Just curious as to how many use theirs, or want one. Still thinking about it myself.

 

I have a Garmin 330 and use it regularly on distant trips.

Isn't waterproof, but a baggy solves that problem.
Is fairly inexpensive as GPSs go. (Got mine from Walmart, can't recall what I gave for it).
Remembers the last 5 locations you have gone to or gotten directions to.
Lets you plot the "fast" route or "scenic" route.
Kind of like map quest, you can press a menu bar at top and see summary to routes (streets, roads, Hwys) and turns
you'll be taking
No bluetooth capabilty, but I don't have one anyway.
Rapidly recalculates new route if you make a wrong turn.
Lets you zoom in or out to "see down the road".
It "talks" the directions to me, but at speed I can't hear them, around town I can.
Has a "dinging" tone that alerts me to turns I will need to make.
Also writed, at the top of the screen, what turn is coming next and how far away it is.
I can enter an address of my destination (4550 1st Ave) or I can enter a name (Andersonville Historic Site) and it will
calculate me a route.
I installed a cigarette ligther on the RK so I can plug it in (batteries aren't bad, lasts around 8 hours).
I used a Ram-mount to attach it to my handle bar.
Isn't easy to see in bright sunlight, but can be seen (I just follow the red line on the screen, the red line even shows
how the hwy bends). At night, no problem seeing it at all.
Free downloads of updated maps (I did one just last weekend - May 27th) Just plugged one end of the USB cable
into the PC, the other into the 330, went to the Garmin website, followed the directions. no problem.

The Gamin 550 is probably better, but I think I could buy 2 or 3 of the 330's for the cost of the 550

Hack

 

I use a TomTom Rider. The best feature is that it automatically reroutes you if you should take a wrong turn. It may tell you to make a U-turn or not if you move too far off course.

PROS:
Prices have dropped recently.
Easy to Mount (hardware incl)
Charges in about 2 hrs or can wire to the bike (come with this)
Auto rerouting (see above)
Tons of point of interest to find (hotels, landmarks, bars, post offices, golf courses. (this is really handy too).
Can navigate to citys or specific addresses.
Bluetooth wireless communication for speaker (tell you the directions in your helmet or ear) - comes with this.
Can buy another harware unit/kit to use in you car for $35 that sucken cups to the glass and plugs in the cig power.

CONS:
Price: I bought mine for $750 last year. (it is lower today)
I need to use the bluetooth earplug rather than the speaker in my 3/4 helmet - the speaker is not loud enough. Ear plug speaker works great though.
Once in a while it does not lock onto satellites when first tuen it on - just need to use a paper clip to hit the reset button and it works like a charm!

 

I have a Garmin I3 that I bought for $225.00 a year ago. Snaps into a fitting on my Streetglide. I can't hear the directions but it has never got me lost. My Mother still can't figure out where the lady sits who directs me.

Only drawback is you can only load a section of the country into the memory. The new I5 has the entire U.S. and Canada and costs the same price.

 

I have a garmin Zumo. I haven't hooked it to the bike yet, but I use it all the time in the car. We have a travel trailer and it's useful in getting us around when we take it out. It won't integrate with the HD sound system, so I'm skeptical about using it on the bike. I don't want to spend too much time looking at the unit instead of the road.

 

We purchased a Garmin 2610, currently discontinued but there are still some new ones available for about$300,and use it quite a bit. The 2610 uses a CompactFlash card for memory and originally had a 128 memory card installed, loading Texas used 105 of that memory. We wont get a lot of chances to go out of state as often as we would like but wanted the entire US loaded forfuture use. We purchased a 2 gig memory card, $20 at Bestbuy, and loaded the entire US. GPS can be very beneficial in new unfamiliar territory and isnt that where we tend to ride a lot? We use the cigarette lighter plug adapter and move it from the truck to the car to the bike with ease. We have an aftermarket fairing on the bike and I made a mount to mount it up between the support bars in front of the handle barsand installed a cigarette lighter plug, it works really well. The wifeuses the remote control to change screens and get information while I concentrate on the road and traffic.

[IMG]local://upfiles/24050/CB938287B1374F409CBB878D43A04DB8.jpg[/IMG]

 

I would recommend either the TomTom Rider or the Zumo as they are made for motorcycles (waterproof and have mounts for the cycles).

Or go with the Dealer option --- the screen (radio) is harder to read and this is more expensive option. Graphics are much better on the aftermarket.

 

Zumo here. It does exactly what I need and does it well. I have not used it for music, cell phone or XM Radio, since I don't want to deal with ear phones.

 

I have Lowrance IWAY 500c.

Pro's: Large (5 inch) bright screen even in direct sunlight, lots of points of interest with downloadable updates, WATERPROOF, movable between car and bike, automatic view based on speed (more detail at slow speeds, less detail more miles coverage at faster speeds, mounts easily.

Con's: Large and heavy, Need power supply on bars or fairing (no battery option).

 

I'm looking into the Zumo 550.PhilM and Karl Dietz has it on their bikes.It's a nice setup.I'm just trying to figure out how to break it to the wife that I need $700.00 for it.[&o]