sat navs

[rybes]

mornin all :D

i plan on doin lots of miles this year throo europe. one of those things ya cant avoid when ya missus lives in Denmark. anyone got any ideas of a good reliable sat nav to get ? going to need one that does most of europe and the uk. a nice easy one to use would be lovely  
thank you all :D

[JasonS]

mornin all :D

i plan on doin lots of miles this year throo europe. one of those things ya cant avoid when ya missus lives in Denmark. anyone got any ideas of a good reliable sat nav to get ? going to need one that does most of europe and the uk. a nice easy one to use would be lovely  
thank you all :D

On www.advrider.com there is a "Laying Down Tracks" forum with more than you can read about GPS systems... I would highly recommend you scoot on over there in addition to the fine answers you will get here.

[Nick Calne]

Bike magazine has a tomtom vs garmin feature this month.

[Tiger04]

I've been happy with my Garmin Zumo 550. They are not cheap but its water proof and rugged.Have seen them on line for as low 500. to 800 with everything you need from mount for both car and motorcycle and the hard wiring too.

[Timbox2]

Ive got the Tom Tom Rider II, but I must say that if I was buying today I would go for the Garmin. There was a massive price difference when I got mine, and that did steer me to the Tom Tom, and I believe the Tom Tom is still slightly more intuitive to use, but my bike mount has now stopped working and I cant find another, they dont seem to be available from Tom Tom anymore, it still works fine in the car and thats where it stays now, but thats not really what I bought it for, I know of a number of people who have had the same issue, some still within warranty and Tom Tom have been awful at putting it right.

Many retailers have switched from Tom Tom to Garmin as the after sales in this country seems very poor, Ive heard nothing but praise for the Garmin after sales and the mounting system does seem streets ahead.

Also for planning trips on a PC the Garmin wins,

Myself, I dont think I'll bother with Sat Nav on a bike anymore, I either know where Im going or If I dont I just end up going a different route and enjoying different scenery, Its a handy tool dont get me wrong, but I think its better off in the car for work.

[Skidpan]

I use a TomTom One car satnav, in a RAM mount aquabox, and have done for several thousand miles with absolutely no problems at all, for a fraction of the price of a Zumo or Rider. A mate has a Zumo, and loves the extra functions it has, but what do you need the satnav for? Playing with, or finding somewhere? Personally, I just want to find somewhere, and my kit does that for about £160 all in.

[Sin_Tiger]

Had a Tom Tom for the car, then a Garmin 550, now a 660.

I liked the TT interface but updating and the licesence control is so awkward it put me off when it came to the bike. I have not been disappointed with Zumo 550 or 660 in any area but one, Bluetooth. PIA to get working with anything but a Nokia but when it does it's really good.

You would think that when designing / testing they would think to themselves "this is for bikers, who makes helmets with built in BT, Nolan, Caberg and Schuberth, lets make sure it works really well with all those first"  :roll:

I still vote for the Zumo.

[EvilBetty]

Ive got the Tom Tom Rider II, but I must say that if I was buying today I would go for the Garmin. There was a massive price difference when I got mine, and that did steer me to the Tom Tom, and I believe the Tom Tom is still slightly more intuitive to use, but my bike mount has now stopped working and I cant find another,...

Pricey... ouch.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TomTom-Tom-RIDER-2- ... 33554bfbcd

[JasonS]

Garmin regularly has older models available as refurbished models.

I bought a 2610 a 2720 and a Model 7200 this way and each is still running.

I see no need to buy the newest models as these older refurbished ones do the trick without paying the premium.

Make sure what ever model you choose is Water Proof and does NOT run on a mini hard drive as the vibrations will render it useless soon enough.

[EvilBetty]

The only caveat to that would be the features you might need.  The older Zumo didn't support AD2P (stereo and music controls over bluetooth), as well as some other functions I could not live without.  But that price premium on the current model was just too much.

[Sin_Tiger]

older Zumo didn't support AD2P (stereo and music controls over bluetooth), ................. But that price premium on the current model was just too much.

The 550 I bought from the UK, as there was no stock locally and they wanted 15% over UK prices, was actually a "new / old stock" item i.e. it had sat on a shelf for just short of a year then been upgraded to the latest firmware with all the same specs as a freshly minted one and a full makers warranty. I actually prefer the 550 menu structure, simpler, sold it last night.

The 660 was actually listed at nearly $100 less than the 550 when it first came out  :?

[moose]

Same as skid pan and Sin

I also use Tom Tom One XL car sat nav with no real problems.  On the original mount also.  I have use Tom Tom for many years in my cars though, so the inerface is second nature to me

[rf9rider]

Afraid i`m still old school, and use an ordinary map when i`m abroad, gives me an excuse to stop for a smoke whilst "browsing" the map.
Been a HGV driver for 25 years, so know most of the UK and some parts of Eastern Europe.  :lol:

[Sin_Tiger]

stop for a smoke whilst "browsing" the map.

Agree, I see the GPS as a useful tool, most of the time a rather pricey MP3 player  :oops: but there is a great deal of satisfaction from sitting with a brew running your finger over a map.

Something else I have found is that you are more approachable with a paper map, people will come and talk to you and offer advice if they can point at a place on a map especially if there is a language difference, not so easy when you are head down engrossed on a tiny screen. I also find I look at the map then up at the scenery around me compared to slavishly following a red line on a screen.

[Bixxer Bob]

.... and maps promote awareness.  Once you've prepped a route on a map, you have a picture in your head of what you're doing and a sense of whether you're going wrong.  Sat Nav is the opposite.  You follow the route it takes you, but if it does something unexpected, like taking a turn that conflicts with the road signage that you can see, you suddenly realise you have no real reference point.  There again, the Nissan Birdview in my car has a redeeming feature; I just press a button, say to it, "Take me home" and it does (but I still have to do the driving, it's not autopilot...)