GPS for motorbikes

[Abg Acid]

I was truly fascinated when I read the introductions by the admin at

Our philosophy and objectives
We strongly believe in updating GPS maps and sharing it with members of the public. We do this as a hobby. We do not look forward to any monetary reward. Our own satisfaction plus appreciation from satisfied users are ample reward for us.

I also believe strongly in a community which treats everyone especially newbies nicely. Everyone is supposed to have fun with their gadgets and hobbies. So there is no point being hostile to those who are less familiar with online forums and forum etiquette. MFM values its active and contributing members more than its maps.

However, let me introduce myself first here, I believe it is an opportunity to do so anyway.
I'm an admin for a local malaysian motocycle community, just like MFM here, and we too believe in serving the community for free. Currently it is the largest motorcyle commnuity forum based website with members of over 34,000. We are totally non-profit orientated website and its all about hobby and passion.

Why I m here? Aha,..

I do bike tours. And thats what I do best. Ive been doing it for 10 years and organised rides and tours for free. Members will have a guided bike tours for free, No fees , no catch its just free. I used to rely on hard copy maps and now I;ve them on the back of my hands ;D, relatively speaking lah. But at certain times and occasions I do make blunders, like locating the nearest petrol station or the hotel we are supposed to stay. And with 20 bikesdtrailing behind me, the situation may sometimes seems messy.

Someone told me its high time I be using a GPS now. It never strike my mind before, but I ve seen some friend have them in their cars and it fascinate me how easy it was to use such gadget.

But, I m totally lost with such hi-tech gadget, and have make few studies on the internet. The more I read, I get more confused. There are garmins, papago, altina etc etc. And new terms keep popping up, making my transiton into GPS delay and more delay.

The papago z820 at rm830 locally seems ok, but I was told it has no Thailand and the indochina's map. Only Malaysia, Singaprore and Brunei. Is that true? I m sure it should be available. I do trips to Thailand and the indochina as well. If papago dont have those maps, than I m only left with choice from Garmin. The nuvi 255w is within the same price I believe.

But I have seen the maps of papago unit is very nice. It has landscapes like plantations etc etc, unlike the Garmins,.. just plain background beside the roads. But its a shame the papago gps dont have Thailand/indochina.

Please help to ease my decisions, as I m leaving for another 18days trip to the chinese border on 17 december. And I would like to have one GPS before the trip comences. My budget is around rm800

Thank you in advance.

regards
Abg Acid

[silverbeauty]

I was truly fascinated when I read the introductions by the admin at

Our philosophy and objectives
We strongly believe in updating GPS maps and sharing it with members of the public. We do this as a hobby. We do not look forward to any monetary reward. Our own satisfaction plus appreciation from satisfied users are ample reward for us.

I also believe strongly in a community which treats everyone especially newbies nicely. Everyone is supposed to have fun with their gadgets and hobbies. So there is no point being hostile to those who are less familiar with online forums and forum etiquette. MFM values its active and contributing members more than its maps.

However, let me introduce myself first here, I believe it is an opportunity to do so anyway.
I'm an admin for a local malaysian motocycle community, just like MFM here, and we too believe in serving the community for free. Currently it is the largest motorcyle commnuity forum based website with members of over 34,000. We are totally non-profit orientated website and its all about hobby and passion.

Why I m here? Aha,..

I do bike tours. And thats what I do best. Ive been doing it for 10 years and organised rides and tours for free. Members will have a guided bike tours for free, No fees , no catch its just free. I used to rely on hard copy maps and now I;ve them on the back of my hands ;D, relatively speaking lah. But at certain times and occasions I do make blunders, like locating the nearest petrol station or the hotel we are supposed to stay. And with 20 bikesdtrailing behind me, the situation may sometimes seems messy.

Someone told me its high time I be using a GPS now. It never strike my mind before, but I ve seen some friend have them in their cars and it fascinate me how easy it was to use such gadget.

But, I m totally lost with such hi-tech gadget, and have make few studies on the internet. The more I read, I get more confused. There are garmins, papago, altina etc etc. And new terms keep popping up, making my transiton into GPS delay and more delay.

The papago z820 at rm830 locally seems ok, but I was told it has no Thailand and the indochina's map. Only Malaysia, Singaprore and Brunei. Is that true? I m sure it should be available. I do trips to Thailand and the indochina as well. If papago dont have those maps, than I m only left with choice from Garmin. The nuvi 255w is within the same price I believe.

But I have seen the maps of papago unit is very nice. It has landscapes like plantations etc etc, unlike the Garmins,.. just plain background beside the roads. But its a shame the papago gps dont have Thailand/indochina.

Please help to ease my decisions, as I m leaving for another 18days trip to the chinese border on 17 december. And I would like to have one GPS before the trip comences. My budget is around rm800

Thank you in advance.

regards
Abg Acid

bro Abg Acid to MFM.

The models you mentioned are more for automotive use and not recommended for bikes where the GPS units are exposed to the environment. You will need one that is built to withstand the environmental exposure that the unit is subjected to when mounted onto a bike handle.

Suggest you look into the Garmin Zumo range of GPS Navigational models. These are built specially for bikes. You won't go wrong with a Garmin as it is an established brand with an extensive coverage of world countries maps.

Please check the models via link below

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=135

Try EC MECHATRONICS
1-4-2, JALAN SETIA PRIMA M U13/M, SETIA ALAM SECTION U13, 40170 SHAH ALAM, SELANGOR, MALAYSIA.
TEL :- +603-33418296

[zamad]

Abg Acid, welcome to mfm.

I totally agree with you that the Papago map is more beautiful than that of Garmin. Currently, the mfm Papago maps cover only Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Navigasi.net will release the Indonesia map (soon). I do not know of any IndoChina maps for the Papago.

Regarding Garmin, the nuvi's are meant for automobiles. You'll probably need the more robust Zumo for bikes (but it'll cost much much more than RM800). But if 800 is your budget, I'll go for the nuvi 205W. Compared to the 255W, the 205 doesn't have 'Text-to-Speech' (which is not that great either) nor the Junction View (which is not (yet) supported by mfm). You'll need to be innovative to reduce the shocks and keep it waterproof always.

[silverbeauty]

Abg Acid, welcome to mfm.

I totally agree with you that the Papago map is more beautiful than that of Garmin. Currently, the mfm Papago maps cover only Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Navigasi.net will release the Indonesia map (soon). I do not know of any IndoChina maps for the Papago.

Regarding Garmin, the nuvi's are meant for automobiles. You'll probably need the more robust Zumo for bikes (but it'll cost much much more than RM800). But if 800 is your budget, I'll go for the nuvi 205W. Compared to the 255W, the 205 doesn't have 'Text-to-Speech' (which is not that great either) nor the Junction View (which is not (yet) supported by mfm). You'll need to be innovative to reduce the shocks and keep it waterproof always.

Take note, for motorcycles, BLUETOOTH or WIRED HEADSETS is essential as you will not be able to hear the audio guidance voice emitted from the built-in speaker. Thus if you are want to use Nuvis, you have to get the ones with such feature.

On Bikes and to a lesser extend automobiles, navigating via visual map graphic is DANGEROUS as it takes your eyes off the road.

[sharkteef]

use handfon with gps but battery canot tahan long.

[JasonLee]

Bro Abg Acid,

I would broadly classify people into 2 types. One that pay for things that work and one that find ways and means to make things work. I belong to the latter group simply because I am not rich enough to pay for everything to be perfect for the job but at the same time I find a lot of satisfaction in innovation and solving problems with just my brains and not with my wallet.

I have driven as far as the Golden Triangle with my GPS and make annual trips to Phuket from Penang. The GPS that I use is the now obsolete Nuvi 200. Every Saturday, I would tape my Nuvi 200 bracket to my MTB handle with electrical insulating tape and then clip my Nuvi 200 to the bracket and happily ride 30-50Km. Vibration is not an issue as there are no moving parts in a Nuvi. A motorbike has less vibration than a MTB because of better suspensions. Unless you are the type of rider who die-die must continue riding even in pouring rain, you don't need an expensive Garmin Zumo and the Nuvi 205W at less than RM600 (since the Nuvi 200 is now obsolete) should serve you well enough. If you stop for shelter when it rains, you only need to have a polyethylene bag at hand to protect the GPS until you find shelter so water-proofing is not an issue. The issue is battery life. The Nuvi 205W battery can last 3-4 hours only so you will need to find a way to tap power from your motorbike battery or to have an external power source for your GPS that will last for the day. I use an external Lithium-ion battery pack that has 4 times the capacity as the Nuvi internal battery (which I paid less than S$50 for) and that is good enough for my GPS to be powered for more than 16 hours.

I hear what Bro Silverbeauty is saying about Blue Tooth and hearing the voice prompts but I have not such issues on my MTB (maybe I go a lot slower than a motorbike and at a glance I can read and actually hear whatever the voice prompt will say). Do you need to continue riding and answer your cellphone at the same time to need Blue Tooth? I think that is most unwise even if you can. For communication with your convoy, a walkie-talkie with hands-free kit will serve you a lot better.

Most people like to look at pretty things. I look for the practical. When I use a GPS, I only wish to see the road in the map and where I will be going. Everything else is unnecessary so the pretty Papago maps have no value for me and in fact I hate to see too many things on-screen while navigating. For Thailand, you can get very good maps from Garmin or from Rottweiller if you are using a Garmin but unfortunately those maps are not free like MFM (unless you are willing to wait until MFM finishes mapping the whole of Thailand as we have just started with southern Thailand).

So my advice to you is to buy the cheapest Garmin Nuvi (the Nuvi 205W), solve the battery-life issue, pay for the Thailand map and always have a zip-lok polyethylene bag with you. Then you can enjoy your riding and the technology of navigation by GPS.

[keong8260]

Abg Acid to MFM.

Nuvi is design mainly for automative use, and it is not weatherprooof. In order to use for your bike, a Zumo from Garmin might be a good choice. I agree that Papago device does produce some excellent eye catching map, it is not design in order to use for the bike. However, there are no moving part inside both Garmin Nuvi and Papago, thus a plastic "cover" might do the trick to ensure your device is up to "weatherproof" standard.

It is up to your choice that both Garmin Nuvi and Papago are an excellent budget GPS devices which sole purpose is to bring you Point A to Point B, Zumo is not always a budget type as it is design solely for the use of the motorbike navigation and its price is for beyond RM800.

[Abg Acid]

Wow, excellent answers,.. I posted a thread, leave it ,.. and and come back few hours later, and most of my enquiries are answered. Bless you all.

Thank you all for your views, I ve considered them all. And to zamad and Jason, your post has certainly stirred up my interest in getting one. It makes a lot of sense, a practical GPS with few frills is what its all about. I dont know why I overlooked at 205w before. Should have studied that particular model earlier, and its cheaper too.

Yes, I m a practical person and I make things work. And I dont really need a GPS working all the time during the ride. I studied maps prehand,. memorising places and intersections, so much so it has become a second nature to me. And its pretty easy for me to get from town A to B even on foreign land,. but its when I get right into towns and locating a place thats when the butterflies start playing in my tummy. So I presume, 3-4 hrs power wont be so much an issue. Anyway, I will have a terminal ready from my motorcycle as a back-up recharging. It has 12v but at 9 amp, which is slightly less than a car. Will that be a problem?

Waterproofing.. That has been considered too. The GPS will be in my waterproof tank bag most of the time, and taken out only when needed. A plastic sheath should be good enough as Keong suggested. Asking around for directions from locals can add a lot of fun and adventures on the road,.. but not on busy roads in the city on foreign lands, with language you cant comprehend, it may sound like a duck speaking to a chicken. Hilarious but frustrating.

As for bracketing it to the bike? Again it wont be an issue,. most of my bikes have front screens, and the suction mount should serve well just like a car's screen. Am I right at this? All I need is another security, a string or cord tied up to the GPS, just in case it flew off on bumps or potholes.

On theory , everything seems to be at place now, and looking forward for a garmin 205w. I had just look at the specs, and I love this fucntion..

With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations.

But beside these, does 205w has
1. Altitude
2. Temperature
3 atmospheric pressure gauge
(is it too much to ask from a GPS? )
4, Charging unit from an AC supply ( that would be my 1st back-up charging option)

Thank you in advance again.

Regards
AA

[sharkteef]

i still think handfon +2 battery with condom is bestest option for outdoorsy people.

but yes 205w can tell altitude. dunno if accurate or not.
temperature tarrak''
atmospheric pressure = barometer i think, itu pun tarak
charging i dunno

[Abg Acid]

Yes, sharkteef,.. probably a bluetooth handphone is a worthwhile option to hear the prompt voice direction. But 205w do not have bluetooth option is it? And I dont have a bluetooth phone too. And may I ask?.. what is 2 baterry with condom?

And Can a 205w hook up to wired headset?

Tq
AA