seeking advice on bike sat nav

[Guest]

Help me please. Some good advice needed regarding a sat nav for a year long motorcycling camping trip through northern Europe and Scandinavian.

All good advice is most welcome.

Thanks bikers.

[Stu]

hi and welcome to the forum pop over to newbies and introduce yourself

what sort of advice are you after?

there is a lot of info already on here regarding sat nags

[Zipster]

Get the copilot app for your phone and forget about a separate sat nav.

[Marmalade43]

In reality, for a lack of faffing around with waterproof phone mounts and chargers etc, it leaves 2 overpriced sat navs, the rider which is pretty good in itself but if you go got the charging / active dock, it'll be rattling at cease to charge after about 20,000 miles. If going more than 4 hrs a day you'll need it charged and the added hassle of charging every night if not using the active mount.

This leaves a garmin zumo. The mounts last much longer and come with a charging mount as standard but will still wear out at 60,000 miles. I find it gets sluggish and more errors when you save poi's and favourites and needs resetting to factory every now and then to sort it.

The garmin wins over updates, lifetime map updates for about £60 and tomtom charge a shed load every 3 months. I just don't bother with updates on the rider.

If you are on a bike daily, you really will appreciate a proper bike sat nav 2 seconds to clip it on the mount rather than plugging in cables, buying replacement cables when yours breaks, phone going flat, trying to keep it dry etc.

Just a shame waterproof bike specific navs are such a rip off.

[Stu]

I have the tomtom rider V1 which is supposed to have the worst mount and not had any bother with it but saying that I don't do 20k a year with it! more like a few hundred miles! its been good for the last 6 years with no problems

tomtom do lifetime map updates for free now on all new tomtom's only since garmin started offering it mind

if your not doing a lot of miles then keep an eye out for a cheap second hand one if your doing 20k a year with one I would get a new one

I wouldn't do the phone thing I have tried it before and once you use a dedicated sat nav the difference is night and day!

[Marmalade43]

I went through 3 tomtom mounts in 18 months and one warranty case replacement with the rider 2 so bought the garmin.

If the warranty was 3 years I'd live with it but at £60 a go and cases or the parts to fix it not available, the tomtom isn't something I can afford to use daily.

[Stu]

ouch!!

they just arent up to that sort of usage obviously

maybe they should bring out an industrial one and add a bigger price tag

[Chrissb6]

Get the copilot app for your phone and forget about a separate sat nav.

I will second that, having had a Garmin street pilot which worked fine "do's even now" the only down side was a lack memory storage, you needed to upload maps and load memory sticks off a PC. Anyway I change my computer which came with a new operating system. When l contacted Garmin requesting a updated disc to allow me to connect my sat nav there response was its now outdated now no new disc you need to buy a newer model, the Street pilot was working fine at the time and cost hundreds new! Not a chance! I now use my Samsung galaxy 3 with co pilot live works a treat.

[Tango]

Yep....I use the Galaxy S3 with coPilot Live.....and a waterproof case, which works pretty good.....

[Stu]

with co pilot can you do itinerary planning? and does it all have to be done on the phone or can you do it on a PC and transfer it to the phone?

[Tango]

with co pilot can you do itinerary planning? and does it all have to be done on the phone or can you do it on a PC and transfer it to the phone?

You can plot routes with waypoints etc Stu......but it can't be programmed on a PC then transferred to the phone as far as I'm aware......and I've tried Tyre and it don't work with CoPilot unfortunately.....

[Stu]

thats one of the biggest things with me for any sat nav

I dont want to just get there I want to plot a route with some interesting roads

[Guest]

Thank you everybody who took the time and effort to reply to my question regarding a European sat nav.

It is clear to me that all of you are ahead of me by your response.

I am struggling to understand all the responses i have?

I need time to think and work it out.

Its a samsung galaxy mini and a suzuki gsx750f.

The stepping off time is 20th april 14.

Calais to Dunkirk so got to know my stuff by then.

Talk to me in the most simple terms.(please forgive me).

Carry on biking.

Chris.

[Tankbag]

thats one of the biggest things with me for any sat nav

I dont want to just get there I want to plot a route with some interesting roads

 

Same here, say a route doubles back on itself for a while before carrying on, a satnav would have a thrombosis telling me to " do a u turn where possible " although I did like the klingon voice I added to my car garmin " ackkk leckk uuwahh "

[Zipster]

I use copilot on my iPad to plot routes and then use the phone on the bike to follow them. I get bluetoothed verbal instructions into my helmet and the display automatically changes between day and night colours. There is also an indicator bar for traffic delays looking approximately 60 miles ahead. Because the maps are downloaded onto the phone I don't need a 3G signal in order to follow a route. Can't recommend it enough.

[OhJay]

thats one of the biggest things with me for any sat nav

I dont want to just get there I want to plot a route with some interesting roads

 

I use Navigon app on my iPhone which apparently tyre can talk to but you need the €15/year subscription to tyre. Definitely on the list to get before the season starts, I'll let you know how it goes. Anyone whose got me on Facebook will know the arguments I've been having with them so far

[stferr86]

I'm using my regular tom tom in one of those waterproof handle bar mounted bags, cheap and cheerful solution for me (£15 off flea bay) its the same sat nav I use for the car. Just popped a switched live (so I don't ever leave anything draining the battery) 12v socket under the seat. Works ok for me, obviously don't get voice commands. I don't rely to heavily on it, it's more for when I'm running low on fuel and can't afford my usual convoluted route charting escapades!

[Guest]

Thanks man for your advise on the sat nav.

Do them dumb waterproof bags actually work and have you used it in the rain?

I'm thinking of buying a oxford tank bag and going budget.

£100 on flea bay will do the trick.

Any views?

Chris750f.

[stferr86]

I've yet to try it in heavy rain... I'll let you know if I end up needing a new one! Lol

[AVFCBaz]

Got an Oxford One tank bag, all good with my iPhone satnag on clear bag in torrential rain.

Mind you, for less than a 50 squid you could get the ultimate add ons case and mount for your phone. I've got one for my iPhone and it's virtually bullet (and torpedo) proof.

[Mr Fro]

Or for an ultra cheap waterproofing option, just use one of those zip-loc food bad things from the supermarket.

I used them for my passport/wallet/phone when I was travelling. Went through many mega rain storms as dry as a bone.