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R1100S best bike-based GPSs with Euro Maps ?

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 12:57 pm
by masha
I'm looking at various GPS mounts for my R1100S presently to take it abroad in the summer and for general UK riding.

What do fellow members consider to be:
- the best fitting & neatest installing
- best priced
- best featured
- most durable (ie either waterproof or easily removable)
GPS for use with the bike presently on the market.

I presently have a Snooper Indigo for the car - but the mount is not easy to adapt and I'll have to pay to upgrade to the Euro maps anyway, and as my camera subscription has expired on it anyway I am considering a new GPS for the bike.

Matt

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 1:18 pm
by Lars1974
Hi Matt,

i bought a Garmin Quest from ebay for £100 a few years ago...and it has serve me well. took us round spain touring and through Germany etc..without getting the map out once...

battery life is excellent and you can ride for 2 days before re-charging...
i fix mine to the left mirror using a RAM mount, which works well too..

here is a pic:

Image

Downside: as mine is Quest 1 it only holds maps for maybe 3 countries...if you get qa Quest 2 it will hold all of Europe.

hope this helps.
thx Lars

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 1:22 pm
by throttlemeister
Masha, the Garmin Zumo does it all.

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:11 pm
by snavetrauts
I use a ram mount from the clutch reservoir cover and run power from a powerlet socket on the winker shroud. Quest is very good and now cheap but as previously stated you have to load all likely required maps before setting off.... I have never had a proble with this however.

Image

Image

Stuart

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 6:29 pm
by Blackal
You won't be able to copy Lars' mounting solution (dead clever though) as your mirrors are bar-mounted.

I've had a Quest and 2610 mounted from the clutch reservoir - no problems.

For the money - Can't see past the Zumo 550 now, especially since it comes with car and bike mounts for the price of £350. :D

Get a Zumo and mount it from the clutch reservoir or centrally from the yoke.

Al :D

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:58 pm
by Red Fokker
Doesn't the mirror mounting option get in the way of the mirror, or is it just the angle ot the photograph?

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:02 pm
by Lars1974
no, it does not get in the way at all. i took the picture a bit too low...

it does not vibrate either...works fine for me...

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:04 pm
by Blackal
Lars1974 wrote: it does not vibrate either...works fine for me...
That's the beauty of the fairing-mounted mirrors ............ far less vibration than the bar-mounted ones :D

If I was just getting a GPS for UK - I would get the Quest 1, but for trips abroad it has to be the Zumo ( or cheap 2610)

Can't reconcile the cost of the Quest 2 against a Zumo, though :cry: :(

Al :D

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:12 pm
by Karlos
I have just got the Tom Tom rider 2nd edition for Xmas and as soon as I get my bike (hopefully within the next 2 weeks) I shall have the problem of fitting it cos as far as I can see the "fittings" supplied won´t fit the BM. I will in all probability go for the clutch cover with Ram mount....If I can find one here in Spain. Could you give me any contacts Snavetraut? also if I take off my cat where can I get a y piece?

Un saludo

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:28 pm
by snavetrauts
Hi Karlos..... I bought my ram mounts over the internet after talking to people on this site..... so I am not aware of any spanish contacts. When you purchase, you need to get the smallest length arm they do. about an inch I think.... any longer and you lose visibility of the clocks.

Do a search on gps ram mounts and you will see the original thread and recommended place to buy..... I cannot find my invoices at the moment so am not much help on that score. It cam from the states if I remember.... Ram UK did not do the reservoir cover mount when I tried... this may have changed now.

Good luck

Stuart

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:04 pm
by vienna
Did you read the artical in the motoring section of the Telegraph on Saturday ? Was about to get a Zumo but the view was that the Garmin was expensive with irritating reminders to update subscription to speed camera database, and better of with cheeper Tom Tom

Looking to upgrade existing Garmin street pilot, need maps of europe, speed camera data base and traffic master " jam buster "info all to be portable between car and bike.

Anyone out there cracked it?

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:27 am
by soggybottoms
Dunno about expensive
I don't get any reminders about updates - so that sounds like journobollocks

Make your own decision - the Garmin gives you MapSource which most of the other bits of kit don't. This is great for plotting routes.

The zumo 550 has the traffic master arial and gives you total transferability between bike and car - but you don't need traffic master on the bike unless you are a twat with all the panniers on and sh1t even if you are popping down to see your mum 3 miles away.

Zumo 550 ram mounted on the clutch cover is the way foward - until things change. :lol:

btw - some people discount the TTS capabilities of this model without understanding the real benefits of not having to look at the screen and being given streetnames thru your earbuds as they unfold before you

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:03 am
by Blackal
You'll never regret buying the Zumo 550 :wink:

At around £350 (might have gone up after Christmas?) you get the most up to date Garmin, with car and bike mounts included in the price. It also allows you to plot routes and share them with other garmin users, and upload your tracks to your pc afterwards.

If you have Google maps on your PC you can then open the tracks in Google maps for a satellite view of where you've been.

Oh - it also pairs up with your phone by bluetooth and you can dial, answer, etc via the touchscreen/speaker in the car.

If you have comms on your bike - you have the above facility with the sound piped through to your speakers/mike.

Don't get a TomTom................ they are for girlies and taxi drivers

Al :roll:

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:36 am
by throttlemeister
vienna wrote:Did you read the artical in the motoring section of the Telegraph on Saturday ? Was about to get a Zumo but the view was that the Garmin was expensive with irritating reminders to update subscription to speed camera database, and better of with cheeper Tom Tom

Looking to upgrade existing Garmin street pilot, need maps of europe, speed camera data base and traffic master " jam buster "info all to be portable between car and bike.

Anyone out there cracked it?
If you want to create your own routes on your pc for your vacation, good luck with TomTom. I am Dutch, so I really should be chauvinistic, but I think TomTom is a piece of sh1te that is utterly useless for anything other than A to B navigation. It's a lot of hype, little substance.

There is a reason why they are so cheap. You get what you pay for.

Zumo doesn't whine about updates, comes with all of Europe and can be used to upload any of the free speedcamera databases.

Any rag that blows off the Zumo as too expensive and TomTom being a better choice 1) doesn't know what they are talking about and 2) never actually used the damn things, definitely not like most motorcyclists like to use one.

R1100s gps mount

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:27 am
by boxerscott
Consensus of forum seems to give nod to the Zumo, has anyone bought the Samsung with loads of europe mapping that lidl were offering pre xmas for £150.00.? Could not find a store with any in stock though?