GPS ?????????

So many of you seem to have GPS so what is it about them i dont get ? I'm more the type to take things OFF the bike .
If i want to go from Brisbane to Melbourne i want to see a large paper map to see which way is best ,NOT shortest. The end result is
normally a squiggly line .Then there is taking the map out at the end of the day in the motel room over a beer planning tomorrows trip.
Five people pointing at a GPS screen i would say doesnt work . In the city ,yes ,but i'll take the car thank you.
If i'm going from A to B i normally end up at at C because i changed my mind half way .
So far i'v managed to find my way home without GPS.

What am i mssing here.??????

gus wrote:

What am i mssing here.??????

sounds like decades of technological advancement!

i put the gps on the bike only on rare occasions more as a backup for if i get myself thoroughly lost!
like the FarRide to Nambucca - I had not been in that neck of the woods previously, so it was good to plug in the route that I'd worked out on google maps. the occassional glance was good to ensure when the next turn off was, or how far to the next goal.

Gus, you're either a gadget man or you're not. I like gadgets and therefore I like GPS's but I'm with you on trip planning using paper maps. It's so much easier to look at the whole route on a paper map than on a small screen and then you get to see other routes that you hadn't thought of.
A GPS is great for finding your way around town and it can tell you exactly where you are out in the bush but I still reckon you need paper maps as well when planning a trip(and when the thing wont lock onto any satilites).

Isnt that one reason we ride a bike to get throughly lost to places we have never been before. Besides you carnt throw a dart at a GPS unit,
well you can and i am willing. When was the last time we REALLY went bush on a road bike.
Our son came out with the classic statement once "Why would anyone want to go to the outback ,there's nothing there ."

I like gadgets and I like GPS's but I don’t want one on my bike. I don’t want the clutter. I don’t want the splicing into the electrics. I carry a couple of pages of Google maps if I have to and I guess on a big trip I would carry a map or map book in the seat bag. How lost can one get on a big road bike with a 300 + km range?

400 kls + You mean.

gus wrote:400 kls + You mean.

No I meant over 300 "normal people" start looking well before 400km

For serious outback travel your need one of these ,a snorkel .

gus wrote:What am i mssing here.??????

Well, I for one have just ordered a GPS, and it is because I have given up using street directories because I cannot read the street names, even with my prescription reading glasses, in anything other than excellent lighting conditions.
Might be fine for you Sunshine staters, Gus, but down here at the minute the days are often dull.....
Other than that, I would prefer the old analague system (maps), and still plan my rides on a map and then transcribe to MotoWhere first, for example:
http://www.motowhere.com/maps/route/Rabid-Canine-s-Half-A-Tank-Sunday-Fang
Once you have built a route map using your paper map you can create it in MotoWhere and then export the data to a .GPX file for downloading into your GPS. See the Share menu on the linked route.

When you're on unfamiliar roads the GPS can alert you to upcoming turn-offs etc. Helpful when fanging through the twisties and potentially missing a turn. Particularly if you are leading a group and don't want a dozen riders backed up behind you and cursing your parentage for leading them in the wrong direction.......

[quote="Rabid_Canine"]

gus wrote:What am i mssing here.??????

Once you have built a route map using your paper map you can create it in MotoWhere and then export the data to a .GPX file for downloading into your GPS. See the Share menu on the linked route.


Thats getting complicated and awkward from my tent. (this is all in good fun here ,i have no complaints really of GPS ) So far its just not for me.

gus wrote:So many of you seem to have GPS so what is it about them i dont get ? I'm more the type to take things OFF the bike .
If i want to go from Brisbane to Melbourne i want to see a large paper map to see which way is best ,NOT shortest. The end result is
normally a squiggly line .Then there is taking the map out at the end of the day in the motel room over a beer planning tomorrows trip.
Five people pointing at a GPS screen i would say doesnt work . In the city ,yes ,but i'll take the car thank you.
If i'm going from A to B i normally end up at at C because i changed my mind half way .
So far i'v managed to find my way home without GPS.

What am i mssing here.??????

I'm with you. For the majority of the time all you need is a good map, the ability to read a map and a sense of direction (or failing that a compass).

b12mick wrote:....all you need is a good map, the ability to read a map and a sense of direction

Yup, but as I said earlier, if one of those fails you (in my case my reading vision), with the average street directory in particular, and some maps, you are screwed. The advantage of the GPS - and the only advantage that made me buy one - is that they have larger fonts that are readable for old bastards like me, and the backlit screen means I can read it even at night.
Ask my daughter about when her dad has to take her somewhere unfamiliar at night, and how cranky he gets when he can't read the street directory...............

then export the data to a .GPX file for downloading into your GPS

Isn't that a motorbike..........................

gus wrote:For serious outback travel your need one of these ,a snorkel .

Cracked me up

I find the GPS is excellent helping to judge the distance to the next fuel stop and on a Bandit if your not looking for your next fuel stop, your not enjoying everything that the Bandit is!!

gus wrote:So many of you seem to have GPS so what is it about them i dont get ? I'm more the type to take things OFF the bike .
If i want to go from Brisbane to Melbourne i want to see a large paper map to see which way is best ,NOT shortest. The end result is
normally a squiggly line .Then there is taking the map out at the end of the day in the motel room over a beer planning tomorrows trip.
Five people pointing at a GPS screen i would say doesnt work . In the city ,yes ,but i'll take the car thank you.
If i'm going from A to B i normally end up at at C because i changed my mind half way .
So far i'v managed to find my way home without GPS.

What am i mssing here.??????

For me the choice is two fold

Firstly being able to pre plan a route into the unknown especially for someone who has no idea where he is even in Sydney CBD yet alone the wonders of NSW. For someone who is a lone rider for most trips as I have yet to make friends with bikes. ( please no need to feel sorry for me I'm getting there)

Secondly to map routes when I enjoy a ride that is lead by someone else. I can just save the route take to
favorites for future excursions.

There is also the added benefit of being able to find fuel no matter how far you go.

on a recent trip to Gosford I sat in the motel room and programmed all the address of uncles and cousins and saved to favourites...next day just went from one to the other......worked fine for me......................Grumpy

I use a gps on the bike quite a lot. When I pull up for the night I make changes to my planned route on my laptop and then upload to the gps. I have an overall planned trip, but when you get to areas you always run into people that say "oh you should see this or that", stuff that often isn't on the paper maps. It has also proven to be excellent with it's speed trap warnings. Finding fuel in unfamiliar areas is a breeze. And you can upload regularly updated (mostly by the users) info on rest areas, sites of historical significance or just about any crap you can think of. I set mine to try to miss freeways and highways.

I don't speed a great deal, however just a few over can be enough to put a hole in your wallet nowadays. The GPS alerts mixed with using Trapster have been excellent tools.

I still take the huge paper maps as well, but they never get unfolded anymore.

Long story short, it's the 21st century and I am going to embrace every gadget (i find useful) they throw at me.

Hang on, you mean you take a lap-top with you as well?

What's wrong with a Sextant & the stars ?

gus wrote:Hang on, you mean you take a lap-top with you as well?

Sure do, tethered to the iphone for full access to google maps. The iphone will do the maps but I prefer the larger screen.

I'm so far behind ,i dont even have a mobile phone .

With you all the way Gus - I have an early version of the GPS known as UBD & tend to judge next fuel stop by the fuel gauge conveniently positioned on the dash!! I even refuse to have a gps in my courier van. Does this make me a Luddite?? Unfortunately not as I will confess to having one of those new fangled mobile phone thingos & seem to be using the magic interweb at this point. Will concede that the early version gps does present a problem with my fading elderly vision & chronic confusion as to the location at any given time of the spectacles required to address this problem ! What's an i phone?

Navigation aside, the TomTom Rider 2 is great for reminding you of speed cameras, safety cameras, school zones, speed limit changes, fuel and parking stations, etc when riding around the city. It's the main reason I have one.