Newbie sat nav issue/question...

[martin0642]

Hi all - so I'm a new addition to the world of rubber balancing...(passed Mod 1 & 2 about 2 weeks ago....now proud owner of a Triple 765 S).

I'm just starting to get the chance to get out on slightly longer rides than my daily commute, so obviously I'm starting to consider sat nav (although i'm pretty handy with a map to be fair).

My issue question is.....

I've tried both calimoto and google maps, neither of which seem to work very well. I have a sena bluetooth headset for voice instructions because I don't want to be looking at a phone when i'm out on the twisties. However...I *think* my leathers may be blocking the GPS on my phone.

Is that a thing? Do other people have the same issue? I tried it this morning on my commute; when I got to work (having had no instruction at all at any point) the phone was still showing me at home...until it had been out of my pocket for a couple of minutes, when it obviously realised i'd arrived.

Not much use if it can't follow me.........

Any clues? I'm not interested in a proper sat nav just yet, just need something that will do for 1-3 hour rides when I get the chance.

[owl]

that's a hell of a first bike

you're obviously too fast for the gps to keep up
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Observation is the greatest source of wisdom.

[pepperami]

I use my car sat-nav on my bike , it works for me .

No buying a specific sat-nav.
Suction cup sticks to my screen, so no modifications there .
Two wires via the battery and an in line fuse provide power.
Lanyard to stop the sat-nav escaping if the suction fails.
Job done
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I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[Easy-X]

You can get gloves that have conductive finger tips so as to still work a touchscreen. They do tend to be light duty though and they're not great on my phone...

Can't work the finger print reader to unlock the phone! Bah
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[martin0642]

[martin0642]

[martin0642]

[owl]

[Polarbear]

I never found a phone to be a patch on a dedicated bike sat nav.

I've had 2 bike tomtoms and a Garmin and if anyone asked me what was best I'd have either with a scala rider. I've toured all over UK and Europe with that combination and none have let me down.

Not cheap though.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[martin0642]

[Teflon-Mike]

GET LOST!

We used to call it 'exploring', and all part of the fun; you get to go places you otherwise wouldn't, and if you is out for the fun any-way, good excuse for being late back!
If not out for fun? What? You DONT know the way to work?
IF heading 'some-where' specific; say to a rally or meet or wot-not; the old skool ways about, was to read a map, make a set of route-directions, then use masking tape to stick them on the tank. The batteries dont go flat; they dont loose signal, they dont lag the road. How 'fancy' do you need thins to be?

I have a very very sophisticated/accurate GPS system that plugs in the lap-top, used in the Range-Rover when green-laning, where the 'roads' you are trying to find often aren't even marked on an Ordinance servey map as a 'road' and are often not even discernible on the ground, petering out as muddy paths half way across a field or wot-not, or hidden behind a gap in a hedge.

The marine/aviation GPS receiver, is then a lot more reliable, and roof mounted with nice lines of site to the sky, even more so, than a smart-phone or consumer-black box on the dash.. but still gets confused by the urban canyons between in the city or mountains in the country, etc, and is still some-what restricted by the 'maps, which, programmed for off-the-shelf GPS often don't have all the roads on them that an AA map might, deliberately omitting contentious roads with things like fords on them and stuff, and are all subject to how up-to-date they may be... Its good... but its not omnipotent!

As such, even with fantastic GPS, which is only one bit of technology, separate from Sat-Nav, if you have any sense, you dont 100% rely on either of them, let alone a bit of consumer electronics, less still, a bit of "Yea we can swiss-army-knife" that sales feature into our under-chin-lighting device!

On the bike... back to old-skool... do I really want top know to ten figure OS refs where I am? Do I need to? What do I really need or want?

Route-directions taped to the tank, or in the map-pocket of the tank-bag, IF needed. Real AA or OS map in the pocket or tank back to STOP and check, IF needed. Smurf-phone? Car type Das-Nav? Err..... well, I dont have a smurph-phone... I have a daughter! She's usually quick enough to tell me, like the ex-missus I am going the wrong way.... but... they can be useful to have in a pocket to check IS you are stuck, and STOPPED to do so...

Otherwise, I get on the bike to get away from such chit, NOT take it with me, and I paid a heck of a lot of money to get a divorse, so I DONT have a nagging woman telling me your going the wrong way! Or she'd recalculating the route, or the maps wrong!

Like I said... GET LOST... there's a LOT to be said for it.... Magdellen didn't have a bloody map of the new world, did he? Get lost, find new places, have fun, and leave the chit you dont need behind, when you get on the bike, and ENJOY not having that chit with you!
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Freddyfruitba...]

[Polarbear]

[grr666]

[Kentol750]

Tef may have made a point, tldr. I write a road route with numbers on paper and stick to tank. Then headphones and Google maps directions... when given directions i check numbers and crack on.
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Some bikes.

[martin0642]

Lordy that was....."passionate"

I completely take your point and yes, that will be my aim and I have lots of experience from "the old days" of having my turn by turn on a scrap of paper and it worked just fine. I have no issue with doing that.

BUT......right now I'm trying to get quick one hour blasts in an area I don't know at all (moved here for work not long ago) - so actually, for my needs right now a sat nav is perfect. You are of course right in saying they're not infallible and I can usually navigate myself without one. But if I want a quick hour or two in the country lanes, with precious few signposts (and little idea of where those places are in relation to home anyway) then some guidance is very welcome. For those rides - I want to focus almost entirely on improving my nascent riding skills, not stopping and checking my maps or scribbled notes.

But again...I take your point

[martin0642]

[martin0642]

[martin0642]

[Teflon-Mike]

[Pigeon]

Copilot doesn't work as well as it did (especially after they removed custom vehicle routing preferences based on speed), but still my app of choice.

[martin0642]

[martin0642]

[weasley]

I started out using a pocketed phone and listening to the instructions. It was ok but now I use a TomTom I can see but without any spoken instructions and it is better for me. I just glance at it when I need to know where next but it also gives me useful stuff like time of day, time to destination, GPS speed etc. If you’re doing shorter rides you don’t need any wiring, the battery should see you through. I use a bolt that replaces one of those in the bar clamp and has a 1” ball on it, to which I clamp the satnav RAM mount. I have run a charging cable which I need for longer days in the saddle, but you don’t need to.
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Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[martin0642]