GPS on a Motorcycle

[MaxPete]

Hi All:

I am also on the Honda ST Owners forum - and a question came up about mounting a conventional car GPS unit on a motorcycle. The big concern is getting the darned thing wet and this is an issue because the proper motorcycle Garmin model - the ZUMO - is very expensive, but you can get a Garmin car NUVI GPS for a fraction of the cost. The NUVI clearly is not as rugged as a ZUMO but you could buy literally 3-5 of them for the cost of a ZUMO - so as long as the NUVI doesn't die in the first few ride, you'll be ahead.

The biggest issue in my view is water - it always seems to rain when I ride and so I searched and found a YouTube video on how to waterproof a standard Garmin GPS. The method is very simple and appeared to be highly effective. All the guy did was mask the screen using a piece of a Post-It note carefully trimmed to leave a very tiny portion of the screen around the edge of the tape. Then he smeared silicone sealer around the edge of the screen, pressing down as he went to drive the sealer into the joint, and then after it cured, he removed the Post-It leaving behind a totally sealed screen.

He said that the speaker and other openings either don't seem to leak or if they do, it never seems to cause a problem. Here is a linky to his video - and be sure to watch his garden hose test at the end. It is very convincing.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[queenslegs]

http://www.catphones.com, GPS app, or even google, thermal imaging for checking engine temp, good to go!

 

[MaxPete]

Yeah, that looks really nice - but it costs $800 USD QL!

You can get a decent large screen Garmin car model for $129 CDN at Crappy Tire and even the ZUMO 660 is only about $3-400 on the web and likely less than that used.

 

[fredintoon]

Hi Pete,
shoving the GPS inside a ziplok bag don't work for you?

 

[MaxPete]

Hi Pete,
shoving the GPS inside a ziplok bag don't work for you?

Yup - it would Fred except that the bag will be cut by the mounting arrangements. The method shown in the film allows one to use the stock mount (or a ball-type mount) really easily and it seems to produce a very robust water seal.

Are you guys in SK riding yet?

 

[fredintoon]

Hi Pete,
Mount it? Shove it in your pocket. You shouldn't be gawping at a little screen when you ride, you should be looking where you are going.
Wire the GPS to an ear bug and listen to it, OK.
Here in Saskatoon we typically plate our bikes on April Fool's Day but for sure we won't put our snowblowers away at that time.
OTOH, folks in Northern Saskatchewan will most likely still be riding their snowmobiles until mid May.

 

[MaxPete]

OK Fred, I'll see what I can do.

 

[mrtwowheel]

Good solution, but I am still avoiding cell phones and GPS for as long as I can. I can still use my "truckers atlas" and it gives me the full sensation of where I am and where I'm going, that's really not the same with GPS. I used to use phone cards and pay phones, that's gone to hell. Still, I think I'll make it for the rest of my life very happily without a cell phone or GPS.

Scott

 

[MaxPete]

Good solution, but I am still avoiding cell phones and GPS for as long as I can. I can still use my "truckers atlas" and it gives me the full sensation of where I am and where I'm going, that's really not the same with GPS. I used to use phone cards and pay phones, that's gone to hell. Still, I think I'll make it for the rest of my life very happily without a cell phone or GPS.

Scott

You're a lucky one Scott - wish I could do the same but my life is still too busy and my memory too poor to remember directions. Oh well, thats the way it goes.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[wrenchjohns]

Well Pete, I use a zumo purchased in 07 (I was working then) specifically for roadtrips. I don't watch the screen but I do listen to mp3s while riding with the directions screaming over top. recalculating! I see them on ebay not too pricey. BUT compared to nuvi 205 for $10.95us delivered I would now buy 2 or 3 nuvi and hope for the best. recalculating! The funny thing, while riding in AZ, I went looking for London Bridge (thinking Tower Bridge) and rode over it 4 times then figured it out, DUH! Nothing but a bridge over water. john

edit, I still use the zumo on roadtrips.

 

[XSLeo]

If some one want's all those up to date toys when you ride, I feel your missing out on a good thing. Getting lost while riding is a good thing. I've met so many good people when I get lost.
Also taking along the things that create the most stressful times in your day to day on a bike ride is kinda counterproductive. I ride to relieve stress and to get away from life's problems.
To enjoy the music from the wind, the hum of your tires and the throb of the engine is a big part of what bike is all about.
Leo

 

[MaxPete]

If some one want's all those up to date toys when you ride, I feel your missing out on a good thing. Getting lost while riding is a good thing. I've met so many good people when I get lost.
Also taking along the things that create the most stressful times in your day to day on a bike ride is kinda counterproductive. I ride to relieve stress and to get away from life's problems.
To enjoy the music from the wind, the hum of your tires and the throb of the engine is a big part of what bike is all about.
Leo

Me too Leo - I love to just wing it, at least some of the time. Unfortunately, there are times in my life and career when I really need to get somewhere without delay and other times when I am in unfamiliar territory when I need food, fuel or whatever. For those times, a GPS is pretty darned handy. My post was only intended to help out fellow riders with a cost effective solution to those who need or want to use a GPS but don't wish to blow the big buck on a dedicated motorcycle unit.

Anyhow, everybody does their own thing in their own way, for their own purposes - and that, in my view, is freedom.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

I have all manner of 20-year-old Garmin units, much more than what's in this pic.


So, several years ago, I made a mount for one of the smaller units and mounted it on my XS1B. Very handy, but lacks the database, and it would display mostly blank screen for this remote outpost. It would also lose satellite tracking, requiring a reset. Figured it was caused by power noise, so made a filter for it. Didn't help, still lost tracking.

So, made a mount for a larger Street Pilot, loaded a map database, much better. Still lost tracking.

Found that tracking loss was caused by the bike's vibrations. If I held it, or put it in my pocket, tracking was fine.

I now have an older Nuvi ready for retirement, and thinking on trying it. Maybe the newer stuff will track better?

BTW, getting lost out here in remoteland isn't hard. But if you have a breakdown, you could be in real trouble...

 

[retiredgentleman]

XSLeo and myself view motorcycle riding in the same way. In my past work life, my job was very technical and the days were stressful. I was bombarded with constant e-mails and telephone calls. When I retired, I decided a simple life was what I really wanted. I stopped wearing a watch, and I did not carry a cell phone until only the last 2 years, when my wife forced me to carry one, for emergencies.
I will never up grade from my simple cell phone to a smart phone. I have no need or desire to carry a miniature computer in my pocket.

GPS.................nope. I have no idea why I would want one. When I travel to other parts of Canada, the USA or Europe, I plan the routes using Google Maps, and take paper maps with me. Its usually worked out very well, except for a few times I've been lost. Some of my best memories are of the times I've been lost in a foreign country. I just play the dumb tourist, and the local people are glad to give directions and tips.

The motorcycle has always been a place to relax, as I ride along enjoying the sun, the wind, the mountains ,smelling the trees and the newly cut hay. Electronic gadgets aren't part of my bike riding. Just a simple cell phone for emergencies.

 

[azman857]

I never get lost! I just sometimes go exploring when I least expect it....Truth is the day/night before, I get the map out and locate routes and landmarks and sometimes commit to memory or make notes of the route and destination. For me paper maps still rule!

 

[OHRider]

A friend as had a NUVI on his BMW GS for 4 year with no problems. he covered it with a Ziploc bag.

 

[aldo5468]

Hi All:

I am also on the Honda ST Owners forum - and a question came up about mounting a conventional car GPS unit on a motorcycle. The big concern is getting the darned thing wet and this is an issue because the proper motorcycle Garmin model - the ZUMO - is very expensive, but you can get a Garmin car NUVI GPS for a fraction of the cost. The NUVI clearly is not as rugged as a ZUMO but you could buy literally 3-5 of them for the cost of a ZUMO - so as long as the NUVI doesn't die in the first few ride, you'll be ahead.

The biggest issue in my view is water - it always seems to rain when I ride and so I searched and found a YouTube video on how to waterproof a standard Garmin GPS. The method is very simple and appeared to be highly effective. All the guy did was mask the screen using a piece of a Post-It note carefully trimmed to leave a very tiny portion of the screen around the edge of the tape. Then he smeared silicone sealer around the edge of the screen, pressing down as he went to drive the sealer into the joint, and then after it cured, he removed the Post-It leaving behind a totally sealed screen.

He said that the speaker and other openings either don't seem to leak or if they do, it never seems to cause a problem. Here is a linky to his video - and be sure to watch his garden hose test at the end. It is very convincing.

Cheers,

Pete

Here's a pic of an inexpensive zipper case that I have on my Virago - can't remember the brand name but might come up on eBay search.

 

[fredintoon]

Good solution, but I am still avoiding cell phones and GPS for as long as I can. I can still use my "truckers atlas" and it gives me the full sensation of where I am and where I'm going, that's really not the same with GPS. I used to use phone cards and pay phones, that's gone to hell. Still, I think I'll make it for the rest of my life very happily without a cell phone or GPS.
Scott

Hi Scott,
I thought that too until a few months back then we solved the spat between our phone company and our security company about who's fault it was that the landline and security systems had both simultaneously quit by cancelling both of them.
So now we have cell phones. We got last year's models that came "free" with the one year contract.
And the damn thing ain't just a phone, oh no. It's also a camera and a GPS. So think again, if it can happen to me it can happen to anybody.

 

[MaxPete]

True enough Fred - a lot of people are going that way without a landline. The only wrinkle about using the phone as a GPS is that it uses data while you're doing that and so it can get expensive if you are far away from home or have a plan which does not include a lot of data. Also, the cell network requires mains power - so it normally wont work in a power outage.

ALDO - that is a slick looking little rig. Very nice!

Anyhow - lots of fun with technology!

Cheers,

Pete

 

[queenslegs]

Google maps lets you download maps (do this while wifi connected) and navigate these downloaded maps via GPS. GPS on its on requires no data, only a GPS radio receiver. Thanks USAF! Momma and I lost that landline a long time ago!
https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6291838?co=GENIE.Platform=Android&hl=en