What GPS do you use?

[craig007]

I have a Zumo. I use about 40% of the features, but I love it. One thing that I don't like is that you have to pay to update the maps. A new highway extention opened up last year and everytime I'm on it, the Zumo thinks I am riding through a field and keeps tring to help me get back on a "real" road. I use the MP3 player all the time. After a day of exploring, the "go home" button is a real joy. It has been rained on a couple of times with no ill effects

 

[D-Mac]

I have a Zumo 450 which I bought last month after a lot of research. I have not used it on the bike yet, but I've been playing around with it a lot in the car. It's very cool and I'm amazed at the places I can get a good signal. It's easy to use.

I got the 450 because I didn't need Bluetooth or XM, so I couldn't justify $300 more for a GPS that reads street names (the 450 displays the names, but only tells you the distance to the turn - not the actual name of the street). The 550 also comes with the car adapter I think (Garmin wants $100 for it, but you can get a RAM mount for $30).

If I was on a tighter budget, I'd look at something along the lines of the 2610. The only major downside of that unit (other than weight perhaps) is that I think it has to have a powered source to work. True - it'll be on your bike a lot anyway, but it's nice to be able to pull it off to plot locations and such (and also keep track of your time while stopped). Also, with the 2610 you'll have to buy adapters to connect it to the bike and battery - these things come standard with the Zumos.

I use a Garmin GPSMAP76CSx a lot for work (research). It's very cool, but rather expensive and not terribly useful for navigation (unless you plan to be offroad or in South America - in that case it's awesome).

 

[ender]

Garmin Nuvi 200 on a bicycle handle bar mount. Cheap but not waterproof. If it rains: turn it off and pack it or put a ziplock over it and keep going.
:thumbup:

 

[Stumbles06]

Slightly off topic, but here goes.

How accurate is the speed displayed on a GPS unit???
I just got one, so (as you do with any new toy ), was mucking around with it, programming in routes and stuff, I noticed that it was about 3 Km/h out compared with the speedo in my Calais.
Ok, so I assumed the speedo was out a bit in my car. Next trip was in my Astra, and that was 3 Km/h out as well!!! WTF???

Next test, I put it on the bike, and that was also 3 Km/h out

Now, do all three of those vehicles have dodgy speedo's, or is the GPS not that accurate when it comes to measuring the speed you are driving at???

Just to add, when travelling in both cars, cruise control was on, and it was on a flat, straight piece of road.

Anyone have any info regarding this??

 

[Cmayer31]

I do a lot of hiking and camping, so my GPS is a handheld Garmin 60CSx. I have both topo and street maps on separate SD cards, so it's easy to swap. The 60 fits in the "map pocket" of my Joe Rocket manta bag and I use it to get me home after I get lost, or to follow a pre-made route if I'm looking for specific twisty roads. Overall I love it, but it's very much a geoacaching/handheld GPS and not the greatest for use on the bike. That said it's never not routed me correctly or done anything wrong while on the bike other than being hard to see. I might invest in a handlebar mount one of these days.

**edit** I've found my GPS to be much more accurate speed wise than my bike's speedometer and my truck comes pretty close to the GPS reading.

 

[gearheadstu]

Garmin eTrex Legend HCx, mounted via RAM. It isn't a bike- or even vehicle-specific unit, its more intended as a hiker's GPS. No music, no bluetooth, no turn-by-turn. No videos, no games, no pointless bling. Its small, light, very weatherproof, well ruggedized, and it serves me equally well whether I'm out riding in the mountains or climbing up them.

The screen is pretty small, and its not brilliant for finding POIs. It is pretty decent at re-routing on the fly, but it seems to think that I want to travel via slabway whenever possible. I've gotten quite good at ignoring its route suggestions when inevitably start wandering.

I don't really use it for navigation. I typically have a rough approximation of the routes I want to travel, and only check in with the GPS once every half hour or so to make sure I'm still somewhere in the same timezone as where I want to be. The other major use of it is in post-travel debrief, getting details on the exact routes I've travelled -- so that I can avoid the crap and re-visit the good stuff.

 

[derf]

I have the the Garmin Nuvi 265W. I was on a bit of a budget so ruled out the motorcycle specific units. Although being waterproof would be nice the extra cost is just too much. On those times when it's wet, I'll just tuck in away in my pack and read the road signs like the old days. Not breaking the bank is important to me 'cause with the pace of technological development, anything we buy today will be old school in a few years so if I haven't broke the bank I'll feel better about upgrading. See its all about rationalizing new toys

I've used it the past few months in the car and is really handy. I bought the RAM handlebar mount that I'll install once the bike comes out of hibernation.