Triumphrat

TBirdG · 04-05-2006

Ken, I emailed the link you posted last night and got a reply today. "Christine" said she isn't able to get me a back-order yet on the May '06 issue, but she can help me with the May '05 :razz: Looks like I'll have to get by without it.

The only other thing I was wondering about, is the way the antenna on the Garmin Quest 2 flips open. I know some members here have them, but it seems to me it would interfere with the mounting on the handlebars-do you see what I'm saying?

Gerry

TorqueyT · 04-05-2006

TBirdG - if you PM me your email address I'll scan the article and send it over to you as a PDF.

TiggerTwo · 04-07-2006

Quote:

On 2006-04-03 09:09, Glen-Tiger wrote:
Hi Gerry,

There was a test of 'bike-compatible' GPS units in the UK 'Ride' magazine last month. the TomTom Rider came 4th. The Garmin Streetpilot 2720 was first, the Garmin Quest 2 second and the Quest 3rd.

It mentioned that the volume on the TomTom Rider was a problem...Here's the text about the Rider:

"Newest system on test and the only one that comes with everything you need to connect it. Includes fitting brackets to attach it to the bars, mirror stalk or switchgear and has a bluetooth headset for wireless connection.
It was the easiest to fit, but loses marks because the bolts rounded off easily.
Programming was quick and the TomTom had the clearest display.
The headset was only just audible in town traffic with the volume at maximum and instructions for turnings were given later than other systems.
It chose a different route to the Garmin units, but it was equally effective.
Owners can also connect a bluetooth mobile phone to take calls on the move. We paired a phone with it but were unable to take calls. Note that foreign maps cost extra.
Ease of fitting: 8/10
Ease of programming: 7/10
Screen visibility: 10/10
Waterproofing: 10/10
Road testing: 10/20
Total: 45/60

The new TomTom is only marginally behind the top three, but loses points for problems on the road, where it really matters. It has plenty of 'cool' features like being able to choose different voices for the instructions, but more advance notice of turns is much more important and the TomTom suffers there"

I use the TomTom 5 software on my PDA and I have to agree that sometimes the turn instructions are given a little on the late side - can be a pain in heavy traffic when you have to change lanes for the turn.

All the units in the test were given 10/10 for waterproofing as none suffered after a good hoseing for five minutes. I did notice that although the TomTom is waterproof, they don't give any details of what standard that they tested it to.
The Garmin units are all tested to IEC 60529 IPX7 (Submersible at 1 metre for 30 minutes) and that made me a little more confident.

In the end, it was the ease of audio connection to my intercom that made me go for the Garmin Quest 2....of course it did go faulty on me, but I think I was just very unlucky

Good luck anyway and Ride Safe!

Ken...

Hi Ken,
So, you have both the TomTom 5 on the PDA and the Quest 2?

How's the Quest working now?

Can either be programmed for upcoming events such as turns etc...?

I would think that if the unit has enough memory to store the start, route and destination then all turn point ques could be modified/set within a "setup" menu, by the user.

Walt

[ This message was edited by: TiggerTwo on 2006-04-07 21:14 ]

TBirdG · 04-09-2006

Quote:

On 2006-04-05 15:45, TorqueyT wrote:
TBirdG - if you PM me your email address I'll scan the article and send it over to you as a PDF.

You gotta love the Internet. Bikers helping bikers! Just wanted to publicly thank you, TT for your kindness in sharing the article with me

Lots of good info there that will help me decide. Big thanks to you!

Gerry

TorqueyT · 04-10-2006

No problem at all, happy to help. In fact if anyone else want the article just PM me with email address.

djr · 04-11-2006

strangley enough, I picked up a copy of that very mag last week when i was in the UK. My only thought was I wonder how much different their final placings would have been had the Tom Tom cost £400 (as it does on the continent) as opposed to the RRP
Another thing I noticed was its already discounted in the UK. I think halfords was selling it for £500.

Glen-Tiger · 04-12-2006

Hi All,

Well, the 'Quest' (if you'll pardon the pun) for a good bike GPS unit has been interesting.

The Ride article must have been more successful than anyone thought as the Garmin Quest and Quest 2 units are in very short supply.

However, I eventually managed to obtain a working unit and it looks great in the motorcycle mount on the Tiger. It disconnects easily for when you get off the bike, but is very secure when riding.

The interfacing to intercom looked simple and I was looking forward to 'christening' the unit on our club ride around the Trossachs on Sunday.

I made up a Mapsource file with the 240 odd mile route and loaded this into the Quest 2 and everything seemed fine.

On the bike on Sunday though it all went 'pear-shaped'.

The unit crashed, switched itself off, crashed again and wouldn't follow thge route for more than a mile or so without crashing or losing the display.

I was pretty annoyed and was about to order a TomTom Rider when I thought I'd try the unit in the car...it worked fine!

I called Intaride, the guys that made my intercom unit, and they cleared up the problem instantly.

The Garmin GPS units (all of them apparantly) use a floating earth and don't like being earthed via the ground on the audio out conection. It causes all sorts of problems and they experienced the same things that I did.

So, they're supplying an isolated audio connection cable and, hopefully, once this is connected up, it will all be fine.

Just a warning to anyone else who may be thinking of a Garmin unit...it may be OK with other intercom units of course...though I notice that at least one of the other intercom suppliers supplies an isolated cable for this purpose as well.

The Quest 2 is a great little unit and the mapping is very good and really up to date. The Mapsource software is great for pre-preparing routes and is worth it's weight in gold.

Good luck to everyone else with their GPS 'quest' though and happy touring this summer!

Ken...

:-D