Google Maps to Garmin 660

[Pennyrick]

Has anyone found a way to transfer a Google Maps custom program to the Garmin 660? I followed some instructions from an on line forum on Garmin but could only move the destination and the start point, not the route I wanted to travel.

I contacted Garmin about the insanely difficult 'Basecamp' software they offer for custom mapping but all I got back was an email telling me to pull down their 'help' menu and that didn't offer much help! Basecamp is by far the most difficult software I have ever had to deal with and while I am no expert I know my way around most of this kind of stuff. To use their program you have to mark the route with 'Waypoints' all the way through and unless it is a defined town or city the software ignores the setting. Often I want to take an offbeat road and just go left at another offbeat road where the intersection is not a defined place... Garmin won't let me do that.

Google's idea of letting you just drag the cursor along the roads you want to follow is much, much superior to Garmin's mapping program. There must be a way to get a saved route in Google over to the device that Can Am provided with my Spyder. The device itself only has 'faster', 'shorter', 'highways' and 'tollroads' as choices unless I am missing a hidden place in the menus. None of those options let you select a route on the true back roads of our great country.

[lyonsden]

Has anyone found a way to transfer a Google Maps custom program to the Garmin 660? I followed some instructions from an on line forum on Garmin but could only move the destination and the start point, not the route I wanted to travel.

I contacted Garmin about the insanely difficult 'Basecamp' software they offer for custom mapping but all I got back was an email telling me to pull down their 'help' menu and that didn't offer much help! Basecamp is by far the most difficult software I have ever had to deal with and while I am no expert I know my way around most of this kind of stuff. To use their program you have to mark the route with 'Waypoints' all the way through and unless it is a defined town or city the software ignores the setting. Often I want to take an offbeat road and just go left at another offbeat road where the intersection is not a defined place... Garmin won't let me do that.

Google's idea of letting you just drag the cursor along the roads you want to follow is much, much superior to Garmin's mapping program. There must be a way to get a saved route in Google over to the device that Can Am provided with my Spyder. The device itself only has 'faster', 'shorter', 'highways' and 'tollroads' as choices unless I am missing a hidden place in the menus. None of those options let you select a route on the true back roads of our great country.
I thought the exact same thing when I got my Garmin. Waypoints are the only way I have figured out to do it. Not an easy task! :banghead:

[chisel_maker]

I use this.
http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/gmaptogpx/
It requires some cut and paste but it works very well.

[GuitarPlayer]

I did a quick search and found this. I don't know if it works or not. I'll leave the testing of this process to the original poster.

After many hours of research and struggle online to transfer easily a custom map from Google to my Garmin 660, I finally found an easy way to do so.
For those interested, here is how I do it now since the Garmin Map Source software is just not great at all.

1- Create your own map by dragging your route through google map. (don't forget to save it)
2- You need to convert the link (of this specific map) into a GPX file and save it on your desktop or where ever you would like it to be.
To do this conversion, I use this: http://www.cgtk.co.uk/navigation/gpx
At the bottom of this page, you enter the name of your choice for this map (ex: beach trip) and then enter the link you got from Google and click "Convert to GPX" (in my case, it goes directly in the download folder--I'm using windows 7)
3- To transfer this GPX file to the GPS device connect it to the computer and ensure the device goes into mass storage mode. Windows should prompt you to open a folder to view files (if it doesn't then go to the Start Menu > My Computer and double click the Edge drive). From this Window
Open the Garmin folder
Open the GPX folder
Paste the file into this folder (right click then paste)
4- Disconnect your GPS unit from the computer and turn it on.
5- Then, on your unit, go to the "tool" menu
6- Select the folder "my data"
7- then select "import data"
8- then select "route" (you should see your custom map with the name you entered in section 2-) Then click "Import"
You should now see your custom map on your GPS.

Hope this helps,

Tony

[bmwlarry]

I use the program and find it pretty easy to use. You add a start and destination and it plans the route. Then you proceed to drag the the route as you would in Google.
Larry

[kentompkins]

Here's another description of how to do it: http://www.stevemanes.com/content/using-google-maps-garmin-zumo-660

Btw, this isn't radically different from how I've had to get maps into my Zumo 550.

ken tompkins

[harrypottar]

You can also use cough, cough, Honda's Trip Planner (http://tripplanner.honda.com/) for their Goldwing.

Its a Flex(Flash) based app so it won't work on an iPad but you can plan you trip and export out to a GPX file. The Goldwing's built in GPS is made by Garmin.

Not much better but the MAPs API used in flex is google.

harry

[Pennyrick]

You can also use cough, cough, Honda's Trip Planner (http://tripplanner.honda.com/) for their Goldwing.

Its a Flex(Flash) based app so it won't work on an iPad but you can plan you trip and export out to a GPX file. The Goldwing's built in GPS is made by Garmin.

Not much better but the MAPs API used in flex is google.

harry

Thanks Harry.

The Honda map program is pretty good and it appears to be Mac friendly unlike the other ideas submitted (that I appreciate, by the way). I should be able to get the GPZ file over to my Zumo.

[harrypottar]

Harley (http://www.harley-davidson.com:80/wcm/Content/Pages/Ride_Planner/Ride_Planner.jsp?locale=en_US&request_key=109626864) as one as well, just scroll down under the video section and click Launch Ride Planner To Get Started


You can send to your device directly or manually save the files in GPX format.

harry

[Bike-O-Din]

:f_spider: I use TYRE instead. It was created by motorcyclists for motorcylists, so it has a lot of features that make it a great choice.

It uses Google Maps, but puts in the waypoints and creates any kind of route that you want. It has an export function that allows you to save it in Garmin format. Then you simply copy it to a folder for the "Custom Routes" on the 660. It works perfectly.

If you buy the upgraded version, it has a really cool feature that I use a lot. You pick a starting and an ending point, tell the software how many miles you want to go and it will create several random routes that avoid highways if you tell it to. It has created some great "surprise" routes for me, and each one that I picked has provided simple installation to the Garmin and works great on the trip.

Check it out: http://www.tyretotravel.com/

[MtlBen]

I have a Zumo 350, and I did not have much success exporting from the Harley planner to my Zumo. I had funny ghost waypoints and routes.

I use Garmin's BaseCamp, but the Zumo uses a different routing algorithm, so the same start and end points can result in different routes :banghead:. You have to make sure you add plenty of waypoints in BaseCamp to make sure The Zumo routes you through the same itinary.

...Ben...

[harrypottar]

:f_spider: I use TYRE instead. It was created by motorcyclists for motorcylists, so it has a lot of features that make it a great choice.

It uses Google Maps, but puts in the waypoints and creates any kind of route that you want. It has an export function that allows you to save it in Garmin format. Then you simply copy it to a folder for the "Custom Routes" on the 660. It works perfectly.

If you buy the upgraded version, it has a really cool feature that I use a lot. You pick a starting and an ending point, tell the software how many miles you want to go and it will create several random routes that avoid highways if you tell it to. It has created some great "surprise" routes for me, and each one that I picked has provided simple installation to the Garmin and works great on the trip.

Check it out: http://www.tyretotravel.com/

Just an FYI, Windows only, I know that you can run emulators on Macs, I do for certain stuff for work (server stuff).

harry

[NancysToy]

I use Microsoft Streets & Trips. It only saves the waypoints, however...the Garmin determines its own route between them.

[RodMyers]

Has anyone found a way to transfer a Google Maps custom program to the Garmin 660? I followed some instructions from an on line forum on Garmin but could only move the destination and the start point, not the route I wanted to travel.

I contacted Garmin about the insanely difficult 'Basecamp' software they offer for custom mapping but all I got back was an email telling me to pull down their 'help' menu and that didn't offer much help! Basecamp is by far the most difficult software I have ever had to deal with and while I am no expert I know my way around most of this kind of stuff. To use their program you have to mark the route with 'Waypoints' all the way through and unless it is a defined town or city the software ignores the setting. Often I want to take an offbeat road and just go left at another offbeat road where the intersection is not a defined place... Garmin won't let me do that.

Google's idea of letting you just drag the cursor along the roads you want to follow is much, much superior to Garmin's mapping program. There must be a way to get a saved route in Google over to the device that Can Am provided with my Spyder. The device itself only has 'faster', 'shorter', 'highways' and 'tollroads' as choices unless I am missing a hidden place in the menus. None of those options let you select a route on the true back roads of our great country.

www.Mapquest.com transfers seemlessly into my 660

[Trickie Dick]

I tried Basecamp but found it complicated so I went back to Harley Davidson's Rider Planner.
You have to remember every rider planner just sends the starting and ending points to the Garmin. The garmin then calculates the route, and of course, many times it doesnt coincide with the way you want to go. The solution is putting waypoints along the route that the map planner will send to the garmin so it then calculates based on those. This forces the Garmin to route the way you want to go. I found the HD ride planner the easiest to insert waypoints and it will export directly to the 660.
http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.com/rideplanner/ridePlanner.jsp

[lyonsden]

Like Scotty I use Streets and Trips and add waypoints to get it to travel the roads I want. What I really like about this program is it will show you where there is construction and you can avoid it. It updates the construction using the internet connection. I've tried them all and so far it works the best for me.

[harrypottar]

These are all great suggestions, but just an FYI, the OP commented in post 8 that his looking at Mac Friendly programs.

Been a professional mac user since 1985 and love the Macs but they do lack in some software areas. Base Camp on the Mac is a very poor port although its not that great on the PC either. You can run PC software via emulations with Parallels or my Favorite VMWare Fusion, but it would be nice to get some native support.

Garmin had a great program (ahead of it's time) called Map Source on the PC a few years back. I go it, I think with my Garmin Legend hand held GPS. Used to hike a lot around new england and is a great device. I use it still on my ATV as its a great off road machine and support topographical maps. Map Source had great routing tools and was quick easy to use and highly customizable routes.

It used to work with my Zumo 550 just fine, although it will send GPX files to the 660 it does not like the 2013 map data for some reason and the 660 recalculates the route.

I have sent feature request to Garmin for a native iPad support gps application. They could use bluetooth to transfer data back and fourth, I normally don't carry my Macbook with me on rides as most of what I want to do can be done with the iPad while traveling.

Good luck to the OP in finding some thing that works for you, I know personally I would be lost without my GPS.


harry

[Pennyrick]

I tried Basecamp but found it complicated so I went back to Harley Davidson's Rider Planner.
You have to remember every rider planner just sends the starting and ending points to the Garmin. The garmin then calculates the route, and of course, many times it doesnt coincide with the way you want to go. The solution is putting waypoints along the route that the map planner will send to the garmin so it then calculates based on those. This forces the Garmin to route the way you want to go. I found the HD ride planner the easiest to insert waypoints and it will export directly to the 660.
http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.com/rideplanner/ridePlanner.jsp

Thanks so much!!

I logged on to the HD ride planner and found it to be the best I have seen. I had no trouble just putting in road intersections (Like Ga hwy 20 & Ga hwy 9) and the program found and highlighted them. I plotted our upcoming trip, selecting the back roads I wanted and easily exported it to my Garmin 660. I didn't expect it to break into sections like it did but that is okay. I noted about twenty way points so it broke the trip down into twenty sections on the Garmin but it named them correctly and numbered them one through twenty so I am fine with that.

Now I will load the same info into my wife's Garmin so that her Spyder can either lead or follow on the same trip.

I really appreciate the help.