[Spring Brook Rider]

Am wondering how many of us out there use these things when traveling to unknown destinations. I'm thinking of adding a tank bag with a clear window to put the unit in to help avoid the normal vibration that comes from our bikes. Where would be a good source of power for the unit? I figure with a clear enough picture the vocal commands wouldn't be a big issue. Any ideas or thoughts out there?

 

[RAFster122s]

I was thinking along the same lines.

You can pull power from the battery but I wouldn't use a cigarette lighter/accessory power plug. Buy another power adapter for the bike and strip the lighter end off, install an in-line fuse and use a connector designed for at least a couple A over it's normal draw when charging. 5A? 2A?

RC Cars have some that would be suitable. I prefer the Anderson Power Poles over the Deans Ultra Plug as the Dean's is too difficult to separate.

You wouldn't be using it in wet weather, right?

Just put the end in a 35mm film canister with RTV around the end with enough of the plug available to pull out and disconnect the connection. Then for the GPS end, rtv the connector to another lid and have one for when not being used on a short tethered string attached to the canister securely.

(Easy way to make it happen.) You could route the cable to the battery under the side cover or tuck it under the seat in the tool tray area and run the wiring from the GPS down to the tool tray area to make the connection; then it's out of sight.

Fuse the line from the battery close to the battery so if it shorts it blows the fuse. Fuse in the negative line as current flows from negative to positive.



That's my plans...



Short trips you could just run it on battery for the 2 hours the battery is generally good for... then charge at your destination or at night.



David

 

[Trickster]

Used my Garmin 255 on my last trip (1500km), absolutely invaluable.



No paper maps to mess with in the wind

Need fuel? no problem, next gas station xxx km away.



Hungry? same deal there too.



Marvelous invention, and seem to be getting cheaper all the time.

 

[Doward]

I just use my phone (EVO 4G)

 

[kingston73]

Used my Garmin 255 on my last trip (1500km), absolutely invaluable.



No paper maps to mess with in the wind

Need fuel? no problem, next gas station  xxx km away.



Hungry? same deal there too.



Marvelous invention, and seem to be getting cheaper all the time.

How do you have yours wired up and mounted?  pictures?  One of these days I want to get one, I can navigate using my phone when in the truck but on the bike it's too small to see details.

 

[Billrod]

RAFster,



I see no point in putting the fuse in the negative side as the fuse does not care which way the current is flowing. Also if you have a problem where the positive side gets grounded you are going to melt some wiring and have a possibility of a fire. ALWAYS fuse the positive side and close to the battery is not a bad idea.



I have no 35mm film canisters any longer. Would a digital film canister work? LOL Sorry, I just had to do that. BillRod

 

[CalebPhotographer]

I just use one on my BlackBerry. Plug some headphones in and away I go.

 

[WayneDW]

On the recent trip that I took with the motorcycle gang some had GPS, I had old fashioned paper maps in my tank bag. GPS are very helpful to get you somewhere. Maps are best to get you nowhere. I prefer doing the 2nd thing (it's not a destination its the ride). Once you get nowhere, the GPS is very valuable at getting you back from nowhere.



My paper maps showed me the twisty roads which GPS will only do after you give it a destination. The conversation usually went like this: Wayne; "I see some interesting roads north and then east of here, let's take those". Guy with a GPS; "OK, give me a name of a town that we are going to end up at so this screen will show me those roads".

 

[Shep]

On the recent trip that I took with the motorcycle gang some had GPS, I had old fashioned paper maps in my tank bag. GPS are very helpful to get you somewhere. Maps are best to get you nowhere. I prefer doing the 2nd thing (it's not a destination its the ride). Once you get nowhere, the GPS is very valuable at getting you back from nowhere.



My paper maps showed me the twisty roads which GPS will only do after you give it a destination. The conversation usually went like this: Wayne; "I see some interesting roads north and then east of here, let's take those". Guy with a GPS; "OK, give me a name of a town that we are going to end up at so this screen will show me those roads".

I'm with you.Getting lost is half the fun unless you hear this.Yikes!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tqxzWdKKu8

 

[RAGBrian]

Right now I have a Garmin eTrex Legend with handle bar mount. I have the 12 volt adapter, but really, the 2 AA batteries to power it do quite well, and with no wiring it works out. 'Specially when I need to remove it when parking the bike so it doesn't walk away. Of late, I use it to show mileages and actual speed. As par the course, UJM speedo's are 1-2 mph optimistic!



Looking into a more powerful Garmin at the moment that will do routing, and bringing along the eTrex as the handheld for geocaching, which I like to do. I would put geocache locations in both units and as I am driving down the road pull off and go find it and add it to the log.



Gotta agree with WayneDW paper maps give you ideas - GPS routes you and tells in real time where you are at. I say bring both of them!

 

[Crshndbrn]

The reason I went with the 12v accessory plug is you can recharge your cell phone, you can power your gps, you can use whatever you want in it without stripping the lighter plug off of all of your charging cords- seemed handier to me. I also carry an atlas, but I agree with the fact that the GPS will get you back from nowhere. My case mounts on the handlebars and is removable from the mount, waterproof, and convenient. Just my .02



-Jesse

 

[philbrewer]

I just use my phone (EVO 4G)

God I love that phone. (iPhone user)

 

[Doward]

God I love that phone. (iPhone user)

Heh, the screen is nice and large - makes it easy to go. IF I weren't so scared of it falling off, I'd considering just using my windshield mount from the truck to stick it to the gas tank!

 

[Blindstitch]

My damn black berry was 10 miles off last weekend at one point and I had no clue where I was going. It sucked. I was lost in a car. On the bike I wouldn't have cared.

 

[Mike_R]

I just use my droid phone, with either google maps if I do not have a destination, or if I have to get somewhere I just plug in headphones and follow the turn by turn directions and the phone never leaves my pocket.

 

[divermurf]

 

[senile_seinen]

I have a work-issued blackberry. I just run google maps on the thing. Life is good as long as you have cell coverage. If the cell drops out, suddenly you can find yourself in a world of hurt because the location pointer will be sitting on a white screen where the map should be.



Having an unlimited data plan is also helpful. If I am going exploring, I tend to zoom in or out and preload maps for the area I expect to go - that way if coverage drops out I still have some idea where I am.



If I were seriously moto touring I would definitely get a real GPS Nav unit with internal maps. One tends (especially with a little bike like a CX) to find small, interesting roads that don't have good cell coverage...

 

[Harry]

The main thing I like about my GPS is it's accurate speedo.

I also get a kick out of all the info available - highest speed, average speed, time moving, time stopped etc.

 

[Wayne]

Just don"t run off the road looking at your GPS. My Brother-law did.

 

[drneo]

Some people love 'em some people hate 'em. I have a much better motorcycling experience with mine. Gone are the days of taking your eyes off of the road to stair at little colored lines on a sheet of paper. I've also been able to find some interesting things using the point of interest functions.



I mounted mine using a Ram mount and then running the wiring from the battery to the left hand pocket. The twelve volt accessory plug allows me to charge my cell phone too. It stays pretty water tight and it's very easy to connect/disconnect during fairing removal. All of the happenings can be seen here



-Thom