I have to get my wife a GPS for her car due to her traveling work and not spend a fortune.

Are there some that can be used in a cage with voice and updates as well and pulled out of a pack and used on the road when traveling by bike? I would like to have a decent size screen with voice while traveling in the car and easy to read after I pull over to check my location on the bike?

On the bike, I would like to power it up only when I pull over due to battery length but run off of the dc adapter of the cage when there. No voice needed.

Current brand and model suggestions with reviews? As of fall of '08.


Thanks

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Goldwing 1500se '98
VN500 LTD '07 Sold

I understand your concerns about battery life, but your bike can also power a gps from its electrical system. The Zumo, by Garmin, is a motorcycle oriented unit. Tom Tom makes the Rider for bikes. The Garmin Nuvi series can also be mounted to your bars, as can most others. Don't let yourself get too focused on battery life, there are many good options out there that you can be adapted to the bike.

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'07 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
An armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject.
Molon Labe!!!

Garmin has an amazing assortment of units. They've been in the biz for the longest of any company selling units (except maybe Magellan), and have a lot of really consumer friendly features. The _76C units are known for their big, easy to read, even in sunshine, display screens.

Most GPS units come with some sort of cradle for the dashboard and can be easily carried on your motorcycle. Here's a picture of my Rockster's "dashboard:" XM RoadyII on the left, my cell phone in the middle (no longer carry the phone), and my Garmin 276C on the right.



I bought my 276C with a "car kit" which included a dashboard cradle and power/speaker cord.

The pictured GPS cradle is an aluminum Touratech mount (Cyclegadgets.com) and latches securely around the GPS housing - don't try to use the plastic GPS cradle on the motorcycle, they've got a distressing tendency to let go on unexpected bumps... leaving your GPS in pieces on the highway. The other mounts are from Cyclegadgets.

All the geegaws are attached to my bars with the RAM mounting system (also from Cyclegadgets.com). I've got an Autocom helmet sound system, so I can hear the XM and GPS, and talk to my pillion, or my hubby on his bike. (Used to have the cell phone in the link up as well but haven't bothered linking up my newest phone).

There is a web site that will actually help you decide which GPS unit best suits your needs, might be on the cyclegadgets site.



My older unit has an internal battery with a life of about 10 hours. My guess is that newer units will have improved battery life. Beyond that, it is easy to save battery life by shortening the screensaver timeout and by turning off the unit when you don't really need it, ie on long sections of familiar roads or few turns.

By only turning it on when you stop, you miss one of the most useful features of a GPS: turn by turn directions, as well as the "find" feature: Need gas? food? ATM? and..... if you get stuck in unexpected traffic: DETOUR.

P

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ATGATT: Becuase walking away in disgust beats riding away in an ambulance.
Admitted BMW MC snob.

I use my Garmin Zumo 550 on both my bike and in my car. Since it is designed for motorcycle use it comes with a mc mount, but also a car mount with built in speaker. It does have text to speech. It will also play mp3's off of an SD card. It will integrate with a bluetooth headset and your bluetooth compatible cell phone. It biggest drawback is the price. Around $700.

Doesn't anyone use a mapbook anymore?

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1st motorcycle 2004 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic.

What's a book? Is that like some kind of computer? Or like a PDA?

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Ducati Monster 1100 (Vrooom!!)
Aprilia Shiver 750 (sold)
2007 Kawasaki Ninja 250cc (sold)

mapbooks are old and just as outdated as GPS can become.

I use a streetpilot 2720 that I have the power cable running to my battery on the bike and then plug it in in the car. The thing doesnt run on a battery so doesnt have one installed.

oh and its waterproof .

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96' Honda Shadow Deluxe VLX
Dream bike: Ducati Multistrada 1100S

oh, oh, me, me! Though GPS is pretty sweet to have in a pinch.

What mapbook do you use blues?

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For the lower mainland and Fraser Valley here in BC, I use mapbooks by MapArt Publishing.

When I travel, I use a big fold out map of the province or state and then get local ones as I go.

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1st motorcycle 2004 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic.

My suggestion if you don't want to spend alot of money on the gps itself is to buy a RAM mount. They are seemingly waterproof and come in various sizes so you can buy a standard automobile gps and throw it in the RAM mount when you're on the bike. Mine works well and water hasn't been a problem. However, using a power cable means punching a hole in the back and that's where the waterproofing becomes questionable. I haven't done that yet so I can't comment on how well it works. Since I bought mine about a year ago, maybe they've come out with some new products to address that issue. I think it's worth looking into.

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2008 HD VRSC-DX Night Rod Special
2008 Buell 1125R