Hi Folks, Off on a 10 day trip soon, and I've previously used my trusty Garmin car satnav. It's pretty old, and unfortunately doesn't support Basecamp or allow me to upload routes in GPX format, so I have to manually find a location on the map and save it as a waypoint, then enter multiple waypoints in reverse order when setting out. For a long all day ride this can take absolutely ages. But I like the convenience of having a pre-planned route that I can easily follow, without having to worry about following signs or going the wrong way. So I'm thinking it may be time to upgrade to a newer model that will allow easier input of routes, probably via a PC. What do you recommend? I'm happy to stick with a car unit - it'll likely sit in my weatherproof pouch anyway, and likely be far cheaper than a bike specific unit. Thanks in advance, Nik
I still believe that Tom Tom have the better mapping and user interface, but that Garmin have the features (MP3 etc) & PC support. Though "TYRE" levels the playing field. Also while bike specific are expensive many will attest to years of service in all weathers. Its your money .
I have a Tomtom 400 rider EU. Put it this way. Wanna buy it?!! As a satnav its fine but way points, skipping them, etc is a PITA. I can't tell the unit to warn me of tank range, or such like. To record a trip is onto an SD card that you need tweezers to put in/ take out. AND the car bracket is extra. True, it's cheaper than the equivalent Garmin, but there's a reason for that! At least you can now download routes direct from Tyre to it. Previously that was from the ball ache SD card! Honestly I am thinking of selling, taking a hit and getting a Garmin.
You can plan with a free app called inroute which can be upgraded for about £3 then allows lotsnof waypoints. Then email it/open/export whatever to your satnav or phone nav
Dont know, I use on ipad tbh then transfer But if you buy a new nav with computer software most of those canndo the same job. Difference is this gives options based on bike prefferred roads
I have Tom Tom Rider, very good and with "tyre" software it's excellent for my European or weekend trips. Sort each days ride out on the laptop and upload it to sat nav as an itinerary. Day by day or as a complete trip. Excellent IMHO.
You guys have actually got the Tyre software to work with Rider 400? It's failed every time I've tried (and boy is it hard work getting that storage card in and out each time!). Tomtom unit is great as a satnav but it really doesn't do the extras very well and I'll go Garmin if it ever needs replacing.
This sounds like exactly what I'm after - I'll have a look for that. Basically, my wish list is a user interface like Google Maps on desktop, where you can drop waypoints then drag them around so that you're using a specific route or particular road - the best route isn't always the fastest. You then export this to your device. I can't currently do this with my Garmin because it's too old, but it looks like a slightly newer one will let me do that. But in the meantime, if there is an app I can use on my iphone and ipad then that's even better, as the UI is likely to be better than the Garmin (can't be much worse really!). Thanks for all the replies! Nik
I've got a Garmin Zumo 66 and use basecamp on my Mac to plan routes, sometimes it works like a dream but other times it's a pain in the ass. I really don't understand why most SatNav software is so flaky and difficult to use,especially Basecamp. (I can't use Tyre as I'm Mac based, but thinking of getting a cheap laptop just to run it.) Last trip I tried to export files from Google earth and then import them via basecamp. Some worked well, but generally I still had to replot the route in Basecamp, which then 'recalculated' itself when I put it into the Satnav. This seems to be the major issue as you then don't end up with the route you want.
I run a virtual Windows machine inside my MacBook. I have to for work, no point forking out for a separate laptop. Can be cheap as chips too (depends on your software licensing ethics).
Tried out the InRoute app - it has exactly the functionality I want, but unfortunately still way too restrictive for practical use. Seems like if you use Google Maps or Apple Maps it will only do one waypoint at a time, so you'd have to keep stopping to enable the next portion of your route. Unfortunately it cost me £3.99 to find out that it's just not practical for me, sadly. So close! So for now my options are buy a newer satnav and use Basecamp, or stick with manual entry. Thanks for all the replies. Nik
I ran Windows on a Mac once at work, never again... I've got some old show laptops kicking around (we produce conferences) so I'll take one of them home and play with it.
I have TYRE working with my 400, and now I can download routes direct to it. No messing with the SD card
Not tried exporting to co pilot or other free Nav apps, may be worth a go first. Plus they don't use data so perfect abroad.
Basecamp will save in GPX and then use Mapsource to transfer? Zumo 660 is very solid (tested on Italian road at 70mph!) But the screen, processor and disc size are the same as the 400. Go for the 590 if you can afford it
I use some shareware that lets you put the route together and coverts it to oodles of different formats, depending on the GPS app or device it's destined for. It's called RouteConverter. FWIW, the iPhone app I use is Navigon, which caters for motorcycles and has an option for scenic routes; about as close as you can get to a twisty routes option. You can email the route created by RouteConverter so it contains a link to open up Navigon with the waypoints listed, waiting to calculate the final route. You can then save this as a route for re-use whenever you like.
