Dual Sport Motorcycle GPS....What to choose?

[VT-OregonTransplant]

So i have been doing a bit of research.
Is the Zumo really worth the 6-700 dollars?
Has anyone used the Voyager? For a mere $250 it seems to do everything the ZUMO does minus color.

Do others have any other suggestions?
It would be cool to find something that i can find a GPS that I could also use to hike or ski.

I was looking at the Oregon Garmin GPS and it seemed like a good deal but would it work for motorcycle touring?
Then there is the Montana which is back up to about 600 dollars.

Help PLEASE!

[turnsleft]

I have a Zumo 550 that I like better than my Colorado 400t. Zumo is a bit much[size wise] for hiking. The Zumo is hard wired, I think it will run about 4 hours on its internal batt. The Colorado goes about 15 hours on lithium. Colorado shows topo, I didn't want a touch screen is why I got the Colorado it is better for hiking tho.

I have seen some GPS Maps76[with letters?] on a few bikes. Thats all I got

[puckinet]

I have used several the garmin 60, 62st, nuvi, Oregon, and ended up with the Montana. The Montana has a larger screen then the Oregon and can be used for hiking or in a cage. I had a few issues with my Montana when I purchased it ( it would shut down for no reason and maps disappear). Contacted Garmin and they replaced the battery and since then love it no issues. I went with the 600 tons of memory and the camera on the 650 is not as good as my phones and for the money difference you really didn't get much.

[ConTeacher]

I've been using the GPSMap 76x series units since I stopped racing and started doing dual sport riding. They work great on the bike or hiking, and are a LOT less expensive than the Zumo or touch screen hiking models.

[clapped_r6]

Originally Posted by ConTeacher

I've been using the GPSMap 76x series units since I stopped racing and started doing dual sport riding. They work great on the bike or hiking, and are a LOT less expensive than the Zumo or touch screen hiking models.

+1. i had a 60csx that sold with my last bike, and i replaced it with a 76 that functionally does the same thing. i like that the hardwire power cord is the old style (not the problematic mini-usb), and it's cheap. west marine has them on sale usually (they have a few stores here locally)

[dukegnarley]

If all you want to do is follow tracks, you can try the dual sport maps app on an android phone. It doesn't do any routing, but you can load it up with ariel photo maps from google or microsoft, which can be really helpful. You can probably find an older android phone on craigslist for next to nothing. It got me though the WABDR without any issues.

That being said, I'm going to start looking into a garmin, but for the $600 + maps, I'm not sure if it's worth it.

[SportsGuy]

Garmin 62CSX - great on the bike, water resistant, easy to hard wire, small enough to drop in your pocket, works well when hiking, still does well onroad for actual routing, can be found on sale at REI a couple times a year for around $249, IIRC.

I own one and use it on both of my bikes (FJR1300 for week-long touring/two-up riding & the KTM 690 Enduro R for commuting and fun, fun, fun!). Easily mounts with RAM mounts and a universal bracket to any handlebar.

[grinns]

The montana has been pretty good to me.

[moto-treks]

+1 Get the Montana. It does everything you need for dual sport riding.

[Diedrix]

The Garmin 530hxc is a nice handheld unit. The screen is small, but it is great for riding with buddies since it doubles as a 2 way radio. When there are 2 or more they send the GPS signal when you 2 way, showing your friends where you are if you get separated. Here are the specs. You may need a degree to figure out how to use all the features, but once you do this little thing rocks!

7 radio NOAA weather channels with a weather alert function
7 FRS (Family Radio Service) channels, 0.5 watts of power
15 GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) + 8 GMRS that operate on Repeaters (GMRS channels require FCC license to operate on, $80).
Up to 5 watts of power for longer range transmissions on GMRS, up to 14 miles (Canada is limited to 2 watts and no repeater)
56MB memory for downloadable maps and customized way-points
It’s waterproof to 1 meter for 30 minutes
It monitors barometric pressure and plots it on a graph
Operating temperature from minus 4 to 140 degrees F
Menus that can be customized
Up to 16 hours of battery life.
Dozens of satellites for accurate geo-locations
Auto waypoint tracking
Compass
Ambient temperature reading
2.2 inch color TFT display
Weight is 10.3 oz
Unit dimensions: 7.5”H x 2.3”W x 1.8”D
Allows sending and receiving the locations of your and other Rino units.

[VT-OregonTransplant]

Originally Posted by Diedrix

The Garmin 530hxc is a nice handheld unit. The screen is small, but it is great for riding with buddies since it doubles as a 2 way radio. When there are 2 or more they send the GPS signal when you 2 way, showing your friends where you are if you get separated. Here are the specs. You may need a degree to figure out how to use all the features, but once you do this little thing rocks!

7 radio NOAA weather channels with a weather alert function
7 FRS (Family Radio Service) channels, 0.5 watts of power
15 GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) + 8 GMRS that operate on Repeaters (GMRS channels require FCC license to operate on, $80).
Up to 5 watts of power for longer range transmissions on GMRS, up to 14 miles (Canada is limited to 2 watts and no repeater)
56MB memory for downloadable maps and customized way-points
It’s waterproof to 1 meter for 30 minutes
It monitors barometric pressure and plots it on a graph
Operating temperature from minus 4 to 140 degrees F
Menus that can be customized
Up to 16 hours of battery life.
Dozens of satellites for accurate geo-locations
Auto waypoint tracking
Compass
Ambient temperature reading
2.2 inch color TFT display
Weight is 10.3 oz
Unit dimensions: 7.5”H x 2.3”W x 1.8”D
Allows sending and receiving the locations of your and other Rino units.

Ahh yes i have a edumaction in Outdoor Ed. All this seems to good to be true. But yes it seems like the ultimate digital riding companion.
Thanks for the info. Now to come up with 400 dollars.

[Vincenthdfan]

Garmin 500 & 550 are waterproof units that many outdoorsy folks use in wet weather.

They look like an auto style GPS but being waterproof can be used out in the elements...have one strapped to my snowmobiles, VStrom, etc.

[trailrider383]

This one is only $22.95 and no batteries required........

[XB12R]

I've been using a Garmin 660 for the last year. The 660 has many problems mostly software and I find it frustrating to use at times. I just got back from a DS trip to Arizona, I used the 660 for over 3,000 miles on both the bike and truck. I had many hours to rethink the GPS situation. I think a good GPS app on an iPhone or the new mini iPad would be a much better and more capable solution. Go to the Garmin Forum for better info.

[dukegnarley]

The problem I have with the phone/tablet system is that it's hard to find a way to keep it completely protected, and touch screens are a bit challenging to use with gloves. Other than that they're great, but it's awefully annoying to have to pull over and de-glove just to mess with the gps... and then you drop the glove and can't reach it, so then you're off of the bike.