GPS recommendations...

[Guest]

I have a 10" ASUS tablet that has GPS on it. I tried an experiment the other night; While I was at home and connected via Wi-Fi, I downloaded and saved four "Offline Maps" that collectively cover most of the southern half of Michigan. What that means is that with the built-in GPS, it can still guide you as long as you're within the area of one of those Offline Maps - even without a Wi-Fi connection. So I got in my car with the tablet, started Google Maps, and after it found a GPS signal, it put a little blue dot on the map where I was. Then as I drove, the little blue dot moved - which is exactly what I want. The maps are always oriented North up, so you can see which direction you're traveling. Then, if you happen to drive beyond the boundaries of the map, there is a little button in the lower right corner that you can push that will re-zoom the map so that you are now in the middle of it again. That way, you can always - instantly - find where you are in relation to your surroundings. So if I find myself in Chelsea, MI and want to go somewhere else, but don't know where, I can just find my location via the little blue dot, then zoom in and out, and pan the map around until I find my new destination, and have Google Maps navigate me there, or I can just follow the roads on the map. You can't do all that with a GPS unit. My Garmin is great - as long as I can tell it where I want to go - but you can't really "explore" with it, which is what I want to be able to do on my new bike.

So..... a 10" tablet is way too big to strap to your bike, so I bought a Google Nexus 7 used on Ebay the other night which is about as big as I want to go. Now all I gotta do is find a simple, inexpensive way to mount it. I think I've decided that I want to mount it on the gas tank, laying close to the top of the tank, and tilted towards me a bit. I don't want to use straps, so something with magnets is in order. There are lots of solutions for 5" phones, but I haven't found anything yet that will accommodate a 7" tablet. I'm going to buy a simple 5V USB charging device so I don't have to worry about running out of juice.

[Steve]

... I bought a Google Nexus 7 used on Ebay the other night ... Now all I gotta do is find a simple, inexpensive way to mount it. ...

Have you looked at RAM Mounts?

. . . . (click the link)

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[Guest]

Yeah, they make nice stuff apparently, but I said "inexpensive". By the time I piece together all the pieces I'd need, I could easily spend as much on the mount as I did on the tablet - or more. And all of their mounts are hard, mechanical mounts; I want something in a pouch of some sort that sticks to the tank with magnets. Easy on, easy off.

[cowboyup3371]

So why not just buy a tank bag?

[Guest]

So why not just buy a tank bag?

I haven't ruled that out yet, but finding one that has a pouch that's large enough for the Nexus 7 is difficult (they're larger than most GPS units). Plus, I don't want the bulk of an entire bag on top of my tank; just something large enough to hold the tablet. This is close, but it's too small....

https://www.cyclegear.com/accessories/saddlemen-e-pak-gps-tank-bag

[Steve]

One thing to be careful about when putting a GPS in a tank bag: They create a surprising amount of HEAT.

Heat and electronics are not the best of buddies, and I see no reason why a tablet would be any more friendly than a GPS.

Before settling on the mount that I have, I put my GPS in my tank bag. After getting around how to keep it positioned because of the power cord coming out the back, I realized that the display was fading after a few hours. I reached in the pouch to get it and it was HOT. I quickly settled on my current mount to keep it in the open air.

My mount is not one that most will try. I have converted my carbs to the '82 style "choke", which frees up the space in the steering stem. I am using the RAM mount that mounts in the stem, but had to make modifications to get it to fit.

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[Wingsconsin]

This is not meant to be a slam at anyone - I myself fall into this category more often than not..

However It never ceases to amaze me the amount of trouble we will go to in order to save some $$
Compromise on function, or use, or convenience in an attempt to do what something design specific will do easily.

I spent years and many $$ trying to make a seat that I was comfortable riding on -- then I paid the experts and got a custom seat .
DONE !

Created my own mounting systems with skill, and hard work .. then bought the RAM mounts and a Texellent bar for the Wing.
DONE !

And the list goes on-- driving lights, helmets and communication systems, hiway pegs, gear carrying add-ons, etc...

I laugh at US sometimes --- I know now with my experience that there is no such thing as a cheap motorcycle.

[Steve]

... I know now with my experience that there is no such thing as a cheap motorcycle.

Of course, this is clearly offset by the cheap people riding these bikes.

I'm sorry, I meant to say FRUGAL.

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[Guest]

This is not meant to be a slam at anyone - I myself fall into this category more often than not..

However It never ceases to amaze me the amount of trouble we will go to in order to save some $$
Compromise on function, or use, or convenience in an attempt to do what something design specific will do easily.

I spent years and many $$ trying to make a seat that I was comfortable riding on -- then I paid the experts and got a custom seat .
DONE !

Created my own mounting systems with skill, and hard work .. then bought the RAM mounts and a Texellent bar for the Wing.
DONE !

And the list goes on-- driving lights, helmets and communication systems, hiway pegs, gear carrying add-ons, etc...

I laugh at US sometimes --- I know now with my experience that there is no such thing as a cheap motorcycle.

Those are all really good points, and I am certainly weighing them all. My problem is made worse by the fact that the Nexus 7 is larger than any cell phone - for which there are a million mounting options. Steve made a really good point about pouches that I hadn't considered, and that is that tablets generate quite a bit of heat in operation, and being confined inside of a pouch isn't good for them or the pouch. So being mounted in a way that allows air to circulate around them is probably a much better choice.

[Steve]

Then, when you DO get it mounted "out in the open", you have to consider water-proofing.

I use a Zip-Loc bag that slides over my Garmin (and RAM mount). Zipping the corners toward the center keeps it from blowing around (it's behind the fairing, so not much air hitting it anyway) and the Garmin still responds to finger pokes when necessary.

For your tablet, you might need the quart-size bags.

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[Downs]

I still have a Garmin Zumo 550 I no longer use. I tried a low cost (100ish dollar) Chinese waterproof GPS that is marketed for MC use and it worked quite well, but felt redundant since I was already carrying around a mini computer anyway. But then I finally made the move to a GPS program on my phone. I do have a ruggedized Samsung S8 Active but other ruggedized phones are available for less money. So waterproofing is really not needed. All of my equipment is ran in RAM mounts. They cost a bit more than other mounting options but are worth the money. They are rugged and reliable.

I used the Locus map program and was able to build routes either in the program or via Basecamp (Garmin product) and easily load them. I planned a full 1500 mile multi day ride right on the phone while watching some Youtube motorcycle videos. Droid based phones are able to run two programs at the same time in a windowed mode so I can run my mapping program and music or podcasts at the same time no problem and not have to switch back and forth all the time.

I even run dowloaded maps in the google maps program for use when offline out of cell coverage.

[Guest]

Have you looked at RAM Mounts?

. . . . (click the link)

.

After reminding myself of the old adage about how the pain of buying something of quality only hurts once, whereas the pain of buying something cheap goes on forever, I talked myself into buying a Ram mount. And I'm glad I did. Really nice stuff, and it does exactly what I wanted it to do. For those of you who don't know, Ram makes mounts for nearly any kind of "device" you can think of. Choosing the right one entails choosing the holder for your device (there are many), then choosing the mount for whatever you're going to attach the holder to. In most cases, the holder and the mount each have a 1" hard rubber ball which are then joined together by an arm that clamps around both of them.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129480799@N07/40923872494/in/album-72157690180734210/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129480799@N07/40923871674/in/album-72157690180734210/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129480799@N07/26766491217/in/album-72157690180734210/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129480799@N07/26766490107/in/album-72157690180734210/

[jabcb]

Any thoughts on how the Garmin Zumo & TomTom Rider GPS compare?

[Guest]

Any thoughts on how the Garmin Zumo & TomTom Rider GPS compare?

None. Sorry. My only experience with GPS devices is with Garmin Nuvi (5" and 7") navigators, but in general, I can say that I'm quite pleased with those.

[Wingsconsin]

Any thoughts on how the Garmin Zumo & TomTom Rider GPS compare?

My only experience is with Garmin products--
I started with a Street Pilot 2720 (still works)
Then went to the Zumo 550 (I own 2)
And bought a nice used Zumo 665 for my son's bike (used and cheap enough)

I started down the Garmin rabbit hole a long time ago and haven't changed ..