GPS for FJR and Boat

[Chuck]

Anyone use Garmin GPSmap 478 ?

Considering this as an alternative to Zumo, as it has an advantage of being able to move between bike and boat.

 

[BobMercer]

Chuck,

I have the previous generation Garmin 276C which I use for 2 cars, the FJR and my boat. I just load the appropriate maps or charts and off I go. Works great on all of them. I use the battery charging cord with speaker for the cars and boat, and the on-board battery for the FJR. I believe the newer models have all the maps/charts preloaded which is better. I boat on the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers and store my boat at Riverwatch near the Palm City Bridge.

Bob

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,
I have the previous generation Garmin 276C which I use for 2 cars, the FJR and my boat. I just load the appropriate maps or charts and off I go. Works great on all of them. I use the battery charging cord with speaker for the cars and boat, and the on-board battery for the FJR. I believe the newer models have all the maps/charts preloaded which is better. I boat on the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers and store my boat at Riverwatch near the Palm City Bridge.

Bob

Thanks, Bob

I use my father in-laws boat and he keeps it a Riverwatch Marina also.

Going to ride around lake Okechobee with some friends in near the end of the month.

I will let you know when, if you would like to ride with us.

 

[BobMercer]

Chuck,

Sounds good to me. Haven't been riding much lately, so I need some practice runs. I need to get down to Stuart Yamaha when they get the topcase mod kit delivered.

Bob

 

[bramfrank]

Nothing to load.

Works great and, the 276 isn't 'previous generation' yet, just 'entry level' as far as this product series is concerned

 

[Bike Effects]

Anyone use Garmin GPSmap 478 ?Considering this as an alternative to Zumo, as it has an advantage of being able to move between bike and boat.

The zumo moves easily. What do you see as the problem?

 

[bramfrank]

Anyone use Garmin GPSmap 478 ?Considering this as an alternative to Zumo, as it has an advantage of being able to move between bike and boat.

The zumo moves easily. What do you see as the problem?

Unless they've changed things, Zumo will not be able to properly use the Bluechart maps and certianly won't have the marine features.

 

[Jackson]

I have the GPSMap 378 and am fairly happy with it. I just got it a couple of months ago, but just finished a 6,000 mile trip on the FJR with it. The user interface is quite a bit different from the Quest 1 I am used to, but after the learing curve, it works OK. I purchased the XM radio receiver/antenna and subscribed to the XM "fisherman" (I think is the name) weather data service which costs $30 to set up and is $30 a month. Beware, the the cradle portion of the Ram mount that came with the 378 broke. I had to use foam-backed double stick tape and zip ties to keep the 378 in the remaining portion of the cradle on my trip. The cradle is poorly designed and has an obvious weak point. Take along a spare.

 

[STL FJR]

I have the GPSMap 378 and am fairly happy with it.

You must not have tried to plot a route on your PC and then load it. Can't ... does not work and Garmin has no plans to make it work.

My advice, don't anyone buy a 378. You will be wasting your hard earned money. I am very unhappy, because Garmin originally said they were going to build in that option in a later release and now have officially said "Sorry, we decided not to, so your scr#wed".

So I say, scr#w you Garmin, I'll never buy another one of your products! :angry2:

Whew, there I feel better now. :blink:

 

[mindtrip]

I have a GPSMap 276c purchased new in July of '05, but I'd really like to upgrade to the Zumo (and I have no boat, so no use for the marine features). I have the auto kit with all cradles/chargers, three memory sticks (the stock 128MB, a 256MB, and a 512MB, for loading most of the US on for my big tours), a hardwire cable with audio for the motorcycle, and a Ram cradle for the motorcycle. Care to make an offer?

BTW, I've never had a problem loading MapSource routes onto my GPS from my PC. I've really liked this unit and am a little reluctant to get rid of it--I love the transreflective screen that gets brighter in sunlight, and the size of that great big screen, and the audio. Don't know if I'd bother with XM or any of the weather/traffic mapping on another unit. But I'd really like the ability to control my cell phone via BT, now that I have a StarCom intercom system. As it is, I can only set the phone to auto-answer, or make a call right before I take off. I have no experience with the x78 series, but my 276c has been a winner!

 

[dwpurser]

Looking for FJR & Boat?

Why don't you go with the Lowrance IWay 600C? Lowrance is a marine GPS manufacturer 1st. The watersealed unit is great.

I have the older IWay 500C on my FJR. SETUP: I mounted it with a SportBikeCam Mount on the gas tank. It is wired to my Baehr Ultima intercom in the tail. This setup is great because the music will stop and give directions and then resume. The enclosure is also watersealed and I rode this summer through the tail end of Tropical Storm Barry and it keeps on working.

I was actually reading today that the 600C switches from Street to Marine Mode. Take a look for yourself.

PS I got a great deal on mine from AbesOfMaine.com w/o the added insurance.

 

[STL FJR]

Here's what I received from tech support at Garmin about transferring a route from Mapsource to the 378. I have not tried it this way yet:

As far as using Mapsource, be sure that before you transfer your routes

to the unit make sure the unit is in offroad mode. If not it will

always re-route you based on its own data.

Go into the Main Menu.

Go down to Setup.

Toggle over to the right to Road Routing.

Highlight Route Preference and select Off Road.

It shouldn't actually put you off road (unless it is in the route you

designed).

With Best Regards,

Brandy D

Customer Service Representative

Customer Service Team

Garmin International

913-397-8200

800-800-1020

913-397-8282 (fax) Att: Brandy D

www.garmin.com

OK, I tried the above and it did not seem to work. While it did not give me the usual message asking me if I want to recalculate the route, it still just showed direct straight lines from waypoint to waypoint, instead of following the roads as mapped out in MapSource.

Have you had any better luck?

 

[turbodave_98]

Looking for FJR & Boat?
Why don't you go with the Lowrance IWay 600C? Lowrance is a marine GPS manufacturer 1st. The watersealed unit is great.

I have the older IWay 500C on my FJR. SETUP: I mounted it with a SportBikeCam Mount on the gas tank. It is wired to my Baehr Ultima intercom in the tail. This setup is great because the music will stop and give directions and then resume. The enclosure is also watersealed and I rode this summer through the tail end of Tropical Storm Barry and it keeps on working.

I was actually reading today that the 600C switches from Street to Marine Mode. Take a look for yourself.

PS I got a great deal on mine from AbesOfMaine.com w/o the added insurance.

+1 on Lowrance Iway 500c or new 600 model. 45k troublefree miles on my FJRs.

 

[tjgraves]

I purchased a Garmin 478c for my FJR / Car / Boat from https://www.gpslady.com ( $750 ) new. (retail is $999) Enter the code "GPS" in the coupon code, and get free shipping. I used a Touratech mount and the Ram Ball mount to fasten it to the left handlebar ( clutch mount). It works great!! I love the fact that it has all the charts built in. No futzing around with a computer and uploading downloading maps to it.

Best of luck!! Tim

 

[caryt]

+1 on Lowrance Iway 500c or new 600 model. 45k troublefree miles on my FJRs.

I though that a HD unit wasn't recommended for bikes due to vibration not being compatible with a HD unit?

I like the 600c and would get one if I could switch it between the FJR, Quad and a offroad only early Bronco.

With your experence with your 500c and FJR what do you think ?

Thanks, Cary

 

[dwpurser]

As I posted above, mine mounting to the tank, so it rattles as much as the seat does - which is rarely. I have 8k miles with the GPS on my FJR and 5x that with it mounted in the car. NO PROBLEMS with the HDD. [i think that is a notion the "OTHER" manufacturers are propagating OR maybe those that have it mounted to the handle bars.]

-David

 

[adaniel]

I got a IWay500C about 3 years ago and liked it until about 5 months ago. It was one of the first units out that was waterproof, noted for motorcycle (came with mounting harware for such), and had the largest screen (which I still prefer over the others). Anymore... it has a mind of its own and shuts down when it wants...on bike or car with different power cords.

I averaged a RMA about every 8 months: #1) quit picking up sats, #2) screen would dim in cold weather, #3) HD issues would cause it to lock up and get stuck in a reboot mode.

Lowrance was good about taking care of the problems until the warranty ran out. Then it was $250 to return and replace with a refurb unit...which is what you get if you return a new unit under warranty.

I have other hand held Garmins and was never a big fan of the mapping software...I've heard they've gotten a little better lately. Having noted that, you had no software with iWay, and had to plan the route on the unit itself. The iWay 500C (not sure about the newer 600C) has no internal power supply either. Lowrance no longer touts motorcycle applications.

Link to misc Lowrance iWay information at GPSPassion Forum:

https://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=86800

https://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=163

I just wish the Zumo had a larger screen for my eagle vision...

FWIW