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I'd like a GPS. It has to be affordable, meaning used, and should work for basic navigation on a motorcycle: wiring, cradle, waterproof,... I say basic because I look at it mainly as a dynamic, visual map. In addition I'd like the ability to plan routes on my PC. Am I forgetting something? I think of voice prompts as a bonus. Not sure if that's overlooking an important feature. If they are that important then Bluetooth might be useful.

I see Garmin Streetpilot 2610/2620 units for around $150. They sound like they might work for my purpose. They come with USB, but I don't see references to supplied software or the ability to plan routes on the PC. Does someone on here have either, and would either of these work for what I stated?

They both should come with software. It's useable - not wonderful. The 2620 does use a hard-drive.. which can be a disadvantage on a bike (impact problems).. although you can use a compact-flash card (1GB will load the entire US mapset..)

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=254#sp2620

I'd suggest looking for a 2720. It has all the US maps built in, and does turn by turn directions announcing the name of the road/street. The 2620 only tells you "Right turn 100 yards ahead" - the 2720 will tell you "Right turn on I-195 West 100 yards ahead" - this is MUCH better. Since the 2720 has been discontinued for a number of years - you'll find some steaming deals on them.

deilenberger wrote:I'd suggest looking for a 2720.

Thanks mucho. It didn't catch my eye, but yes, these are also available at good prices...

Isn't the 2720 the same as the old BMW Navigator III?

hjsbmw wrote:I think of voice prompts as a bonus. Not sure if that's overlooking an important feature. If they are that important then Bluetooth might be useful.

Herr Harald, any voice prompts, including Garmin's Text-to-Speech TTS technology, is a must-have on GPS. TTS might be standard on new Garmin models. To me, it's a safety issue. I use the BMW Navi IV (a glorified zumo 660) with TTS, and a Jabra BT-3030 Bluetooth receiver into which I plug Etymotic earbuds.

Over the weekend I met a guy with a Garmin Nuvi 765T in a motorcycle mount on his dirt bike. The 765 is a full featured unit in a very compact form. The T stands for its lifetime traffic warning system. They aren't very expensive. If I weren't satisfied with my Zumo I would consider one. Not sure where the mount came from -- maybe Garmin. He had it set up with a Ram mount on his handlebar.

Dave

Talon Six wrote:Isn't the 2720 the same as the old BMW Navigator III?

Not quite. I own both. The NAV-III has BlueTooth, not on the 2720. The NAV-III has several "features" the 2720 doesn't and the reason I relegated the 2720 to car use - the NAV-III has the cradle with the 3 extra buttons, which make all the difference when wearing gloves.

tl440 wrote:Over the weekend I met a guy with a Garmin Nuvi 765T in a motorcycle mount on his dirt bike. The 765 is a full featured unit in a very compact form. The T stands for its lifetime traffic warning system. They aren't very expensive. If I weren't satisfied with my Zumo I would consider one. Not sure where the mount came from -- maybe Garmin. He had it set up with a Ram mount on his handlebar.

Dave

Are any of the NUVI's waterproof? To me - that's a must - it's when the GPS comes in most handy.. and trying to use one in a baggie or in your tank-bag pocket is just unsafe.

websterize wrote:

hjsbmw wrote:I think of voice prompts as a bonus. Not sure if that's overlooking an important feature. If they are that important then Bluetooth might be useful.

Herr Harald, any voice prompts, including Garmin's Text-to-Speech TTS technology, is a must-have on GPS. TTS might be standard on new Garmin models. To me, it's a safety issue. I use the BMW Navi IV (a glorified zumo 660) with TTS, and a Jabra BT-3030 Bluetooth receiver into which I plug Etymotic earbuds.

+2 on must have to TTS. It makes it SO much easier to ignore the screen and just listen to the instructions.

And the Jabra goober (forget what number mine is - it's the one that looks like a dog-tag..) works great and lets me be untethered from the bike (can't even begin to count the number of times I had my earplug ripped from my ears walking away from the bike before getting BlueTooth..) The Etymotic earbuds are comfortable and work as well as any earplug..

Here's a handy comparison page on Garmin units: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID ... ES_NUVI2X5

They sell six waterproof units — two of them are nuvis. All come standard with TTS. (FYI, there's a fairly significant Garmin discount with an AMA membership.)

I bought a refurbished Garmin 2820 which has bluetooth. I've yet to use the bluetooth feature. I regret purchasing this unit as I've had problems with it. When I make custom routes on my computer and transfer them to the unit the route that show up on the unit is sometimes different than what I drew on the computer. The route which shows up on the unit will often try and take you across fields and places where there simply are no roads. It's not a matter of setting preferences to avoid dirt roads either. I've contacted Garmin several times about this issue and they've recognized the problem but said there is no fix for this yet. But there is a work around, where you add waypoints in the unit to the places where the route has gone bad to force it to stay on the road. It's a pain but I am still using this unit. On the plus side, I like the mp3 player and the ability to find gas stations and restaurants.

Re Don and Websterize coments: The mount I saw over the weekend seemed to enclose the 765T thus waterproofing it. I haven't looked at Garmin for a while. It's good to know there are waterproof Nuvis. They are slimmer and lighter that the Zumo 550 and less pricey than the 660.

Bought refurbished 2730 (2720 plus XM radio), used in car and on bike. No problems, the non-battery nature of device is not a problem.

Opinions vary re Garmin mapping software, but I get all the functionality I need. Voice prompting great, menu navigation easy.

This whole family of 2600 units has touch screen that is tough to see in glare. Just old tech, but one weakness.

Is the wired headphone connection with the chance to forget unplugging them the only drawback of not having Bluetooth? It seems on the 2720 it might be the case. Other, newer systems seem to allow running other devices through the GPS's Bluetooth, such as a cellphone.

hjsbmw wrote:Is the wired headphone connection with the chance to forget unplugging them the only drawback of not having Bluetooth? It seems on the 2720 it might be the case. Other, newer systems seem to allow running other devices through the GPS's Bluetooth, such as a cellphone.

It's certainly the biggest drawback. I don't use the BlueToof for my cell phone. I have trouble talking on a cell phone standing stationary - can't imagine using one whilst moving on a bike.

Bluetooth versus wired connection relates more to your choice of bike audio/intercom system hub, though standalone GPS use is certainly viable. I too use one of those Jabra BT3030 dogtags when riding Buell and listening to music via BlackBerry... sweet & simple for short joyrides.

I'm an Autocom fan for more complicated tankbag-based audio, and thus accustomed to helmet wire as part of riding ritual; Bluetooth GPS was not requirement for my Garmin 2730. The GPS is wired to Autocom along with iPod, BlackBerry phone, and Garmin Rino bike-to-bike radio (which also serves as GPS backup).

<edit> tagging along with following poster's excellent point, the advantage of wired helmet connection is freedom from battery-powered headset recharging... my preference is for no gizmo batteries at all in my audio/comms setup, everything connected to bike power.

hjsbmw wrote:Is the wired headphone connection with the chance to forget unplugging them the only drawback of not having Bluetooth?

Pretty much. In addition you don't have to remember to charge a battery with wired headphones. I get about 6 hours of continuous use out of the BT3030. It's got a sealed rechargeable battery.

websterize wrote:Pretty much. In addition you don't have to remember to charge a battery with wired headphones. I get about 6 hours of continuous use out of the BT3030. It's got a sealed rechargeable battery.

Of course if the BT battery does go dead - you have the option of plugging the earbuds into the GPS output directly (which means you have to remember to unplug..)

Here is a link to the weatherproof Nuvi mount: http://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-WEATHE ... B001G189DM.

Dave

sweatmark wrote:Bought refurbished 2730 (2720 plus XM radio), used in car and on bike. No problems, the non-battery nature of device is not a problem.

Opinions vary re Garmin mapping software, but I get all the functionality I need. Voice prompting great, menu navigation easy.

This whole family of 2600 units has touch screen that is tough to see in glare. Just old tech, but one weakness.

I have my auction sniper service set on a 2720 on eBay...

Hi Sweatmark,
What do you use to mount this on the handlebar, and what kind of wiring can you recommend? I see Powerlet and fixed wires sold on eBay. It seems that fixed wiring might make a Centech fusebox useful, unless one wants to stack multiple wires for different equipment on the battery terminals.