If you are considering the Garmin, I would not consider the 2620 for motorcycle use, it has the entire map database loaded but it uses a harddrive and the vibrations it will be subjected to on a bike will likely damage the HD..it'll work forever in a car though. I would strongly advise you go for the 2720 (brand new w/ 3D map- uses non-volitile flash storage somewhat like the iPod Nano) or the 2610 that uses the compact flash card (a 2gb card will hold just about the whole world on it w/ room to spare).
The 26xx series Garmin GPS actually has more user accessible 'bells and whistle' features than the newer 2720 unit w/ the 3D map but both have more features and functions than you can shake a stick at and neither seems deficient on the feature set. Get thee to a best buy and have a poke around.
I personally use a Garmin GPSmap 60cs, the smaller general handheld version. I find the S3 to be such a naked bike that the larger form factor of the 26xx or 27xx models of the Garmins just looks too big and overscaled on the bike. I purchased a power cable from cycoactive.com (garmin also sells one), the handlebar mount from Garmin and it snaps tidily on your handlebar between the clamps and operates either by power cable or AA batteries. You will need to also purchase the city navigator map software and it does have limited non-expandable memory (56mb) which is good for about a 4 state area, its navigational performance is absolutely superb; it's fast, the transreflective LCD screen is just about the best I've ever seen, very viewable in regular daylight, and just doesnt lag. It's few downsides are the limited memory capacity and limited screen size, but my eyes are good and it works for me. The garmin power cable has a earphone connector so that you can use a set of headphones to hear the system beep at you when a turn is coming up or if it's recalculating your route, it generally allows you to focus on the road and not the unit until it's appropriate to take note of the unit, otherwise you find yourself being distracted by the GPS unit a bit more than is wise. It also has a compass, barometer, and other general GPS features included that makes it an awesome overall unit. I like it a lot.
There is the Garmin Quest2 that has the US fully loaded on it and it also is a more compact GPS unit that has a motorcycle specific mounting/power kit (RAM mount). It is not quite as feature filled as the GPSmap 60cs as it is a road navigation focussed unit (very appropriate for cars and bikes) and it's orientation is horizontal (landscape)rather than vertical (portrait) like the GPSmap, in my opinion, this limits how much fore of the route ahead you can preview, otherwise also a neat unit. All these suggested Garmins are sealed and very weather proof.
I have tried and owned a variety of GPS units over the years and I always seem to come back to Garmin.
TomTom has just released the
Rider, designed specifically for motorcycles, check out this early review. I'm tempted to give it a go but I'll see about tracking it down and fiddling with it first.
also try this link, it contains great info on just about every GPS unit out there and is very, very informative. If that cant help you make a well informed decision, nothing will... :-D
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