GPS for my bike. Any advice out there?

[marksie]

I am toying with the idea of fitting a GPS to my bike (83 Yamaha XV750 ) Have never owned a GPS before so was wondering if any one out there can share some advise. eg what make TomTom,Garmin or Navman. I was told to get the Navman. What should I be looking for in a GPS.

[Snails pace]

I know nothing about anything but I have a couple of Garmin. With these there are lots of free maps out there for much of the world. Do not know if Tom Tom or Navman have the same free map opportunities. NZ open source is a great product (garmin only I believe). For the actual unit how are you going to use it? Just for bike riding on road? For me waterproof, ease of use with bike gloves on, screen large enough to see while riding, in built battery, rugged are some of the features I required. . I have the Zumo 550 and a CSX60. For just road use the Zumo is as good as they come but pricey. The CS60 has a track feature for off road or hiking that the Zumo does not have. Plus a tad smaller and so can pop in my pocket if walking round a strange town.

[marksie]

Thanks Snails pace, my original thinking was Garmin as I have read about the free maps so I think I will go that way but I won't spend a fortune on an expensive one. Just fitted a cigarette lighter today for the cell phone. The wife is propably right that I don't really need one but hey it's a good winter excerise. Now I just got to figure out how to attach it and keep it dry. Anyhow at 65 I think I will only be riding on a sunny day. Thanks for comfirming what I knew about the Garmin and the free maps.

[Phreak]

I went through the same idea not too long ago, ended up buying a 'no-name' GPS off trade-me, and simply cable-tied the plastic bracket to my H-frame. Wired up with a cigarette lighter (fused of course!) and it works great! Not too keen on using it in the rain, but otherwise I have absolutely no complaints. Even helped me find a few short-cuts on my trip down south, of which you can read in my blog... Really good part is that it plays music from the SD memory card, kept me entertained on the long hauls.

This is identical to what I bought... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics...-291679030.htm

[marksie]

Thanks Phreak, It looks a good unit, but this morning I bought a handle bar mount to fit a Garmin and now I am wondering if it would fit that unit of yours. Maybe you can view the page and tell me if it would be conpatiable. The seller is Yeaka 746 on TradeMe. This link could be usefull for other bikers as he or she seems to stock other mountings for bikes.
I wish I had held off now. I like the idea of music although I haven't really examined the Garmin capabilities but the ability of downloading free maps has some appeal.

[CookMySock]

Wired up with a cigarette lighter (fused of course!) and it works great! Not too keen on using it in the rain

There are no real safety issues with getting that wet, except the inevitable corrosion will make the contacts intermittent. I've had mains plugs immersed in buckets of water etc with no smoke or flames. Make sure the fuse is right next to the battery.



Steve

[sinned]

Search the site - there is heaps of good information posted here by riders who have GPS fitted to their bikes.