Sat nav wisdom needed please

[pepperami]

I have been looking at specific routes on my maps for a few trips I hope to do this summer.
Yes I can take a map-book with me and stop to check that I am where I am supposed to be.
However I would prefer to keep moving, rather than keep stopping to read maps.

So what I would like to know from the mighty BCF is, can you programme a sat-nav or can you buy programmable sat-navs?
What make and models should I be looking at?

Many thanks
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I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[ScaredyCat]

Most sat navs will let to set waypoints.

IIRC the Garmin ones allow you to plot the route you want to take on your pc then download it to the device once you're happy.


Video of how to do it for garmin using Tyre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g-nZe_Zoco - can also be used with tomtom
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[Polarbear]

Do you mean a route with way points? If so yes to both Garmin and TomTom bike satnavs. I presume it's the same with car ones and shall check wifies tonight when she gets home.

There are a lot of 3rd party products out there that can seamlessly integrate with the satnavs. I'm pretty sure you can actually plan it on google maps and transfer it across. That TYRE programme certainly worked with the TomTom rider.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Mudshark]

even my Garmin GPS watch lets you upload routes, I'm sure their satnavs will be much fancier
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R1250RS
XT660X

[mjn51]

plan your route here and down load it to your satnav.
https://www.motogoloco.com
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Triumph Trophy SE Silver (launch model)

[Matt B]

I use the car sat-nav on the bike, it's a Garmin Nuvi 57.

You can use Garmin Basecamp on the PC to plan routes and tours, although personally I think it's hard work and time consuming using it. Alternatively you can use the built in app on the sat-nav and plan it using waypoints or selecting places using the map and zoom/pan. Really quite easy once you get the hang of it.
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[Copycat73]

i have a garmine Zumo 550 .. i plot plan routes on a pc then transfer them to the unit... this method gives much control and options ..i`ve tried doin this on the hoof and its a pita, do-able but mistakes are easy to make..... so so much so i bought a laptop to take with me on the bike.....

PS.. i never leave with out a paper map.. except if i`m only goin local...

so usefull for through route planning and gettin a perspective of the area.
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Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
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[Bigvern72]

Do it like we did in the old days and plan your route before you leave.

I spent 20 odd years driving (1989 to 2011) without SatNav and I'm sure there are many others on here who can add another 20+ years on top of that. Studied map and knew the route before setting off. Then in 2011 I caved because I thought it would be a fun toy to have. Now I've become too reliant on it so I refuse to get one that I can use on a bike. Surely even moreso you need to keep eyes on the road. If you get lost then your smart phone should have GPS

Anyway....that's just me. I dunno what models are good as I wouldn't buy one. I guess I'm being no help at all......
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Tracer 700 (66) and Triumph America (65) - current rides
Yamaha xj600 diversion and Honda cb125f (65) - both 'retired'

[Copycat73]

and bring back push rod brakes ...
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Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
caveat emptor

[mauzo]

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/satnav.jpeg
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'04 CG125, '07 CBF500

[talkToTheHat]

For years i have been with the planning routes beforehand and an index card with the turnings written out stuffed in my napoleon pocket or atop my tankbag. Once i have written a route i usually remember it.

Such planning in advance selects for not the most engaging, nor the quickest route but the easiest to memorise. It's very hard to accurately plot a route with many interesting minor roads as signposts and road numbers/names become a rarity.

Having a smartphone and google/copilot has enabled me to take off im the general direction of a destination, explore new roads either becasue it seemed like a good idea or the satnav said so, and arrive at my destination without spending forever circling about in the last mile becasue of unfamiliar housing estates.

Have a satnav. Ignore it as much as you can.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Matt B]

[lingeringstin...]

I used to be a courier in the good old days of maps and I've never had any satnav until about three months ago when I finally caved in and bought my first smartphone (£38 China jobbie) and downloaded half a dozen free satnav aps to try out. There are pros and cons.

The good thing is some of them are totally free and use constantly updated maps like Open Street Maps which you won't get as much with a normal satnav where you're tied to whatever maps they provide, sometimes at a cost.

The cons are that many of the free satnav apps I've tried are just rubbish but there's currently about three I know of that seem to function very well and I'm still testing them.

I almost bought a cheap satnav until I saw that I could get a cheap smartphone for the same price that should do fine as a satnav and also make phone calls and go on the internet if needed. To me that works out a better deal as you can do an internet search for a place or name that you don't have the actual postcode to and then satnav it from there. Very useful.

There's literally hundreds of satnav apps out there that will run fine on a cheap Chinese smartphone and there's bound to be one to your liking.

[pepperami]

[Ste]

[Copycat73]

[Ste]

I'd be willing to bet that such things happened less frequently when drivers didn't have a sat nav directing them down some totally unsuitable road.

[Copycat73]

i`ve worked with HGV & PSV drivers who couldn`t read their own name never mind a sat nav or map ... incompetence has no limiting factors..
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Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
caveat emptor

[mauzo]

[mauzo]

[Ste]

"The whole time, you're basically completely lost"

Speak for yourself!

Google Maps navigation is great. It's very straight forward to use and doesn't give you sometimes-incompetent and frequently-incomprehensible directions spat out by some machine apparently trying to imitate a driving examiner.

[Enduro Numpty]

I've been using a Garmin Zumo 660 since 2012. I only ever use it when I'm going abroad which is not often enough and I'm not particularly geeky which translates to me being not the most competent Sat Nav user. Given that, I find it a brilliant tool, if I take the time to plan a route with way points it means I waste no time fumbling for maps or looking at my tank bag when I should be looking at the road. Foreign cities used to be a complete no go area but now I can confidently find my way to the busiest city centre. Since I stopped using paper maps I've ridden on some incredible roads that I wouldn't have known existed otherwise. If I've no preference how I get to my destination I just bang in the end point and let the voice in my helmet guide me.

All that said, I have had a few moments where I've felt like jumping up on down on it but to be honest that's more down to my lack of ability as an operator rather than any great failings of the unit. I wouldn't go abroad without one.

[Matt B]

[mauzo]