I am new to this forum. And I know there are multiple post on this subject. I have dug through it multiple times, but just recently signed up so I could interact. I have been riding since I was 9 years old (mini-bike), and have been riding a 2006 Fatboy since 2007.



My GPS background: I use a Garmen Zumo 550 for navigation on it, and love the way it operates. I have used three other GPS systems, and prefer the Zumo over all of them, (just my opinion). I use MapSource to pre-route my trips and then let it go. And as long as I do not have the Avoid Highway checked when I want to go on the Highway, it works wonderful 95% of the time. The route stays the same as long as I do not deviate from it. If I miss a turn and it re-routes me to the next waypoint differently than I wanted, that is my fault for missing the turn. One other feature I will mention is that, if a waypoint is on the other side of the street and I pass it, the Zumo will jump to the next waypoint. If I have a HD shop set as a waypoint and I decide not to get off the highway, after a minute it will re-route to the next waypoint automatically.

Anyway, I love the Zumo!


I recently bought a 21017 Ultra Limited. I have been wanting this upgrade for a few years, and they finally came out with a color that I loved, and after a test ride, the wife was so comfortable behind me she agreed to “let” me purchase it. A concern for me when I bought it was the navigation system. I can always mount my Zumo, as I have read others have done, and I might end up doing so. For me the ability to map out a route and have it take me a specific way is important. I do not want to make 5 turns instead of 1 to save 1/8th of a mile. I want to take service roads alongside the highway instead of the highway, and do not want to keep being told to get back on the highway. Anyway I now have 800 miles on the bike, and here are my observations on the navigation.


I did a few short around the block routes, and a longer 100 mile route, then a 600 mile route.


1. Though a few people have stated that you can do a delete all under the “Saved” points, you cannot do this. There is not an option available. There is one under the “Trips”, to delete all. I read the 2017 manual to find this option and talked to techs at three dealers, and they all agree that this cannot be done. A Privacy wipe is the only way to remove them all at one time. Thanks to FinalShot for posting how to get to this menu.


2. When you export from MapSource it exports the Routes (Trips) and the Waypoints. When you import into the HD NAV you only need to import the Trips, not all of the waypoints. Then you can just import those waypoints that you want as a separate Saved point. This helps keep the Saved points from building up. There was no mention of this anywhere that I could find. This is to help others avoid what I did. The first time I imported, I tried to import the same amount that I keep on my Zumo, and did a select all. It imported about 50% of it and then ran out of space. Needless to say I was blown away that I could not delete all of the points at one time. So I turned to the Forum for help, and did a Privacy Reset. Then I started over with a couple small test files.


3. When you import a route (from MapSource) into the NAV, it calculates it all based on its own criteria. This means that it will probably not be the same route you exported from your computer. I am hoping that my next test of using 100’s of waypoints will help with this.


4. If you set up a waypoint, and it is on the wrong side of the road can cause you to go in circles. I often use gas stations as waypoints, so that I know when/where I can fill up and sometimes they are just far enough off of the road to not be registered when I go by them. NAV will reroute you in a circle so that you go over that waypoint. The problem with this, is that no matter how far you go it will keep trying to route you back to that missed waypoint, until you go through the process of telling it to Skip the next waypoint. Then it recalculates the entire route new. This is workable, though a pain when you are used to a system that just auto skips it. Though having to deal with skipping the waypoint while paying attention to traffic is not my idea of safe riding.


5. When on the Freeway it decided that I needed to get on a different Freeway in order to get to my next waypoint that was 20 miles further up the Freeway I was already on. I ended up stopping the Trip until I reached the point where I was going on back Highways. Once I was off the Freeway/Highway and onto the back highways, it was smoother. The points I placed were mostly just past where I wanted to turn, so I turn then hit the waypoint, and this worked well. Just had a couple that did not register as being hit because the NAV thought it was off to the side of the road. On one twisty road it kept re-routing every couple of twists, even though there were no other roads near me.


6. I do like the voice prompts and the screen display on the exit ramps, these are much nicer than the Zumo, and very easy to see at a quick glance. I also like that you can open a Trip and select the waypoint inside it and it will then route you to that point and continue you on the route from there. Zumo has a similar feature, it asks if you want to start from the beginning or from where you are currently.


7. I have not tried to create a route directly on the NAV. Give me a computer any day to do this. I have tried the HD Website, and found it to be lacking, a lot. One example: I see some points and zoom in on them, and those points go away and new ones show up. I shift to the side a little and again completely new waypoints. I am sure there are those that love the site, and if I was willing to spend more time, I could probably get better at it. But after 2 hours and 300 miles still not mapped correctly (meaning the way I wanted it), I gave up on it. I will probably give it another shot, but I am so used to MapSource, it is hard to want to give it another shot.


8. Route simulation. HELP!!! Please tell me that you can speed this up. I have tried and tried, and cannot find anything on it. It just seems stupid that the route simulation moves no faster than I ride. Do they expect us to watch a 300 mile route at the same speed we would ride it?


9. My next step is to create a route using more waypoints than I can count. I figured that putting a couple of waypoints on surface roads would keep me off the highway, but it wants to route me on and off the highway, and I cannot avoid highways because I have to use them.



10. I am planning a 3000+ mile trip for next year, and need to route specific roads to hit certain wayside stops that we want to see. Got it mostly mapped out on SourceMap, but now will have to add a lot more waypoints to insure it will take me the way I want to. I have done this length of trip multiple times on the Fayboy with the Zumo and with no issues. This is where I may end up mounting the Zumo.



11. A quick note on the headset. We used the unit that Harley supplies and put them in full faced Bell helmet’s with chin enclosures. The mic’s were fully inside. Any speeds above 60mph would cause the intercom to kick on and off. At 70mph it was constantly on/off. I even moved the VOX to the lowest setting. This helped, but did not make it stop, and of course we could no longer talk to each other. We normally were half shells with Bluetooth headsets, but were thinking of getting the wired units that are worn around the head with half shell helmets, but worry it may be worse. It is annoying because the music cuts on and off, or if you mute the music you get static on and off. So you have to put the music on the first level so you cannot hear it, but it keeps the static from kicking on.


Anyway, that is my 2 cents worth of information, and I hope it helps someone somewhere. And if anyone can add some suggestions on making it easier, or how to speed up the simulator it would be very much appreciated. And for those old school riders, I do still carry a map and always will. I used to type up directions and tape them to the inside of my windshield. But being able to rely on a GPS to tell me I have to turn in 1 mile instead of constantly checking my mile markers and referencing my directions, lets me enjoy the ride a little more. And enjoying the ride is what it is all about for me.

 

Yup---system sucks. There are numerous issues that any long distance rider finds---such as what you mention. The fact that you're willing to spend hours developing waypoints on a computer to be able to drive the route you want astounds me.

I spend the summers riding only backroads and climbing to the highest point in each state.
After experiencing the above issues I gave up and started picking my locations on the bike system itself each morning using the no interstate setting in avoidances. Then I would do the same on my google maps and verify they were close to the same miles and looked about the same on the bike and phone.

I am personally disappointed that the HD riders advisory panel refused to even consider having the Nav system as a topic. If they really cared about rider safety they would fix the Nav System and/or have the bike mirror the phone nav system the rider prefers.

 

I prefer to do as many back roads as possible, sad thing is that over the years even those are ending up with stop lights. Southern California just keeps growing. The routes I plan are usually short and quick to do using the MapSource program. But yes I am willing to spend time getting something setup the way I want it. I am a computer geek by trade, so that makes it easier.

I am very disappointed with Harley for not doing better on the NAV. I know why they went with HK, but really wish they would push them to make it better.

But other than the NAV I love the Ultra Limited.

 

For me the Nav would be for local trips, I work in ever changing locations and Nav is good for that. Road trips? A map book and a compass...

 

Just a heads up the most Waypoints in a route that you can use is about 55. So the best way to set up your routes is by the day. I would recommend you check out TyreToTravel if you want to do your mapping with a program on your computer.
They also have an APP called myrouteapp this is cloud based but works very well. Both use Google Maps. Good luck once I got past the learning curve I think the Boom Box works well I also came from years of using Garmin products.

One of the best ways I have found to use the BB is to look at a paper map pick small Townes along your route 75 to 100 miles apart load them in the order you want to hit them and put the BB in avoid Hwys and scenic or Twisty I found some really Great roads this way that I would never have ridden.

http://www.tyretotravel.com/
https://www.myrouteapp.com/en

 

great write-up. I'm now playing with some of those features, including using programs like ridewithgps and mapmyride

will keep those tips in mind. thanks

 

I gave up on Boom Nav and installed my Zumo 665 to the handlebar. I also installed the optional Aux input in the Boom system to plug the Zumo into the soundvsystem. This way whennI play music onbthe Zumo the Nav prompts also are heard through the sound systrm.

 

This!!!

Yeah, I know, I'm a dinosaur. Having grown up before GPS and all of the geewhiz stuff, I find all of the computer stuff to be more work that takes the fun out of riding.

"It's the journey, not the destination". Sometimes, thinking your lost and having to stop and re-orientate just makes the ride that much more fun. It adds a little sense of adventure for me.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love having the gps map, and use it for reference, but that's all I use it for is reference. I still plan my daily route by looking at an actual map that morning. I will make notes, and keep them handy. I just use the moving up to reference at that point and press on.

For the most part, I rarely take a wrong turn and if I'm paying attention, and have never truly gotten lost by doing it this way. In my opinion, it just makes it a little more fun. This nav system gets much more advanced, and we're going to have self riding motorcycles to go along with the self driving cars.

 

Thanks, I will check out those two sites. I think I have seen the MyRouteApp before. I had not thought about just picking towns and letting it route from there, I will have to give that a test.

 

I was telling my wife this a couple weekends ago, when I turned off the NAV as it tried to route me in circles, and started routing myself by memory through the Avocado Groves above Temecula, that I have not been through for about a year.