I've got a big trip planned. From Indianapolis, IN to Austin, TX and back. 7 days total. Going down for the Moto GP races in April. I've been using the HD maps site to plan the route. It's quite frustrating how little the website and the nav system integrate. I've been messing with it for a few hours and I've just about got it figured out. I figured I'd come on here and provides some of what I've learned.

1) The downloaded GPX file contains the route and stops, but also the stops as locations. When you select the file to import, it'll ask you what parts. If you select all, it'll add the stop locations to your address book. If your an organizational freak like me, this is annoying. I don't need a fuel station I'll likely never go again in my address book. So when you import, only choose the segments to save the trips.

2) As I just mentioned, the GPX file import is broken up, but the important part is that it breaks the route into segments. For example I'm stopping at HD dealerships along the way for poker chips. Day 1 is home->Black Diamond HD->Lawless HD-> KOA campground Memphis. When I import, my file (named COTA_day_1.gpx), I'm given 3 "trips" in the nav system. They're named "COTA day 1 1", "COTA day 1 2", etc. Each trip is essentially a leg. In this case, four points (start, end, and the 2 dealerships), creates 3 legs. Pretty intuitive if you can keep track of what part of your trip you're on.

3) Route options selected on the trip planner website do NOT transfer to the bike. Route calculation on the website and the nav system are entirely separate. In my case, I'm staying off the interstates entirely (slower, but more fun IMHO). So, whatever you selected in the website, make sure you select on the bike.... which brings the next point.

4) Route calculation is different from the web to the NAV system. Just because you mapped out 500 miles with 4 stops and it shows you roads and such on the website, when you actually head out on the bike, be prepared for something different. This is where waypoints come into play. If you want to get really specific on your plan, you'll need to add a waypoint at each turn (or more). To be honest, I've experienced this on some short trips around home so I know it's real. But, I've also just learned about points 1&2 from this list. I've not added any waypoints to this trip because I don't really care the route as long as I'm not on the interstates. I might play around with one day of this trip and add a few waypoints to see how it changes the route import functionality and "legs".

5) Waypoints in the website are a real pain in the ***! I really don't know how or why but they seem to get lost in the order as you manipulate things. I've found if you're going to use them, make them all destinations so you can reorder as needed. Once your route is set, save it. Then copy the "ride" and convert all those destinations to waypoints and save again. This way, if you want to change, your original one still has them as destinations. I learned this the hard way last fall when I had a long weekend trip with 70+ waypoints where the route was important. That's 3 hours of my life I'll never get back.

Just wanted to share incase anyone else was struggling with using the planner and importing/using them in the 6.5GT system.

 

Wanted to say thanks for this and I wasn't aware it existed. I was using different route planning site that allowed me to export my gpx file.

I'll play around and see if the results from the other route planning site are similar.

 

What site were you using?

I played with it a bit more today. I put a 12 mile "trip" together with a start, end, and one waypoint a few miles out of the way. When I imported, the waypoint wasn't one of the "stops" listed for selection. Just my home, the destination, and the trip as a single leg. I selected all to import and it didn't add the waypoint to the address book, but it did add the destination as expected. What I didn't expect is that it added my home. I already had a home destination in my address book, so I ended up with a duplicate. I think what I've learned here is never select all.

When I opened the trip on the nav system, it listed the start as a waypoint. A bit interesting. I've decided to leave this trip on the nav system. Sometime, when I'm not home but close to home, I'm going to load it and see if it tries to route me back home first. Since there's a skip next waypoint feature in the nav system, it's not a big deal.... that is, if you're aware of it.

One more thing I learned. After you've loaded a trip, you can run a route simulation. Seems like a cool feature so you can familiarize yourself with the route first. Turns out, this is a completely useless feature. My test route was 12 miles, and totaled 7 turns. It seems like this simulator runs at 60mph. 6 seconds for every tenth of a mile. For my upcoming trip to taxes, sorry, I don't have 2 f-ing days to watch a simulation. About the only time I see this having value is if you're in an unfamiliar large urban area and just need to know the first few miles to get on the interstate to the next destination.

 

The other site I used was https://trips.furkot.com. I've mapped out a trip in each website and the HD site adds a lot of cruft to the route that I cannot understand why is needed. I used my test Furkot route and loaded it into my GPS (My radio is the Boom GTS) and took a ride. I received all turn by turn directions with voice prompt so it works well. I did not test my HD test route as for now the furkot route does exactly what I need but your requirements may be different than mine. But I'm going to use the furkot site to route my Daytona trips.

But, if you'd like to see what I'm talking about, create 2 identical routes at each website. with the same start, stop and alter the route with a waypoint making sure the routes are the same. Open both saved gpx in a text editor and you'll see what I'm talking about with the excess cruft.

BTW, when creating any start, stop or waypoint modification make sure you're pin is dropped on the correct side of the street otherwise the way it interprets it as a destination and will route you in a loop to make sure you get to that destination.

Whenever I import the route I've only ever selected just a single location and then importing and my route is imported complete.

Also note, your routes are designed to get to the destination via the best/quickest route determined by the software. So if you would like to travel a particular route, add a waypoint in your route via the planner prior to exporting and importing.

Also note the manual:

NOTE
•
SeeFigure145.Ride Planner exports each pair of locations
as a separate trip (even though the entire Ride Planner
route is exported as a single GPX file). In the example, the
route from Location 1 to Location 2 (with the intermediate
waypoints) is exported as a trip. The route from Location
2 to Location 3 is exported as a separate trip.
•
The Boom! Box navigation system does not differentiate
between locations and waypoints. All items are imported
as destinations. When plotting a route, remember that each
trip can only include a total of nine destinations.
•
Ride Planner exports locations and waypoints into the GPX
file. It does not export the highlighted route. The exact
routing between destinations may be calculated differently
within the radio than shown in Ride Planner. To plot a
particular path, you may need to add waypoints along the
desired route. Also, the route calculation can be affect by
system settings such as route preferences (scenic, fastest,
shortest or twisty) and avoidances (such as toll roads,
unpaved roads and so on). See Route Preferences and
Avoidances (Page 146).

I'm adding a link to the manual for the one I believe you have just in case.
Boom 4.3/6.5

 

So what was in the cruft?

For bullet point 2, I'd read the manual (I actually got bound manuals with my bike) but it didn't go into enough detail to anticipate behavior. I did see the piece about each leg being a different trip, but it didn't really make sense until I sat down an messed with it. I've owned the bike for almost 2 years now and I've used the GPS mostly to get from where I am to a single destination. Tried to plan a full loop route once and I got so frustrated with it I turned it off. I'm a pretty technical guy, and I think some things are poorly worded or the information just isn't organized in a good way. I guess I started this because I finally got it figured out and was excited about that.

 

1) The downloaded GPX file contains the route and stops, but also the stops as locations. When you select the file to import, it'll ask you what parts. If you select all, it'll add the stop locations to your address book. If your an organizational freak like me, this is annoying. I don't need a fuel station I'll likely never go again in my address book. So when you import, only choose the segments to save the trips.
Stops, waypoints, and locations are all treated the same in the HD road planner. I always have the best luck importing all.
This is true for any GPS or map creator. Whether Garmin, google, etc. The options you have selected at the time of import will always override.
Use way points as shaping tools to create the route you want. There is a limit on the boom. I believe it is 12 per leg. Break up long days into separate trips. For example if you plan to stop for lunch, make the morning a separate trip for that day so you can have 12 waypoints for that leg alone and 12 more for the afternoon.
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I save my ride after each waypoint addition. Like I said before there is a limit on the number you can set.


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