R1100S best bike-based GPSs with Euro Maps ?

[masha]

I'm looking at various GPS mounts for my R1100S presently to take it abroad in the summer and for general UK riding.

What do fellow members consider to be:
- the best fitting & neatest installing
- best priced
- best featured
- most durable (ie either waterproof or easily removable)
GPS for use with the bike presently on the market.

I presently have a Snooper Indigo for the car - but the mount is not easy to adapt and I'll have to pay to upgrade to the Euro maps anyway, and as my camera subscription has expired on it anyway I am considering a new GPS for the bike.

Matt

[Lars1974]

Hi Matt,

i bought a Garmin Quest from ebay for £100 a few years ago...and it has serve me well. took us round spain touring and through Germany etc..without getting the map out once...

battery life is excellent and you can ride for 2 days before re-charging...
i fix mine to the left mirror using a RAM mount, which works well too..

here is a pic:



Downside: as mine is Quest 1 it only holds maps for maybe 3 countries...if you get qa Quest 2 it will hold all of Europe.

hope this helps.
thx Lars

[throttlemeister]

Masha, the Garmin Zumo does it all.

[snavetrauts]

I use a ram mount from the clutch reservoir cover and run power from a powerlet socket on the winker shroud. Quest is very good and now cheap but as previously stated you have to load all likely required maps before setting off.... I have never had a proble with this however.





Stuart

[Blackal]

You won't be able to copy Lars' mounting solution (dead clever though) as your mirrors are bar-mounted.

I've had a Quest and 2610 mounted from the clutch reservoir - no problems.

For the money - Can't see past the Zumo 550 now, especially since it comes with car and bike mounts for the price of £350.

Get a Zumo and mount it from the clutch reservoir or centrally from the yoke.

Al

[Red Fokker]

Doesn't the mirror mounting option get in the way of the mirror, or is it just the angle ot the photograph?

[Lars1974]

no, it does not get in the way at all. i took the picture a bit too low...

it does not vibrate either...works fine for me...

[Blackal]

it does not vibrate either...works fine for me...

That's the beauty of the fairing-mounted mirrors ............ far less vibration than the bar-mounted ones

If I was just getting a GPS for UK - I would get the Quest 1, but for trips abroad it has to be the Zumo ( or cheap 2610)

Can't reconcile the cost of the Quest 2 against a Zumo, though

Al

[Karlos]

I have just got the Tom Tom rider 2nd edition for Xmas and as soon as I get my bike (hopefully within the next 2 weeks) I shall have the problem of fitting it cos as far as I can see the "fittings" supplied won´t fit the BM. I will in all probability go for the clutch cover with Ram mount....If I can find one here in Spain. Could you give me any contacts Snavetraut? also if I take off my cat where can I get a y piece?

Un saludo

[snavetrauts]

Hi Karlos..... I bought my ram mounts over the internet after talking to people on this site..... so I am not aware of any spanish contacts. When you purchase, you need to get the smallest length arm they do. about an inch I think.... any longer and you lose visibility of the clocks.

Do a search on gps ram mounts and you will see the original thread and recommended place to buy..... I cannot find my invoices at the moment so am not much help on that score. It cam from the states if I remember.... Ram UK did not do the reservoir cover mount when I tried... this may have changed now.

Good luck

Stuart

[vienna]

Did you read the artical in the motoring section of the Telegraph on Saturday ? Was about to get a Zumo but the view was that the Garmin was expensive with irritating reminders to update subscription to speed camera database, and better of with cheeper Tom Tom

Looking to upgrade existing Garmin street pilot, need maps of europe, speed camera data base and traffic master " jam buster "info all to be portable between car and bike.

Anyone out there cracked it?

[soggybottoms]

Dunno about expensive
I don't get any reminders about updates - so that sounds like journobollocks

Make your own decision - the Garmin gives you MapSource which most of the other bits of kit don't. This is great for plotting routes.

The zumo 550 has the traffic master arial and gives you total transferability between bike and car - but you don't need traffic master on the bike unless you are a twat with all the panniers on and sh1t even if you are popping down to see your mum 3 miles away.

Zumo 550 ram mounted on the clutch cover is the way foward - until things change.

btw - some people discount the TTS capabilities of this model without understanding the real benefits of not having to look at the screen and being given streetnames thru your earbuds as they unfold before you

[Blackal]

You'll never regret buying the Zumo 550

At around £350 (might have gone up after Christmas?) you get the most up to date Garmin, with car and bike mounts included in the price. It also allows you to plot routes and share them with other garmin users, and upload your tracks to your pc afterwards.

If you have Google maps on your PC you can then open the tracks in Google maps for a satellite view of where you've been.

Oh - it also pairs up with your phone by bluetooth and you can dial, answer, etc via the touchscreen/speaker in the car.

If you have comms on your bike - you have the above facility with the sound piped through to your speakers/mike.

Don't get a TomTom................ they are for girlies and taxi drivers

Al

[throttlemeister]

Did you read the artical in the motoring section of the Telegraph on Saturday ? Was about to get a Zumo but the view was that the Garmin was expensive with irritating reminders to update subscription to speed camera database, and better of with cheeper Tom Tom

Looking to upgrade existing Garmin street pilot, need maps of europe, speed camera data base and traffic master " jam buster "info all to be portable between car and bike.

Anyone out there cracked it?

If you want to create your own routes on your pc for your vacation, good luck with TomTom. I am Dutch, so I really should be chauvinistic, but I think TomTom is a piece of sh1te that is utterly useless for anything other than A to B navigation. It's a lot of hype, little substance.

There is a reason why they are so cheap. You get what you pay for.

Zumo doesn't whine about updates, comes with all of Europe and can be used to upload any of the free speedcamera databases.

Any rag that blows off the Zumo as too expensive and TomTom being a better choice 1) doesn't know what they are talking about and 2) never actually used the damn things, definitely not like most motorcyclists like to use one.

[boxerscott]

Consensus of forum seems to give nod to the Zumo, has anyone bought the Samsung with loads of europe mapping that lidl were offering pre xmas for £150.00.? Could not find a store with any in stock though?