I had to make an emergency trip to Detroit last week and I borrowed a friends GPS to use in my truck. This was my first time using a GPS and now I am sold on them and will be buying one in the near future.

I am not a high tech person so I have few questions.

The unit I borrowed was a Garmin nuvi 265wt. Will this model work o.k. to use on my SG?
Will I be able to hear the audio voice while on the bike or will I need some helmet speakers?
Will the vibration on my SG kill the unit or do they stand up to it?

I went to the Garmin web site and there are so many units that my head is still spinning. I don't want to spend more than a couple hundred dollars on a GPS so any advise for a low tech person would be appreciated.

 

It's the same one I use on an Ultra,you can not hear it at all,vibration has been no issue so far.

 

Did you get your truck or did they burn it with a body inside it?
Welcome to Detroit!

Just had to do it....lol.

 

I have the Nuvi 1300 although not waterproof and not recomended for bikes it's worked ok so far....Got it at wally world for 149.00......
Would like to get a Zumo but dont think spending that much is worth it for me....

 

i have the zumo 550. paid around 700 for it. made for a bike. can deal with vibration, rain, etc.
so far for me it has been great.
i have it connected into the radio ('09 ultra) so i have no problem hearing it.

also has blue tooth and xm and fm weather and traffic (need subscription).

but for those that want to pay less, i am not sure there is anything by garmin that is made for motorcycles.

if i didn't have this one or didn't want to pay the money, then i would think of getting a cheaper one and then wouldn't expect as much from it. and i would use it differently. i would map plan my trip more and then just use the gps for the final approach.

 

I have a Garmin Nuvi 450, bought it for about $150 on clearance. It is the barebones model. I have it mounted to the dash with the Harley Fairing Mount Kit. Looks real nice and easy to do.

Cale

 

There are actually 4 that are "made for motorcycles" (Zumo line) and 2 others that are waterproof for less money (Nuvi 500 and 550). The thing that draws me more to the Zumo (besides the waterproof thing) is the MP3 player. You can hook that to your Aux input on the stereo and hear the voice prompts since the GPS will mute the music, give you directions, then return to music.

Tom Tom has some as well.

 

+1 on the Zumo 550

I love mine. One of the best things I have purchased for the bike. When I lead a ride on a complicated route it is worth its weight in gold. My wife was opposed to the expensive toy but has warmed to it too. Last week she led a group of 13 bikes on a ladies ride and ended up with the directions magneted to her tank. Now she wants to know if we can get another cradle so she can use the Zumo on hers from time to time.

For long trips, it is also a blessing. It won't do anything a good map won't do but it does it far easier and with less cussing from me. Planning a trip with the mapping software is nice as well.

I have a Jawbone bluetooth earpiece that I had a custom made ear adaptor made so I get directions clear as a bell at 75 mph and can hold phone calls up to 50.

 

I have been using a Garmin Nuvi 350 on my SG for 2 years now with no problems. It has a headphone jack that I put a mono earplug in that sets in my windshield bag. When I need to hear prompts I just place the single ear bud in one ear and can hear even when running down the interstates. Bought a waterproof box thru Ram Mounts that I keep in my saddlebag for when it rains...works great. Went from Pa to Daytona, Florida and back last year and had no problems at all. Would not travel without one now on long trips. With the lodging and gas station features I found our hotels etc as we were running with a touch of a button.

 

FYI - Nuvi 785 is what I use. Not waterproof - but does have MP3 capability. Plug it into your Aux port on your radio, listen to your MP3's and the navigtation directions will also come over your bike stereo. They are discontinued now - I bought mine as a refurbished unit for around $175. It's worked well fo rme.