GPS on a budget?

[GILLY]

Next farkle I am thinking on is a GPS. I mean really on a budget, like find a used one on eBay, THAT cheap!
I know I'll need to mount it and so forth, but to get the GPS unit cheaply would be the main goal.
Lets say the limit on the GPS is a couple hundred, or a small amount over. Oh, to add to the info before I get started, I would also like to be able to use what ever I get in a car as well. If anyone would like to share info on any of the units I mention, or suggest something else, that would be great.

What I know so far. And I don't know if any of these would be really highly recommended units or not, just know "enough to get me in trouble" right now, I don't own a GPS at all. I don't expect a whole lot for the money I am talking about. Others have even said that for a cycle, keeping it simple is good. JUST a display would be fine, I don't think I need it to talk to me. If I NEED it, believe me I'll be looking!.

One I looked up right away was a Garmin Zumo, as I heard these are meant for cycle use, they are way out of my price range, all of them, used or not, twice my price limit, so forget that.

Second, I also heard that the Garmin 500 and 550 are weathertight, unsure if they are meant for cycle use, but for a starter I assume would be one to keep an eye open for. A 500 seems to run $200 to $250. A 550 is higher, $250 to $300.

For cheaper options, a couple other Garmins I have seen, a Nuvi 350 and 750. The 750 has a larher screen and a current speed reading, which might be nice, especially the 4.3" screen vs a 3.5" on the 350. But I don't think either are meant for cycle use. Not sure how a non'cycle GPS would work out, "but I'm willing to find out"! (OK, comments welcome on if this is really a dumb idea, I know I will at least need to cover it in the rain, I am willing to put up with that).

One other option I see is a guy selling Tom Tom Rider 1's (original Rider) in a 180 range "like new".

If IIRC a guy told me Garmin is $40 to do an update, Tom Tom I think he said it's free online?

Any comments or opinions on these would be appreciated. Think cheap!
Gilly

 

[Manfred]

I recently bought a Garmin 2720 on eBay for less than $50. Bought a RAM mount on Amazon for another $30. Bought an AC adapter for $5 so I could use its cable for the bike.

 

[GILLY]

Now you're TALKING!
I assume very lucky to find it that cheaply.
How do you like it? Is it waterproof and/or meant for a bike?
What about downloading updated maps, do you kow yet if that is a simple and/or cheap operation?

Gilly

 

[Manfred]

Yup - the 2720 is waterproof, intended use include motorbikes.

Downloading maps - the Harley trip planner will down load directly to Garmins, using the Garmin communicator browser add-on. Street names of rext turn do not come through :-(

If you get Garmin Mapsource, you can download from Google, using a Google add-on called GM2GPX, import to Mapsource, fix the "next turn" road name (if you want) then export to the GPS.

 

[FredRydr]

One choice is a used Garmin Quest. It is waterproof and if you don't want the expense of hardwiring, it can run a long time on the battery. You can also use it anywhere, such as hiking or bicycling. The screen is small, but it is color, bright and has decent definition.

The Quest original is less convenient and has a smaller memory, requiring you to load maps as you go across North America. It only takes a part of the NA maps at a time, but it is faster to re-calculate on the fly, especially in dense data areas such as city streets.

The Quest2 has a larger memory, but the latest NA maps are still not able to fit. I had this version, and as much as I liked it for its convenience compared to the original, it was a PITA to wait for re-calculations in cities. If you only ride in the country, go for the 2. If you are in dense areas, opt for the original.

Pluses are that it should come cheap, now. Minuses are the small buttons and small screen (for the over-forty far-sighted set). Don't drop the Quest on the antenna. BTDT

Fred

 

[SSCHMUNK150586]

I second the Garmin Quest. I put one on my cruiser and it performs great. I bought it from the Garmin Store, online, and bought a refurbished unit. Saved money, and you couldn't tell the difference at all. Came with a cradle and combo lighter plug/external speaker for use in my truck. I had to buy an additional cradle for use on the bike (be sure to buy the noise suppression power wire if you hard wire it, like I did). There is no speaker in the GPS unit itself (making it water proof). I hard wired the audio output from the m/c cradle to my autocom. With the autocom, when the GPS speaks directions, the xm or radio output fades lower so you can hear it.
Yes it requires loading map detail for the areas you will be traveling through (I was able to load all of Ohio, Indiana and the main portion of Michigan in mine). You merely plug the GPS into your home computer and pull the maps you need.

 

[GILLY]

Thanks all. Any opinions on Tomtom Rider?

 

[32232]

There's always this:

 

[2xcelr8]

Zumo 450

Gilly,

About a year ago, I bought a Zumo 450 off E-bay. It was a new unit and with some rebates it came in under $300. I have been super happy with it so when I bought my '96 K1100RS this summer I wanted to put another one on that bike. The 450 has been discontinued and I was shocked at the prices of the 550 and 650. Maybe I'll just get the mount. Do your search through BING on MSN.com and you could get an 8% instant rebate. Every little bit helps.

 

[GILLY]

There's always this:

BUT, is it weatherproof...........

 

[gblawler]

I have a Garmin nuvi 550 that I have used several times on trips. As far as I can tell, the Zumo 550 and 650 and the nuvi 500 and 550 are the only waterproof units from Garmin. I have ridden over 4 hours in the rain with my nuvi 550, so I know it is waterproof.

The difference between the nuvi 500 and 550 is that the 550 has built-in maps for all of North America, including all of Canada and Alaska, while the 500 has continental US only. This could be very important for GS riders planning trips to Canada and / or Alaska.

Both the nuvi 500 and 550 are multi-mode GPS's. They have Hiking, and off-road modes. You can install topographical maps for off-road use. They also have a Trackback mode that allows you to find your way back the way you came. This could be very important for GS off-road riding. For example, if you went off road and followed unmapped trails with a lot of turns, an on-road only GPS would only give you your current position on a blank map. It would give you an idea of the general direction back to the road, but would give no help about which trails to follow to get back the way you came. The Trackback feature would allow you to return to the road the same way you got there. I believe the Zumo models have this feature as well.

Most GPS units have 3 to 4 hours of battery life, while the nuvi 550 claims 8 hours. However, my real-life experience is that it is probably less than that. I ended up buying the Garmin hardwire kit and I now have the unit wired to the bike.

The nuvi 550 has a list price of $299, I got mine new from, I think, Buy.com for $259 with no sales tax and free shipping. Some of my friends have Zumo's, but the only thing I can find that a Zumo has that the nuvi 550 does not have is an earphone jack, bluetooth, an MP3 player, and XM radio. I wouldn't mind having the earphone jack, and the bluetooth would be nice for cell phone integration, but with the street price of around $650 for a Zumo 550, these extra feature are not worth the nearly $400 extra you have to pay for a Zumo. I have had good luck with factory refurbished electronic equipment, but could not find factory refurbed Zumo's anywhere.

Overall, I am very happy with the nuvi 550 for motorcycle use and would recommend that as a reasonable alternative to a Zumo.

If, on the other hand, you want to go really cheap, you can get factory refurbished car models for between $50 and $100. They will almost certainly NOT be waterproof, but you can deal with that on the cheap by putting a zip lock bag over the GPS if it starts to rain, or just pull over and put the GPS in your pocket. RAM makes mounts for just about every GPS I have ever heard of, and you can find hardwire kits that will work with just about any GPS. The RAM mount is going to cost about $40 no matter which way you go. If you look on eBay, there are cheap GPS mounts for various models, some less than $10, but it does not look like they would work nearly as well as the RAM mount.

Glenn