Thought it was just me, glad to know I am not alone. The HD Ride Planner is pretty easy to use and will work with most Garmin GPS, not just the 660 or 550. Sometimes it seems like more work than its worth.

 

Thanks guys, I'll try out some of your ideas. I've "updated" MapSource to it's latest release so I think it's now running under DOS 2.1 ; )

I've tried HD Planner and that also doesn't seem completely compatible and drops data during the transfer to the GPS.

I'll check out MapPoint and Tyre today.

Thanks!

 

I have a Zumo 660, and agree MapSource needs some work... I was just in TN/NC for 2 weeks of heavenly riding, and found it easiest to plan my daily trips right on the Zumo using the Custom Routes feature...

 

Maybe Garmin just doesn't care.

They are the gorilla in the market and their strategy is to minimize investment and maximize profit. Saving a million dollars here and there on software functionality upgrades for us motorcycle riders is a million dollars here and there someone can put into their pocket.

Who really uses Mapsource besides us guys? We care about the roads we want to ride, and we don't want to take the shortest, or the fastest route. But what do people care about in a car? Not the same at all.

Tom-Tom is even worse, they don't even have a Mapsource like program.. so it's not like the competition is pushing this as a key piece of functionality.

Don't expect it to get any better.

 

Ok, right now I could be cited for alcohol abuse! Spit out some of my beer when I read the subject line. I am so glad I’m not the only one………. What a pain in the *** that program is. Maybe I should send them a complaint then take some of the advice given. My wife was sitting next to me the other day when I was trying to map a route and then not being able to find the damned thing when it supposedly transferred to my Garmin. Not worth the frustration.

Now it’s time for some FOOTBALL!

 

i was trying using the new mapquest. i would map the whole route out and then when i transfers it over the garmin reroutes it back to the original. will have to ry some of the other ways you guys have listed.

 

I use the H-D map available on the website and then just load it into my Garmin 550. It is real easy and the software is OK too.

 

I have the mapsource application. It does work, but it is obviously lacking a number of bells and whistles compared to the online HD trip planner, Google Maps, and a couple others. Getting an address pinned down from point A to B can be painful.

 

I've used the HD Ride Planner several times and haven't had a problem loading onto my Garmin Zumo 660. Also, not too difficult to reroute when need to.

 

Mapsource is a powerful program but is remarkably non-user-friendly. Once you figure it out, and it isn't any easy proposition, it works fairly well. Before you transfer a route to the Zumo you should have sufficient viapoints or waypoints in the route, as if you don't the Zumo may send you on different roads. I've found this out a few times the hard way in the past, as although it will get you to the destination you may find yourself wondering where on Earth the GPS is taking you.

I have never figured out an easy way to insert a simple start and end point, and I usually just establish two waypoints and use those. Like everything else in Mapsource this isn't a straightforward proposition, and in theory you can establish a waypoint using the Find function, but this hasn't worked lately and has been unable to find any location I insert. If you want to change a route by drag-and-drop, just use the selection tool, left-click on the route once to make the route show as yellow, then do the drag-and-drop with your mouse. It works for me every time.