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Motorcycle GPS which one do you recommend

+1 Flipit

I still like to have maps on my phone for a backup. Then I only carry select detailed paper maps of the backcountry areas I can't navigate without assistance. That means the phone stays on me or in my tankbag and not up on the handlebars. For example, I don't feel the need to carry a papermap of the interstates.

It'd be cheaper to replace the phone.

The Montana is half the price of my phone to replace. Amazon has a Montana 610 for about $400. Plus the GPS unit isn't compromised by USB ports or sketchy mounts so it's less likely to need to be replaced. I suspect the water resistance of the Montana is better than any phone on the market too unless the latter is in a real fancy bulky case.

The Garmin maps are valuable to me but I keep them backed up in image files on my computer and on an SD card.

As a multifunctional device the phone is probably more important to preserve in the event it's needed to coordinate a pickup or something. A cell phone, dedicated GPS, and a PLB cover a lot of bases and add a lot of redundancy to a riders navigation system.
 
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The phone I use for GPS is $159. They had one for $119, but I figured I'd splurge.
 
The phone I use for GPS is $159. They had one for $119, but I figured I'd splurge.
Cool, you do you man.

The only USB connector I haven't had fail on a bike is the one that I've ran into my tank bag and, at least somewhat, isolated from vibration.

If I were going to run a phone as a gps I'd set up a wireless charger for it.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
Cool, you do you man.

The only USB connector I haven't had fail on a bike is the one that I've ran into my tank bag and, at least somewhat, isolated from vibration.

If I were going to run a phone as a gps I'd set up a wireless charger for it.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

I had the same result till I started using these little gizmos about 30k Miles aig. I am shocked they still work... I have them on all my devices including my headsets.

My regular chargers would break about every 4K miles. Plus it is a hassle of plugging and unplugging very time you get off and on bike.


b16e9bf7f99c3de2665c1f7af61b1886.jpg
 
I had the same result till I started using these little gizmos about 30k Miles aig. I am shocked they still work... I have them on all my devices including my headsets.

My regular chargers would break about every 4K miles. Plus it is a hassle of plugging and unplugging very time you get off and on bike.


b16e9bf7f99c3de2665c1f7af61b1886.jpg
That's a good idea.

I've had the part the plug on the bike die about as often. They don't seem to appreciate dirt.

My solution was to wire up a 2 prong SAE connector to an old one. That's the one that's still going and I run it into my tank bag to charge things.

I'd imagine a, basically, hardwired USB cable with one of those magnetic adapters should be as close bulletproof as a charger can get on a bike.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
I had the same result till I started using these little gizmos about 30k Miles aig. I am shocked they still work... I have them on all my devices including my headsets.

My regular chargers would break about every 4K miles. Plus it is a hassle of plugging and unplugging very time you get off and on bike.


b16e9bf7f99c3de2665c1f7af61b1886.jpg
Thanks, totally getting one of these.
 
Thought this might be a handy cross-post for this thread. Using a rugged smartphone and an international map/navigation app is probably the best solution.

 
I just stumbled into this. TT has a huge video series about the Montana.


Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
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