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How To Choose Your Motorcycle GPS System

A GPS system for your motorcycle can turn your journeys, into
adventures. Opening up a whole new experience, you can find amazing
places to explore by planning your trips at home, and downloading your
routes to your GPS device. New landscapes, destinations, and road trips
await; with the security and confidence of never getting lost again.

A
GPS system for your motorcycle can also help to make your journeys as
comfortable, and stress-free as possible. If you fancy a break, or
you're running out of petrol, your GPS can help. More importantly,
your GPS unit can guide you back to safety when you get lost, or
accidentally take the wrong turning. With voice guided directions, and
software brimming with points of interest (POI), such as petrol
stations, restaurants, service stations, and hotels; your GPS can
guarantee you a journey of uninterrupted enjoyment.

Sound like the
perfect toy? Well, with GPS systems becoming mainstream, and new
features and models endlessly hitting the shelves, it can be a hard task
deciphering which GPS device best suits your needs.

To help you
out, it's worth considering the following points before you go ahead and
purchase your first GPS for your motorcycle.

What Type of GPS Do You Need For Your Motorcycle?

Are Its Reception Capabilities Suitable For Your Needs?

Does the Battery Life Of Your GPS Suit Your Needs?

How Resistant Is Your GPS To Vibration & Hard Ware?

Do You Want 2-Way-Communication?

How Easy Is Your GPS To Update?

What Price Is Suitable?

What Type of GPS Do You Need For Your Motorcycle?

There
are 3 types of GPS units for motorbikes; portable outdoor units, GPS
units designed specifically for your motorcycle/ scooter, and GPS/PDA
hybrids.

If you also enjoy outdoor activities such as mountain
biking, rambling, or even camping; a portable GPS that can be taken
anywhere with you would be ideal. As well as navigating your off-road
persuits, versatile Sat Nav's, like the Garmin Quest 2, operate in any
vehicle. As well as motorcycling, you can take it in your car, on your
boat, or even on a plane with you.

GPS devices designed
exclusively for motorcycles can offer you some very impressive features.
Especially designed with you, the motorcyclist, in mind, units like
the TomTom RIDER have tough, weather-proof casing, touch-screen options
for gloves, and anti-glare screens. One of the latest features
introduced by TomTom for effective communication, is a system which
transmits your spoken instructions via a built-in Bluetooth audio
system, using a headset that sits inside your helmet.

The final
type of GPS device that may appeal to you is the PDA/GPS hybrid.
Although these devices have been designed primarily with portability in
mind, most come with the added bonus of having a large screen. So, like
the hand-held outdoor GPS units, this type of GPS would be ideal for
those of you who enjoy a range of outdoor activities. With an
integrated PDA on top of this, GPS/ PDA devices, like the Mio A201 for
example, can be handy for work and play. With features like Microsoft
Outlook, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, you will be able to catch up on
work anytime, anyplace. If you prefer to listen to music on the move,
play games, or store digital photos, a GPS device like this one is an
ideal choice

Does the Reception Capabilities of Your Motorcycle GPS Meet Your Needs?

When
selecting a GPS for your motorcycle, it is worth thinking about how
accurate you want your satellite signals to be, in pinpointing your
position.

A lot of GPS units available today have an accuracy of
approximately 6-8 meters. However, many of the newer GPS models are
designed with a WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) capability,
resulting in accuracies of 3-4 meters 95% of the time. The Garmin Quest
2 for example, has a flip up external antenna equipped with a
12-channel WAAS GPS receiver; supplying position accuracy of up to 9
feet.

If you enjoy riding in dense woodlands and urban areas, it
is worth noting that GPS devices incorporating the new SiRF Star III
Chip Set, are units to look out for. This high performance, low power
consumption chipset has superior sensitivity in high foliage
surroundings. It is also worth noting that GPS units with external
powered antennas are great in maintaining a signal in deep woodlands.

Does the Battery Life of Your Motorcycle GPS Suit Your Needs?

With
the freedom to ride just about anywhere with a GPS; battery life is an
important component to consider. Most GPS units use 2, 4, or 6 'AA'
batteries, which can last up to 6 hours. GPS units with integrated
rechargeable batteries are the ideal choice if you occasionally lose
track of time. With GPS systems like the TomTom RIDER, you can charge
your battery at home, while planning your next route, or continuously
keep topped up with power, by charging your GPS directly from your bikes
battery.

How Resistant Is Your Motorcycle GPS To Vibration & Hard Ware?

With
the freedom to ride just about anywhere and not get lost, it is
guaranteed your GPS will get a great deal of use (and reverberation).
So, it is important to consider how durable your GPS is, in withstanding
such conditions.

GPS devices designed exclusively for
Motorcycles, like the TomTom RIDER have been designed with this in mind.
Not only weather proof, its tough outer case and rugged shock proof
mount has been designed to absorb any external friction.

Although
most GPS devices come with a mount, it is an absolute must that you use a
vibration isolated mount if your GPS will be used regularly on your
motorcycle. The RAM mount by NPI, which is fast becoming the industry
standard, manufacture anti-vibration ball and socket mounting systems
allowing you to mount practically anything, anywhere with vibration
protection and durability. This would be an ideal addition to the
Garmin Quest 2 GPS if you were purchasing this portable GPS for a lot of
use on your motorcycle.

Do You Want Your Motorcycle GPS To Have 2-Way Communication?

Some of the most recent GPS systems to be launched for motorcycles have taken 2-way communication to a whole new level.

If
you own a GPRS Bluetooth enabled mobile phone, it is worth knowing that
many Sat Nav's, like the TomTom RIDER, have incorporated a Bluetooth
receiver, amongst their many features. With the ability to connect your
phone via Bluetooth, and receive incoming phone calls through your GPS
and Bluetooth headset, you need never have to take your gloves and
helmet off to answer your phone again.

You could even use your
Bluetooth enabled phones' wireless Internet, and with certain models of
GPS, receive real time information on traffic conditions.

Enjoy
riding in groups? It is worth knowing there are some recent hand held
units that can offer built in radios that will not only allow you to
communicate with other members of your group, but will also display
everyone's location on your screen.

How Easy Is Your Motorcycle GPS To Update?

With
Roads constantly changing, the ability to update your device easily,
and at a reasonable cost, are very important factors to consider when
selecting your GPS.

It is important to realize that each type of
GPS will be updated in a different way, and so you need to choose which
process is better for you.

Those which are attached to a PDA, like
the Mio A201 for example, are usually updated via a PC, whereas
dedicated in-vehicle units tend to be updated via a CD. These have to
be purchased from the road map data supplier.

Some specific
software vendors have solutions for preparing maps which can be
downloaded to your GPS unit. Most notably, TomTom operate the TomTom
PLUS service.

The Choice: Budget Considerations

In essence, your choice can be reasonably simple: Buy the most expensive GPS that you can afford, that suits your needs.

It
is important, using my pointers above, to decide which features are
most important to you. If you want an up-to-the-minute GPS for your
motorcycle; with features like real-time, on demand traffic information,
hands-free calling, turn by turn voice instructions via bluetooth
headsets, alerts for speed camera locations, plus thousands of useful
points of interest, GPS sytems like the TomTom RIDER start from
approximately £550 inc. VAT.

If, however, you are looking for more
of a toy to play with, and a GPS that will simply get you from A to B,
then a hand held device could be a better choice. With a range of
features, like simple voice guidance, compass mode, MP3 player, and
essentially portability, GPS devices like the Mio 268 and the Garmin
Quest 2 are ideal for motorcycles, and a range of outdoor activities.
The Mio 268, and hand held GPS units with similar features, start from
approximately £250 inc. VAT. Garmin nuvi 255W, Garmin nuvi 855, Garmin nuvi 255W, Garmin Portable Friction Mount, Garmin nuvi 265W-265WT, Garmin nuvi 205W, Garmin nuvi Vehicle Power Cable, Garmin GSC 10 Speed Cadence Bike Sensor, Garmin nuvi 295W, Garmin nuvi 1350-1350T