GPS /Sat Nav options

[Taipan]

I have a TomTom Rider so will remove that mount and fit my TT one. I dont need one for my commute but the TT will select interesting routes if you ask it to, so might let it take me on a mystery tour one day...

[Rockburner]

I have a TomTom Rider so will remove that mount and fit my TT one. I dont need one for my commute but the TT will select interesting routes if you ask it to, so might let it take me on a mystery tour one day...

The bike will look wrong without one....

[Cousin Jack]

On the last trip the 5 of us that usually rode together came to the understanding that the guy in front had the correct sat nav and everyone else would just follow. It usually worked ok, and at least if we got lost we had some company. At times we found we had been promoted to honorary pedestrians or pushbikes, which was interesting if slightly illegal.

[Demannu]

Couldn't be arsed to read all that went before.
Givi tankbag with phone pocket and a connection to my intercom.
Calimoto, Google, viamichelin maps

[Demannu]

On the last trip the 5 of us that usually rode together came to the understanding that the guy in front had the correct sat nav and everyone else would just follow.

We did that going to Le Mans one year, I knew we were going wrong but hey ho!
Got to the outskirts of Rouen before the leader acknowledged an error of navigation had occurred.
We'd been riding towards the sun for a good hour, pretty sure we needed SW ish!

[Dickyboy]

Almost always check out the route on pc before setting off so I know roughly which route I'm taking before satnav gets involved. But that plan falls foul of a road being closed enroute..

[Scootabout]

I've just travelled back through France from Grenoble to Calais, over three days on the back roads following the Beeline's 'fun' routes. They turned out to be pretty good, and the Beeline proved itself capable of navigating a route like that pretty-much error-free.

[The Spin Doctor]

I was on a group ride a few years ago, and the leader set off in the wrong direction after the mid-day break - I thought, maybe it's the quick way out of town. But we carried on headed north with the sun at our backs when I knew we wanted to go south.

Then after about 30 miles I remembered I was in New Zealand.

[Trinity765]

Last year, early autumn I left from just south of Chelmsford in the early hours of the morning for Brighton. A journey that should have taken just over an hour at that time - before the morning rush hour. It was still dark and there was rain coming. Without realising, I'd pressed the button on the satnav that avoided tolls. By the time I hit the M25 it was raining heavily and after 10 minutes I was thinking "I should see the Dartford Bridge soon". After 30 minutes "Where's the Dartford Bridge?". Eventually I realised that I was going around the M25 the wrong way. I hit the rush hour at the M1 junction, the M40 junction, the M4 junction and Heathrow. I hated myself so much I was nearly in tears and so embarrassed by my error that I haven't told anyone until now

[ChrisW]

Last year, early autumn I left from just south of Chelmsford in the early hours of the morning for Brighton. A journey that should have taken just over an hour at that time - before the morning rush hour. It was still dark and there was rain coming. Without realising, I'd pressed the button on the satnav that avoided tolls. By the time I hit the M25 it was raining heavily and after 10 minutes I was thinking "I should see the Dartford Bridge soon". After 30 minutes "Where's the Dartford Bridge?". Eventually I realised that I was going around the M25 the wrong way. I hit the rush hour at the M1 junction, the M40 junction, the M4 junction and Heathrow. I hated myself so much I was nearly in tears and so embarrassed by my error that I haven't told anyone until now

In a car once whilst I was trying to get out of Wrexham I hit 'Home' on the Sat Nav and started following the directions. The route really wasn't what I'd have thought sensible but I assumed there was traffic or a road closure or something being avoided.

I became more suspicious after twenty minutes & stopped to check the route which, it turned out, was heading for the previous owner's address just outside Bournemouth...

[Bustaspoke]

I've retired now,but I was trucking for 33 years.On long distance I would go north as far as Elgin & Forres,south as far as Portsmouth & most places in between,avoiding low bridges & weight limits with a 45 foot trailer in tow.
I've never used a Sat Nav,never needed one,always used maps,same on my motorbike's doing Euro tours,but now I'm thinking about buying a Sat Nav for exploring stuff off the beaten track,both in Britain & mainland Europe.I've done a bit of research on YT & I'm looking at buying a Garmin Zumo XT,they're £350 https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorc ... rod/497156
Any tips for a Sat Nav novice?

[Trinity765]

If you really want to take advice from someone who recently went round the M25 the wrong way - here goes..

I've been a ride leader, leading tours and day rides for 10 years - each of them well planned and executed. My satnav brand of choice is Garmin, though Tomtom users seem to be as happy.

I had a lot of issues with the Garmin 395 as it only had 4 sprung charging pins which became unreliable (satnav didn't charge) and I had a long battle with Garmin who refused to accept it was an issue. Google will tell you that it's been an issue for lots of users. I got a refund and swapped it for a Garmin Zumo 590 (18 charging pins) and I've had no issues with it. The 590 also has a removable/replicable battery - I don't know if the newer ones do but it's an advantage if you can replace them.

For planning routes, I don't like Basecamp that comes with Garmin so I use www.myrouteapp.com. I pay a subscription for Gold membership as I do a lot of route planning. Some of the advantages are it has are multiple maps including Here for Garmin, Tomtom maps and Google maps (inc. Google Street View). You can compare Garmin with Tomtom to see how each will "translate" the route and add extra waypoints to ensure the route is the same on any device. It's the best tool out there for planning and sharing routes as anyone can download the routes onto any device without paying the subscription.

I do use Basecamp for looking at tracklogs.

Skipping waypoints - I'm not sure that it is possible on Tomtom. If I am using an imported route, I do it without waypoints as that way, if I make a mistake or there is a road closure, I can simply work out my own way around it without faffing with waypoints.

Garmin Adventurous Routing - I use this if I'm out exploring and it's pretty good. There are slider settings for motorways and twisty roads and I'm quite happy with the routes it makes up on it's own. It will tend to take you through a town/city rather than go around it.

[The Spin Doctor]

Here's my tuppenceworth...

You can ride a pre-planned route with a GPS... find roads to ride or places you want to visit on a paper map, in a guidebook or using an online guide, then get the GPS to link the dots so you get to the bits you want to do with minimum fuss.

Or you can use a GPS to 'find your way home'... go for a ride, turn down any road or follow any sign that takes your fancy, and rely on the GPS ability to reroute to eventually guide you to your final destination.

But IME absolutely the worst way to have a great ride with a GPS is to let it plan a 'fun route'.

[Bustaspoke]

Thanks for the input,I'll probably be asking questions next week...
I've heard of myrouteapp but not being a Sat Nav user I've not really looked into it before.Time to get learning

[Cousin Jack]

I used to do exactly as you do, all over the UK and Europe too, but the HUGE advantage of a sat nav is that it knows exactly where you are even when you don't!

Long story short. No sat nav, Black Forest and just bimbling about on tiny roads because I was early and in no hurry. Lost track of both time and space, and it took me an hour to find a sign with a town name I could find on the map. Now late, a looong way from hotel in Austria the shortest and quickest way was right across Switzerland on the Mway.

Next time I had a sat nav. I still navigate by my nose most of the time, but if push comes to shove I can go directly from where I am to my destination.

[Scootabout]

But IME absolutely the worst way to have a great ride with a GPS is to let it plan a 'fun route'.

I think that depends on the GPS software. As I said earlier, the Beeline does 'fun' quite well (except in London ), but, by contrast, the Calimoto app, last time I used it, created some ridiculously circuitous routes. I might want fun, but I also want to get from A to B while I'm at it.

[Supermofo]

Skipping waypoints - I'm not sure that it is possible on Tomtom. If I am using an imported route, I do it without waypoints as that way, if I make a mistake or there is a road closure, I can simply work out my own way around it without faffing with waypoints.

You can. I planned a route using TomTom 'mydrive' the other week for the first time and as I didn't start my sat nav until after I'd left the village it kept trying to turn me round which was annoying. I didn't know how to sort it but knew my way for the first part anyway. After 5 mins it was pissing me off so pulled into the kerb and there is a 'skip next waypoint option which sorted it instantly.

But IME absolutely the worst way to have a great ride with a GPS is to let it plan a 'fun route'.

Disagree with that, in the main. I've had some great rides using the 'Plan a thrill' on the TomTom. That's not to say it's faultless though. Biggest issues are a) taking you down goat tracks at times and b) taking you off round the houses in towns. I've taken to ignoring roads that look goat tracks and ignoring the Sat Nat through towns. Doing that broadly means your get a decent experience. Having said that depending on bike, what you want, the goat tracks can be a lark and take you to interesting places you'd never otherwise go to. IME for the best experience I've found least twisty or medium at most to be the best option. Most twisty/most elevation changes setting will take you off the beaten path ie 30 miles for a 12 mile destination. But depends on what you want. At times it's exactly what I wanted. TomTom sorted a 5.5hr ride to Yeovil off the bat a few years back which aside from a few iffy roads in the Chilterns was a cracking ride.

@Bustaspoke - I'm guessing TomTom/Garmin are much of a muchness. My advice is play with it and decide which setting works best for you. On the TomTom if you 'Plan a thrill' you can select a destination on the map screen and it'll work out a route to and from the destination using different routes. I used this the other week with Abberton reservoir. 3/4s of the way around I preferred the route 'out' so changed the option to 'Plan a thrill' using the search box which then just plans a route there, not back as well. This then took me back to the first road. Similarly when I went to Yeovil I put the address into the search box for just 1 route there.

I've also started using Mydrive which is TomTom's route planner, this works well, feels a bit like google maps and saves to a GPX file which can then be loaded into TomTom/Garmin etc. This can get around a few of things I suspect Spin is getting at as you can amend to do what you want/use the types of roads you want and no messing in towns.

To be honest other than the plan a thrill options/waterproof unit then you'd probably be just as well using google maps and planning your route on there. But for me I'm happy to have the TomTom.