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I have a 660 and a Nav 5.
I use the 660 in the car and the Nav on the bike.
If I had a do over I would just have a 660. I can do without everything in the Nav 5 and I mean wonder wheel and all that.
I see 660's going for 450-550 range with LM (Lifetime Maps)
Cheaper if you look around or even go refurbished.
My 660 has been bullet proof. The Nav 5 also.
I like them because of the water resistance but they are not water proof. I road some bad storms and never a water issue.
I got the Nav 5 at a great price when I bought the bike and am all right with the cost of it at that time.
Like I say though if I had a do over I would just have the 660. You can only use one or the other at a time anyway.
An option based on experience......
I did a 10,500 mile in South America last fall with a dozen other guys, top to bottom, from Cartagena to Ushuaia, all on BMW GS's.
Just my 0.02.
My experience is the same. I covered about 7,000 miles last year using the Nav-V and about 8-9,000 using my 56LM. All of that was in Europe, Canada and the US. Were there times the Garmin didn't give me what I was looking for or got confused, absolutely. However, over the past few years I've made a habit of running two and sometimes three GPS units (counting my phone GPS) at the same time to see what the strengths and weaknesses of each were. In almost all of those times the cellphone based GPS was the most problematic. There were a few times (no more than 20%) where the cellphone won out, but that was it.That must not apply to the US and surroundings. I did a 9,163 mile trip last summer and Nav V never let us down except on occasion a Chevron station would turn into a Shell station unannounced! Whereas Googlemap Nav on my iPhone getting me out of San Fransisco was a total nightmare of inaccurate untimely prompts! Normally it's great but she got real confused in the downtown area. Googlemaps is so much more elegant a GPS solution however. You need a PhD in Basecamp just to get to the corner store!
One thing I learned on this trip is I will never, NEVER, rely on a Garmin unit to get me where I am going. From now on my primary navigation tool will be my phone.
Nothing was more reliable and more accurate than the phones. Period. And the maps for any country in the world are free and constantly updated. Always the most accurate directions were from using the app Maps.me, followed closely by Google maps. Can't tell you how many times Maps.me saved our butts and kept us from getting seriously lost.
Sure was nice being able to listen to music via Bluetooth, check a map and charge my phone while riding.
No cell service is required or used in following the navigation on the phone. Also easy to share your location with others in the group. Came in handy when we were separated at times. Also was introduced to Rever on this trip and want to use it more.
IIRC Google Maps was very accurate when we were in a major city and needed to find our way around or through town. I distinctly remember leading a couple of buddies in my small group through La Paz, trying to find where we had planned on staying and my Garmin was changing it's mind constantly. One of the other guys had his phone mounted next to his Garmin, consulting both. He took over the lead, followed the phone directions/maps and we were fine. It was then I decided to stop trying to rely on the Garmin.
I plan on getting a new GS this spring and I will not be getting a NAV of any kind.
The Nav 5 is nice but way over priced and to be able to zoom in and out I can use a finger on the screen or even for gosh sake stop and adjust it.
That definitely works very well. I've actually travelled across the continent without even a map or any other aid, just used road signs and got directions at every gas fillup. A very fun and interesting way to travel. That being said it does take longer to travel that way and so if you've got a bit of time you can decompress better. ;-)...there are these things with funny lines on them made out of paper that one can use to supplement the GPS with that are pretty darn accurate to. You just have to be able to read and use one. And surprising enough some people will actually talk to you and help you find your way,...
That is good, but you also want to make sure that you actively continue to exercise and develop your ability to read the road ahead of you.You can also scroll up/down with the wheel as well as page changes and that is useful. I use the +/- zoom in the twisties to be able to tell how tight curves are before I get there which is nice.
That is good, but you also want to make sure that you actively continue to exercise and develop your ability to read the road ahead of you.
Hopefully, you already do this by merely using the GPS to verify what you've already deduced about the next corner and if there is any variance than we know we need to adjust/hone that part of our riding. This is a function where the GPS can serve as an excellent tool to help each of us improve our riding ability. Reading corners properly is an art form that I am still only okay at and will never ace, but will continually work on with great pleasure. ;-)
I am of the belief anyone who rides twisty roads like they are on the track are doomed to an early demise, so that's not me. My one and only goal after starting up the bike is to return home unscathed, period!
Oh, and "have fun!" too!
... I am of the belief anyone who rides twisty roads like they are on the track are doomed to an early demise, so that's not me. My one and only goal after starting up the bike is to return home unscathed, period!...
Agree completely, many of us are fortunate to be here in spite of ourselves when we were young, certainly me. For the past 20 years+ my riding style has been safety first.I used to drive like that (twisties like on a track), then came to my senses.
So now I follow your approach, well said...
You are quite right that the level of distraction is rider dependent and totally a function of how one decides to ride and allocate their attention. The majority should always be on the task of riding.OPer here... I've been hesitant to finally bite the bullet and have a GPS on the bike. I've done pretty good with just a tank bag map over the last 15 years of riding. But, where a GPS seems very useful is when you get closer to your destination for that day, say on an overnight(s) trip, you can bring up the hotel and the GPS will guide you in. Nice.
I've also been hesitant to get yet another electronic device I need to maintain (charge, ensure firmware is up to date, know how to use etc).
My other issue I've had with GPS use is I've seen in the past, with folks I ride with, an over reliance on the GPS and allowing it to be a riding distraction (sometimes dangerously so). I have seen my fellow riding blokes, ahead of me scanning there GPS while not paying attention to the road. But I suppose this can happen to myself as well- as I crane my neck down to view the map in the tank bag plastic cover!
OPer here... I've been hesitant to finally bite the bullet and have a GPS on the bike. I've done pretty good with just a tank bag map over the last 15 years of riding. But, where a GPS seems very useful is when you get closer to your destination for that day, say on an overnight(s) trip, you can bring up the hotel and the GPS will guide you in. Nice.
I've also been hesitant to get yet another electronic device I need to maintain (charge, ensure firmware is up to date, know how to use etc).
My other issue I've had with GPS use is I've seen in the past, with folks I ride with, an over reliance on the GPS and allowing it to be a riding distraction (sometimes dangerously so). I have seen my fellow riding blokes, ahead of me scanning there GPS while not paying attention to the road. But I suppose this can happen to myself as well- as I crane my neck down to view the map in the tank bag plastic cover!
was regarding doing so at normal to slightly spirited road speeds
My entry speed is likely pretty close to yours. In general I ride about 10 MPH over the posted "Speed Limit" for the road, so a 60 MPH road might see me maintaining between 70-75 MPH depending on conditions. For the turns, if I had to guess at an average it would be, like you around 20 mph over the posted suggested corner speed, but it varies greatly on conditions (weather/visibility/traffic/etc). Spirited follows very closely to your thinking as well, 25-30, but again, very dependent on what it actually is. My experience has been that Speed Limits and speed postings (corners), tend to vary greatly in how accurately they reflect what I sense as a "prudent" speed for a specific section of road. Some spots I'd feel comfortable going well over the posted limit but wouldn't feel my license was secure. Other sections seem to be very close to my perceived prudent pace, while a very few have had posted limits that I thought were a bit high for the congestion, high number of access points, and range of visibility.Alan, I don't get the chance to ride w/ others very often. If I may for 'normal' riding, what is your typical curve entry speed relative to the posted speed when posted speed is available, in dry conditions, lets say in the posted speed range of 25-45? How about 'slightly spirited' in your mind? For typical/normal riding for me, it's around 20mph over the posted speed. Spirited gets up to about 25-27mph over the posted speed, and that IMO is already touching on safety risk for the unexpected around the bend. ABS Pro might tempt me up a little more, but that's not an option for '16 models unless it's retrofittable, and if it is I'd probably go there...