GPS Questions

[lazygoodan]

I have some basic GPS questions. My wife just surprised me with a TomTom One for my birthday. I am unsure it will be suitable on a motorcycle, but I've never had one, so I don't really know. As I look at the units designed for bikes, and read many forum posts, I have more questions than answers.

1. I ride a R1100RS, which has a lot of wind buffeting. I've always ridden with ear plugs, and never listened to music, Autocom, etc. I like the idea of being able to get verbal instructions from the GPS (especially the text-to-speech feature), but how do people manage that? Do the bluetooth helmets/headsets use speakers in the helmet? I don't think that would work if I had to use ear plugs. Maybe I would have to buy those expensive ear plugs with tiny speakers in them and connect the wire to the GPS (eliminating the need for bluetooth capability in the GPS). I don't have a Bluetooth cell phone, so that's not a big need for me.

2. I see that the Zumo and TomTom Rider are water resistant, but I see people using other GPS units as well. Has anyone gotten caught in a storm and ruined a GPS? Or has anyone lost a GPS to vibration when mounted on a bike?

3. Has anyone found the GPS to be a distraction when in traffic?

Over the years, my wife's attitude toward my riding has gone from my disdain to apathy to caring enough to buy me this GPS. I hate to disappoint her by buying another unit, but I don't want to open the package and determine that this TomTom One won't be useable on the bike.

Thanks for listening.

Jim

 

[121247]

Gps

I just orded a TomTom one for $259.00. If it starts to rain I will be it in my pocket or put a Ziploc on the unit.
CW

 

[rgmanley]

Gps

Just completed 5600 miles with my Zumo. Outstanding performance. My buddy had his TomTom Rider.

First-very difficult to plan routes on the TomTom. Garmin provides MapSource, for detailed route planning. You can do the planning on your PC and download to the Garmin.
I was able to exchange the Garmin routes with the TT, but he had difficulty getting the TT to navigate them. Exchanging routes is NOT a trivial exercise.

Second-the Garmin is waterproof and it works fine in a downpour. No Ziplock bags required

Third-the Garmin comes with a M/C mount which I find to be very useable and secure.

Like any electronic device, anything that takes your attention off the road for even a split second can be dangerous. Regardless of brand, don't try and figure out how to use it while riding.

I use Etymotic 6i in-ear speakers/earplugs. I plug these into the Zumo and they work fine. Etymotic has just come out with a new Bluetooth device which plugs into the ear and doubles as earplugs. www.etymotic.com
I know that the TT Rider does not allow for plug in earphones, only Bluetooth. The Zumo allows for both.

Overall, the Zumo is more user friendly.

 

[lazygoodan]

RS RAM Mount

My RS has cast handlebars, which are buried, and won't work with the Zumo M/C mount. That reduces the appeal of the Zumo a bit.

I have a couple of ideas for mounts from the guys over at the RS forum on bikers oracle.

I'll check into the ear plugs.
Thanks.

 

[rgmanley]

GPS Mount

Mounts are a bit of a personal thing. Lot's of options for everyone.
Try www.ram-mounts.com. They have a configurator that might help.
I prefer keeping mine close to the left handlebar so I can touch the screen easily.

 

[larrydk]

zumo

I just mounted a zumo to my r1200s. This was my first gps, although I've been considering one for a long time.

One nicety about the Zumo is that it comes with a car mount, and motorcyle mount. I was concerened about difficulty of install, very very easy.

As for using when on the bike, it makes getting around places you are not familar with very enjoyable. The software is very intuitive. Just cannot say enough good hings about it.

My 2 cents - get the Garmin

 

[PAULBACH]

I hope Rob Nye sees this thread. His bike is a marvel of adapting technology to difficult terrain. Rob could figure how how to nail jello to the wall.

 

[RTRandy]

1. I ride a R1100RS, which has a lot of wind buffeting. I've always ridden with ear plugs, and never listened to music, Autocom, etc. I like the idea of being able to get verbal instructions from the GPS (especially the text-to-speech feature), but how do people manage that? Do the bluetooth helmets/headsets use speakers in the helmet? I don't think that would work if I had to use ear plugs. Maybe I would have to buy those expensive ear plugs with tiny speakers in them and connect the wire to the GPS (eliminating the need for bluetooth capability in the GPS). I don't have a Bluetooth cell phone, so that's not a big need for me.

2. I see that the Zumo and TomTom Rider are water resistant, but I see people using other GPS units as well. Has anyone gotten caught in a storm and ruined a GPS? Or has anyone lost a GPS to vibration when mounted on a bike?

3. Has anyone found the GPS to be a distraction when in traffic?

Over the years, my wife's attitude toward my riding has gone from my disdain to apathy to caring enough to buy me this GPS. I hate to disappoint her by buying another unit, but I don't want to open the package and determine that this TomTom One won't be useable on the bike.

Thanks for listening.

Jim

Zumo is not the only Garmin unit that is waterproof, however it was designed specifically to be used on a motorcycle. You can toss it in the shallow end of a swimming pool for about 30 minutes and it will still work. ( Rated waterproof at 1 meter for 30 minutes). So the rain question is not an issue. The other cool thing is it's easy to mount, plus it comes with a mount for your car so you can switch it out in seconds.

It's designed to be used wearing motorcycle gloves and has a lot of good information including an accurate altimeter. It's pretty much all touch screen with a few buttons such as zuming in or out and those can be done on the screen as well. For the most part you are looking at speed and distance to the next turn. It's not a distraction unless you plan on staring at it.

As for listening to it, you would need to route it through a system such as Autocom which comes with a speaker set and microphone for one helmet. You will actually hear everything better wearing earplugs since they filter out the wind noise. You would need a second set of earphones/mike for the rear passenger's helmet.

The other cool thing is it has two bluetooth transmitters. One talks to your phone and the other to an Autocom bluetooth module. When the Zumo pairs with your phone, your whole address book shows up on your Zumo. Receive a call and the screen shows who's calling. You hear the call through both speakers and you sound clear to the caller even above 70 mph. With your phone hooked up to it, if you search for a restaurant or hotel, the Zumo will dial the number of that business when you select the phone number. All this while your phone remains in your pocket and riding with two hands.

You can also listen to stereo MP3 music stored on a removable flash card. It also has the interface for XM satellite, however you would need to spend about an extra $200 on what appears to be an antenna, however it's actually the XM radio part built in as well.

Just got back from a 5,700 mile trip including Canada and it worked great.

 

[raybark]

I have a Quest, and have little-to-no trouble using it with my Deertours gloves.

I have not bothered hooking up a speaker to it for the voice guidance, as the on-screen pop-ups have been sufficient for me. I may add an Autocom device, so would plug it in then.

Yes, it can be distracting, but no more so that a tach or speedo, in my opinion.

 

[samtheeagle]

I have some basic GPS questions. My wife just surprised me with a TomTom One for my birthday. I am unsure it will be suitable on a motorcycle, but I've never had one, so I don't really know. As I look at the units designed for bikes, and read many forum posts, I have more questions than answers.

1. I ride a R1100RS, which has a lot of wind buffeting. I've always ridden with ear plugs, and never listened to music, Autocom, etc. I like the idea of being able to get verbal instructions from the GPS (especially the text-to-speech feature), but how do people manage that? Do the bluetooth helmets/headsets use speakers in the helmet? I don't think that would work if I had to use ear plugs. Maybe I would have to buy those expensive ear plugs with tiny speakers in them and connect the wire to the GPS (eliminating the need for bluetooth capability in the GPS). I don't have a Bluetooth cell phone, so that's not a big need for me.

2. I see that the Zumo and TomTom Rider are water resistant, but I see people using other GPS units as well. Has anyone gotten caught in a storm and ruined a GPS? Or has anyone lost a GPS to vibration when mounted on a bike?

3. Has anyone found the GPS to be a distraction when in traffic?

Over the years, my wife's attitude toward my riding has gone from my disdain to apathy to caring enough to buy me this GPS. I hate to disappoint her by buying another unit, but I don't want to open the package and determine that this TomTom One won't be useable on the bike.

Thanks for listening.

Jim

I have a Quest I mounted on my R12GS with a substantial windscreen. I ran a cord from the Quest to my helmet speakers, and I can hear the Quest directions just fine, even though I wear earplugs.

I find it is much less distracting to hear the directions in my speakers. This is much easier for me than to have to scan the GPS every X minutes, wondering how far away my next turn is.

I am very happy with my helmet speakers from Sierra MC Electronics. They were very friendly and helpful on the phone and for $35 I couldn't be happier. I'm just a happy customer, not a shill for the company. The speakers are very thin and very easy to install.
http://www.sierra-mc.com/proddetail.asp?prod=IMC-HS200

Mostly the speakers are used with GPS. Every once in a while I'll use them to listen to my ipod and they work just fine for that as well (I like a little background music while long distance highway cruising. For this application, I don't need hi-fi quality sound, but rather something to prevent me from singing the same 8 bars of giligans island over and over and over and over).

- Sam

 

[GSJimE]

I also have a Zumo. I drive a lot for work, so I like having a permanent motorcycle mount, and also one that can go from car to car. I use a ram mount, and have mounted the gps in the center just under my windscreen so my line of sight stays close to the road. I use an AutoCom, so I don't have any suggestions for headsets, although I do use the Bluetooth capabilities of the Zumo for my cell phone. Good luck.

 

[lazygoodan]

Narrowing it down

Thanks for all the great replies. I'm leaning toward the Zumo 450 instead of the 550 because:
1. I get XM radio for free in my company car, so I can't justify paying for a subscription just for my M/C.
2. I don't have a Bluetooth capable phone, and I'm not sure I want one.

That means the only feature the 550 has over the 450 for me is the text-to-voice, which I think is nice. I have experience factory installed Nav systems in cars, as well as OnStar Turn-by-Turn navigation, and I like that feature. I just don't think it's work the $170 difference between the 450 and the 550.

I'll be on the road for a few days (riding the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario), so I won't be on the board the rest of the week. Sure would be nice to have GPS for that trip.....
Thanks again for the help.

Jim

 

[baldwithglasses]

I've got an Explorist 400 that's mounted on a bicycle mount on my R65 handlebars.

It's helped me before, although I've nearly died trying to key the tiny buttons with gloves.

For that reason, I keep its use to a minimum.

 

[tjwelch]

zumo planning on a Mac?

I know you can use a pc to download info to the Garmin Zumo, but is it Apple compatible?
Also, does anyone have suggestions on where to mount it on an r12gs.... i want one bad, but need to know.

 

[sachiwilson]

Garmin's software (Mapsource) is not yet ready for Macs, although they supposedly are trying to port it. I use Parallels on my MacBook, with a Windows installation, to run MapSource. It's a bit of a pain but it works well enough.

 

[SweetT]

Love the Tom Tom!

I talked extensively to the Tom Tom rep at the national rally and he assued me that the TT rider would be water proof enough for anything you'd get into on a motorcycle. Granted I was more impressed by the Garmin, but the Tom Tom looks like a pretty slick unit that can do 90% of what the Garmin Zumo can do.

And since your wife bought it for you DO NOT RETURN IT! Use it! Love it! Tell her that every time you hear that computer voice on the GPS telling you what direction to turn you pretend its her angleic voice guiding you safely through traffic. Okay that last one may be a bit of a stretch... Do you want her to be supportive of your motorcycle lifestyle? Do you want her to feel like its something she's a part of too? yes? Then keep it! I'm not married and I dont stay in relationships for long because I dont do stuff like this. When my ex-girlfriend bought me a very expensive b-day present last year, I took it back to the store and exchanged it. She was insulted and never got me another gift. That was the beginning of the end my friend.

Use the Tom Tom for about a month and if it turns out that the Tom Tom isnt for you then make it have an "accident" or have it be "stolen" by someone on ebay. Mope around the house for a few days so you're wife knows you're really upset. Say something like "You know hon, I could replace that GPS, but a new one just wont be the same since it wont be a gift from the most wonderful person I know. Sure, a new GPS will give me directions, but it wont give me directions to your heart." Then rush out and buy the Garmin before you're wife decides to buy you another Tom Tom.
Oh, and if your wife ever finds out about this scheme. You're a dead man and we never had this conversation.

 

[grossjohann]

My RS has cast handlebars, which are buried, and won't work with the Zumo M/C mount. That reduces the appeal of the Zumo a bit.

I have a couple of ideas for mounts from the guys over at the RS forum on bikers oracle.

I'll check into the ear plugs.
Thanks.

You should talk to Genna from http://www.gadgetguy.net. I have an R1150RS, and his mounting system is second to none.

I was disappointed by the quality of the RAM mount, and you are right that it is of little use on the R11xxRS (unless you get longer screws and attach it to one of the hydraulic reservoirs - which somehow seems wrong to me...).

Besides the very simple design Genna's design keeps the GPS centered with the fork so you shouldn't get any uneven drag or weight distribution. Another reason why I like this mount is because it allows the GPS to be mounted so that it doesn't obstruct the "idiot lights" or gauges...

 

[grossjohann]

3. Has anyone found the GPS to be a distraction when in traffic?

This is one of the biggest drawbacks to the GPS (or any other "comfort farkle" you install on a Motorcycle). I have been distracted by the GPS several times while riding. It's my fault because I turned off the "safe mode" which prohibits changing the route or any settings while moving.

To even look at the GPS, you need to take your eyes off the road. I've looked back to see that the SUV in front of me decided last minute to stop instead of yield while merging onto the highway.