Modern Vespa

Alas, as it is difficult to ride the scoot and read a map (even moreso at night) is there anyone who has a GPS system to recommend?
Factors to consider:
Cost
Accuracy
Power source (battery vs charger)
Security/asthetics/mounting

I've been quite happy with my Garmin Zumo 450. Now that there is a 660 out, I would think that you should be able to find them for a reasonable price. They are pricey though and much more expensive than the car ones. However, they are weather resistant and they are designed for use on a motorcycle, ie use of left hand, adjusts for ambient lighting etc.. It comes in the box with the gear needed for mounting except for one small piece.

The new 660 is better though in that it has a much larger screen which would make reading it while riding easier, but it is more expensive.

Have a look at my review I wrote. REVIEW: Garmin Zumo 450

While i think it might, it probably isn't any worse than having to look for street signs. Like BENNY said the newer one has a bigger screen which would help. Not much need for one here. I just bring up my route on mapquest before i go and memorize it. Then again how hard is it to get really lost on an island I have a friend who isn't into the "electronics age" no cell, computer and he got a garmin for x-mas. I had maps for us when we did some traveling to the wilds of maine since he didn't know how it worked He finally figured it out (some what) since on our way to Mystic CT he had the route planned but the voice was speaking in Afrikkan's Great way to learn aa new language Hope you find what your looking for.

Here's Menhir's review of the Nuvi 550: Review of the Garmin Nuvi 500 / 550

And couple threads for 'waterproofing' a car GPS
Aquaboxes and GPS
Ram Mount Aquabox


Harvey

Hey, thanks for the advice and links guys. I will definitely look into the less expensive system, moreso because it's portable and I can also use it in my car.

Leia

If you are really on a budget or just want to save some cash, check out the discontinued units by Garmin. The 26xx,27xx and 28xx are MOTORCYCLE units and will take a beating, vibration and rain like the Zumos, are completely remanufactured by Garmin and have a warranty and come with a complete car kit. Downside is you have to purchase a bike mount kit for about 30 bucks and a Ram mount for another 25. If you shop cleverly you should be complete for about $160 to $190 max. These units do most of what the Zumo 550 does without the sat radio. The motorcycle mount lets you get voice instructions to your helmet via a cheap Radio Shack ear jack.

I have a Garmin nuvi 350 which I'm happy with. I fits in my pocket and that's where I keep it when I'm riding along. I use a small ear piece inside my helmet and just listen to the directions. In the car I just chuck it onto the passenger seat and let it shout instructions to me. The batteries are rechargeable and so far it's been pretty accurate.

I did ALOT of research and the consensus was that the 550 was far superior to the 660(which I was going to buy). The 660 has the bigger screen, but also has alot of bugs from my googling...the 550 seems to be the darling on several other sights so I went with the masses. Originally I was thinking about hardwiring the Zumo 550, but when I met with a fellow MV member Gary who also uses the Zumo 550 on his motorcycle, he showed me a small handlebar stand(which I can use on my GTV) that would be perfect so the AC charger will work.

The visual is nice, but I also like the audio turn instructions and they are both Blue Tooth enabled.

I'm not that happy with the TomTom Rider 2

My suggestion is to get one for the car, which is much cheaper, and find a pouch with a plastic shield on it. Givi makes one that is pretty inexpensive

Mounting will be a pain - I don't much like the suggested mount on the mirror stem

Yeah, what he said.....After five years and over 100,000 miles my Garmin 2610 is still working fine. It has never been off the bike. Refurb they run about $160 US and having the audio in your helmet is the shitz...

Don't even get me started on the TomTom Rider GPS's. I totally recommend against the TomTom's for motorcycle/scooter usage. After my TomTom self-destructed, I got a Garmin 550 which has been awesome on many trips round about North America.

Do the none bluetooth GPS units, say like the tomtom one series have jacks for ear phones?

I could use a little help. Where are people finding these refurb Garmin GPS units? I'm not having any luck in my attempts.

There's a place called Tiger Direct.

These things come and go on flea bay, amazon, etc. The link will give you some idea of whats available BUT it will have city navigator North America loaded, not the Europe

http://www.hightechelectronics.com/detail.cfm?ID=129985&storeid=1

Try doing a google search for "Garmin 2720" or any or the 26xx, 27xx or 28xx series.

Have a look here.

http://www.gtsownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1367

Sting - that is exactly what I was looking for! I very much appreciate your help. Too bad that the company won't ship to Canada. I'm going to have to see if I can get a favour done ...

Edit: they will ship to Canada, but it looks like I have to figure out how to do this ...

Circuit City (now only on line) has some refurbs.

http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4271983&sku=G145-0204%20RB&SRCCODE=CCEM066C%20&cm_mmc=EML-_-Main-_-CCEM066-_-circuit66

I just bought a small LCD HD TV from them so they are legit.

I was going to jump on that. First thing I noticed is that when I added it to my shopping cart...the quantity shown was <b>3</b>. The price reflected was the price for three units. I changed that right away, and clicked on the option to determine the shipping cost. They want <b>$35</b> for the slowest shipping they offer...<b>and I live in the same county!</b> Only about twenty miles away from them, according to the "contact us" address. No way I'm purchasing from these jokers. With sales tax added onto shipping, the final price is 50% higher than the unit alone. No thanks. Thanks anyway for the link. It was worth checking out.

I live on a bigger island, and it is easy to get lost
Coggo

I was thinking about getting the Zuma 550 what do you think of this.

I use my Garmin GPSmap 60CSx daily,
It lights up in the wee hours of the morning and tells me how fast I'm going,
Also it is 100 % waterproof , Along with the AA batteries that last for 18 hours.

I could also walk around with it or even plug it into a ciggy lighter in a car,
I just love this thing, Haven't got a speeding ticket yet, Thanks Garmin.

I just got and installed my RAM mount for my Garmin 60CX (similar to Big Foot's, but a step down, I think) a few days ago.
Here are some pics. Sorry for the bad quality. Something happened when I resized them and I didn't save the originals.


The GPS showing a map.


The GPS showing Trip Odometer, Speed, and Max Speed. These fields are customizable.


A view of the RAM mount without the GPS.


Another view. These mounts are almost all metal and hold the GPS very solidly. The installation would have only taken 5 minutes or so, but I cut off the u-bolt a little so the rubber caps would fit down against the nuts.

That's the exact same layout I have,
Except I have the keyed locking handle,
It stops people from stealing the RAM cradle when I remove the GPS.

Nice stuff!!!

I don't use mine daily on my scoot, so I just loosen the handle and throw the mount in the pet carrier. I didn't know there was a locking handle. Maybe I'll check it out. How does it work? Does it just spin when locked?

Yes it spins after you lock it with the key.



Link to the lock attachment

Hey. That's a sweet configuration on the scoot! Looking for a GPS myself, but want something that I can install myself. How is the basemap on these? I read a couple of articles that said the basemap was terrible so they had to purchase additional Garmin maps for another $100. Which made them angry. Have you done much traveling in uncharted territory with it to see how accurate it is? I like the fact that all I need is AA batteries. No wiring!!! I'm wondering if this is my best bet. I travel alone mostly & need something dependable. Also is the screen size easy to read while riding? Any input is greatly appreciated from you experts. Thanx

I plunked down the big bucks for the 2008 City Navigator maps. The ones with it are accurate enough, but don't have many points of interest programmed in, nor do they have street level navigation for smaller towns and cities. The City Navigator maps are at least as good as the ones on my TomTom in my car.
I have used the Garmin in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Midland, all with pretty good accuracy.

Thanx for the info. Very helpful. Sounds like something I should consider since I actually live in a small town & would travel through many. Sure is a sweet setup you have though. Thanx

I have a Garmin Nuvi 550. It is motorcycle friendly (boat and car too) so it can handle vibration and water. I got it at GPS city

GPS City also has a scooter mount for the 550. It attaches with Zip ties which seems bush league until you realize you can easily move it from scoooter to scooter for the cost of a few strips of zip tie. Although the design does not work with our Kymco.

The one thing I don't like is it does not have an ear bud. Nevertheless I can hear the instructions on the GTS with a FF helmet up to about 45 miles an hour sometimes more. It has a "scooter mode" which I think means avoid highways but not sure.

What? Someone paid for new Mapsource maps? Plonkers! I've been running my Quest since 2004 with full updates for *zero* extra cost.

I have the Zumo 660 and am very happy with it. I spent weeks going back and forth between the Zumo 550 and the Zumo 660. When I bought it they were exactly the same price but I wanted the larger and easier to read 660. The speaker on the rear was also a nice touch for a GPS that was able to be in bad weather. It came with the brackets for the scooter AND the car, and I also added it to the motorcycle too.

I have plans to later add an Autocom set up during the winter and the newer 660 pairs nicely with my phone and offer A2DP. I have this set up on the bike and it will blow your mind and the Zumo ties all of it together perfecly and seemlessly I might add. The Zumo 550 is a better unit in some way but the 660 was the easy choice for me given what I wanted in a GPS.

Wow! You guys are just awesome. I really could use a GPS, just trying to avoid the tremendous cost of these things. Did you install them yourselves? How difficult was it? I can have my dealer do it, but then they are about 2 hrs. from me & I hate to think what they'll charge. I hear ya on the research. I've been researching them myself for about 3 weeks. Leaning more toward the Zumo 550 all the time. Sweet!!! So far there haven't been any great deals out there on them yet. I about ready to take the plunge. Wish me luck.

Keep the shiny side up!

How are you doing this for no cost?

Hey Peabody, Been checking out the Garmin nuvi 550 I think I may have found a winner. Sounds perfect for me and I won't break the bank on this one. I'm wondering if I carried an extra charged ion battery if that would work in the event I was out longer then the initial charge? I'm really trying to avoid wiring this to the Vespa. Love the yellow Vespa by the way. Thank you for your help. You rock girl.

That's the idea. You can charge the batteries at home and switch them out en route if you need to.

With several hours of running time on a battery, you're good for local trips. THe batteries aren't cheap, though.

I didn't buy the extra battery myself because I installed a 12V plug on my scooter a few years ago. You could probably do that yourself for a lot less than the cost of the spare.

If you decide to go with something that takes AA batteries the lithium ones are great. A little pricey, but they really last. One word of caution, though. When they go, they go. Very steep curve at the end of the life cycle.

Okay. I found this at Scooterwest. Would this work? Anyone have this configuration? Check it out.
https://www.scooterwest.com/item_detail/GTS-POWER-PLUG/2786/

Suz: You can get one of those or a Powerlet. You can get a Powerlet for the sme price but it is a little more work to get it set up.

I would say the charge lasts 4-6 hours. I turn it off at stops longer than a few minutes. My Buddy has a cigarette charger which would extend that (I never tried it). It does NOT come with a charger for the wall, so I bought one at Best buy. I think some people charge these through a line to the laptop, but I wanted a wall charger in case I travel with the lap top. I have been happy with it, but I never had a GPS before, so take it with a grain of salt.