GPS on a Motorcycle

[dwayneb236]

Looks like this thread is heading the way of the oil and tires threads... lots of opinions and personal preferences..

[mkelley]

^^^
Another spin on that would be that they're opinions based on practical experience and detailed product knowledge.

Well, now that Rich and I have sung some of the praises of the Zumo GPS units (I own 3 550's and there are many positive things to say about that model), how about some negatives:

1. Motorcycle cradle design isn't totally waterproof. Since the motorcycle power cable attaches to the motorcycle cradle with 2 screws, its even more obvious that Garmin intended for you to leave the motorcycle cradle/RAM mount on the bike and just take the GPS unit itself with you. Unfortunately, the bottom connector on the mount that press fits against the Zumo GPS is a design not really intended for outdoor use. When moisture infiltrates the mount, the pins tend to get stuck and a blue paste leaks out around them. The rubber cover provided will protect the connector (if it doesn't break off and you remember to use it) but there are other paths for moisture to enter the mount. There is active electronics inside the mount, so moisture in there is a bad thing.

On my daily commuter bike, I've gone thru 3 mounts in less than 2 years. This is a somewhat common problem and depending upon which Garmin support rep you get, if you're still in the warranty period they might send you a replacement mount up front and ask you to send the old one back later, or they may wait for you to send in your mount first. Outside of warranty, the mount costs about $65 if purchased online at a discount. From Garmin its about $85. My solution for this (which I haven't installed yet) is to purchase small, stainless steel waterproof circular connectors. I'm going to mount the female jack (essentially a tiny power port) on the cowl on my Mean Streak and Drifter and put the male plug on the power cable that runs to the motorcycle mount. This way I'll be able to easily remove the mount. I believe Rich has spliced SAE power connecters inline on his power cable to accomplish the same thing.

2. If you're ham-fingered (by this I mean if you still type on a computer keyboard with all the force needed by a manual typewriter), you're likely to experience a broken touchscreen. The glass behind the touchscreen membrane is only so strong. One of my Zumo's broke in the lower left corner, directly behind where the softkey "BACK" gets displayed (probably the most often touched portion of the screen). Only recourse here is to return the unit for repair or replacement. My particular Zumo was still in the 1 yr warranty period and Garmin sent me a new replacement unit, in the box, with a full compliment of accessories, which was nice because it gave me another motorcycle mount to use when one failed. This problem is probably common to all touchscreen GPS units.

3. Battery problems. The Zumo rechargable battery screws in from the rear. You may see the unit fail to turn on. Sometimes you can solve this by removing and reinstalling the battery. In my case, I had a spare battery on hand (they're about $50 each) and had to actually switch out the battery. Garmin service sent me a free replacement.

4. The Bluetooth support is V1.1 which is mono-only audio. Garmin never states that you'll get stereo audio, but this is a frequent complaint on ZumoForums.com. An external Bluetooth 2.0 transmitter would need to be plugged into the motorcycle mount if stereo Bluetooth audio is a requirement for you. I've also read that the mono Bluetooth audio generated by the Zumo is of pretty poor quality. This may be a limit of V1.X Bluetooth itself, not a Zumo-specific problem.

5. XM support is built-in, but the external hockey-puck antenna/receiver is pricey at arount $200. I've got one, I use it a lot so I got over the price quickly, but it's a real shock to many purchasers.

6. The 3.5mm audio connector on the motorcycle mount doesn't seem to match standard audio plugs real well. Often audio plugs from your earphones plug in too deeply, making unreliable connections. Wiggling the connector around a bit and not plugging it in tightly takes care of the problem for me, but some users on ZumoForums have reported that they actually had to put a small o-ring or fiber washer on the audio plug of their earphones.

There is a separate 2.5mm microphone jack. Many (most) of the integrated helmet speaker/microphone combos I've seen use a single longer 3.5 mm plug with an additional ring for the microphone signal. These would be incompatible with the Zumo and you'll need an external 1:2 adapter. This was just a dumb design decision by Garmin.

7. The USB interface is V1.0, not 2.0. Transfer speed isn't often an issue when loading up the Zumo with MP3 files (and you can always just remove the SD flash card and connect it directly to a writer on your PC). However, when updating the internal maps, be prepared to wait. On my units, as I recall, the update takes 1 to 1.5 hrs.

8. The "security" screw requires use of the provided tiny screwdriver. It's not really a security item, per se, although its is damn tough to back out that screw without the special screwdriver. The two security holes in the screw head tend to wear out, making it hard to remove the screw. A popular "upgrade" avaiable from one of the members of ZumoForums.com is a replacement thumbscrew with a knurled top easy to loosen and tighten with your fingers.

9. OEM versions of the Zumo 550 are sold by Harley-Davidson, BMW, Honda, and probably other brands. My advice is that if you want a Zumo, buy the Garmin branded one, not one of the OEM versions. Apparently the Harley-Davidson models can be upgraded to run the firmware releases provided by Garmin on their website, but the other brands cannot. The H-D branded unit adds additional POI's that include all H-D dealers.

10. Speaking of POI databases. It is possible to augment the built-in POI database with one of your own, but this isn't documented. Some members of ZumoForums.com have tried to document how this is done. This is one feature I haven't figured out yet.

Thankfully my experience with Garmin product support has been outstanding. They're pretty liberal in sending out replacement parts and units which is nice and it's not too tough to reach a technical support specialist with detailed technical knowledge.

I haven't mentioned issues with Garmin's Mapsource PC software since these affect all users of compatible Garmin GPS units, not just Zumo owners.

[CTRider]

Here's the important features of my dream unit:

- The ability to plan a route on my computer, along with editing the actual roads I take, then upload it to the GPS. Even better if I can do it in any "public program" like Google Maps so people can send me a route and I can upload it in.
- The ability to download the data from a trip off the GPS and plot it out in Google Maps or Google Earth to share with others.
- Built in MP3 player.
- Stereo headphone jack (I'd rather this than bluetooth since it's easier to find comfortable headphones that fit under my helmet).
- Speaking actual road names along with the route number - i.e.: "Turn left on Main St. - Route 72 West). I've noticed many units randomly pick between the street names and route numbers and find that very annoying. Route signs are much easier to see and verify, but saying the street name too allows for times when one isn't listed.
- More avoidances: My GPS allows me to avoid highways, tolls, ferries, traffic, U-Turns, etc., but something for dirt roads and the ability to differentiate between "highways" and "interstates". Also, I'd like the ability to avoid city streets and roads under or over a certain speed limit.
- A replaceable battery. Seriously. I'm so sick of permanent batteries. Give me the ability to replace an old battery or get a second one for longer run time.
- Waterproof body: this isn't that hard. Two rubber gaskets will do the job - one for the seam where the body connects together and one for the screen edge.
- A QWERTY keyboard. I HATE the ABC keyboards. I can't find the friggin' letters! Standards, people! Standards!
- A power saver option that shuts the screen off when there is more than 5 miles to the next direction change. You can touch the screen to wake it up or the unit will bring the screen back up roughly a mile or two before the next direction change. Even better would be to have the display go black except for a large speed display and miles to next turn listing.

[northernman]

Originally Posted by mwmalotte

I'd rather get a cheaper unit and marry it with the Powerlet Products waterproof case and power hookup system. We're getting one of those for our Garmin Nuvi 265

I to have the waterproof case like you Mike, and its cheap and works great.

the Nuvi255 I have is great, and i use it in the car, truck, boat, motorbikes, quads, sleds, and its great.

I sometimes forget to take it along ,and then really miss it.

Especially handy when you are looking for a road, or address, or you see a cool looking road and are curious where it leads to etc.

You may also be surprised how far off many stock speedometers are once you ride with a GPS.

I have seen bikes off as much as 14%....but most are only out about 4% to 7%.

[Sabrehawk]

OK, I just skimmed the thread and didn't notice any mention of the
Lowrance units .I've had the 500C for 4 years or so and have ridden in all types of weather with out a failure. I went with this one for the screen size
and name. I felt that anyone that could make a unit work on boats had to
be tough enough to last on the bike.
It gives the ability to download routes from your PC as well as plotting by waypoints. There is far more technology than I will ever use but let me not forget the 10GB MP3 player on board . It's pricier than a lot of units
but I've found it worth it. Hawk

[badlandsbrett]

I have just bought a Magellan 1470 - $199.00 (Sport Chalet on sale) I don't know all the features yet but you can pre-program your own routes and add detours anytime you want and then it will either take you back to your original route or short cut and you can just set it for senic routes and adjust if you don't know what route you want. all touch screen big screen you can use with gloves 12 million points of interest, has a slot for extra memory, I think mp3 player (I have my own set up so I don't need it. I think the only thing it dosent come with is bluetooth because I don't need that on a motorcycle because you cant talk on the phone while you ride. Seams to be a real nice unit for the money. I got a ram mount on e-bay for 40.00 bucks so I seam to be set.
reroute if off tract

[Dudester]

Originally Posted by badlandsbrett

I have just bought a Magellan 1470 - $199.00 (Sport Chalet on sale) I don't know all the features yet but you can pre-program your own routes and add detours anytime you want and then it will either take you back to your original route or short cut and you can just set it for senic routes and adjust if you don't know what route you want. all touch screen big screen you can use with gloves 12 million points of interest, has a slot for extra memory, I think mp3 player (I have my own set up so I don't need it. I think the only thing it dosent come with is bluetooth because I don't need that on a motorcycle because you cant talk on the phone while you ride. Seams to be a real nice unit for the money. I got a ram mount on e-bay for 40.00 bucks so I seam to be set.
reroute if off tract

Sounds pretty much like my Magellan 1412 I found on sale for $149.00. However, you have 12 million POI's on the 1470, as I only have 6 Million on my 1412 LOL. I don't have an mp3 player on mine, and I don't want one for riding. I prefer to listen to what's happening around me and the sound of my bike's engine while on the move, but that's just me. So far I'm very happy with the Magellan, and how it makes my life a little easier and faster than stopping and pulling out a map. I like the fact that the Magellan verbally tells me which side of the street my destination address will be on.....pretty kewl little feature. I can explore all I want and get totally lost if I choose to, then all I have to do is press "home" and it immediately starts calculating the fastest, shortest, freeway, non-freeway, or toll booth routes to get me home.

[Streaking Tiger]

Bought my Garmin 2 years ago on Black Friday for cheap. It's worked absolutely great. I just upgraded the maps this year, and it's even better now. I have mine bolted to a camera mount, and I can stop and remove it within a minute. I don't like for it to get wet. I take care of it pretty well. I even put black electrical tape around it to ensure that it doesn't accidentally pop out of the plastic holder. Looks stupid, but works great. This baby takes us to our next motel every night on our trips. Otherwise we have a hard time finding our way in the dark on unfamiliar roads. I can't imagine leaving home without it (her - yep - mine has a name )

[badlandsbrett]

Dudester, I checked the manual on the model I have and it didnt state how many POI so I'm now not sure how many it has. I think the salesman at Sport Chalet told me it had 12 mil POI but I looked at a few so I'm not sure. I know he said it has more because its the latest model but who knows he's a salesman. I will start counting them and let you know how many I find I will get back to you sometime in the year 2018.

[Cranky CJ]

So, I ordered and received today a RAM mount for a gps, in a couple days I'm just going to go to SAMs Club and pick up a simple garmin 205. I don't need a lot of the features of some of the top end ones so I'll save the $$.

Question; how does every run their power? the 205 comes with a cig lighter, I can rig up a cig lighter for power, but what other methods have some of you used?

Gotta be some other, better options than mounting a cig lighter on a bike.

[RichLockyer]

I cut the cig lighter off, applied two bullet connectors, and hooked it to the accessory leads in the headlight bucket.

Only drawback is it stays with the bike 24/7.

Cig lighter sockets are not secure enough for a bike. I tried with my Nuvi and on rough roads, it would cut power and I had 30 seconds to hit the button or it would power down.

The coaxial power connectors (like you find on electronic games) are more secure... you can put a male/female pair in the wire coming from the headlight bucket.

[kws9999]

Originally Posted by Cranky CJ

So, I ordered and received today a RAM mount for a gps, in a couple days I'm just going to go to SAMs Club and pick up a simple garmin 205. I don't need a lot of the features of some of the top end ones so I'll save the $$.

Question; how does every run their power? the 205 comes with a cig lighter, I can rig up a cig lighter for power, but what other methods have some of you used?

Gotta be some other, better options than mounting a cig lighter on a bike.

I installed a chrome Powerlet Powerbar on the handlebars. Also use the Powerlet 12v to 5v converter cable to power my Nuvi 350. Ram mount works very well for me.

[aaronrkelly]

Originally Posted by Cranky CJ

Question; how does every run their power? the 205 comes with a cig lighter, I can rig up a cig lighter for power, but what other methods have some of you used?

Gotta be some other, better options than mounting a cig lighter on a bike.

I dont think there is.....a 12v power receptacle is SO versatile. You can use it to charge your cell, run a small air compressor, charge your bike etc.....

You could just cut the cig lighter end off and hardwire it directly to the bike if you just cant deal with the 12v plug.

Ive got one on quite a few of my bikes and consider them almost essential.

Anyone thats interested in a cheaper, older unit.....

Newegg has Nuvi 660s refurb'd for $140.....

you get bluetooth, mp3 and fm modulator....pretty handy setup for a bike on the cheap.

[kws9999]

Originally Posted by aaronrkelly

I dont think there is.....a 12v power receptacle is SO versatile. You can use it to charge your cell, run a small air compressor, charge your bike etc.....

You could just cut the cig lighter end off and hardwire it directly to the bike if you just cant deal with the 12v plug.

Ive got one on quite a few of my bikes and consider them almost essential.

Anyone thats interested in a cheaper, older unit.....

Newegg has Nuvi 660s refurb'd for $140.....

you get bluetooth, mp3 and fm modulator....pretty handy setup for a bike on the cheap.

Be careful if you bypass the lighter plug by wiring directly. Some of the GPS plugs contain 12v to 5v converters in them.

[aaronrkelly]

Originally Posted by RichLockyer

Cig lighter sockets are not secure enough for a bike. I tried with my Nuvi and on rough roads, it would cut power and I had 30 seconds to hit the button or it would power down.

Ive never had that problem on my Goldwing....but I have on my VStar.

That 12v plug is mounted in the neck....and its at a downward slope....so it would eventually bounce itself loose.

I took the metal tabs on the GPS 12v male end and bent them outward a little more, to put extra resistance on the plug in the socket.....never happened again.

Alternatively you could just fasten the plug inside the adapter.....many ways you could do that so it would still be removable to allow use of the plug.

[Streaking Tiger]

Originally Posted by Cranky CJ

So, I ordered and received today a RAM mount for a gps, in a couple days I'm just going to go to SAMs Club and pick up a simple garmin 205. I don't need a lot of the features of some of the top end ones so I'll save the $$.

Question; how does every run their power? the 205 comes with a cig lighter, I can rig up a cig lighter for power, but what other methods have some of you used?

Gotta be some other, better options than mounting a cig lighter on a bike.

I've been using a cig lighter connected to my tail lights for a couple of years now. Works great IMO. No problems for me. I can disconnect the GPS and charge my cell phone or air pump like another poster indicated. I can't imagine anything being better than this. I have it wired under my seat, and I can disconnect the GPS at night (when on the road) and take it with me to the motel. I'd like to ensure that it's still there in the morning when I'll need it again. I can remove the GPS in under a minute (1 bolt), and reinstall the same. It's not a problem for me.

The only fallacy here is that when you turn the bike off, and choose to let the GPS run on battery backup, the taillights keep burning during this time. I'm usually parked and it's not a real problem. Most of the time I just let it power itself down in 30 seconds.

Good luck with whatever path you take on the GPS setup.

[aaronrkelly]

Originally Posted by kws9999

Be careful if you bypass the lighter plug by wiring directly. Some of the GPS plugs contain 12v to 5v converters in them.

True....like I said, Im a big fan of putting a lighter socket on the bike....super handy.

I use a battery/charging system monitor that plugs into a 12v plug on my bikes occasionally to check charging when going down the road......Ive got tons of uses for those little plugs.

[aaronrkelly]

Originally Posted by Streaking Tiger

I've been using a cig lighter connected to my tail lights for a couple of years now. Works great IMO. No problems for me. I can disconnect the GPS and charge my cell phone or air pump like another poster indicated. I can't imagine anything being better than this. I have it wired under my seat, and I can disconnect the GPS at night (when on the road) and take it with me to the motel. I'd like to ensure that it's still there in the morning when I'll need it again. I can remove the GPS in under a minute (1 bolt), and reinstall the same. It's not a problem for me.

The only fallacy here is that when you turn the bike off, and choose to let the GPS run on battery backup, the taillights keep burning during this time. I'm usually parked and it's not a real problem. Most of the time I just let it power itself down in 30 seconds.

Good luck with whatever path you take on the GPS setup.

Im sure that GPS doesnt draw THAT much of a load.....but I wouldnt be comfortable running some of the other accessories....such as an air pump, off the thin wire that runs your tail lights.

Wouldnt take 5 mins to wire it direct to the battery with a nice inline fuse.....

[Cranky CJ]

Originally Posted by RichLockyer

I cut the cig lighter off, applied two bullet connectors, and hooked it to the accessory leads in the headlight bucket.


The coaxial power connectors (like you find on electronic games) are more secure... you can put a male/female pair in the wire coming from the headlight bucket.

is it safe to assume that those leads are already fuse protected?

i haven't really looked, wanted to hear what everybody else did and bring it up for the sake of discussion.

[RichLockyer]

Originally Posted by Cranky CJ

is it safe to assume that those leads are already fuse protected?

i haven't really looked, wanted to hear what everybody else did and bring it up for the sake of discussion.

Ya... 10a fuse in the fusebox marked "Accessory"
The fuse is not always installed by the dealer.