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Quote Originally Posted by Av8er View Post
Just curious but why don't y'all just youse an app on a phone? I have had a 550 and a 660 and yes they are nice but for the price I think I will use my phone GPS.
Not to beat a dead horse, but I need to make my point. Phone GPS units are not designed for what touring motorcyclists do. They can work, most of the time, but when they fail, they really fail. There are several types of GPS systems designed for different tasks and situations:
= Phone based apps that use data as you go. You MUST have access to data for these to always work. Even loading Googlemaps onto a phone before losing data will fail if you have to reroute on the fly. Also phones generally can't get wet.
= Phone based apps that load the maps in advance. Usually free, but the routing software is usually dismal, and they depend on a phone that can't get wet as well.
= Marine GPS: Highly accurate location data but No highway routing software. Wanna find fish? Avoid a sand bar?
= General Purpose Highway units and software, most GPS units from Garmin, TomTom and in your car: Pretty poor motorcyle routing,
Off Roading and Orienteering: Usually small screens, but some are close to what we use on motorcycles when off roading. Cheap units have no real routing software. These are usually good for off road hiking, biking, riding. Can be pricey to get same functions as Garmin Zumo series.
= Motorcycle touring Zumo and TomTom Rider 400: Pricey, most durable, not inclined to interface well with phones, often feature bloated, good m/c routing though.
= Trucking GPS: Really big screens, heavy, readable, never waterproof, designed for drivers who have to stay on truck routes. Sometimes the software for these things is slow -- there is an incredible amount of data in these units that does not have to be in car systems.
= Aviation. I don't fly so I don't know much about the last one.

To sum up...
1. Rural areas = no data. Bad or no phone service. That's the biggest reason to have a regular GPS.
2. Phone Based GPS Software = Crappy Routing algorithms. That means bad programming. Not built for mc riding. Result: you take boring roads or end up in mud roads when you don't want to. Example: Googlemaps when off line, Any cheap or free app that you download onto a phone that calls itself m/c GPS software: low quality routing.
3. Safety: Do NOT trust a phone in rural areas. Not for communication, not for directions. Take a look at a national coverage map from Verizon et all. When I go off road in my jeep or out on big water in my boat, we carry CB or FRS or Marine radios AND GPS units with software specifically designed for the situation. Those of you who carry cell phones when traveling alone in "big country" without cell coverage are fooling yourself -- that thing will be not reach anyone when you really need it. Carry a radio. Keep spare batteries. Why do you think the big Honda still has a CB option?

If all your riding is near suburbia and a city, then OK, the cell phone is fine.

Ride Safe