Gps

ifiddles

ifiddles

Well-known member
So I did a search and nothing came up so hoping this hasn't already been beaten to death, and if it has, I apologize...

Anyways, I'd like to go and explore the backroads a bit more this season and was thinking of getting a GPS for my vulcan 500...I found one on Best Buy's website by Garmin that's touted as a motorcycle GPS but it's $650 and I don't feel like spending that much...

Does anyone use a GPS and if so, what make and model is it?...how easy is it to use (I've never used one before)?...does it have to be hardwired or can it be used with batteries?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Ivana
 
Don't even think about buying a "Motorcycle Specific" GPS.. They are a waste of money. Seriously, $650??

I went to Tiger Direct and bought a refurbed Garmin 5" screen for $112 and bought a small clamp that fits on my handle bars, and there you go.. a motorcycle GPS.

Dont let anyone tell you that it will get messed up because of vibration or whatever, ... I have 2 bikes and each one has shared the GPS for almost 4 years in sun AND rain (Cover the GPS with a ziplock bag) and I've been problem free till today.

Seriously you can buy 6 GPS for the same price as one of those Garmin Motorcycle GPS's :)

I have a Garmin 750 and a Garmin 1140 or whatever its called (cant remember the model) but they both work great.

I've also got them hooked up to my motorcycle using a Cigarette Lighter plug, one positive wire to the battery, one black wire to a ground and boom you have power.

Enjoy!
 
RicoChet said:
Don't even think about buying a "Motorcycle Specific" GPS.. They are a waste of money. Seriously, $650??

I went to Tiger Direct and bought a refurbed Garmin 5" screen for $112 and bought a small clamp that fits on my handle bars, and there you go.. a motorcycle GPS.

Dont let anyone tell you that it will get messed up because of vibration or whatever, ... I have 2 bikes and each one has shared the GPS for almost 4 years in sun AND rain (Cover the GPS with a ziplock bag) and I've been problem free till today.

Seriously you can buy 6 GPS for the same price as one of those Garmin Motorcycle GPS's :)

I have a Garmin 750 and a Garmin 1140 or whatever its called (cant remember the model) but they both work great.

I've also got them hooked up to my motorcycle using a Cigarette Lighter plug, one positive wire to the battery, one black wire to a ground and boom you have power.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

I concur wholly with this. I keep spare plastic bags over top my front brake fluid reservoir, held by a rubber band. If the rain comes down, I pull over, and in seconds the GPS is protected by one.
 
Just make sure you find out how the GPS your gonna buy works in direct sunlight. I have a POS Magellan and it is absolutely useless on the bike during the day. The screen is barely readable in either day or night mode.
 
woobie said:
Just make sure you find out how the GPS your gonna buy works in direct sunlight. I have a POS Magellan and it is absolutely useless on the bike during the day. The screen is barely readable in either day or night mode.
Click to expand...

I fully agree with this. I actually did have a 3rd Garmin that I had to return for a refund because it was unreadable in daylight, even without sunglasses on. Keep your receipt just in case and try seeing it under direct sunlight at noon with glasses on! Their marketing of "Sunlight Visible" is horse-crap considering that most GPS's are used inside of a car in the shade of the cabin.
 
My Garmin Nuvi 295w works in daytime perfectly, and have ridden in the rain with it. No zip lock bag or any other kind of protection on it ever. Only thing broken on it now is the speaker :)
 
silverbullet132 said:
My Garmin Nuvi 295w works in daytime perfectly, and have ridden in the rain with it. No zip lock bag or any other kind of protection on it ever. Only thing broken on it now is the speaker :)
Click to expand...

Who cares! You can't hear the speaker above 15 kph anyway :) And yeah I've actually only used a ziplock bag ONCE since I've had it, my GPS sits in the middle of my bars and the wind deflects rain right over it... pretty cool!
 
I've also got them hooked up to my motorcycle using a Cigarette Lighter plug, one positive wire to the battery, one black wire to a ground and boom you have power.

Enjoy![/QUOTE]


sorry for sounding newb here, but i am LOL

how do i do this?

ivana
 
ifiddles said:
I've also got them hooked up to my motorcycle using a Cigarette Lighter plug, one positive wire to the battery, one black wire to a ground and boom you have power.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...


sorry for sounding newb here, but i am LOL

how do i do this?

ivana[/QUOTE]

I got mine at Canadian Tire. Its called a "Bed Truck Liner" plug, its basically a water proof outdoor cigarette plug. It comes only with 1 red wire and 1 black wire. Take off your body panels (if necessary) to get access to the battery. You want to run the red wire down the inside of the bike neatly away from any hot spots, attach an inline fuse (MUST!!) and put a terminal on the end of the red wire to attach to the battery. The black wire you can connect to the frame or bolt it with the other wires that are used for ground... And thats it. Of course install will be different for everyone but I did this myself with out any skillz and probably intoxicated too so its really not that hard :)

Just don't forget to get that Inline fuse as well for the red wire.
 
ifiddles said:
So I did a search and nothing came up so hoping this hasn't already been beaten to death, and if it has, I apologize...

Anyways, I'd like to go and explore the backroads a bit more this season and was thinking of getting a GPS for my vulcan 500...I found one on Best Buy's website by Garmin that's touted as a motorcycle GPS but it's $650 and I don't feel like spending that much...

Does anyone use a GPS and if so, what make and model is it?...how easy is it to use (I've never used one before)?...does it have to be hardwired or can it be used with batteries?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Ivana
Click to expand...

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...ecommended-GPS-for-a-bike&highlight=gps+units

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?75757-GPS-on-Bikes&highlight=gps+units

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?92143-Zumo-660-or-550-anyone&highlight=gps+units

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...cle-GPS-Navigation-System&highlight=gps+units

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...he-Source-by-Circuit-City&highlight=gps+units

Connecting Accessories:
http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...sories-to-a-bikes-battery&highlight=gps+units

:rolleyes:
 
Three letter searches haven't been activated so searching on GPS itself doesn't work. Unfortunately it doesn't tell you this, it just says that nothing was found.
 
ifiddles said:
thanks nfq...i did do a search, really...oh well...
Click to expand...

Not a worry, the site isn't really search friendly.

You can always go through google and do your search like this: site:gtamotorcycle.com "what i'm searching for"
or site:gtamotorcycle.com "gps"

There are many GPS options and everyone customizes their own setup, from fancy $600+ Zumo's to $100 Garmins with Ziploc bags over them.
Start with your budget and go from there.
 
ifiddles said:
I've also got them hooked up to my motorcycle using a Cigarette Lighter plug, one positive wire to the battery, one black wire to a ground and boom you have power.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...


sorry for sounding newb here, but i am LOL

how do i do this?

ivana[/QUOTE]

My advice would be to buy a battery tender ( under $40 for the junior ) this gives you a great charger and it comes with a lead to plug into the battery that you leave on the bike. It then has a disconnect plug called an SAE plug. This is a nice 2 prong plug with a weather boot. Then you can buy a cigarette lighter adaptor which plugs into the SAE. They make several type of harness that plug directly into the SAE plug. Not sure if Royal carries the lighter harness but Dual Sport in Hamilton does and they are not far from you.
 
RicoChet said:
I got mine at Canadian Tire. Its called a "Bed Truck Liner" plug, its basically a water proof outdoor cigarette plug. It comes only with 1 red wire and 1 black wire. Take off your body panels (if necessary) to get access to the battery. You want to run the red wire down the inside of the bike neatly away from any hot spots, attach an inline fuse (MUST!!) and put a terminal on the end of the red wire to attach to the battery. The black wire you can connect to the frame or bolt it with the other wires that are used for ground... And thats it. Of course install will be different for everyone but I did this myself with out any skillz and probably intoxicated too so its really not that hard :)

Just don't forget to get that Inline fuse as well for the red wire.
Click to expand...

I'm using the same 12V cigarette lighter but tapped power from my running lights so the power cuts off when I remove the key from the ignition.
This helps avoid draining my battery at the end of a ride should I forget to turn the GPS off (and if I forget to put the battery on tender).
 
Just in case someone isn't aware, the GPS runs on 5 volts and the plug-in reduces the voltage. You can't cut the plug off to hard wire to the vehicle system.
 
I ordered a handlebar mount for my Samsung Galaxy phone(s) on eBay. I use Google Maps for navigation and it works perfectly. I also use the ziplock bag trick in the rain and it has worked quite well.
 
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