what GPS

[8overin808]

As a few of you may know, I'm 23, from hawaii and planning on taking my stretched busa from Cali to NY next spring.

so i'm realizing a gps is going to be a good idea...to say the least.

so what models are good for us motorcyclists? what have you got on your busa?

let me know, thanks!

 

[TruWrecks]

Garmin Quest. Holds 19MB of maps, LiIon battery goes about 20hrs, backlit colour display, and small. I've been using one for a while. It works very well.

 

[shenoyp]

I use the Garmin GPSmap 60CS ... Its a good unit, really love it. I suggest you check it out on their website and give it a thought

 

[_ZeF]

Garmin Quest.  Holds 19MB of maps, LiIon battery goes about 20hrs, backlit colour display, and small.  I've been using one for a while.  It works very well.

Same here with my Garmin Quest... Except mine has 117MB of internal memory. If you search my posts you'll find pictures of my installation...

I love it

 

[nitrousjunkie]

Garnin 276C, color display,internal and memory stick compatable.

 

[8overin808]

thanks for pointing me in the right direction! i'll let you all know what i get

 

[FJRider]

I also have a Garmin 276C. Good sized color display (about 4 inches across), can handle up to 256 meg memory chips (Garmin type only I believe), simple to operate even when underway on my bike. With the 256 meg chip option you should be able to memorize your entire CA to NY trip, down to street level resolution. Also has a nice database of Points of Interest should you need to find something along the way (hotels, gas stations, etc, etc). Unit either runs on 12vdc or it's own internal battery pack. Can also be used for marine use with optional accessories. Probably the best multi-use unit available.

 

[MidnightBusainSD]

I have a Garmin Rhino 130 holds only 24mb of maps thought is kinda a bummer but it has built in weather radio and walkie talky if you and another compainion have a 120 or 130 you can ping them and there location appears on your GPS map

 

[junbug]

Waiting for this to come out: http://www.tomtom.com/lib/doc/RIDER.pdf


I think the features are awesome, even has bluetooth wireless headset so you'll hear the direction and not get distracted with looking at the screen. Just hope it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

 

[Sane_man]

Garmin Quest. Holds 19MB of maps, LiIon battery goes about 20hrs, backlit colour display, and small. I've been using one for a while. It works very well.

Don't know if you knew it, but Garmin has released the Quest 2, which comes preloaded with the entire U.S. on it. The street price is around $500, which was the price of the original Quest which is now cheaper.

http://www.garmin.com/products/quest2/

It's the same size as the Quest. I wish I had known it was going to be released before I bought my Garmin 2610 in May. I do like it even if it's larger because it has a touch screen, and takes CF cards. You can load the entire U.S. and Canada in 1.3 Gb. A 1 Gb card is less the $100.

I would get the Quest 2.



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[zukracer]

I actually use the Garmin Street Pilot III. You can get them off ebay for under $400. Several nice things, especially if you are going to make a trip that long on the bike.

A) the unit is pretty small but does have a color screen and voice navi. (get to how this is good later)
B) it comes with a 128mb stick BUT can use other sticks, though they are only Garmin memory, you can get a 256mb stick for under $100 on ebay. I made it from NC to Colorado and up to SD on my 128mb stick. Of course I had the route planned and only loaded the maps for my route but that included ALL the data for the trip to that point. A 256mb chip would mean I didnt have to stop and load up anything for the entire route back home across SD, MN, IA, OH, WV, VA and parts of NC. Just something to consider if you are going solo on a bike, a smaller memory base means you have to take the laptop or have a way to load new maps on smaller units.

C) It autoroutes. Damn nifty if you miss a turn or something like that. You dont have to back track normally.

Now, back to the voice part of it

There's a bunch of devices out there that allow multiple audio sources into your headphones or helmet. Voice is nice because it will remind you when you are in town or closing in on a turn on the HWY. The speaker that comes with it probably wont work at hwy speeds but around town with the visor open it would work ok.

Also heard at cyclefest that there's a new product coming out that is going to be a wireless audio source selector. I think he said it would do like 4 different sources and send the audio up to the helmet wirelessly to some speakers. I'm on the list to get more info once its available, if you want I can send you a copy of it when I get it.

Hope that helps, I'm actually in the process of trying to figure out a good way to mount the GPS with a radar detector and my existing XM.

 

[BigBSBusa]

Garmin GPS V Deluxe.

 

[shortBoarder]

Garmin StreetPilot 2610. Uses a CF card, so you could load the entire US City Navigator dataset onto the unit.

 

[adrenaline junkey]

I use a garmin 60cs but that quest 2 looks like a good investment

 

[8overin808]

thanks for all the replys everyone. I'm leaning toward that quest 2, that's a sexy beast! I'm gonna make my decision around november/december, for the trip in april/may. i'll let you all know what I end up getting.

maybe i can meet up with some of y'all on my way from cali to NY

 

[Zoo]

Here is what I have. A Garmin IQue 3600. The mount was very easy to make using the Garmin Auto Nav kit. So you can use it for your car and motorcycle. Just a thought... The touch screen rocks when riding and navigating at the same time. Looks good too. expecially at night time. If u want to go this route let me know and I can give you advice on the mount.
Here is a picture.
http://www.zoosplace.com/busa/big/gps.jpg

 

[Zoo]

oh yeah FYI... you can have an external SD card to store maps. If you are familar with palm os it should be a breeze to use. They also make a windows version.

 

[8overin808]

oh that ique setup is SWEET! nicely done

 

[_ZeF]

Garmin Quest. Holds 19MB of maps, LiIon battery goes about 20hrs, backlit colour display, and small. I've been using one for a while. It works very well.

I have the Quest also... But mine has 115MB of internal memory and i did not know there was a model out with only 19MB...

Anyhow, i love it. It is very portable, i also use it in my car. The Quest 2 is out now, its got all of Americas detailed maps in internal memory, so you dont have to limit yourself to 115MB at a time. Can be useful for extra long road trips.

This is what it looks like on my Busa:

 

[stevew]

If you have the budget, the 2720 which comes pre-loaded with the enitre US, Canada and Puerto Rico is the way to go. It features the latest software interface and a high res, high color, touch screen. Processing and lookups are way faster than the Quest 2 and the 2610 as well. We are the Canadian distributor for Garmin automotive products and I have extensively tested the Quest 2 against the 2610 and 2720. The 2720 beats 'em all hands down! The Quest 2 is NOT a touch screen and is cumbersome at best when entering data and performing lookups. The screen is quite small and tough to read in direct sunlight. I have the 2720 with RAM mounts installed on each bike and moving it from one bike to the next takes only seconds. I installed it on the center of the neck stem using a threaded rod and RAM parts. The install is very clean and easy when it comes to adjusting the viewing angle. My next choice down, would be the 2610 which comes with the 128MB card which you can load yourself. We also carry the 2610 with a preloaded 2GB card that ends up holding the same mapset as the 2720 and can be re-written to accomodate mapping from other countres. The main difference between the 2610 and the 2720 is the software interface and the higher res/color screen. All of these units are waterproof and quite shockproof as well. They can take a lot of abuse! My 3rd choice would be the Quest 2. We also distribute the TomTom product line; it is a great unit and the Rider will be a hot piece, but the mapping is not Navteq and it quite inferior to the Garmin's mapping in many ways. For me, the primary function of any GPS Nav unit should be the ability to route to a destination and the most important feature is the map quality and this is where Garmin excels by a long margin. Garmin has over 6 million points of interest on its V7 NT maps whereas most other manufacturers can't get to 1/2 of that.



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