Yamaha WR250R and WR250X Forum

Grassroots · Veteran Member

GPS and Mapping... What Are You Using?

SteveT · Veteran Member

I've got the Montana. Brilliant but:

1. no Bluetooth to helmet is a pain. I use it on road bike too with City Navigator map card. It's fine, but Bluetooth would be the icing on the cake.

2. map cards expensive. Buy it with UK Ordnance Survey included. But be warned, OS type mapping for Europe (for trailriding) is a rip off price. The City Navigator card for Europe is reasonable at about £70

3. A powered mount is about £40. 2 bikes = 2 mounts. Unpowered mounts are cheaper and battery life is good.

Basecamp mapping software for your PC is free and pretty good.

Another option is SatMap gps. Garmin and SatMap both have their pros and cons. I've used both extensively and can't decide which I prefer. Because I want to use it as a "conventional" gps on the road bike I chose Garmin. I'm happy with it. Watch out on GoOutdoors for deals. I've seen it at £299 with full UK 1:50K OS mapping.

I expect Brian will tell you how you can do it all for free!

Grassroots · Veteran Member

Superb summary Steve. Much thanks to you for your advice and opinion.

1. With a bit of tech digging around, I'm sure i must be able to find some sort of trick to plug into the Montana to get around the voice to helmet issue. Will do a little research here.

2. The OS maps are expensive for Europe, but a package deal with UK maps would very much do for now. £299 would be fantastic. Ill keep an eye on GoOutdoors.... currently £399.

3. In regards to batteries or power mount. I happen to use Ram Mounts and have wired a USB socket to my bike. Can the Montana be charged via USB?

4. Great to hear you feel Basecamp is pretty good. This was one of my biggest fears and now i'm feeling a little more confident about it.

5. Finally. Can you track and save a route when you're following someone on a new trail?

Thanks again Steve,

Paul

SteveT · Veteran Member

you can plug in the Garmin (3.5mm in think) to get voice instructions. I thought about plugging in a Bluetooth transmitter that I could pair to my road bike helmet intercom but never got around to it.

you can charge via usb but it's not waterproof

basecamp is ok and free SatMap use a better planning software but theirs now has an annual access fee

yes you can track and import route

SteveT · Veteran Member

Garmin Montana 600 at £299 here;

http://navi-technology.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=47&product_id=192

Appears to be free p&p. There are some good "bundles" on the site too, with mounts etc, worth a look at before you buy.

-- Edited by SteveT on Wednesday 9th of March 2016 04:31:22 PM

SteveT · Veteran Member

TIP. Take this price (and weblink) to Go Outdoors and they will match plus extra 10% the price. Yours for £270!!!

Grassroots · Veteran Member

Wow! Steve that is amazing! Thank you so much. I'll be sure to check it out this evening when I return from work

Grassroots · Veteran Member

Grrrr.... just spoke with Go Outdoors. Unfortunately they have refused to price match the company Navi-technology as they have said that they are based in Bulgaria and are not VAT registered. Having now tried calling Navi-tech, it would appear to be true. Although they claim to have a London address and contact number, it would seem enquiries are being directed abroad.

Not sure if to consider Go outdoors at £320 or take a chance on Navi-tech at £299... mmm?

SteveT · Veteran Member

My mate bought one from Go Outdoors using the navi tech link. Perhaps they've now checked it out a bit more thoroughly.

£320 is a good price. Go Outdoors used to do the occasional special offer at £299, but that was a while ago.

Grassroots · Veteran Member

Cheers for the advice Steve. Think i'll bite the bullet at £320 to play it safe as i'd love to be able to record the route when we all meet up next month. Like you say, £320 is still a pretty good price for what it is.

I did find one device online for £279, but that only came with the TOPO UK & Ireland Lite Maps. I can only imagine how useless that would be in comparison to the Full UK 1:50k Map.

Thanks again for all your help...purchase made and now officially part of the Sat Nav club!

-- Edited by Grassroots on Wednesday 16th of March 2016 03:59:30 PM

SteveT · Veteran Member

I was going to plot a route on Basecamp and put it on my Garmin. No need to really as I know 90% of it from my head, but it helps the road bits.

I can send you the gpx file if you want, to upload before we leave. I will probably divert a bit on the day as the weather/time/progress allows and a route tracklog would pick all that up.

Grassroots · Veteran Member

Sounds fantastic thanks Steve. The gpx file would be really interesting.

I'm amazed with Go Outdoors. Ordered yesterday afternoon and apparently it arrived to my house at lunchtime today! Now if only i can get to grips with the device itself so swiftly smile .

SteveT · Veteran Member

pm on it's way regarding start point. Let me know if it doesn't suit.

I'm not familiar with the roads around there but hope we can just park on the roadside. I'd like to meet at 9.00 with a plan to be on our way by 9.30. Please arrive with your bike fully fuelled. We will stop at a decent garage around lunchtime for fuel and food.

If we meet at the postcode I'm sending by pm, we can move to another better place if need be.

I have my brother coming as back marker and another newish TRF member. NOT on wrr's! I hope you don't mind.

I'm looking forward to the ride. Let's home the weather plays ball.

Can you both pm me your mobile numbers please?

Silver frame · Member

Hi Steve and Paul,

So picked up a Garmin today, had to travel to Basingstoke to get it as Go Outdoors have no stock left in there depot's for delivery except what individual shops have left which is click and collect only!(Southampton had no stock left) so if you know anyone who is considering getting one tell them that the offer will probably end soon once they have sold all of the stock left as it's an older model so won't be replaced at this price.

Having never used a portable sat nav before it is going to take some getting used to, what is Basecamp? And is it better to plan a route on a PC and transfer it to the Garmin?

Any advice, gpx files would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Simon

Grassroots · Veteran Member

Hi ya Simon,

Congrats on the new purchase. This was my very first sat nav too. Although i was feeling very overwhelmed by it to begin with, i'm slowly getting the hang of things now. Still a way to go before i can say i really know it though... biggrin .

Basecamp is the platform used on the P.C to create tracks and routes. Again, i have a lot to learn, but it does seem to be a great tool and really is quite user friendly. You'll find a few videos on things like youtube which might help you along. I also went on an enduro training day last year with this company.... http://www.torqueracing.net/ Donna was a superb teacher and i picked up loads. In addition to her great ridding skills, i believe she also does Montana GPS training days too. If i can possibly find the time at some point over the summer, i may well pop back to see her again. Only thing is, it's up near Stevenage and so is a bit of a trek.

GPX file of our day out from Salisbury just sent over to your email smile .

Happy trails,

Paul.

Brookzo · Newbie

Silver frame wrote:
Hi Steve and Paul,

So picked up a Garmin today, had to travel to Basingstoke to get it as Go Outdoors have no stock left in there depot's for delivery except what individual shops have left which is click and collect only!(Southampton had no stock left) so if you know anyone who is considering getting one tell them that the offer will probably end soon once they have sold all of the stock left as it's an older model so won't be replaced at this price.

Having never used a portable sat nav before it is going to take some getting used to, what is Basecamp? And is it better to plan a route on a PC and transfer it to the Garmin?

Any advice, gpx files would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Simon

Yeah, either make a route on PC or download pre-made one. Just check that it's not too heavy for the device