Ever been on one of those motorcycle trips that turn into a disaster? You know the ones, it never stops raining, you get lost, and you never get to where you wanted to go because it all got too hard.

A good motorcycle GPS system can turn a disaster into a triumph. It won’t stop it raining, they aren’t that good, but it should ensure that you get to where you want to go with the minimum of problems via the best route.

Modern GPS is an extremely valuable tool to make navigating a snap. In the past it wasn’t totally user friendly for the inexperienced user, giving limited information relating to your position on the planet, and not a lot more. Extremely useful for some, like those in the military, but of limited value for most of us who want a simple efficient and reliable navigation system.

However in the last few years all that has changed and GPS navigation is now a reliable, extremely user friendly and relatively cheap navigation solution for anyone, including bike riders.

Modern satellite GPS navigation systems, for motorcycles, cars, walkers or anyone else who needs one, are extremely good. They are relatively inexpensive considering how useful they are. And now with satellite GPS technology combined with modern mapping software they provide a total navigation solution unlike anything ever seen before.

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Motorcycle GPS overcomes one of the problems of comfortable motorcycle riding. Navigation. It’s not easy navigating if you’re out on a trip on your bike when you don’t know where you’re going.

Of course you carry a map on your bike, everyone needs a map. However it’s sometimes not all that easy to use a map on a good motorcycle ride. How about when it’s raining, for example? You end up sitting on the side of the road looking at a soggy map.

Motorcycle navigation has always been more difficult than navigating a car, when for example, you usually have a passenger who can just tell you when to turn left for right.

When GPS technology, or Global Positioning System technology, became available to the general public it wasn’t totally user friendly, and certainly wasn’t all that useful for a motorcycle rider.

GPS works by using signals from satellites to triangulate your position on the globe. Unfortunately with early versions of GPS that was what you got. Your position on the globe. Useful perhaps for some, but not ideal for good car or motorcycle navigation.

However over the years GPS technology has been combined with modern computer software and mapping software to turn GPS in general, and motorcycle GPS in particular, into a total navigation solution for you or I.

And there are now dedicated motorcycle GPS systems that are specifically designed to be mounted on motorcycle handlebars which offer this motorbike navigation solution at an extremely attractive price. And as it is specifically designed to be used on a motorbike the best motorcycle GPS systems are vibration resistant and waterproof too.

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GPS is the new wave of navigating, and motorcycle GPS is no exception. But what exactly is GPS and why would you want it on a motorcycle?

GPS stands for global positioning system. It’s a high tech way of saying that it tell you where you are on the globe, and if you’ve got a motorcycle GPS system it tells you where your motorcycle is.

A GPS, including a motorcycle GPS, works by receiving radio signals from a series of satellites that are positioned in orbit around the globe. By cross referencing these satellite signals your motorcycle GPS unit can work out, to an accuracy of around 6 meters or less, exactly where you are.

In order for your GPS to work you need to be in a location where you can pick up the radio signals from a number of different satellites so that they can be cross referenced. Too few satellites and the accuracy goes down, none, or one, and it’s useless.

Early GPS systems, whilst accurate, had limited usefulness for the motorcyclist or car driver because they gave you your position on the globe in latitude and longitude. Whilst it was accurate, it wasn’t really user friendly, because you couldn’t really use it to plot your position on a map unless you were extremely map savvy and had the resources to do so. However modern motorcycle GPS systems have advanced way beyond this, and the best motorbike GPS units have now become a total motorcycle navigation solution.

(more…)

Anyone who has used a great GPS system, including a great motorcycle GPS system, will know how user friendly and useful a good GPS can be. With modern GPS technology coming of age and modern digital mapping technology improving, a great motorcycle GPS can turn a ride into a pleasure.

What is GPS? For those who don’t know, GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It is a navigation and positioning technology pioneered by the US army, that has been taken to it’s ultimate and turned into a complete user friendly modern navigation solution. Whilst in the past GPS was really just the province of the military, the technology is now so good, and so cheap, that anyone needing the ultimate in navigation can afford it.

That includes motorcyclists, modern motorcycle GPS has also come of age.

Basically GPS works by cross referencing the signals from a number of satellites above the head of the user and using those references to plot the user’s position on the globe. It will only work where there are available satellites, so if you can’t pick up the signals your GPS won’t work.

Modern GPS is accurate, depending on the number of satellites available, to within less than a yard. So anyone seeking to navigate by use of a GPS system can obtain extremely accurate positioning. And this is now user friendly. In the past this information was only available as a longitude and latitude figure. This was only really useful to someone with the technical expertise to actually use this to plot the position on a map.

(more…)

Motorcycle GPS overcomes one of the problems of comfortable motorcycle riding. Navigation. It’s not easy navigating if you’re out on a trip on your bike when you don’t know where you’re going.

Of course you carry a map on your bike, everyone needs a map. However it’s sometimes not all that easy to use a map on a good motorcycle ride. How about when it’s raining, for example? You end up sitting on the side of the road looking at a soggy map.

Motorcycle navigation has always been more difficult than navigating a car, when for example, you usually have a passenger who can just tell you when to turn left for right.

When GPS technology, or Global Positioning System technology, became available to the general public it wasn’t totally user friendly, and certainly wasn’t all that useful for a motorcycle rider.

GPS works by using signals from satellites to triangulate your position on the globe. Unfortunately with early versions of GPS that was what you got. Your position on the globe. Useful perhaps for some, but not ideal for good car or motorcycle navigation.

However over the years GPS technology has been combined with modern computer software and mapping software to turn GPS in general, and motorcycle GPS in particular, into a total navigation solution for you or I.

(more…)

Motorcycle GPS is like auto GPS. It’s fast becoming an essential accessory for any biker who likes long rides without getting lost.

Because it’s not quite as easy to navigate on a motorbike. You can’t just hand the map over your shoulder to your girlfriend behind and ask her to tell you where to turn. Navigating on a motorcycle involves stopping. You need to take the map out, work out where you’re going and put it away. While you’re stopped.

Not so good when it’s raining, for example, or on the side of a busy road, or even just when you’re in a real hurry.

A good motorcycle GPS unit can take all that away and make motorcycle navigation a breeze. And the Garmin Zumo 55o is a good motorcycle GPS unit. A very good motorcycle GPS unit.

Why? Well first up is it’s design. It’s not an auto GPS device that’s adapted for use on a motorcycle. It’s designed specifically with the motorcyclist in mind. For example it has a simple user friendly touch screen with large icons so it can be operated on the ride with gloves on. And with the left hand.

And unlike someone using a car GPS, a motorcycle GPS unit has some other requirements for bikers as well. For example you’re trying to read the screen in the sun, so it’s usually harder to read.

(more…)

GPS is the new wave of navigating, and motorcycle GPS is no exception. But what exactly is GPS and why would you want it on a motorcycle?

GPS stands for global positioning system. It’s a high tech way of saying that it tell you where you are on the globe, and if you’ve got a motorcycle GPS system it tells you where your motorcycle is.

A GPS, including a motorcycle GPS, works by receiving radio signals from a series of satellites that are positioned in orbit around the globe. By cross referencing these satellite signals your motorcycle GPS unit can work out, to an accuracy of around 6 meters or less, exactly where you are.

In order for your GPS to work you need to be in a location where you can pick up the radio signals from a number of different satellites so that they can be cross referenced. Too few satellites and the accuracy goes down, none, or one, and it’s useless.

Early GPS systems, whilst accurate, had limited usefulness for the motorcyclist or car driver because they gave you your position on the globe in latitude and longitude. Whilst it was accurate, it wasn’t really user friendly, because you couldn’t really use it to plot your position on a map unless you were extremely map savvy and had the resources to do so. However modern motorcycle GPS systems have advanced way beyond this, and the best motorbike GPS units have now become a total motorcycle navigation solution.

The GPS technology has been combined with modern mapping software to eliminate the problem of being given only a latitude and longitude. Now you have a visual display that shows you exactly where you are on the map. So at a glance you can tell where you are.

(more…)

Anyone who has used a great GPS system, including a great motorcycle GPS system, will know how user friendly and useful a good GPS can be. With modern GPS technology coming of age and modern digital mapping technology improving, a great motorcycle GPS can turn a ride into a pleasure.

What is GPS? For those who don’t know, GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It is a navigation and positioning technology pioneered by the US army, that has been taken to it’s ultimate and turned into a complete user friendly modern navigation solution. Whilst in the past GPS was really just the province of the military, the technology is now so good, and so cheap, that anyone needing the ultimate in navigation can afford it.

That includes motorcyclists, modern motorcycle GPS has also come of age.

Basically GPS works by cross referencing the signals from a number of satellites above the head of the user and using those references to plot the user’s position on the globe. It will only work where there are available satellites, so if you can’t pick up the signals your GPS won’t work.

Modern GPS is accurate, depending on the number of satellites available, to within less than a yard. So anyone seeking to navigate by use of a GPS system can obtain extremely accurate positioning. And this is now user friendly. In the past this information was only available as a longitude and latitude figure. This was only really useful to someone with the technical expertise to actually use this to plot the position on a map.

However now modern GPS, including high quality motorcycle GPS systems, can combine digital mapping technology with GPS positioning to produce an extremely user friendly outcome. Basically the position plotted by the GPS can be overlaid onto a digital map to show the GPS user, including the motorcyclist, their exact position on a digital map, and tell them how to get from where they are to where they want to go.

So motorcyclists can now buy dedicated motorcycle GPS systems that they can use as a total navigation system. There are various ways they can do this. It’s quite possible for the motorcycle rider, who may also, for example, be a keen hiker, to get a handheld portable GPS unit that can be taken anywhere, including mounted on a motorcycle. Download and install some maps that cover the area you want to navigate in and portable GPS can be used by just about anyone just about anywhere.

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