I want to get a GPS for my bike. It is a Suzuki Boulevard C50T. I woul
also like to do some MP3 for it. Graphics are not important as I woul
rather have my eyes on the road

--
Dymphn
Message origin: TRAVEL.co

Dymphna wrote:
> I want to get a GPS for my bike. It is a Suzuki Boulevard C50T. I
> would also like to do some MP3 for it. Graphics are not important as
> I would rather have my eyes on the road.

Dymphna,

check Garmin's Zumo edition.

Mike

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.majaeger.de
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Die gefährlichste aller Weltanschauungen ist die Weltanschauung der
Leute, welche die Welt nicht angeschaut haben."
Alexander von Humboldt

Dymphna <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I want to get a GPS for my bike. It is a Suzuki Boulevard C50T. I would
> also like to do some MP3 for it. Graphics are not important as I would
> rather have my eyes on the road.

1. For motorcycle one of the most important thing you really want is
anti-glare else it's pretty much useless in daytime. Loud speaker can be
useful too, but with anti-glare you should be able to see more clearly.

2. MP3, most newer GPS not only have MP3 but some even display photo. But
most people don't care about the MP3 part, especially while riding motorcle
(unless you can detach your head to tie it to the handlebar).

Joe wrote:

> 2. MP3, most newer GPS not only have MP3 but some even display photo. But
> most people don't care about the MP3 part, especially while riding motorcle
> (unless you can detach your head to tie it to the handlebar).

I care, and I've been using moulded earplugs with speakers (via
airtubes) and an ordinary MP3 player for audiobooks or music for many
years, and quite extensively.
Especially helpful since I'm half-deaf, and ear bud earphones are
useless for me with the ambient noise.

My satnav does have an audio option, but I never use it because my
dedicated player can hold more, is easier to manager, and I don't need
to be tethered to anything during use.
--
The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep.

Some helmets are now bluetooth capable. So that is why the sound is fa
more important than the graphics. So a GPS that is bluetooth capable ca
go directly into the helmet

--
Dymphn
Message origin: TRAVEL.co

On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:04:30 -0500, Dymphna
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
>I want to get a GPS for my bike. It is a Suzuki Boulevard C50T. I would
>also like to do some MP3 for it. Graphics are not important as I would
>rather have my eyes on the road.

First and foremost be sure it is waterproof. I use a Garmin GPS Map 76CSx
and love it. Lots of navigation features but no picture viewer or MP3 player.
Then look for any other features you want. I doubt any GPS that also plays
MP3's will do so loud enough for a motorcycle unless you pipe it through
another sound system. I have and i-Touch that plays through my Goldwing
radio for MP3's.

John Tserkezis <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Joe wrote:
>
> > 2. MP3, most newer GPS not only have MP3 but some even display photo. But
> > most people don't care about the MP3 part, especially while riding motorcle
> > (unless you can detach your head to tie it to the handlebar).
>
> I care, and I've been using moulded earplugs with speakers (via
> airtubes) and an ordinary MP3 player for audiobooks or music for many
> years, and quite extensively.
> Especially helpful since I'm half-deaf, and ear bud earphones are
> useless for me with the ambient noise.

I know you care about listening to music. But I don't say anything about
your entertainment, but tying your neck to the motorcycle handlebar usually
not the ideal. Example

1. When you need to make some turn (wheel, head, body) and you don't want to
break the GPS or the headphone. Accident may happen

2. With the headphone wire tied your head to the handlebar, you have more
chance to break the GPS or accident. Besides, the MP3 of GPS isn't as good
as regular MP3 player, and MP3 player is so cheap these day

Unless you have wireless ear-buds (I never heard of any)

> My satnav does have an audio option, but I never use it because my
> dedicated player can hold more, is easier to manager, and I don't need
> to be tethered to anything during use.

I would suggest to buy a small and cheap MP3 player so you can put it in
your pocket instead of wiring yourself to the handlebar. That's what I
tried to say.

Also, I am a motorcycle rider, and I am seeing that riding the motorcyclle
alone is plenty of dangerous. Now you plug your ear to block 100% noise
(because it's the law you can only find ear-buds with noise
cancelling/reducing), and you know unless you ride around 50-55 MPH on
Interstate Hi-Way or street with little traffic, else the noise (when ride
>60-75 MPH) is pretty bad. My bike has straight pipe which is little too
loud for my taste, so I have to add the homemade baffles to reduce the noise
to around 3/4, and for long trip I often wear earplug.

If your bike has quite exhaust ... I am trying to suggest to add a fairing
with nice stereo system, but this thing alone may cost ya around $1,500+ and
may not fit your style.

Me, if I want to listen to music while biking, then I would go with
regular MP3 player than wiring my life to the handlebar, but it's me.

BJ <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:04:30 -0500, Dymphna
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> >
> >I want to get a GPS for my bike. It is a Suzuki Boulevard C50T. I would
> >also like to do some MP3 for it. Graphics are not important as I would
> >rather have my eyes on the road.
>
> First and foremost be sure it is waterproof. I use a Garmin GPS Map 76CSx
> and love it. Lots of navigation features but no picture viewer or MP3 player.
> Then look for any other features you want. I doubt any GPS that also plays
> MP3's will do so loud enough for a motorcycle unless you pipe it through
> another sound system. I have and i-Touch that plays through my Goldwing
> radio for MP3's.

I have tried to use my old Nuvi-680 on my bike but because it doesn't have
anti-glare glass, and it's horrible in daylight so it's pretty much useless
for motorcycle use. I then upgraded to Nuvi-1490T with anti-glare which is
a much better GPS for motorcycle.

Helmet with Bluetooth, many (not all because Garmin changes thing all the
time) GPSes has bluetooth supported. But Garmin's bluetooth doesn't seem
standard so it may work with whatever/whenever device it likes.

I have tried several cellphones with serveral models of Nuvi GPSes, and
some works with some model of cellphone, some won't. I don't use GPS for
phone, but testing them out just for fun.

Joe <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> John Tserkezis <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> > Joe wrote:
> >
> > > 2. MP3, most newer GPS not only have MP3 but some even display photo. But
> > > most people don't care about the MP3 part, especially while riding motorcle
> > > (unless you can detach your head to tie it to the handlebar).
> >
> > I care, and I've been using moulded earplugs with speakers (via
> > airtubes) and an ordinary MP3 player for audiobooks or music for many
> > years, and quite extensively.
> > Especially helpful since I'm half-deaf, and ear bud earphones are
> > useless for me with the ambient noise.
>
> I know you care about listening to music. But I don't say anything about
> your entertainment, but tying your neck to the motorcycle handlebar usually
> not the ideal. Example
>
> 1. When you need to make some turn (wheel, head, body) and you don't want to
> break the GPS or the headphone. Accident may happen
>
> 2. With the headphone wire tied your head to the handlebar, you have more
> chance to break the GPS or accident. Besides, the MP3 of GPS isn't as good
> as regular MP3 player, and MP3 player is so cheap these day
>
> Unless you have wireless ear-buds (I never heard of any)

It's not ear-buds but who knows you may be able to modify, or it may be
loud enough for your need. I do not own or know much about this product,
but I seaeched for more information about the motorcycle helmet with
bluetooth etc. and run into this (link below) and it costs only $30. And if
it's available then you may be able to find it or similar on eBay for same
or cheaper price.

http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/prod...00m_Range.html

If you have around $2xx-300 to spare and won't mind wearing full-face (I
wera skull cap helmet) then you may go for full helmet with bluetooth which
usually have more to offer than cheap addone bluetooth. Example, they
usually allow you to connect to multiple devices like rider-to-rider,
cellphone, MP3, GPS, and they usually have built-in MP3 player too. Example,
the music usually auto turn-off then continue after done with cellphone (or
GPS).

Joe wrote:

> I would suggest to buy a small and cheap MP3 player so you can put it in
> your pocket instead of wiring yourself to the handlebar. That's what I
> tried to say.

You misunderstood, that's what I'm doing now. I don't want to be
tethered to the bike either. Not so much for safety (the cable will
come off or break quite easily) but for convenience - I don't want to
forget about it and yank it out and damage.
I hang my portable MP3 player with a neck strap, and put it down my
shirt so it doesn't fly around.

> Also, I am a motorcycle rider, and I am seeing that riding the motorcyclle
> alone is plenty of dangerous. Now you plug your ear to block 100% noise

Nothing is ever 100%. Moulded plugs are good for about 40dB
attentuation (an audiologist had told me), the "disposable" squishable
cylindrical sponge plugs are good for about 30dB or so.
If you're hard of hearing to begin with, the resulting level may be too
low to hear or interpret.

> (because it's the law you can only find ear-buds with noise cancelling/reducing),

Two points here.

Firstly, I don't know about your part of town, but in Australia, not
only is it legal to get a Driver's Licence while being deaf, you can get
(if you ask) a signing interpreter to help you though it. No additional
tests or requirements are required.
A bit of googling also suggests the situation is very similar in other
countries.

Secondly, it is NOT law they make noise reducing earphones, but rather
a limitation of technology. In fact, some lean towards calling them
Noise "reducing" rather than Noise "cancelling", because cancelling
implies all external noise is removed - which it's not.
Everybody being litigation-happy, means you can't lie on the sales
brochure (though they like to bend the truth).

> and you know unless you ride around 50-55 MPH on
> Interstate Hi-Way or street with little traffic, else the noise (when ride
>> 60-75 MPH) is pretty bad. My bike has straight pipe which is little too
> loud for my taste, so I have to add the homemade baffles to reduce the noise
> to around 3/4, and for long trip I often wear earplug.

I found regardless of your pipes, the noise is "too" loud for my liking
anyway. I only hear the pipes at lower speeds, but around 70-80Km/h
(45-50mph) the wind noise makes any noise the bike is making pale into
insignificance.
I can't hear my pipes, because the nanny-state laws here mandate noise
requirements for them. And the situation is heavily policed by the EPA
and the relevant roads authority of the state (who both clearly have
nothing better to do).
--
A few fries short of a Happy Meal.