Being a bit of a map fiend, I dont generally like using GPSs. I had one for the car and it sat in the shed for years because the thing annoyed me! Reading a map on the bike is a bit more problematic than a car and as we're off across Europe to Italy in a couple of weeks I'm thinking maybe it makes sense to bite the bullet and get one. Does anyone have any recommendations or experiences to share? The best ones seem to be the Garmin's Zumo350, or the TomTom Rider v5. I like the look of the windy roads feature on the TomTom.
+1 for the Garmin Zumo 660. I've had one for several years, it's got soaked in rain and thrown down the road and yet remains utterly reliable. It's a bit slow, but it's never actually let me down, and that's what matters when I'm out and about.
Gone for an iphone mounting and charging system in the end, iPhone Motorcycle Holder | Fork Stem Mount TwistyRide's iPhone Cradle Review Co-Pilot app does offline GPS so you dont need to use a data connection on your iphone whilst using the GPS. The solution no doubt isn't as good to use as the full GPS systems but I dont think I want to spend out on something I'm not sure I'll use after the trip. I'm going to spend the saved cash on a good motorbike bluetooth intercomm system; maybe the Interphone F5MC Interphone F5MC Review - webBikeWorld looks pretty cool, you can stream your GPS instructions from the phone and your music to other users so the lady can get them riding her bike as well (so long as she doesn't manage to get 1.3km in a different direction...)
The Garmin Zumo 350 for £300 or the Zumo 660 for £400. I prefer TomTom for the car and Garmin for the bike because I like planning routes on my PC and uploading to the Garmin. I have the 350 because it came with the bike (Multistrada) and I had a zumo 220 before because it came with the bike (Multistrada), never lets me down. If I had the choice I would go for the range topping 660.
Sat Nav on holiday, where is the fun in that ? Do your preparation before hand so you know a few key places that you can head for when you get lost and just go with the flow. Sat Nav wasn't invented for the common people when I headed south for Nice and the Cote D'Azure back in the early 70s and I made it there and back in one piece with a smattering of school boy French and had a great time. Over 60 now and still didn't take a map to get to Le Mans for the MotoGP. Girlfiend and I arrived in the right place, had a great time and got back to Calais in a big loop round Paris without a hitch. Hope you have a great ride and get back in one piece. Andy
I,ve got the Garmin 390LM, great sat nav with the twisty roads function, turn off the motorway option, stick in twisty roads mod and party on, never let me down in Spain and Portugal and found some amazing roads, you can also use it with 'tyre to travel' which is great free software that allows you to plan routes yourself better than you can with basecamp. Highly recommend it
