I’ve taken the plunge and got a GPS, at last I’ll be able to find my ass with both hands.
I went for the Quest as its compact, water proof and doesn’t have to be wired to the bike. When it turned up I was surprised by how small it is. You really can carry it around in your pocket. It has a quality solid feel to it and has a nice weight. The buttons are small, but I’ve been able to use then with my winter gloves on, you need to prod them a few times, but it’s not the issue I thought it would be. The flip up aerial feels like it would take some abuse, which is good as its forward facing so gets the full force of the wind.
I got it out of the box, plug the charger in and turned it on, all without the help of the manual, so it’s user friendly. The screen is bright and clear, which is good as it’s small in comparison to other models. I was a bit concerned that it thought I was in North America, but being inside it gps doesn’t work.
Being the kid I am, I started pressing the buttons before the manual was out of the box. It took me a while to figure out how to find addresses. I’ve had it a week and still haven’t read the manual. I think it’s like a new mobile, if you read the manual you’ll know what it does, if you don’t you’ll figure out the stuff you want to do.
I bought a bike mounting kit with it, which consists of a u bolt to go around the bars, an arm and a cradle to hold the GPS. It fitted straight on the KTM and with a few minutes playing around I found a position which seemed ok. So came the maiden voyage. I’d got it work out a few routes and one of them was to work. So, off I went. It took me a while to figure out that the route it was taking me on was to my girlfriend’s folks in Liverpool!!! Nothing like a real world situation to make you wish you’d read the manual. I parked up and re calculated the route and was back on track. In use, on the KTM it’s fairly easy to see and route information is clear and well displayed. At one point, I found myself in the wrong lane and had to do a u-turn to get back on track. I don’t think it’s an issue with the GPS but more an issue of learning to ride and read the GPS. I used it at night to get home form work and it’s a different experience. The first being it’s dark, and without the GPS being power from the bike the back light turns off and you can’t see the route, but as you approach junctions the backlight comes on to show you the info. This is great as it notifies you of the change in route, but not being able to see the route at other points is annoying. But that’s the way it is, guess you can’t have both.
After a few trips with it I’m getting more and more used to it, I’ve also seen a few bit’s of London I’ve never seen before. All in all I’m still impressed with it. I’ve loaded a speed camera database to it and it lets me know where they are along with red light cameras. It also lets me know when I’m above the speed limit. Personally, I’m not that bothered about this, as I can generally see the big yellow cameras, and I learnt how traffic lights work along time ago. But for roads I don’t know I’m sure it’ll come in handy.
Over the weekend I mounted it to my Blade. I got an adaptor for the brake lever bracket, an arm and a cradle, the plan is to wire it into the bike and also to wire in the audio. It makes more sense to get it wired to the blade as I can plug it into the autocom and I use the blade for touring and longer trips. Once it was fitted, I just had to take it out for a run. So I planed a trip with a waypoint and set off. It’s not so easy to use on the blade. The GPS sits just forward of the steering damper and to see it really involves taking your eyes off the road. I think this highlights the different riding positions of the bikes. At present I’m hoping that audio will compensate for it position, if no then I’ll look at a longer mounting arm or mounting it from the headset. I can’t imagine it’s ever going to be as easy to see on the blade but think its position could be better.
One thing I’ve found with the quest is that I don’t find it easy find and add addresses. It’s ok if you have the full address, but I’ve tried to add a pub and using the GPS I could figure it out. It’s easy to do with the software that comes with it though.
I’ve also experienced and problem syncing the GPS with my PC, I tracked the problem down to a route and once deleted it was ok. While this was going on the GPS was freezing and at one point became unresponsive, and without a reset button I reached for the manual and learnt the key combo to reset it “Power and In”.
I also can’t get the Points of Interest loader to install on my Media Center PC. I’ve not contacted Garmin about this but may do if it annoys me enough.
So, do I still go the wrong way? Yes I do. But now I realise a lot sooner that I’m going the wrong way. I wouldn’t want to be without it now, even though I’ve only had it a week, it’s been that useful. I can’t wait to plan a trip with it, take it abroad and I think one of the best things will be when I start observer training it will recorded the routes for me and get me home without any stress of knowing where I am. So I can concentrate on enjoying the ride.
. For an extra £50 I can add a GPS receiver, and then you’re fully equiped plus you can answer the phonecalls on the bike and listen to the MP3s.
I fancy one too! 