Sat nav for motorcycles?

[Scoutmedic]

Just what I was going to start looking for! Thanks!

[vito]

I ordered the Zumo 220 but apparently will have to wait 4-6 weeks for delivery. Its not cheap at $400, but still a lot less than the other Zumos. I tried using my car Nuvi but found the volume of the spoken directions was too low to hear while riding, and the glare on the screen made it almost useless. I am counting on the Zumo, since it is made for outdoor motorcycle use, will have a screen less susceptible to glare. Plus I will be able to plan a route on my computer and then download it to the device, something I can't do with my car GPS. Once I get it I will put it through its paces and then add a post to this thread.

[javafugo]

I have a nuvi 500 and it works for me, I have gloves that are touch screen friendly so I can take "alternate routes" on my longer scenic rides.

[vito]

My Zumo 220 arrived and so far it just seems like my older GPS for my car, other than it is thicker and a bit heavier (I guess this is due to being waterproof and vibration resistant). I haven't yet seen how it handles glare, and I am hoping it does better than the auto GPS unit does in this regard. I do like the virtual keyboard arrangement; it does not show the entire alphabet on one screen, but sections of the alphabet so that each "key" is larger and easier to press on the smallish 3.5 inch screen. It takes a bit longer to enter data since you are changing from one part of the alphabet to another (the sections are like a-j, k-t, u-z). The box includes several mounting options (for handlebar mounting as well as auto mounting) and several power options (a wiring harness for direct hookup to the battery; a car-type charger; a cable for hooking up to a PC). I had previously bought a converter cable (mini-USB end for the GPS, and an insert plug on the other end of the cable which goes into the Powerlet outlet installed on my bike). The 220's battery is supposed to be much longer lasting that the typical Garmin car-type GPS so I plan to try at first to use it on rides using just the battery power, and then can recharge it on my PC. The box does NOT include an AC type home outlet charger. One challenge I have not yet figured out is how to download custom routes from Mapquest. The Garmin is supposed to be able to do this, and when I tried, I got the message on my PC screen that the route successfully downloaded to my Zumo, but then could not find it on the Zumo itself. The FAQ from Garmin states that you can download a location from Google Maps, but not a route. I am hoping that this unit is worth the $400 it cost, and that I won't regret not going all the way on this issue and spending the additional two or three hundred bucks it would have been to get one of the fuller featured Garmin Zumo's.

[mydlyfkryzis]

I use a Nuvi 360 and a Ram Mount for it. Been working fine for a year.

If it rains, I wrap a zip lock around it....

Either way, tyhe RAM mounts are the way to go for mounting any of these devices. Secure, and mine does not vibrate at all.

[vito]

About a month ago I bought a Garmin Zumo 220. I wanted a motorcycle specific GPS device but didn't want to spend the big bucks for the top models with all the bells and whistles. The 220 works very well as a GPS navigator, the screen handles glare well (much better than my auto Garmin that I also tried to use before), and the battery life is double that of my auto-designed Garmin. The "but" is for a few disappointments. While at $399 it is cheaper than the bigger models, it is still a sizable cost, and I assumed it would come with the newer features that even the cheap auto based Garmins have, such as telling you which lane to be in for an upcoming turn (it doesn't have that feature), nor does it offer lifetime map updates. But the biggest issue is that the handlebar mounting hardware that it includes (which is fairly elaborate, sticks up about 8 inches over the handlebar and looks ridiculous) cannot accommodate the power line I bought from Powerlet to work with Garmin's (it has the same mini-USB end that Garmins require, with the other end sized to fit into the Powerlet power receptacle). I could use this mount if I run the GPS on battery, but that would limit me to about 4 hours max per trip. While Garmin provides a car power adapter, and a USB power adapter, it does not include an A.C. adapter. So if you take this GPS on a long motorcyele trip, unless you buy the A.C. adapter separately you will only be able to charge up the GPS's battery by plugging it into someone's car power slot or hooking it up to a computer via the USB cord. Fortunately I had previous bought, for about $12, a simple handlebar mount onto which I can snap the new 220 to, and it seems quite secure. But if I had not already had this mount, and spent the $400 for the 220, despite all of the gadgets in the box from Garmin I would not have been able to attach it to my bike while using the power from my bike's battery via Powerlet. Maybe just a small thing but I wanted to warn others. I see now that Garmin offers another model, the 395 (or something that starts with a "3") and maybe that model comes with better hardware, but if you buy the 220 be aware of its limitations. If I had to do it over again, I think I would spend the extra several hundred and get the more full featured models like the 6 or 7 series Zumos.