edition is the ability to overlay TT, Garmin, Google, and OpenStreeMap all at once. This allows you to see where the differences are between them and make adjustments accordingly. Really handy if you share routes with different people having different GPS's.

BTW - I believe the Kyocera Pro phones (and newer) are glove friendly.

 

[paulcb]

A question for you dedicated GPS users – can they just display 'where you are' as you travel – without entering a destination?

FWIW, I've never seen a dedicated GPS that didn't show you on a moving map, with or without a destination.

 

[Bmacleod]

Mini stylus, cost ya just over a dime apiece for a 20 year supply. Hook it to a retractable lanyard and leave it attached to the bike. No matter what gloves you are wearing the touch screen issue is mitigated. After about two years the tip is worn out, replace, ride on.

My personal experience with those T_C linked to (and several others) is that they quit working relatively quickly when left on the bike, i.e. within a few weeks. The tip seems to "dry out" and crack. This has happened to me on at least three different types (brands).

I havent tried this but have heard it works good. Makes any glove touchscreen-able... https://www.nanotips.com/

 

[CYYJ]

Excellent info my friends! I went with the Zumo 595LM...

A good choice. I've used that device for several years on my ST 1300 and I am very happy with it.

Some suggestions for you:
1) I prefer to use the device oriented vertically, because that shows a greater view ahead of me (who cares what's off to the side)?
2) There is a Garmin application for smartphones (iPhone and Android) that allows you to fetch traffic & weather information, including WX radar.
3) Garmin charges a small, one-time fee to access the traffic & weather information - it's well worth the price.
4) There is a 'skip waypoint' feature that is really, really useful if you have constructed a route using multiple waypoints to shape the route the way you want it, and the intermediate waypoints are fractionally off the path you actually want to follow (i.e. center of a town, vs. you want to bypass the town).
5) In the past, there was a known issue with the terminals on the plug for the battery coming loose over time. I suspect Garmin has since rectified this on newer production units, however, if you encounter very short battery life, Google "Zumo 590 battery fix". The site that originally had full documentation of the fix, zumoforums.com, has since shut down, but I am sure the fix has been documented elsewhere.

Michael

 

[Tankereng]

A good choice. I've used that device for several years on my ST 1300 and I am very happy with it.

Some suggestions for you:
1) I prefer to use the device oriented vertically, because that shows a greater view ahead of me (who cares what's off to the side)?
2) There is a Garmin application for smartphones (iPhone and Android) that allows you to fetch traffic & weather information, including WX radar.
3) Garmin charges a small, one-time fee to access the traffic & weather information - it's well worth the price.
4) There is a 'skip waypoint' feature that is really, really useful if you have constructed a route using multiple waypoints to shape the route the way you want it, and the intermediate waypoints are fractionally off the path you actually want to follow (i.e. center of a town, vs. you want to bypass the town).
5) In the past, there was a known issue with the terminals on the plug for the battery coming loose over time. I suspect Garmin has since rectified this on newer production units, however, if you encounter very short battery life, Google "Zumo 590 battery fix". The site that originally had full documentation of the fix, zumoforums.com, has since shut down, but I am sure the fix has been documented elsewhere.

Michael

Excellent information! Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ST Gui]

FWIW, I've never seen a dedicated GPS that didn't show you on a moving map, with or without a destination.

Good to know. Thanks. I've got a Garmin nūvi gathering dust somewhere but I've never used it without first entering a destination.

 

[Daboo]

FWIW, I've never seen a dedicated GPS that didn't show you on a moving map, with or without a destination.

My Garmin 595LM shows a moving map. My cell phone with any of the map applications, shows a moving map.

Chris

 

[AV8R]

Garmin DriveSmart™ 51 LMT-S


Advanced Navigation with Smart Features

• Easy-to-use GPS navigator with connected features and bright 5.0-inch capacitive touch display
• Detailed maps of North America with free lifetime¹ updates
• Provides real-time services such as live traffic² and live parking³
• Bluetooth® calling4, smart notifications5 and voice-activated navigation
• Built-in Wi-Fi® for easy map and software updates

AV8R tested and approved in LA sun and rain
Overall Rating (out of 5):

Minus 1 from 5 possible for

• short battery life, so power with USB
• links to iphone for calls but not BT to Sena comms. I use iPhone for that.

 

[Daboo]

It looks like a great GPS. Question...it was AV*R tested and approved in LA sun and rain...yet it says to not expose it to water in the owner's manual. How did that work out for you in the rain?

Chris

 

[AV8R]

Didnt cover it and it survived. Nextime id likely put a ziplock baggy over it like i did the iPhone6+

Its also 2x brighter and a bigger usable display than the iphone6+
If or when the next gen of this garmin adds BT voice, ill upgrade

 

[Daboo]

How many openings does it have? I'm guessing a speaker opening for one. That can be covered with duct tape. Some clear sealer on the screen edge would take care of a lot also.

Chris

 

[AV8R]

True. Would be easy to seal, and I don't need the speaker on a bike. The advantage of a zip lock cover is it keeps the water from affecting the capacitive touch screen input.

I found a site that mods GPS devices into Bluetooth ones. I might do that or DIY MacGyver it. Garmin has those expensive Zumos motorcycle GPS, but $400-600 is a bit rich for me. No other Garmin auto GPS has BT navigation or audio out. Maybe other vendors might.

For grins, Costco was selling Samsung Tab A Android 7-inch display pads for $100 so I picked one up to see if I could use it with Google Maps as a gas tank moving map. It has BT audio and 3.5mm audio jack. Can save maps and routes on disk for areas where there's no connectivity. Now it's a matter of mounting it and testing with Sena20s. Unless covered, it would be rain vulnerable. But the display is big and bright.

This picture shows the iP6+ and Garmin side by side, each with max brightness. On a hot sunny day, the iPhone is barely readable, which is why I now have a sun hood for it. The Garmin doesn’t need one.



And one of the rare pics where the HUD is displaying the full speed (often it’s caught just tens or ones position as it refreshes out of synch with the camera). Note both the bike speedo clock and HUD show 37 mph.

 

[Daboo]

So the Bluetooth support is only for phone calls on the Garmin DriveSmart™ 51 LMT-S? There's no support for voice turn by turn directions over BT?

Chris

 

[T_C]

So the Bluetooth support is only for phone calls on the Garmin DriveSmart™ 51 LMT-S? There's no support for voice turn by turn directions over BT?

Chris

That's what seperated ZUMO from the standard Garmin. They did that a long time back when they figured out they could charge hundreds of dollars for a nickle worth of components.

 

[Daboo]

Back in the beginnings of motorcycle GPS's, the best deal around was the Garmin Nuvi 550. Being a Nuvi instead of a Zumo, it was sold as a car GPS. However, like the Zumo 550, it had 8 hours of battery life and was waterproof. It also sold at about a third to half of the "motorcycle" version. Garmin quickly learned they were missing out on profits and dropped the Nuvi 550...but not before a lot of riders took notice of the deal and bought one.

Competition is good. Smartphones and Chinese GPS's are competition to the Garmin and TomTom companies. You see the results in this latest Garmin DriveSmart™ 51/61 LMT-S. I'm looking through the list of features and see almost everything I see in the 595LM. And a factory refurbished version can be found for a little over $100. But...it doesn't have BT support for directions, and isn't waterproof.

But smartphones do.

 

[rjs987]

I used to have a Nuvi 550. Now I'm planning to mount my Pixel 2XL phone. The gloves I use for the season when I travel have patches on the thumb and index finger tips that work on my smartphone screen so that issue is handled. I can download enough of the area maps where I plan to travel so the GPS chip is all that I need to navigate. BT connects to my Sena for both phone calls, music, and turn by turn commands. And if another app starts up on the screen, like a phone call, the navigation map stays in the foreground as a smaller square that I can move around on screen or tap to bring back to full screen.

Been testing the functions on occasion when driving around. I even have another app to provide GPS mph readings if I really need to see that, though that's more of a "play with" app since I can see my speedo just fine (and know what the offset is for accuracy).

 

[ST Gui]

I even have another app to provide GPS mph readings if I really need to see that...

I've got an older spare phone that I've been thinking of using solely with a speedometer app if I can find one simple enough. So many want to provide true air speed atmospheres wind direction and other metrics that I don't need or are already in the Maps (GPS) app. In fact an app that showed only three things — an analog speedometer ETA and speed limit would be great.

 

[rjs987]

I've got an older spare phone that I've been thinking of using solely with a speedometer app if I can find one simple enough. So many want to provide true air speed atmospheres wind direction and other metrics that I don't need or are already in the Maps (GPS) app. In fact an app that showed only three things — an analog speedometer ETA and speed limit would be great.

Android? The app I use is very simple.
"Speedometer-GPS (Car/Bike/Airplane and more)" by Spring Applications
I start it and tap MPH button (it defaults to Km/h) and that's it. I ignore anything else on the display, easy to do since the speed readout is the biggest item shown. Only caveat is that once in a while and advertisement pops up over the entire screen and I have to tap it to make it go away. Hasn't happened much though. Icon looks like an analog dial speedometer.

Other stuff on screen is Ave speed, max speed, distance, a timer, altitude, Lat/Long. ETA and speed limit would be for more complicated apps. This one is small and simple.