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surreypete
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Joined: Jun 17, 2007
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 Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:01 pm Post subject: Nuvi 310 on motorbike |
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I have a Nuvi 310 and was thinking if it's possible to rig it up to use on my motorbike, I was thinking of using the sucker mount on my speedo but don't think that will be too secure.
Anyone mounted a Nuvi onto a bike and how did they do it? |
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PaulB2005
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Joined: Jan 04, 2006
Posts: 9323
Location: Durham, UK
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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Someone else asked this yesterday. I believe the "proper" way to do it is to use a "Ram Mount". I'll have a look....
edit: it was the first post in this forum at the time you posted this question - see this thread |
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desd
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Posts: 117
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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Yep use a ram mount the ball on the mount will fit where the ball on your car kit goes.
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Zumo 500 + 4GB SD Card, car Kit and GTM21
Linked to Autocom by bluetooth and all seems good.
Traffic reception in the central belt of Scotland and hurray NW England seems to be working again. Still a million times better than the Quest 2 it replaces |
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Sloper
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| Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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Hi all.. my first post here 
I've just ordered a Garmin 310 from Amazon and I've been checking out bike mounts too. I found this one on the US Amazon site. It's the cheapest I could find, but the pic isn't very informative 
I like it though as it looks like it would fit flat between my handlebar brackets. The usual type of mount has the satnav unit sticking way up, which I want to avoid.
There are several bike mounts for the Garmin 310 on US eBay too, although much more expensive. |
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bumpkin
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Joined: Feb 08, 2006
Posts: 264
Location: Herefordshire
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| Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:14 am Post subject: |
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| Sloper wrote: | | I found this one on the US Amazon site. It's the cheapest I could find, but the pic isn't very informative |
That's a RAM cradle, see here. You should be able to order this from GPS Warehouse where it's only £7.99 inc. VAT. Although it's usually easier to find the bits you want on the UK RAM site which then has a link through to the relevant product page of the GPSW site to enable you to order (GPSW do order fulfilment for RAM UK). To find the kit options for your particular bike check mount Wizard on the home page of the RAM US site.
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Chas
Garmin i3, Quest & StreetPilot 2720 with GTM10 |
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Sloper
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| Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Chas, that's very helpful  |
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bumpkin
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Location: Herefordshire
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Sloper wrote: | | Thanks Chas, that's very helpful |
Glad to be of service
BTW, you do realise that the Nuvis (with the exception of the high end models) only do A-B routing (with via C as an option). Fine for just getting places but for following a specific route they're no good as the GPS makes the decision on what roads to take. IMHO this makes them no use for recreational bike use. Far better to go for a model that can exploit the capabilities of Mapsource and allow you to upload a precisely defined route following the roads you want to ride. The cheapest way to do this would probably be a Quest 1 which can be had from the likes of eBay for less than £100 these days. Alternatively a Zumo 550 has all the bells and whilstles for £380 or thereabouts. In between these models are the likes of the StreetPilot 2610, 2720 and 2820 as well as the other Zumo variants.
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Chas
Garmin i3, Quest & StreetPilot 2720 with GTM10 |
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Skippy
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Joined: 24/06/2003 00:22:12
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Location: Escaped to the Antipodies! 36.83°S 174.75°E
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Sloper wrote: | | Hi all.. my first post here |
I'll add my voice to those recommending RAM mounts. They really are rock solid and well made. The best thing is that you can mix and match the mounting parts to suit what you need to fit your bike. They are pretty good value too.
Watch out for the rain getting your Nuvi wet though, unlike some Garmin models it's not waterproof.
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Gone fishing! |
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Sloper
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:50 pm Post subject: |
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Ta for the welcome Skippy
Chas, I've never used any form of gps/satnav before so I didn't really know what features were available on them or even what I needed. After some research I chose the 310 Nuvi simply because it has an earphone socket and bike mounts are available for it. Routing options never occurred to me
The likes of the Tomtom Rider and Zumo 550s are way out of reach anyway and I'm sure my needs wouldn't justify the cost. I think the Nuvi will do me at least for the moment. Meanwhile I'll check-out this Quest 1 of which you speak!
Wish I'd found this place before  I only discovered it while searching for safety-camera downloads. |
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Sloper
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:53 pm Post subject: |
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Just wondering something..
About the A to B routing with via C as an option. I suppose it's possible to divide a journey up into smaller sections of several A to Bs via C, if you know what I mean? Would that be just silly? 
I haven't received my Nuvi 310 yet so I don't even know if that's possible, practical, or just stupid. |
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Skippy
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Location: Escaped to the Antipodies! 36.83°S 174.75°E
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:16 am Post subject: |
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The Quest 1 was a good unit when it came out but it's showing it's age now. It doesn't have the big touch screen or SD card memory of the Nuvi but from what I've heard (correct me if I'm wrong, folks) Garmin dumbed the Nuvi right down and removed the ability to pre-program routes using Mapsource, the IPX-7 waterproofing and some of the off road navigation features. 
The Nuvi still looks like a nice unit though and the touch screen is far better than the buttons you have to use on the Quest which are fiddly.
I'll agree with others here though - when you are on the bike, the ability to plan your route using Mapsource and upload it into the GPS is a killer feature, especially if you are taking the "scenic" route. 
| Sloper wrote: | | I suppose it's possible to divide a journey up into smaller sections of several A to Bs via C |
Yes, that's probably a good workaround. You could get a large paper map out and have a look at the roads. Then take a note of the waypoints you want to aim for and write them down on a bit of paper. When you get to each one, stop and reprogram your Nuvi for the next destination.
It's a bit fiddly - the advantage with Mapsource is that you can do it on the PC and upload the route. It also gives you a total trip time for the whole route which is important because sometimes the scenic route takes quite a bit longer than you expected (especially if you find a good bit and have to do it a few times!) .
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bumpkin
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:35 am Post subject: |
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Yep, the Quest 1 is a little long in the tooth although it'll still get you there via the route you want to take. The next step up from the Quest in the Garmin range is the 2610. Decent 2610s are going on eBay for £150+ and more if the mapping is up to date. It has a bigger touch screen and expandable memory. The best 2nd hand Garmin units are going to be either a 2720 or 2820 (the latter can still be purchased new). These run the later NT mapping, hold all of Europe (although no memory expansion), do speed camera alerts and have pseudo 3D displays. Some experienced units say that the Zumo is dumbed down in comparison to these two with quite a few tweaks and features removed from the menus. The average user is unlikely to miss anything though.
I used an i3 on the bike for a while and soon discovered the A-B via C method you describe to be frustratingly impractical. The i3 is similar to the Nuvi in respect of navigation options. I the purchased a 2nd hand Quest on eBay which for the money does a great job. If I had more £ I would go for a 2720 as I don't want/need bluetooth or MP3 but family £ commitments mean that's unlikely for a while.
Another alternative is a TomTom Rider 2. There's now third party software that allows proper route planning on the PC. Now that the mount problems of the Rider 1 seem to be resolved there's only the question of TomTom's customer service not, allegedly, being as good as that as Garmin to contend with.
| Skippy wrote: | | Yes, that's probably a good workaround. You could get a large paper map out and have a look at the roads. Then take a note of the waypoints you want to aim for and write them down on a bit of paper. When you get to each one, stop and reprogram your Nuvi for the next destination. |
The trouble with this is that you'll need to place your B and C points (you're already at A so you don't need to define that) where you're sure the Nuvi wont take you another way. Obviously this will vary depending on the road layout. You can preview each of these A-B-C sets by adding them at home and running though each set by looking at the turns and comparing with a map but that's going to probably take as long as the ride itself You can pre-program the points in as custom POIs and name them (assuming Step1-A is home) Step1-B, Step1-C, Step2-B, Step2-C, Step3-B, Step3-C etc... so you can relatively easily load them from favourites when you're out on the road. The thing is, doing the above you might as well stop and consult a map instead.
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Chas
Garmin i3, Quest & StreetPilot 2720 with GTM10
Last edited by bumpkin on Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:47 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sloper
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:39 am Post subject: |
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| Skippy wrote: |
Yes, that's probably a good workaround. You could get a large paper map out and have a look at the roads. Then take a note of the waypoints you want to aim for and write them down on a bit of paper. When you get to each one, stop and reprogram your Nuvi for the next destination.
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Is it not possible to program destinations into the Nuvi in advance, so that they can be called-up quickly when needed, say with just a couple of button (screen) presses?
Does the Quest have an earphone skt?
Cheers Skippy |
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Sloper
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:47 am Post subject: |
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Whoops.. just spotted your reply bumpkin. I'll have a look at the Quest 1 but I'll see how I get on with the Nuvi for now. I'm forced to anyway... it took some persuading the Mrs before I could buy the Nuvi. I'm not going through that again yet!
Thanks.. what helpful people there are here  |
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bumpkin
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Location: Herefordshire
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| Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:53 am Post subject: |
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| Sloper wrote: | | Whoops.. just spotted your reply bumpkin. I'll have a look at the Quest 1 but I'll see how I get on with the Nuvi for now. I'm forced to anyway... it took some persuading the Mrs before I could buy the Nuvi. I'm not going through that again yet! |
Went by the same torturous route and have the scars to prove it
Stick with the Nuvi and see how you get on. My Mrs uses the i3 I started with in the car, maybe you could follow the same route of negotiation. Let her use it and discover the advantages...
Bear in mind that you'd need to invest in mounting hardware (cradle, RAM bits and wiring) for a different unit although you would be able to use the RAM bits you buy for the Nuvi.
| Sloper wrote: | | Does the Quest have an earphone skt? |
Not on the unit itself but on the power lead that comes with the powered cradle. There's the Garmin powered cradle or RAM QPAC power kit, both have an earphone socket that you can plug into an intercom or just use to feed earphones directly. Being on a budget I made my in helmet speakers up from bits purchased at Maplin for about £15, a neat fit under the lining in my Arai and can be heard up to the speed limit whilst wearing earplugs. Any faster and I can hear something but usually need to glance at the screen for verification.
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Chas
Garmin i3, Quest & StreetPilot 2720 with GTM10 |
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