GPS Pros & Cons of differnt units

J

JEA

New member
I waited until it was time for an upgrade on my cell phone..

Ended up getting a Droid and pieced together a RAM mount from www.themountdepot.com

I can use it as a GPS with turn by turn directions audible through the stereo, play Pandora internet radio (GPS directions mute and play over Pandora), and I can hear/see who is calling while I'm out riding.

I won't answer the phone while riding, but it's nice to see who's trying to get ahold of me so I can decide whether I want to stop or not.

The mount I got is easy to rip the phone off of in case of heavy rain...then stuff in in my pocket. Then I can stop, place a ziplock on it and keep going.

I have only had 2 problems with it....

1) You cannot choose your route with the droid even though it is google maps based. You can work around this by navigating to points along your intended route and then choosing your next point as you go along. A little bit of a pain...but if you're not use to using a GPS on the scoot anyway....not too bad.

2) The screens on the droids are "Human Touch" sensitive...and cannot be operated very well with gloves on. I don't play with it much while on the road....but there are 2 things you can do here. Either wear fingerless gloves, OR wear leather palmed gloves and a lick of the finger tip before you touch the screen works most of the time.

For me...the Droid has been a worthwhile addition to the scoot....but I'm not the type that like to follow a GPS exclusively while I'm on my scoot. I like to see where different roads take me....and be able to figure out where I'm at when lost and ultimately get to where I wanted to go. The Droid does this very well.

As for vibration...I have had no problems whatsoever but if I do...I bought the insurance and will get a free replacement.

Another thing I like about the Droid is that I can look up local restaurants, bars, hotels etc and read the reviews....and then navigate to them.

Hopefully one day they will be able to follow our pre-planned google maps routes...

It works for me...
 
This is the RAM base holder I got for my droid....
http://www.themountdepot.com/RAM_HOL_UN4U_p/ram-hol-un4u.htm

Part number:RAM-HOL-UN4U

It holds rock solid....I don't think it would even fall out in a wreck....probably.
 
The only issue I have had other than not being able to see it very well was coming home from Florida last week it had rained a lot. As I went to leave and hook up my unit the cable had become somewhat corroded at the contacts. My bad as I should have done something to protect it but a few scrapes with a knife got it going. So far shock has not been an issue.

Here is a link to the mount I wanted which is functional and looks good. The cable I found that hooks directly to the battery was from www.gpscity.com.

http://motomount.net/garminnuvi.htm
 
I've been using an old Garmin (c330) for years with no issues other than it is difficult to see in the sunlight. Not being shockproof has not been a problem and if I get caught in the rain I either cover it with a zilock type sandwich bag or throw it in the tour pak. Purchased a new Tom Tom a while ago but, much prefer the Garmin's user menu (cant teach an old dog new tricks!).
 
I got a Nuvi 755T (T is for traffic) from Amazon for just about $200, a great RAM mount from GPS city and for weatherproofing I got a big baggie and a rubber band from the kitchen. As this is an automotive unit the screen isn't as bright on a bike as it is in the car but unless it's getting direct sunlight on the screen it's not too bad and at night it's great. This has an MP3 player that you can load up lots of songs onto an SD card along with lots of great POI's. Go to the Zumo forums and do a search for whatever points of interest you want, loaded all the Harley dealers in the U.S. in about 2 minutes. I use the cigar lighter in the fairing for the power and the AUX port in the radio so the unit plays through both the speakers and/or the headphones. I would caution though that if you use the AUX plug in the radio, get a six foot cable and run it inside the fairing up to the GPS unit itself and don't ever remove the cable from the radio as the AUX plugs in the radio are prone to breaking. This unit has served me well other than the occasional glitch from time to time with directions but I use mine as often as possible.
 
Hey Sickbagger...I've been looking at a Garmin Nuvi 220 for about $400...I know you said you wanted to spend less than $200 but this is a motorcycle, made for, unit and comes with all the benefits...water/ shockproof etc...I haven't really pulled the trigger as yet, but thinking about it...it might be a lower cost alt with a few bells & whistles...

Brad
 
Guys thanks for all of the info and the links all great stuff. Looks like for the price I am willing to pay I can get the Garmin Nuvi 550 which is still a bike type GPS unit. I am in no rush so I will keep looking and reading from you guys. Thanks a million!
 
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