Motorcycle heads... frugal, yet workable GPS...?

Motorcycle folks, what would you recommend for a low-cost GPS to use an a bike..?
(i.e. a Zumo is out of question!)

A few details;

I can deal with the weather exposure, do not need a super-duper waterproof unit.

I would like it to do the "breadcrumb" thing though as it is useful in locating and "revisiting" inviting road segments later. It will mostly be to tour backroads, which sometimes do require the "get me back home quick" as the day wears on.

During the cold months, unit will live in the car, mostly.

I have a Lowrance. I love it. It's weather proof and touch screen. It's super eazy to use, and has never let me down.
I use it both in the pickup and on the 4 wheelers. Should be just over a C Spot.

BigKahuna said:

I have a Lowrance. I love it. It's weather proof and touch screen. It's super eazy to use, and has never let me down.
I use it both in the pickup and on the 4 wheelers. Should be just over a C Spot.

Click to expand...

Yuck, what's the G spot have to do with a gps?

If you can't find the G spot with a GPS, well then I don't know what to tell you

If we are assuming you are looking to spend around a hundred, here's what you do:

1. Go to a store Like REI that has all kinds of GPS systems and play with them all, from the cheapest to the best.

2. Go over to the map department and slap yourself for thinking that you can get a cheap GPS that will give you more information than a cheap compass and $94 worth of maps.

Seriously though, be careful with some of the cheap GPS systems, they can have problems like not being able to update or upload new info for one godless reason or another. Some cheapies don't do you any good until you spend $150 on map software.

These are the reasons that I have stuck with good old map and compass. That, and when I go backpacking I figure that I can save weight, my compass don't need no stinkin' batteries, and if I get lost with a map and compass, I deserve it!

Well, I still getting a GPS, and some of the Garmin offerings seem to offer good performance for the money.
And I found a source for routes for backroads in Garmin format...!

Anybody with a Nuvi _ _ _ they like on their bike...?

I have a cheap magellon hand held. I have a mount that attaches to the handle bar. It shown the major roads, but not many smaller roads. I use it for when I get lost and that is the whole intent if I go for a motorcycle ride. To get lost and find my way back

Biggest question is whether you want to be able to work it with gloves.

I have a great Navigon in the car &, if I still had my bike, I'd have put it in a waterproof case. But I will tell you, you'll go nuts if you try to work it with gloves on!

You can get re-manufactured Garmin Quest for under $100. Great little unit. Something like 500 waystations, "route me home", backtrack. Negative: The speaker is on the power plug, so not too useful while riding.

I bought one of these last year for $125 Fujitsu Siemens Pocket LOOX N100 Handheld GPS Receiver - eBay (item 310106062197 end time Dec-10-08 15:42:45 PST) And I got a bike mount for it from ebay. It has a headphone port on it. I've used it in the car several times but haven't had a chance to try it on the bike yet.

garmin 2610, uses CF cards rather than spinny HD's, is waterproof, can be mounted to a bike with a ram mount, and can be had on ebay for about $60, so you don't get upset if/when you trash it with the bike.

Backroads eh? what do you ride?

z987k said:

garmin 2610, uses CF cards rather than spinny HD's, is waterproof... can be had on ebay for about $60,

Backroads eh? what do you ride?

Click to expand...

Ah, didn't think of older units on eBay.

Yes the 2600 series was the thing for moto users for a while - I used to follow a local moto board a few yrs ago, and many had that unit.

Ride is an early 90's Honda VFR, say, sport-touring type. It's a V4 with some torque (I call it the poor-man's Ducati!).
I like it a lot, just wished it was a tad lighter... but weight also helps on the highway, and bike offers good protection in rough weather.

EDIT: Ah again! I just saw your KLR650.. nice. Saddle may be a tad high for me though..?!! Funny, a very good friend is a Kawasaki dealer (good) overseas (bad!).

It's hard to beat a Garmin Nuvi for ease of use, display and price. The 255W has awesome features and you can get it for under 200 bucks.

I use a cheap magellan maestro 4200, tossed in the saddlebags, when I feel like getting lost on the bike. For what it cost (last years thanksgiving sales - $130) I've been impressed. It's became invaluable in the car for when we're in unfamiliar territory. If I'm in super unfamiliar territory on the bike, I'll look at the GPS, figure out where I need to go, and toss her back in the bags.

Too many blind drivers out there to be paying attention to your GPS rather than the road - especially when you're on 2 wheels /endrant

EdWort said:

It's hard to beat a Garmin Nuvi for ease of use, display and price. The 255W has awesome features and you can get it for under 200 bucks.

Click to expand...

Yes, I concurr.,, but:

Ed, or anybody with a small recent Garmin, do you know if these models allow the upload of GDB files (Garmin's own format, I guess)? I have access to some of these files in areas of interest to me, but I suspect that not ALL units can take the upload...

I know I could look it up somewhere, but I don't seem to find the proper term in darn GPS-Speak to describe the upload process...

I know you are looking for something on the affordable side but if you are serious about a GPS for your motorcycle I would look into a ZUMO 550....I broke down and bought one and I love it. They are waterproof, come with a car and motorcycle mount and they are fairly easy to work with gloves on. If you visit some of the motorcycle forums just about everyone has a ZUMO or wished they would have bought one.

Good luck and hope you find something that fits your needs and your wallet....

z987k said:

garmin 2610, uses CF cards rather than spinny HD's, is waterproof, can be mounted to a bike with a ram mount, and can be had on ebay for about $60, so you don't get upset if/when you trash it with the bike.

Backroads eh? what do you ride?

Click to expand...

+1 on the 2610, it's the poor mans zumo. I've had mine for a couple of years, used it both on the street & on the trail (there are better units for offroad) & have been very happy with it.


advrider has a nice gps forum...
http://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=37

somecallmetim said:

+1 on the 2610, it's the poor mans zumo. I've had mine for a couple of years, used it both on the street & on the trail (there are better units for offroad) & have been very happy with it.


advrider has a nice gps forum...
Layin' down tracks - ADVrider

Click to expand...

yeah you can't go wrong with the advrider gps forum.