Yeah, that's a fair shout. I've seen other people mention Maps.me as well but I haven't looked in to it myself. Considering the outlay for a dedicated satnav it's worth a look. Cheers.
You can, and I used to use Google Maps in my old car quite happily (until I discovered Waze), but I want to be able to make up routes or upload them to the device. I don't think that's possible with Maps. Downloading maps for offline use for the whole of France and a sizeable chunk of Spain doesn't sound like fun either. Also, I wonder how well the phone would work with gloved fingers.
Now that's an idea I hadn't thought of. CoPilot was the first satnav I ever used, long before Google joined the game. I'm just about to swap to a new phone so I could repurpose the old one, although it will only have wifi connectivity. The screen's cracked as well but I don't suppose that's going to matter much. I'll take a look at CoPilot as see how it stacks up on features.
Garmin have a new XT that people seem to be raving about and at under £400 could be worth a look. I guess its up against the TT rider 550 which is a bit more expensive. Trouble is you really need to get hands on to se wether you like the interface etc as its all down to personal preferences
Getting hands-on isn't so easy these days. It takes a while living with it to find the personal niggles, anyway. Next best thing is to see what the concensus of opinion might be. So here I am. . M&P have the TomTom Rider 550 for £299, which isn't bad. That's £100 less than buying direct. I'll take a look at the XT
Like all tech companies they are striving to get out the next best thing. Not really seen any major or significant changes in Garmin (and I'm guessing TT) for a while.
A bit like the situation with iPhones. Every year the same trumpeting but the features are less and less groundbreaking.
It's another +1 for the Tom Tom from me. I have used several iterations on my Tigers over the years and they are reliable (mostly) and accurate. The ones which allow traffic notifications are great. That may not be necessary you say on a bike but when the traffic relates to shut or blocked roads, it really does. I have used Garmins in cars and like some on here I don't get on with them as much. They are a bit noddy and basic for my liking with graphics off a 1970s Atari. I have also used Google Maps and that's great for simple A to B journeys but anything involving multiple waypoints can be hit and miss. The thing about Google is it wants you to go to the exact waypoint location or it constantly tries to directr you back. That's not great if a road is shut or you just carry on. If you can live with that then it's a less expensive option.
Just a little update to the thread. I'm off to Scotland for a few days on Thursday so I've ordered the TomTom 550 in the hope it arrives, and I manage to fit it, in time to give it a trial run up the M1, A68 and beyond.
Have you looked into beeline yet? https://beeline.co/pages/beeline-moto I use googlemaps on my old galaxy s7 phone that I no longer use for normal cell phone use. I don't mind it being strapped to my bars, because it is waterproof, and old, and I don't care about it. That said, the beeline still has my interest due to it's compact size and simplicity.
I had a look at the website and it's definitely a clever idea. I think it would be even better for cycles than motorbikes given the compass mode. I like to see a bit further up the road, bends etc., but if I get the chance to try one I stand to be converted.
Google maps for me, used to have a TomTom but gave up with satnavs after they decided to stop updates for my model which was working perfectly fine up until then. My Givi tank bank has a clear phone holder at the top if I want to see directions and my intercomm does the rest
There's a Beeline thread which may be of interest in this subforum: https://www.thetriumphforum.com/threads/beeline-moto-satnav.23386/ It would be extremely easy to switch between bikes, either by using the universal elastic strap mount which can be quickly moved from bike to bike, or even onto a rental bike if you're traveling, or by fitting each bike with one of the other mounting options. While it does not incorporate a map on the display (the map is on the app on your mobile, which can stay in your pocket or tank bag), the display does indicate the distance to the next turn, the direction of that turn, and some additional information which may be all you actually need for effective navigation.
Hi just purchased a Tom Tom rider 500 from amazon £259.99 Could not see the point in shelling out extra for world maps when I will never use them. This is a replacement for the 400 I had that someone helped them selves to when I left my van unlocked. Tom Tom does every thing I need.
That's probably the sensible one to buy rather then the 550 in most cases. Note to self: Try to be more sensible.
