Does GPS cramp your style?

[Banjoboy]

I thought about getting a gps, but then realized that even if I DID have one, it's batteries would be dead.

I don't like planning, it reminds me too much of "commitment"

Hippie!

 

[i_am_the_koi]

Voted for sometimes, again, useful for geocaching but I don't trust them

My ex had a magellen, and it would tell you Left but mean Right... and my personal favorite,

"Drive over the chink to the left" :|

 

[c-mo]

Recalculating

 

[V4]

when i'm riding, getting lost means i'm discovering...

running outta gas in the middle of nowhere means i'm stupid...

 

[mlm]

I love having a GPS, but it never stops me from exploring. Just lets me know where I'm at.

I discovered an interesting bonus in EuroBARF last year as Mark and I were crossing France. For some reason we were out in the boonies on what was an amazingly good route. Found out it was because every time I took the wrong exit on a roundabout the Garmin would re-route before I realized I'd made a wrong turn.

 

[louemc]

I don't use one.
A map does me just fine, and a comfort of exploring and using roads that are so abandend, they haven't seen a wheel for decades (tree's growing in the road aren't very big).

Having done that, and living in the forests during my formative years, I have a sense of the land and direction that might be a developed thing.

 

[NorCalBusa]

I use GPS extensively for work, hardly at all (bordering "never") on recreational rides. The difference is having a specific destination v. have fun. You really can't get lost in California- go East or West and you will hit a freeway in no time and finding "the road less traveled" is why I ride...

I find in using GPS I lose some "situational awareness". It takes me to the address, but I often lose the mental picture of where I am since the zoom is rather granular/tight and the wider view doesn't have enough info to get me there.

 

[plumber]

My Zumo has XM radio so it's always with me while riding. I'll use the GPS to load planned routes downloaded from the computer. It's also great to find fuel etc., etc. It's linked to my phone so I can do a quick lodging search and even call ahead to book a room right from the Zumo screen.

 

[mattzz]

I have road amnesia.

(That's a great thing because this way the same road never becomes too boring.)

So when I started riding in CA, I had my little Garmin Geko in my tank bag recording all group rides I joined so that I could store and replay them on my computer and find strongly required answers to "where have you ridden today?".

I upgraded to the best GPS I've ever known: Garmin 60csx. Now I was able to re-ride all the rides I had recorded by my self. This little rugged bastard has made my day so many times on so many occasions in many different countries. And the best thing: It has a "get lost" button: It's labeled "Power".



For longer trips I use a normal map to identify waypoints, hack them into the GPS, calculate a route and put the GPS it in "just give me driving directions" mode. On my tank bag I have a normal map to show me where I am in relation to other cities. That works best for me.

Also: Try discussing a route with more than 1 person using a GPS... You will fail big time. Can't beat a real map some times.

 

[Nemo Brinker]

I have more confidence exploring way out there with one--grew up hiking and riding on dirt roads and paths, but once I'm out of home territory, I know how easy it is to be lost. And then my dumb ass might put an unecessary burden on the local search-n-rescue guys and gals.

I like clamping my RAM mount onto the bars, powering up my cheap waterproof Garmin 76CX, and heading out at random. If I find a cool road I want to take, I just ignore my directions and take it. Later, I have a track of the ride, and can show it to others more easily.

In strange cities, I can almost always find the gas station and the gay bar, no problem.

One other cool thing--often other folks (GPSExchange and ADVrider, etc.) are generous with their GPS tracks, and you can download 'em and put 'em on your own GPS and head off for shenanigans.
Some nice guy on ADVrider made me a track of logging roads on Vancouver Island. These were either labeled wrong on the not-great maps I had, or I just wouldn't have known how to pick the right way through the maze of roads and forests (while avoiding most of the active logging areas for safety's sake). I got to spend days riding alone through towering forests, beside the ocean, next to waterfalls in the middle of nowhere, thanks to the guy's kindness and my GPS. I even managed to get a bit lost a couple of times.

Just don't forget to learn to read and follow and carry paper maps as well, and learn to ignore the GPS when fun beckons. And always carry spare batteries. Someday I'll hardwire mine to the bike battery properly.

 

[HappyHighwayman]

Just installed mine today since we were installing a aux power panel and relay so that I don't burn out my battery if and when I leave my heated grips on.

I found I didn't even look at it because I knew where I was going but will prove useful for inter-state trips.

$250 for GPS and mount + free friend installation

Incidentally it was amusing seeing how innacurate my Yamaha's speedometer is, at 80 registered speed the GPS said I was doing 73...when I was doing 44 on the Bay Bridge passing the "Your speed is "XX"" sign, it said exactly 44...so I'm guessing the GPS is accurate.

 

[ScottRNelson]

Incidentally it was amusing seeing how innacurate my Yamaha's speedometer is, at 80 registered speed the GPS said I was doing 73...when I was doing 44 on the Bay Bridge passing the "Your speed is "XX"" sign, it said exactly 44...so I'm guessing the GPS is accurate.

My KTM was off by a good 10%, but I found out that you can lie to the computer about the size of the front wheel to improve the accuracy. My odometer is now off by about 5%, but the speedometer is always accurate to within 1 mph for any speed that I've checked.

What I noticed, though, is that the GPS unit is pretty slow to get up to speed while accelerating while the speedometer is much more accurate. It seems like the Zumo 550 takes two seconds to show the current speed and can be behind by more than 10 mph if you really crank the throttle in the lower gears.

Photo of my unit, with a nice twisty road on the display. Those who ride that road regularly shouldn't have a problem identifying where this was taken.

 

[VTRZA]

I have a goose positioning system