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I'm looking to buy a GPS unit for the RR. Garmin Zumo seems to be the dominant brand. Are there any on the market, or does the Zumo allow for settings, that keep you on the back roads? I'm looking to take a trip this summer and would like to stay off the interstates as much as possible. My Garmin Nuvi for the car does not work well at all when the shortest route setting is disengaged.

Here's a link to the Garmin products owners manuals: https://buy.garmin.com/support/manuals/ ... uals.facesUnder Route you can turn off different types of roads, I'm sure you know that. Look in the manual and you can see what kind of roads you can set the GPS to disregard. I've always found shortest, with toll roads turned off to be the most adventurous, and quickest with the toll/limited access turned off to be the most reasonable.
Naturally always with a paper road map in the tank bag.

dlemisch wrote:… does the Zumo allow for settings, that keep you on the back roads? I'm looking to take a trip this summer and would like to stay off the interstates as much as possible.

You can select Off Road for route preference on the BMW Navigator IV (a repackaged zumo 660) and also enable avoidances, such as highways, u-turns, tolls, etc. You can even custom- select areas or roads to avoid on the touchscreen as of software version 4.1. I find the Garmin mapping software lacking, especially its marginalized Mac versions. I have more success plotting an exact route via Gmaps and importing it to the device. And, as Harry said, a dead-tree map in the back is good peace of mind.

Paper maps for me all the time every time. The only time i'll use the GPS thingy's is in BIG cities, & that would be to find a way out of the bloody choas.

For me i love spending some time in the evening planning my next day's ride (which usually changes anyway the next day) with my maps covering half of the motel's bed.

I know this reply does'nt answer your qusetion but iam just not a fan of them, thats probaly because ive never used one (i'll probaly change that view if i used one, but i dont think so), one day all bikes will be fitted with them at the factory, but in the mean time i'll stick with my trusty well used dead tree maps.

Cheers.

I have started using a combination of both the GPS and the paper map. I have a small Magellan Explorist GPS that I have mounted to the handlebars between the risers. I use the Explorist to tell me where I am on the paper map. I can look at the GPS and be able to pin point where I am on the map. It works for me.

Roger L

I'm not familiar with the Garmin Zumo specifically, but most advanced GPS systems will allow you to enter routes using waypoints. It will take a little time planning your trip and entering the waypoints, but you will be able to control your route and eliminate the map while riding. Waypoints can usually be entered manually using the GPS device or planned and downloaded from a computer -see Garmin's MapSource application:

[urlhttp://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/cache/offonce ... /mapsource[/url]

Mark_1

For the most interesting routes - especially with two somewhat rural start/end points - try using "Shortest Route" instead of "Fastest Route" - and this works on almost ANY Garmin GPS.. Fastest is highways, shortest? Well - I've discovered some great roads and great routes that way.. sometimes a mix of highway and rural, often ALL rural.

And as others have said - some models allow you to choose the type of road you prefer - including by percentages, that works also, but for a quick fix - "Shortest Route" is a winner.

I've got 2 Garmins, a Nuvi 780 and a 2610, which while rather old in some features, I find better for the bike. For both units, I have an old version on Roads and Recreation loaded onto cards that I can slide into each unit. While it does not support voice navigation, and you can't route on it, it's absolutely spectacular for when you just want to go ride back roads. On the Nuvi, I can have both maps loaded at the same time and just flip back and forth between the two without having to put in the card. A 128 Mg card holds almost the whole midwest on backroads.

In my case it is very simple: I plan my routes (both here and for Europe) on my computer and transfer these routes to my Garmin 2610 for motorcycle rides and to my 1490T for car trips. I have very little problems. In December I planned my yearly trip to Big Bend mostly on back roads (Farm to Market) without any problems.
Anyway my 2 cents worth.
Rgds
Peter