NAVIGATION - What is everyone using and why?

Skyd said:
I use the sun and the stars :p

I actually don't use one locally but especially for dual sporting I have a second phone, Samsung S7 Active taht I picked up on ebay for $30 because it has a pink line on the screen. I use an app onX Offroad, they have other variations, anyway you can download for offline use. The bonus is if my phone falls off or I dump the bike and break it or something I'm only out $30
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I was thinking the exact same thing with considering an old phone I have laying around - if I destroy it my feelings won't be too hurt!

The old phone in question is my iPhone 6s which survived falling out of my pocket on the highway at 80 mph and worked for another year with a cracked screen before I got around to getting the screen replaced - at no cost because it turned out to fall within a month of prodcution where Apple had issues with the glass they used for their phones at the time.

And I'm going to check out the app onX Offroad!
 
The only bummer about that app is it's limited to I think 1 offline map for the free version. But the yearly paid version is probably worth it and if you wait a few days they'll send a coupon after your trial expires
 
I have an old garmin zumo that I use on the Blackbird and Gixxer and an old sim-less Samsung S5 mini using downloaded google maps with gps on the dirty-bike.
 
I just tracked down a garmin Nuvi 2639 lmt that a friend didn't want anymore (exchanging it for home made granola made by the guy writing this). Gonna use a RAM mount that I have to secure it to the handlebars for a few days. Also gonna run a few of the offline apps using an old iPhone 6s to see what works best for my needs. Gonna use the same route to test them out, maybe see if one is more accurate or even which one is just more visually applealing. The Tomtom Go is leading right now as I have tested that out in the car a few times now and the interface is great for me. Just not really interested in having to have a subscription, but they gotta make money some how, right?
 
Yesterday I was reminded, what is the weakest part of google maps, for navigation. I am yet to figure out how to add drive through points, so I would not have to touch the screen and say that yes, I want to continue.
Usually it chooses the quickest route, but often you want to explore the twisty roads. If you are in an area you don't know, you set the route up for navigation, and to ensure the twistier bit is selected, you need to add couple of waypoints\destinations there.
If the phone would be on my handlebars, like I used to have my previous one, it would not be so annoying. However, past 2 years I have only used the audio bit and the phone is sitting in my pocket. This means occasional stops, so the navigation would continue.

PS! I am yet to hear it announce any streetnames.
 
I bought the CoPilot GPS app a few years ago, specifically for longer trips. You download the country/countries onto your phone, so it doesn't matter if you lose phone signal. You just use GPS. They update the maps several times a year, for free.
 
Theodor said:
Yesterday I was reminded, what is the weakest part of google maps, for navigation. I am yet to figure out how to add drive through points, so I would not have to touch the screen and say that yes, I want to continue.
Usually it chooses the quickest route, but often you want to explore the twisty roads. If you are in an area you don't know, you set the route up for navigation, and to ensure the twistier bit is selected, you need to add couple of waypoints\destinations there.
If the phone would be on my handlebars, like I used to have my previous one, it would not be so annoying. However, past 2 years I have only used the audio bit and the phone is sitting in my pocket. This means occasional stops, so the navigation would continue.

PS! I am yet to hear it announce any streetnames.
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That is something I dislike about the phone app as well. On the actual website you can drag your route around making it more desireable. I have not figured out how to actually transfer those to the app and have it work. I pin stuff all the time and it never actually shows up on the app.

PS - I am saddened that the audio directions aren't working for you, as that is often very entertaining to me. I have been testing Apple Maps out and switched the voice to a British femal voice and it make me and my wife laugh at almost every turn.
 
TriumfAnt said:
I bought the CoPilot GPS app a few years ago, specifically for longer trips. You download the country/countries onto your phone, so it doesn't matter if you lose phone signal. You just use GPS. They update the maps several times a year, for free.
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Sadly it looks like the app is a yearly fee now. I think I will have to skip this one since I have a bunch of options now. But I will keep it in mind if the rest of the options don't pan out.
 
I tried the phone for a while, then a small tablet with downloaded maps. I had several apps.

They both had a fatal flaw. Heat and the sun. Both devices at some point shut down from over heating.

I now have a Garmin.

I will use my phone and apps like maps.me and such as a secondary option and the apps are great for helping to plan and find a route, but if I'm going to rely on a device for actual navigation, I will only use a real GPS unit now. The other devices are just a luxury.

That said. All electronics can fail, I always have some kind of paper map(s) stuffed away.
 
Dewey316 said:
I tried the phone for a while, then a small tablet with downloaded maps. I had several apps.

They both had a fatal flaw. Heat and the sun. Both devices at some point shut down from over heating.

I now have a Garmin.

I will use my phone and apps like maps.me and such as a secondary option and the apps are great for helping to plan and find a route, but if I'm going to rely on a device for actual navigation, I will only use a real GPS unit now. The other devices are just a luxury.

That said. All electronics can fail, I always have some kind of paper map(s) stuffed away.
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Which Garmin uinit do you have?

I am having an issue with charging while riding with the one I have, garmin Nuvi 2639 lmt. It keeps saying that I need the supplied power cord (the one that plugs into a cig type power source) which I really don't want to have to buy or carry with me. I charge everything else I carry with a Battery Tender SAE to USB adapter. I'm discovering Garmin is a bit annoying with their charging reteric as my wife just got one of their watches and it uses another Garmin proprietary cord instead of just using a USBc.
 
I have an older 396 lmt-s

I use the cradle with the charging wired to a relay that turns it on when the key is on, and shuts off when I key it off.

I had a problem with it loosing contact while riding, especially off-road. I ended up shimming the cradle connector with a very small o-ring so it sat more proud, now I have zero issues with the charging and power.
 
Drakhen99, Dewey316 I am liking the Garmin interface more than any of the phone apps so far. I just need a consistant way of powering the unit for longer rides, which is all I really want this setup for. I may have figured out a solution, which I should be getting in the mail later today to test out.

This has been a super helpful thread, thank you everyone for your input and experiences!
 
Sweet! Good luck, and I hope your solution works for you! :D

I think it's a crime how expensive the cradle & cable are - I had a buddy who was looking at buying a used Garmin that came with no cable or cradle, and he priced it out - $130 USD!!! That's like half the cost of a new complete unit!

-John
 
Drakhen99 said:
My RAM 1500 [2019 model] has a pretty good GPS, just hard to find POIs - it likes you to search by voice [which works well, actually]. It's the best in-car nav I've used, out of the dozen or so I've owned.

My Harley GPS is usually pretty good, but has some issues with its fuzzy logic trying to find an address I put in.

On my Vaquero, I ran a Garmin Zumo 395LM. It worked well, but looked funky since it wasn't built-in. I prefer built-in just for the clean integration.

I've heard horror stories of using your phone as a GPS because of the vibration, and I prefer a dedicated unit for nav.

-John
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I know you posted this a while ago, but I just finally tried out the factory nav in my wife's Ram, and you're right, it does work pretty well! Plus, it pops up in the display between the gauges which is neat.
 
nophix said:
I know you posted this a while ago, but I just finally tried out the factory nav in my wife's Ram, and you're right, it does work pretty well! Plus, it pops up in the display between the gauges which is neat.
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"my wife's Ram" - man, that's a LOW BLOW! Just kidding - yeah, the nav works well. I particularly like the voice-activated portion. For me, it tends to work better than trying to type it in to search for a destination.

-John
 
I’m old school. I generally check out my route in Google Maps before the ride and just get out there. If I get slightly lost it adds to the adventure. I’ll admit though this can be a pain in the butt if I‘m not just out on a pleasure ride and need to find a specific address…
 
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