Low cost GPS

[lkchris]

It's not meant to be looked at while riding ...

An iPhone would work pretty well in this instance.

[JIMWJARMOUR]

Hi bought a garmin nuvi 255 from Wally mart here in canada for $80 can, used it all year, rain or shine on my 1977 rs and also with an rt fairing installed ,sometimes hard to see in sunshine some directions , vibes ok was advised to cover it with shrink wrap ? but to find a hotel ,gas , or mc Donalds its great,keeping an eye on trip milage time etc ,great buy , Jimmy

[sati8d]

Hey guys - always like these kinds of threads - I got a refurb unit 1490t - big 5" screen for $125 on fleebay, put on a RAM mount in a waterproof box. Agreed, it's hard to see at times. Total cost with mount and box roughly $170 and then another $14 for a harness directly wired to my FuzeBlok.
What makes it hard to see is the reflection of my light grey colored jacket which reflects the light onto it. All in all - it works and has taken me on some really fun back roads.

[40427]

I picked up a Garmin Nuvi 205W at Christmas , it works well in the car.

On the motorcycle i just stick it in the tank bag and only turn it on when i need info, its own battery seems to run it fine.

I did buy a dual Y cord from Powerlet that plugs in to my battery tender direct from the battery if I ever need to run the GPS for any length of time.

The other side of the Y cord is a BMW sized plug so i can hook up my electric vest if i need that.

[snookers]

First off......slick job with the Nuvi install......amazing how some mods turn out.

Now I can find a McDonald's easily, if anyone hasn't tried their coffee recently - try it. I prefer it to Tim's, and it rivals my home roasted from green beans.

Your absolutley right on the money about the coffee................Micky Dee's has a more flavorable blend........I think that Timmy's is a bit over rated......but their coffee is just so available.......can't comment on your home roast...........

As far as GPS installs go.......I use a Garmin 2720 that I purchased on E-bay.....have it mounted off of the triple tree with a Ram Mount. I like it because it's waterproof........I mean after riding in eight days of solid rain showers and downpours during my trip to the east coast proved just that. It's also glove freindly......and can be used when riding......

[bmwrider88]

i just bought a Nuvi 1450 LMT for 160.00, figured i'd use it in the cage all winter then maybe adapt it over to the bike with a waterproof box in summer...

plugged it in and registered the product then found and installed one upgrade right away. well actually it found one upgrade but took forever to download and verify it, then on the heels of all that, it found ANOTHER upgrade and i downloaded and installed it successfully, i maybe 2/3 the time.

it's going to be fun using it, i'm certain. i KNOW this has been covered ad nauseum in other threads, one of which i started myself... but i know i'm going to have questions..... i guess Garmin's website has tutorials? do they also have user forums and such? ah sh*t, another time sucker!

here are initial questions about set-up and efficiency:

*should i turn off traffic updates?
*how about routing specifics like avoidances?
*routing preferences like shortest, most fuel efficient?
*how about audio? is there a way to turn off the annoying beeps every time you hit a button or touch the thing? or adjust the volume so it's not super loud?

and finally,
*how do i get a British woman's voice on the thing?

[f14rio]

velcro.

one side to the bike,one side to the gps.

if good enough wasn't good enough, it wouldn't be good enough.

[88616]

I've run it off power from the USB port while on long car trips. This is not recommended for the bike. apparently it's not a waterproof connection. There is a separate 4 pin power port for that, but it requires a separate cable (not too expensive) it's power hungry like any GPS, so not a small issue for a long trip.

It will do turn by turn directions, but not right out of the box. You need aftermarket maps. They can be purchased pretty-much plug and play from Garmin, or you can use public domain maps from GPS File Depot if you are willing to fuss with it a while.

[snookers]

As an added note........if anyone is interested and willing to take a chance.....there's a 2620 and 2730 Garmin combo up on flea bay right now


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Garmin-Stree...item46001a2b0c

[pffog]

Just scored a Garmin 276C off of craigslist for $60, plus shipping

[88616]

Forgot the link last time.

www.gpsfiledepot.com
This site has a good selection of free maps and excellent tutorials on how to get them into Mapsource or Base Camp.

Garmin does not make this easy, but with some work, its do-able and will save you some serious coin.

[Lee]

i know i'm going to have questions..... i guess Garmin's website has tutorials? do they also have user forums and such? ah sh*t, another time sucker!

I used this Nuvi forum for awhile when I bought my first Garmin Nuvi.


http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewforum.php?f=2

[pipestone]

I used this Nuvi forum for awhile when I bought my first Garmin Nuvi.


http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewforum.php?f=2

Thanks for that link