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BMW Navigation System Help

2K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  meese 
#1 ·
Once again I surrender to the incredible knowledge pool of this forum. I was wondering if anyone know how to change the default of the navigation system to be off when the bike is running instead of on. Now, I can manually go into the settings and turn the screen of the navigation system off. With my riding 90% of the time I don't need the navigation system on and would like it to act in reverse: default to off and when I need it or want it I can manually turn it on. Any thoughts???
 
#3 ·
There's no official BMW/Garmin way to do what you're asking.

So you have three basic options here, from easiest to most work:

1) Turn the screen off every time you start up the bike. Easy enough, but a bit of a hassle as you've found.

2) Take the GPS out and leave it at home or leave it in the trunk (there are protective Garmin cases available), and only put it in when you want to use it. But you just know that it'll be left at home that one time when you want to use it . . .

3) Find the power feed to the GPS cradle, cut the hot or ground wire, and install a switch. This requires some bike surgery, but would allow you to power the GPS on or off at your convenience.

Really, it all depends on your desired balance of hassle versus convenience. :)
 
#4 ·
You don't say which model nav you have or which bike it is mounted on, but another option, which I use on my 2014 RT and Nav 5 is to click through the bikes computer settings until you hit the navigation page, then use the wonder wheel to scroll from the map page to the next page which gives you several displays to choose from which will give you bike information such as speed, heading, fuel consumption and range until empty, etc. Much of this is useful information while riding, and I especially like to have the speedometer information right in front of my eyes. So if you don't want to look at a map while riding, consider using the screen as another way of looking at online bike information.
 
#5 ·
I am curious: what is the downside of it being on?
 
#7 ·
I guess there isn't a down side of it being on all the time. I was just thinking since I don't need it all the time, the off position would lead to longer life of the machine?? I just returned from a 5 day road trip where I tried the different screens; they were cool for a little while but I still needed to scroll and choose the different screen much like having to turn it off. I was just thinking that it would make sense to be able to change the default setting so the device is off instead of on all the time.
 
#8 ·
I've put more than 100K miles on various GPS units. Eventually, they feel slow (as newer units come out) and the maps get dated (unless you have lifetime maps), but I've never worried about "wearing one out".

Leave the scrolling map screen up, or choose an interesting data screen, or use the scroll wheel to shut off the display, and then just ride . . .
 
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