GPS: To use one or not to use one ????

[Tracey@Leader]

Love all the discussions this topic brings up. To use a GPS or not to? Lots of arguments for both. Been riding my whole life and feel like having a GPS gives me more freedom. I am not one that enjoys wandering around lost.. too much stress, plus.....maps??? Still can't read one!! :sour:

So these are my REALLY good reason to have a GPS and some points on how to pick the right unit for you.

https://www.leadermotorcycle.com/blogs/news/96857030-gps-seven-reasons-to-use-it-on-your-motorcycle

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: I'm all for using whatever technology is available, if it'll keep me from ending up on the wrong Planet! :yikes:

(Love my Garmin 660! :thumbup

 

[murphybrown]

Whatever works for you...

I say that as I have a GPS about to arrive next week. Until now I have traveled 110k on Spyder without one...you ask Why Now? I say the price was right and for a moment I am willing to consider using!!! But that darned thing get me LOST and I'm back to my maps and note cards!!! GPS for me has always been talking to folks and asking ?'s. Get Person Service!! :yes::yes:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

GPS

IMHO...............This is what I think is the best thing about the GPS.....even if you don't completely understand it......If you enter the address you are at NOW and you take off to parts unknown just riding around .......It will get you back to where you started by telling it to return to START for that trip or something similar.....................just a thought.......Mike :bbq:

 

[sandeejs]

GPS yes

I use my GPS a lot. I saves me bunches of time over my (usual) getting lost. It still needs some supervision - on a trip from Boston to Maine, it kept taking me off the freeway on a silly loop. (Maybe an errant breeze changed the route?)

Sometimes wondering lost can be nice, though.....

~Sandee~

 

[SpyderSteveFL]

Good tips and reasons. I have a 590 on the bike but sometimes I also use smartphone with Waze. Waze is great and was just recently updated. It's a 'social GPS' so you can enter or get indications of police, disabled vehicles, debris, traffic, etc. You can also send your ETA/route to others so you can track who is where, etc. which can be nice to meet up or know what time you all are arriving at a destination. Can keep phone in pocket or anywhere safe on the bike and just listen via bluetooth to helmet. It's all free, just need a smartphone. And fyi, it's pronounced "ways" Sometimes it's nice to have backups to each other too.

 

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

I like gps, less stress when riding, more time to enjoy ride

 

[Bob Denman]

Besides: I'm already used to having women give me directions anyway...
At least with this one; I can choose whichever accent I like the most! :thumbup:

 

[Chupaca]

Well....

I have one but only drag it out in certain situations. They are great and would not travel with out it but now with the phone, waze, google you really can do it all without a dedicated GPS. You should have something though....:thumbup:

 

[fjray]

GPS

The GPS technology is really good and I have five of them but I still never leave on a trip without paper maps.

 

[robmorg]

Is there really a dispute about this?

Why wouldn't anyone think it's a good idea to have a GPS? For me, not having one in every vehicle I own is hard to imagine in this day and age - it's just second nature. It's sometimes feels odd to think that GPS has only been available to us since 1983 when President Reagan declassified the technology for public use. When I was a pilot I learned to fly using older forms of navigation, but GPS changed everything. It was far superior, and more accurate, compared to flying by visual reference or older radio beacon forms of navigation; and eventually it opened up instrument approaches to many secondary airports that were previously completely unavailable when flying in weather.

I'm a big fan of Garmin, but have used others as well. I've lost count of how many GPS units I've owned in the last 30 years, or given as gifts - probably well over 30.

 

[ARtraveler]

The answer depends on where you are.

I don't use one, never have--but that is just me.

My state has many uncharted areas. You can take road X and end up going off the face of a cliff if you blindly follow a GPS. It's all about the GPS programming--as in abandoned logging roads, or trails to the little old cabin in the woods.

They are great for the known roads though. :yes:

 

[900Dave]

I use it all the time, even around the area I live. I just keep the map up and I can glance down and see what roads, intersections towns or anything else I may want to avoid I can then make my way around them. Sometimes like today I got a little turned around and punched in the restaurant I wanted to go to for lunch and quickly realized after the GPS guided me in the right direction that I was really close to my destination.

It also lets me know how fast I am really going.

 

[JayHawker]

GPS Problem

I have a 2012 RTL with Zuno 660. My problem with this, and all GPS units I have used is that they always try to route you to interstate highways. Even if you are miles from interstate they will try to get you to turn around or turn left or right. I like to travel the back roads not the interstate. Anyone know how to get around the problem?

 

[Brian Kay]

I have a 2012 RTL with Zuno 660. My problem with this, and all GPS units I have used is that they always try to route you to interstate highways. Even if you are miles from interstate they will try to get you to turn around or turn left or right. I like to travel the back roads not the interstate. Anyone know how to get around the problem?

There should be a setting that allows you to deselect freeways or interstates from your route options. Google search your model and instructions... That will get you started. Or do what most men do, throw out the instructions and just hit buttons until you find what you're looking for.

 

[SpyderSteveFL]

I have a 2012 RTL with Zuno 660. My problem with this, and all GPS units I have used is that they always try to route you to interstate highways. Even if you are miles from interstate they will try to get you to turn around or turn left or right. I like to travel the back roads not the interstate. Anyone know how to get around the problem?

Under Tools > Settings > Navigation there should be some menus. One is called Avoidances. There should be a setting for highways. Not in front of one but you should be able to say avoid highways or prefer local roads. You can also choose shortest vs fastest route.

 

[Pampurrs]

I wouldn't mind having one, but for $1,000 I'd rather just use mapquest.

Pam

 

[bmwlarry]

I love to plan and routes at home on my computer. I select the roads I want to ride and when planned, I upload that to the GPS. I often just want to ride and I go where I havn't gone before. I don't have to worry because all I have to do is hit the Home button when I find myself completely lost!!

 

[gkamer]

I'm in

Love all the discussions this topic brings up. To use a GPS or not to? Lots of arguments for both. Been riding my whole life and feel like having a GPS gives me more freedom. I am not one that enjoys wandering around lost.. too much stress, plus.....maps??? Still can't read one!! :sour:

So these are my REALLY good reason to have a GPS and some points on how to pick the right unit for you.

https://www.leadermotorcycle.com/blogs/news/96857030-gps-seven-reasons-to-use-it-on-your-motorcycle

First, let me start off by saying I feel sorry for people who never get lost because there is a whole lot of this county they never get to see. Luckily, I'm a member of the Wandering Minstrels as my dear old mom used to call us. So I've seen more of the country than I intended. Now, as for using a GPS. I'm all in favor of it. When I brought my first GPS, the hardest thing I had to over come was getting used to blindly following the instructions of an electronic gizmo. I used to test it by plugging in a destination I already knew how to get to, and than following the directions of the GPS. Sometimes it would take me on a route I would not have followed, however it did get me where I wanted to go. So if I were a stranger in town, did the GPS pass? Of course.

But with my cell phone, I find myself using my GPS unit less and less. I used the WAZE app from the goggle app store and it has not let me down yet. At least it gets me where I want to go, and it's one less device I have to carry around. The down side to using my cell phone is the app draws more power then my adapter can replace so it's not really ideal for really long trips. So in that respect the GPS wins hands down since it's not using power for a whole slew of other things like my phone is doing. Of course if I know I'm going to be on the interstate for the next 100 miles, I'll turn my WAZE app off. Even I can't get lost traveling in a straight line.

 

[gkamer]

A safety tip

IMHO...............This is what I think is the best thing about the GPS.....even if you don't completely understand it......If you enter the address you are at NOW and you take off to parts unknown just riding around .......It will get you back to where you started by telling it to return to START for that trip or something similar.....................just a thought.......Mike :bbq:

Most, if not all GPS's will have a "take me home" feature, where you can enter in your home address as part of the units setting. No one should need a GPS that will take them to their front door. So I set my "home" address for our Sheriff's office. If I do get lost, I will use the Take Me Home feature to just get me back into familiar territory, to where I can say "Oh OK, I know where I am now". But if someone breaks into my vehicle while I'm at the mall and steals my GPS and use Take Me Home to go burgle my house, they are in for a surprise.