I had this in the GPS section and didn't get any replies. I thought I'd try here. I would like to buy another GPS as I'm using a Garmin Nuvi and it can get pretty frustrating to use at times when I want to go off road, especially as it screws with my routes with automatic routing for off road. I have been looking at the Garmin Zumo and Tom Tom Rider. A couple of quetions I have don't seem to have answers and sales staff at some of these places are just.....well, anyway. So, does the Zumo and Rider come with topo maps or are they extra? Can automatic routing be turned off so the GPS will follow the route I make exactly? What software is available to create maps on your PC and transfer to the Rider, like Basecamp for Garmin? What are some of you other guys using for off road GPS units? Any help appreciated.
which nuvi have you got? if it's a 1450 or higher you can do custom routes and install topo maps. never used the zumo, but yes the automatic routing can be turned off so the GPS will follow the route you make exactly. i found basecamp horrible to use so stuck with the original garmin mapsource software which is much easier to figure out.
I have a Nuvi 2497 LMT. I can upload topo to it by tricking it into upload mode, and can create routes on Basecamp and send them to the device. Once they get onto the device, it then swaps them around as I can only have Fastest Time, Shortest Route or Most Economical. Some times it works, others it doesnt.
I have a Zumo and got my Topo maps on a mini SD card from Ebay, was about $35, works good in my Zumo and Nuvi. I hate Basecamp but found the free Tyre program really easy to use with my Zumo. I open Tyre and Google maps at the same time and flick between the two when planning a new ride.
Off-road I use a GPS60CSX garmin handheld unit, they are not a consumer-grade car gps, but a technical GPS rated for marine and aviation use also. The screen is small compared to newer units, but the little fucker is tough and reliable, and does tracks rather well too.
I had a 60CSX, my first Garmin after a few Magellans, most recently an XL. I now have a Montana, which coupled with Basecamp and Oz/NZ Topo V4 I find brilliant for planning and following tracks. Bigger screen for my old eyes is great, and the touch screen works with gloves on too. Generally I avoid routing, I just use it for roughing in a track plan. I convert routes to tracks to folllow in other words. Street navigation is OK, but not as good as a dedicated navigator, but good enough for me. The Montana has a great 'Rugged Mount' system on the bike. Also a windscreen mount for the car and is good enough to be my only GPS solution, even though I have others.
I guess what I care about the most is being able to turn off auto routing and to be able to create a ride on my PC and transfer it to the GPS as I'm not good at maps.
I don't find Basecamp that difficult to use. I tend to use the track function to plot a track on the PC, then convert it to a route , using right click button. Then I transfer it to my GPS62S. I remember looking at Tom Tom Rider reviews using a Google search. I think it was agreed that they are good for road use and not so great off road. But better to check for yourself.
Thanks for the thoughts. I am still leaning towards the Zumo 350 or 390 I think, it seems the best options. The handhelds, are they rechargeable from the bike and can you get a mount for them?
Not sure of how which routing profile you're using, but if using the "offroad" profile, this is not as it sounds. It is for point to point routing. ie draws a straight line to your destination. Probably best to think of this as "no road routing" (no track, no trails, no dirt). A Garmin would be the choice, as they do have topo maps from themselves and third parties. Also the nuvi and zumo units do not handle track files very well like the hand held units. Though I think the new zumo 390 or 590 have a different setting for this. A point to note is that when creating a route in basecamp and transferring to your gps, the gps may recalculate the route due to differences in algorithm configuration/implementation. Not all units do this so trial and error. There are some work arounds for the above, but if your not gps technically literate it will be a PITA. My personal preference it to create a route in basecamp then convert this to a track before sending to the gps (62s) completely the opposite of XRman lol. The reason I do this is so I can overlay the track plot on the map and just glance down to follow. Horses for courses as it were. Though this method won't work with most nuvi or zumo units as they will try to create a route.
You can get mounts for all units. Montana and Monterra(I believe) can be charged from the bike with a special locking cradle. The small hand helds usually have AA batteries and will not recharge regardless if rechargeable or not. But can be used with bike powered 5 volt usb cable, but this remove the waterproofing ability. I get a two full days (8hrs each) on a single charge of rechargeable batteries in my 62s.
Strange you mention the Montana, and I think someone else mentioned this also. I just had a long chat to a young man(Matthew) at Johnny Appleseed and he recommended the Montana 650t and the AMPS cradle(I have a ram mount already) as possibly the best option for me.
Montana is a great unit. Would of bought one myself if I didn't already have a 62s. Even thought of getting the montana 600 from gpscity in the states as they offer advrider discounts. But it doesn't come with maps or Oz warranty if that is important to you. The montana can be setup for different profiles for whatever you like to do. Also great info in the main gps thread. JA will match prices so you could give them this link and save a few bucks. http://www.ryda.com.au/Garmin-Montana-650t-Handheld-GPS-p/montana650t.htm Would be good if you could just get the montana bundle with the marine mount instead of the auto mount as this is the same as the amps mount anyway. May pay to ask. I assume you have ram mounts, otherwise JA do have a complete bundle at $760 for everything you would need. Or you could go to the vendors thread here and ask for a deal; http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=881762 bear in mind though no aust topo maps with the vendor thread. hope this helps
Like I said above, Oz Topo, Montana and Basecamp is a great solution. Just might be a learning curve to get the best out of it, but worth it.
The Montana 650T comes with more internal memory which is good. It also comes with the 100k topo maps which I don't think support routing. The 24k topos do support routing. For routing, the GPS will always try to impose the avoidances onto any route that you load. For some people that means you turn all avoidances off then use basecamp to draw your route with so many points located so close together that the GPS cannot do anything but repeat to you what you told it. I usually use the GPS to tell me where I'm lost and only occasionally use it to direct me somewhere. For those occasions I let the GPS do the routing and usually need to fiddle with preferences each time. Still better than taking a computer with basecamp onto the ATV trails I think. Others will tell you that the Montana's profiles can be a short-cut to getting different routing options. I think we each have different needs. I don't know yours. Your Montana, will, however, try to recalculate a route that you load onto it and you'll either have to let it recalculate or create "ironclad" routes.
Unfortunately not that many TomTom replies... Witch is logic since Garmin is domminating the marked. I have been using TomTom since they revealed their first special motorcycle unit in 2006, the Rider 1. Currently I use the Urban rider and sereously thinking to switch to the latest model, the Rider V. To the Q: TomTom rider comes with full map navigation. TomTom rider makes tracklogs: both in GPX and in ITN (= TomTom file) Its easy to import an external made route, f.e. made via Google maps. You have to convert it to *ITN witch is easy with the programm Tyre, included in any TomTom Rider V purchase. You get live time maps updates. The best feature in the rider... 'choose windiest roads' I love the fact that its extremely quick, autonav can be switched off (but still able to make a tracklog) and the blue tooth interface witch smartphone is superb. Garmin is not a bad option. But include the latest TomTom Rider on your shortlist!
Got the Montana 650t, absolutely love it. Created my own profile and saved it so it looks like I want it. Hard wired with the AMPS mount and RAM mount bits to my DR. Tested it out the other day in both Auto mode and by creating a track to follow, works great.
I have the latest Tom Tom rider. I do not use the mapping and programming features but will learn them. As a navigating unit on the road its awesome. Its fast, cheaper than Garmin with lifetime maps and the search feature while riding always helps me plan my next gas stop. I do think there are to many decisions that the machine asks you to make that are unnecessary, causing you to take your eyes off the road. Other than that the mounting system is good and it hasnt failed me yet. I used to run cheap car GPS's in a waterproof box, but after too many failures I suspect those unit just are not tough enough to stand up to the vibrations.
I just bought a Garmin Zumo 660LM which is the one they have that is specifically for motorcycle use! It is super to use and it works perfectly well! Also, it is weather and sun proof! It does come with a handlebar mount and it shows your speed and a speed zone sign when the speed zones are in the map data so you know the posted speed limits. It also has an excellent amount of internal memory for route storage. Also it does have lifetime map updating included which saves you money over the years. It also has many options for how you can configure it. I picked having North up and the bike icon moves left to right when I'm heading East. You can also choose the amount of map detail it displays. One other nice thing is it has plus and minus touch points on the upper left side of the screen so you can zoom in and out which is really nice to do. I zoom in and that provides more map detail. Also as I mentioned in another post I made when you turn it on it is ready to navigate in less than 15 seconds which is really quick compared to any other GPS I've ever had!
