GPS units

[hockey2ref]

I guess that being bombarded with all this info, its not that easy to find a moderate entry level GPS. I'd like to get something that will do GPS tracks and is water proof. (IE. Boogie proof after this past year) Anyone have an opinion on the trailtech voyager?

 

[Poseur]

The Dakota 10 fits the bill, well under $200 and has the same screen size as the 60/62 csx and optimized for outdoor use. I mount it with the bicycle mount that came with my unit using zip ties and a little bit of cotton tape (or rubber strip) to reduce vibration. it's a clean set-up and completely out of the way. I don't like a joystick when i am riding because they take forever to zoom and move around maps.

I know they are popular, but I never drank the koolaid on ram mounts. they look like they are made out of a basement and still use a metal u-bolt to mount to the handlebars. the same kind you can buy at a hardware store. The GPS with all of the balls/sections/pieces protrudes way out there making it vulnerable to hits and as I've seen twisting in a crash. that metal u-bolt then scores the aluminum on the handlebars making a weak point.

here is a pic of my Dakota 10 mounted to my bike - 2+ years without a single loss of signal or issue.

 

[snail]

I looked the trailtech website to check out the voyager. Quick impressions after downloading and skimming through the user manual:

Pros
Designed for dirt bikes, with special features not available on standard handheld GPS such as odometer, engine temp.
Mounting is better suited for dirt bikes than standard handheld GPS, unit is very well protected from damage on most bikes and unlikely to fall off. If you have a steering damper, however, you would have to raise it up where it is less protected.
The screen is big, same size as Montana.

Cons
There is no way to load detailed maps (e.g. Canada Topo) into the unit. I like having the Canada Topo map, it shows a lot of information about the area, e.g. streams, roads, hills, lakes and so forth. This is very useful if you aren't simply following the GPS track of a pre-defined trail, e.g. trying to get back to the car by the shortest route possible if running low on fuel, or finding the easiest way back on a dirt road. You can create new routes without having ridden them for the Voyager using Google Earth, but this must of course be done before the ride.

 

[studioe6]

I picked up a 62s on the weekend and like it so far.
Base Camp is a great tool also.

 

[hockey2ref]

Is the garmin 78 the same as the garmin 62s? just with a few more features and is it worth it?

 

[EmmBeeDee]

Is the garmin 78 the same as the garmin 62s? just with a few more features and is it worth it?

The 78S and 62S are the same except for their shape, but the 78S has one more useful feature - the 4 pin Garmin power/data plug. It's much better for powering the unit than the mini USB on the 62S.

Definitely worth getting over the 62 for that reason alone.

 

[hockey2ref]

What do you have to get to power these units from the bike? Do you have to hard wire it yourself or is there an adapter?

 

[EmmBeeDee]

What do you have to get to power these units from the bike? Do you have to hard wire it yourself or is there an adapter?

I used to make up my own cables using a PFranc http://www.pfranc.com/projects/g45contr/g45_idx.htm connector and a SAE molded plug, then get power from my Battery Tender cable up near the bars. But now that we used Montanas on our bikes we wire those directly to the SAE plug on the BT cable.

Still have one or two of those connectors around, and a cable too, which I should sell someday.

But you can also buy complete cables from a number of places, including PFranc.