I am new to GPS technology. My kid's bought me a street pilot for Christmas. I haven't been on any long trips with it yet, but I am very impressed with it's accuracy and reliablility on local trips. (just playing with it).

I would really like to have this capability on my bike, especially for my marble runs.

I am trying to understand what it means that my street glide stereo has a gps option........ nobody at me dealer has a clue. The dealer says nobody has ever asked for it because you have to pay a monthly fee like for xm radio............ hd's website says the first thing I have to do is buy a solid mounted tourpak to get this option..........

It is starting to look like I would be better off just buying a waterproof gps and putting it on my bike instead of trying to deal with the gps capabilities on my bike......

Any opinions? Do any of you use the gps on your street glide? if so, do you really have to have the tourpak? do you really have to pay a monthly fee?

I do realize I am more easily confused than most about modern technology............. but I would appreciate any help on this.

Dennis

 

You are right.Look at the Garmin I think the 550s
They are water proof and come with a mount
to use on your bike.There is no monthly fee.
Shortleg[Dave]

 

thanks shortleg...........I am in new territory here when I am confused and someone agrees with me.............. I usually get remind of how stupid I can be when trying to figure out new things...........

Dennis

 

I have been wanting to ask a few questions about these GPS things.......... do you have to "load" maps in? Power up from the cig lighter? I can get lost in a paper bag when I'm on the road, and since I ride solo there is no one to blame anything on and that really sucks..... just how functional are these units? Basically "Whats the deal with them?" A friend of mine has a Honda Civic with a heck of a nice GPS system in it......... are they all like that????

 

Your dealer is on drugs. The GPS is added to the existing Harley Audio system. You get turn by turn directions on your radio screen while the voice prompts comes through your speakers. You do not get any maps though, just turn by turn. That bothers some people not being able to see the map. You still get miles to your next turn and miles to your destination. Very similar to using the turn by turn feature on your garmin. I am a GPS junkie with two factory units in my cars, an older street pilot for my work truck and a Garmin Quest on my wideglide. Trust me...there is no monthly charge. I might be wrong about this but for what I understand, Gps's use the military satelites. The same technology for the guided missles and thats why it is free and always will be.

 

Mandog's got it right - the HD GPS is pretty expensive for what you get, although it does avoid the clutter on your handlebar that an aftermarket unit requires. There is no monthly fee for a GPS - the units use public domain satellites that provide seamless coverage throughout the US (worlds?). For much less money than the HD unit, you have your choice of some terrific aftermarket units from Garmin, Magellan, Tom-Tom, and others. I have the Garmin Zumo 550, a unit built specifically for motorcycles that also comes with an automobile mount. This unit, as well as the leading units from other manufacturers, comes with full color maps built into the unit and a host of other great features (location of restaurants, gas stations, ATM's, etc, the ability to play MP3's, support for bluetooth phones, and lots of other goodies). ThisGarmin is available for about $650 or so, but there are less expensive and very high quality units available for less. Most of the units out there can be updated via the internet by connectiing to your home computer with a USB cable,sotheycan be kept up to date. The Garmins can be customized with "points-of-interest" such as the location of all the HD dealers in the country, all the Starbucks coffee shops, KOA campgrounds, etc. based on your interests/needs.

 

i have the garmin 550 zumo. pretty easy to use and all you have to do is plug it into the aux port on the front of your radio. once you do this the aux setting will show up on your radio screen just switch to that and the zumo will play through your speakers. I've used mine in heavy rain and have not had any problems with it. also check out www.zumoforums.com lots of great info on this unit and great people that will be answer any questions you have. in addition to the gps you also ability to put MP3's in the unit for additional music instead of changing cds all the time plus it comes with bluetooth that mate up with your phone but will need a headset unit to speak on it.

 

What Street Pilot do you have?? I mounted an older Street Pilot Color on my bike.. fabbed a mount...
You can load maps in with a memory cartridge.( older ones have a slot for it.. not sure about the new ones..) load the cartridge via the cable... need a Mapping Software Program to capture the maps... They do have basic maps in them already.. but not really detailed.. if you want to see smaller sidestreets and such.. you need to load better maps is all.. the basic ones will keep you from getting lost.....
Most of the older GPS units are already waterproofed.. they were first designed for outdoor uses..like hunting & camping trips...

 

Thanks for all the info guys. I have the Garmin C330 strett pilot in my truck now. I have already updated the maps to the latest, greatest Garmin has to offer now. I have thought about just using it on my bike, but it is a little bulky for bike mount and I didn't think it would hold up to rain very well.

I also questioned why the one I have is a $150 unit and the ones designed specifically for motorcycles are more like $500 to $750. I assumed that the compact size and waterproofing were the reasons because the capabilities don't seem to be much better.

Can anyone tell me were I can find information about what exactly has to be added to the existing stereo? is an antenna required? Is the tourpak really required? I assume the tourpak was just for a place to mount an antenna, and of course, what does it cost?

Thanks again guys.

Dennis

 

I have the Garmin Zumo 550 also, used it on trips to Sturgis and the Dragon, it worked like a charm.
The bracket has a little set screw that you need a special tool to remove, so it helps secure the unit to your motorcycle. I spliced the GPS into the accessory switch so it's powered all the time.
The Zumo has a jack that connects to the auxillary jack on the HK radio, so turn by turn directions can be heard thru the speakers.

It doesn't get any better than that[8D]