what type of satnavs are we using?

[philip.butcher]

hello all , i am after buying a motorcycle specific satnav for u.k and europe ,what type do other members use /recommend and any ones to avoid? thanks and happy new year philip

[iansoady]

I don't use one on the bike but for the car have found the CoPilot app for Android much better than the various Garmins etc I've had in the past.

On a fairly unpleasant drive from Edinburgh back to Brum yesterday. It said there was heavy congestion round Manchester on the M6 and rerouted us round by the A49. Still took 6 hours though.......

[paul.jameson]

I use a fangled device called a Roll-a-route. It takes an A4 size piece of paper with the route handwritten upon it. Having ridden many miles in the UK and several trips across the continent with other motorcyclists using electronic sat-navs the outcome has always been 50:50 Roll-a-route : electronic sat nav. But the electronic option costs a lot more and is far more likely to fail in service.

[PeterW]

An old nokia/windows phone, seemed a shame to leave it in drawer. Must sort out on-bike charging for it.

[adrie.degraaff]

I am using a combination of a 1 liter plastic botle as a Roll-a-route on tarmac, a compas and Teasi satnav offroad, all footpath's are in the last one but no M roads.
It has 3 positions; walking-hiking, cycling-mountainbike and motorcycle-offroad.
There is a blieb at 100 yards and one at the turn.

Downside of the Teasi; bad screenview when there is sun, you don't have that problem in England .

[Steven.Carter]

I've had a few over the years, my most reliable has been the Garmin 350 LM .
Just a thought regarding sat navs . I've always set mine to "North Up" That way you'll always know which way your going. You often read stories of people putting the wrong post code in and ending up miles away from thier destination. This way the Arrow is pointing north if your heading that way and south for me at least if I'm heading home. It takes a bit of mind training but if your used to reading paper maps you'll have no problem.

Steve

[CFritz]

my phone home. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6958&p=46416#p46416

[Bob.Murphy]

I have been using a Garmin 'Zumo 660' in cars and on bikes for years.

I find it generally very good . . . BUT . . If I set up my own route (as in the LDR) it gets its left and right muddled and I get hopelessly lost.

I suspect its because I have it set for North at the top. When I'm heading South a Left Turn is moving right on the screen and it gets confused.

Expensive, but a nice bit of kit though.

Bob.

[Graham.Goral]

I have used a Garmin Zumo 550 for years and it's excellent. It's an obsolete model now but you can buy them secondhand on eBay and I'd guess the current replacement model is as good if not better. It's waterproof and easy to use with gloves. You can download free mapping tools to allow you to load your own routes into the device and so this is what I do when planning touring holidays and their maps cover the whole world. I use the proper Garmin mount for my modern bike but it can also operate with a USB cable to power it, so I've fitted car-type cigarette-lighter socket USB adapters to my 6-volt bikes and they keep it charged - it appears that these adapters can use any input voltage above 5 volts. One gotcha is that when Garmin offer you "lifetime" map updates, they are referring to the lifetime of that device only; if you decide to buy a newer model then you've got to buy the map subscription again!