BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I find people don't believe me when I say I've never owned a cell phone, but hell, one of the reasons I tour is to cut the strings and be totally disconnected.  But I'll be spending considerable time in Europe after I buy a bike, based in France, and got so lost last time I thinking of taking the plunge if cell phones offer GPS maps, etc. when you've got connection bars. I'll be selling my soul, but don't want to sell it too expensively, and I hear the nav systems are really expensive. I take it the Nav IV and its ilk's advantage over cell phones is that it connects directly with the GPS satellites?  Could I get by with a smart phone?  Also, from what I've read it appears that there is a main Nav V, etc. unit independent of the handlebar screen and hat it has to be installed behind the body panels.  Is that the case, and how hard is it to do without the dealer getting involved?  Thanks for your help dragging an old fart into the new century (kicking and screaming).

Lots of people are going the smartphone route, apps like google maps, calimoto, riser, navmii. Not all are free though.

IMHO whilst many may use a Smartphone instead of a dedicated SatNav, it's a bit like saying that because a Smartphone has a camera you don't need a DSLR anymore. Some may not, but they aren't the same thing.

I bought a used Garmin Zumo 400 from a guy on UKGSer, £50 including the powered mount. It came with an SD card holding the whole of Europe, albeit the maps were a few years old, but I figured if I ever got lost, they'd do the job! I spent £40 (I think) on a bang up to date card holding western Europe....job done. It's an old unit, it's a basic unit (no Bluetooth....don't need it) but it works seamlessly with TourStart (or MotoGoLoco) for planning custom routes, and does exactly what I need.

Pete

I agree. A smartphone is a pain to operate with gloved hands, and most aren't very tough. Try eBay for a second-hand device. For many years they have come with 'lifetime map updates' so you should be able to get something usable.

Dee Dub wrote: For many years they have come with 'lifetime map updates'

Small print quite often restricts this to the initial purchaser, so lifetime maps may not be transferable. (though there may be ways around this )

You other lower-cost choices are purchase to a pre-owned Bike-specific GPS with full European mapping or to use a automotive GPS in a waterproof pouch with a Ridermount speaker-to-bluetooth converter.
Garmin automotive units will now accept full route planning from Basecamp.

Onc basic question of mine remains unanswered:  will a smart phone GPS ONLY  work when you have phone reception?  My assumption is that the dedicated Nav units work directly off satellites, not phone towers.  Since I'll only be using it in Europe, not out on the desolate US plains states, I don't think this will be a problem, but would like to know.  Also, once a phone GPS map loses coverage, will the map still appear on the phone (even without showing you position), or does it just freeze where you left it?  Thanks.

Hi


Many phones do have GPS receivers but in many parts of Europe you may not get 3g or 4g signal  so although your phone will know its location you may not have any maps.  Depends on what software you are using and if that included downloaded maps.  Without maps  it may not be possible to navigate  other than to show you the general direction of your destination

Or, and it just came to me:  get a paper map!!!!  Thanks for the info and the reply.

jackronner wrote: Onc basic question of mine remains unanswered:  will a smart phone GPS ONLY  work when you have phone reception?  My assumption is that the dedicated Nav units work directly off satellites, not phone towers.  Since I'll only be using it in Europe, not out on the desolate US plains states, I don't think this will be a problem, but would like to know.  Also, once a phone GPS map loses coverage, will the map still appear on the phone (even without showing you position),or does it just freeze where you left it?  Thanks.

I still use a Windows phone - I installed HERE Drive+, which is absolutely free and gives you access to world maps...just download what you need. It's also available for Android phones and, I believe, IoS. The maps are stored on the phone, so no data connection required and, as long as the phone has built-in GPS of course, phone reception isn't required for navigation. Used Windows phones are so cheap these days, you could buy one, with the requisite case and mount, to use as a cheap, dedicated navigation unit.
Pete

Pete

When you install something like google maps on your phone it will come with a very basic map for the entire globe. The basic map is just a land mass and wont include cities, towns, point of interest etc. This does mean it will always be able to show you where you are but not in a very helpful way and not what's around you.

When connected to the cell, the application will cache an area around you at the most detailed level with all POIs and roads, once cached if you lose cell signal it will still work fine until you stray out of the cached area.

It is also possible to specifically cache areas without being in them, so as long as you're prepared when in the hotel and cell reception is plentiful you can ensure you have cached the correct parts of the map needed for the next days travel. I however prefer the dedicated option at the moment, less fragile and just looks a lot nicer and less out of place.

A point to consider is if you are going to mountainous region of Europe a lot of the hotels cater for motorcyclist and have dedicated routes which are easy to download onto Sat Nav.

The computing performance of modern phones and their gps accuracy make using one for navigating very useable. I successfully navigated a short trip to Germany last year using an iPhone 8+ and TomTom app. Sygic is another very good app. Both of these apps store maps on your device so no need to being using data for navigation. The only issue I had with the TomTom app is you cannot store routes only waypoints. In the end they won as I bought the TomTom Rider 550 IMHO a better device than Garmin.

Guys, I omitted a central question:  if I use a cell phone, do these map apps give you voice directions?  Don't wanna die looking at my device and piling into a stopped truck, etc.  I'd use an earphone jack.