GPS Worth the money?

[gearman]

Is the addition of the GPS worth the extra money? My touring trips used to consist of taping a map to a wall, throwing a dart, then going there! Come to think, it could be useful in finding the LONGEST way home!! :D

[Big_E]

Absolutely Worth the money.

[dshealey]

I sure loved mine! Fortunately I salvaged it from my crashed bike, and now it is in my car. Wife's car has a built in navigation system.

Even locally I have had it come in REAL handy when I need to go somewhere I have not been before. On trips, I don't know how we got along without them all those decades. :D

[Wim]

At least in my opinion. The thing you do (with the dart) I do that with the gps. Then I tell it 'shortest' (or with a 2610, use my preferences) and I go places I've never been before ...

[Steve_R]

I go places I've never been before ...
Must be part of the SS Enterprise crew, 1701-E. ;) Happy Birthday Wim.

[Malki]

Best toy I ever bought, saved my bacon on it's first trip out a few years back. Was running low on fuel in the Scottish Highlands on a Sunday, asked the GPS to find me the nearest fuel, and it did, I thought I was at least 40 miles from the nearest fill up, but it found me one 2.2 miles away and directed me right to it, tucked away in the middle of knowhere as well.
The tool really comes into it's own when you ask it to take you to somewhere like the Eiffel Tower in the centre of Paris, it never put a foot wrong on a 555 mile trip from where I was based in Holland.
@ Gearman, just buy it, you will never regret it.
Once you get used to the features and functions, it will treat you well, even down to finding the nearest Italian/Indian/Chinese restaurant or MacDonalds Etc. and will even give you the telephone numbers of hotels and the like.
Superb tool.

[gulfxray]

Jim,

Short answer yes...

Several have posted examples of how it has helped them find fuel, food, etc. I like using it to find my way to places in unfamilar towns, the quickest route from A -> B, and I don't have to read a map/notes while on the fly (sometimes I missed and interchange and ended way off track).

[gulfxray]

Must be part of the SS Enterprise crew, 1701-E. ;) Happy Birthday Wim.

That's what I thought Steve! I can see him on the bike punching in the destination, saying "Make it so...", and releasing the clutch...

Happy Birthday Wim!!

[messenger13]

Is the addition of the GPS worth the extra money?
Once you own a GPS and really get to learn how to use it and map with it . . . you wonder how you survived without it for so long. Take the plunge! You won't be sorry...I guarantee it.

[Dezrae]

When i got my LT earlier this year, the alarm and gps were still sitting in boxes. I got the dealer to fit them for me and my wife was giving me a hard time about getting the gps fitted and never let up about it.


Fast forward to a few days ago.
My wife booked a holden sedan from Avis from Sydney Airport as she was flying to Sydney to go to a friends wedding.
I told her to get one with GPS fitted.
She looked at me and rolled her eyes, but did it anyhow.

Yesterday she arried in Sydney and collected her car and piloted her way to the blue mountains.
I remember getting a phone call from her last night upon arrival to her destination telling me how wonderful gps systems are.
She also told me that at Sydney Airport there is a Harvey Norman shop selling VDO/Dayton 3200 seris GPS with colour screen and maps at 50% off retail and she's convidering buying one for our car.

My, my, my, how radidly peoples perspectives and attitudes change in such short time after using it...

I asked my wife if she now understood why i wanted the gps fitted to my bike and she appologised for giving me a hard time all this while :-))

[Jerrym]

I have too agree with Joe. After you have one you never go without it. It is so handy to find an address in any town or city you have not been it. Find a camp ground or motel in any strange area when traveling across country.

Jerry

[jpalamaro]

Like many things, e.g. computer(s), TiVo, HD Satellite TV, cell phones, satellite phones, chances are you got along in life without them. But, they do make lots of things fun and easy.

I can't even imagine not having my 376C with Sat. Weather and Radio, and being able to find a street location 99.999% of the time, and then having directions, both verbal and written, on how to get there.

[justincase]

Like many things, e.g. computer(s), TiVo, HD Satellite TV, cell phones, satellite phones, chances are you got along in life without them. But, they do make lots of things fun and easy.

I can't even imagine not having my 376C with Sat. Weather and Radio, and being able to find a street location 99.999% of the time, and then having directions, both verbal and written, on how to get there.
Agree, the answer is YES GPS is great. I have the SPIII...Wish I had the NX weather on mine...may be some day.

[Chick]

:yeah: ABSOLUTLY!!!! :yeah:

I use mine all the time on the LT, in the car, and in the motorhome. It has saved my bacon more than once including giving me accurate speed readings.

By all means get one and use it.

[walilisseu]

I am a 'new' owner of a Nav II, and while I still have a LOT of learning to do, I can say that I should have gotten it sooner (although waiting I got a bit better price on a 'promotion' the dealership had on them):yeah:. A couple of things that I have to figure out ...

1) The incessant beeping when it looses the satellite OR feels I'm doing something too dangerously.
2) The volume ... just before I took my bike into the shop for a clutch replacement, I started hearing the lovely "Ms GPS" (instead of the beeping) telling me that the satellite signal is lost ... but she didn't need to 'scream' :eek: !!

As I stated earlier ... I haven't learned all the ins and outs yet, but I certainly hope there is an internal volume control!?!? 'Cause "Ms GPS" is way too loud, and reducing 'master volume' isn't an option, or I can't hear my fav radio station (KLOVE) or CD.

But, I'd highly recommend it ... I'm sure it will come in handy on the way to / from CCR!!

Cheers:beer:(OTB)

[DaveDragon]

I love not having to concern myself with navigation while on the bike.
I layout my routes before a trip and it guides me as I go.
I keep an atlas in the boot "just in case" I want or need to consider options along a multi-day trip.

[rixchard]

The one thing that make gps worth it's weight in gold is that little marker that sez 'YOU ARE HERE!'

[DaveDragon]

When my buddy James came down to our home here in Florida the first time, I gave him a quick class on using the GPS and he set out on the DragonFly while I was working.
He road all over central Florida and ended up down by Sebring.
He had the GPS find my Home Waypoint and it routed back to the Casa.

He got in 8 hours of riding in a place he had never ridden and was never more than a few button presses away from a direct route back to where he started.

When he got back home to Madison Alabama, he purchased an SPIII off ebay and mounted it on his scooter.

[Steve_R]

The one thing that make gps worth it's weight in gold is that little marker that sez 'YOU ARE HERE!'

I always know where I'm at. It's just the HERE that concerns me. :eek:

[allen]

Consider the newest Garmin 7200 series. Hugh screens and can come with sat radio, mp3 player, and traffic info (like the 18 wheelers have) that instantly tell you of accidents, road shutdowns and gives you a route around. $ yes if you buy all the bells and whistles. Depends on what you need. I use the 2610 and love it. "Martha," as we call the voice, has found us food, fuel and a church for Sunday Mass on the road.

[meese]

Just curious, with the Garmin software do the points of interest include post offices?

And the 7200 series do look sweet. Big screens make a big difference.

[messenger13]

Yes, the Post Offices are listed. I have used this features extensively. This question does puzzle me, however. I would think that would be "a given".

[meese]

That's OK, It seems you're often puzzled, especially by my posts. :)

My VDO-Dayton GPS doesn't list Post Offices. It does list City Centers, which aren't always the same thing. When I got it 5 years ago, it was one of the best out there (and correspondingly pricey). By using NavTeq map CDs I could get incredible detail that wasn't available on the Garmins at the time, plus it came with a 5.6" full color screen rather than the Street Pilot's small monochrome screen. And I never needed a PC, since all the data was always with me. It still works very well, but other units are now starting to offer enough new features that I'm considering upgrading.

I like the iWay 500c, mostly because of the big screen, but some of the newer Garmin units add a lot of new features. So at this point I'm just gathering information, and looking at a few specific details that have come up when using my current system.

[walilisseu]

Had mine for over a year and still a novice ... just use the mapping and search functions, but it is GREAT! Careful with some of the roads it may suggest ... maybe I got the GS model?!?! :rotf: