Ride Away With A Motorcycle GPS

These days almost everyone has heard of the Global Positioning System or GPS for short. Using a group of satellites, the GPS allows anyone with a GPS receiver to know their position on Earth. The speed at which GPS technology has improved over the years has been amazing, with many new GPS gadgets specifically designed for a single purpose such as golf, hiking or navigating a car.

Another GPS niche is motorcycle navigation and these units are growing more and more popular everyday. Motorcycle GPS devices are specifically designed to be used on motorbikes.

Benefits of Motorcycle GPS Devices

Besides using them for navigation, motorcycle GPS devices have a few other benefits too. They can help track your friends when you are out camping or hiking and can also help if your bike is ever stolen by showing you where it is. They can also be used in an emergency if someone needs to find if you have an accident.

Like every GPS gadget, you can use a motorcycle GPS to guide you to your destination and to discover where you are. You can also use them to find out how far you are away from your destination and how much fuel you will need. The batteries are rechargeable and some allow you to hook the system to your bikes battery to ensure a constant stream of power to your GPS. Often the devices have Bluetooth and thus can use your cell phone to answer phone calls.

You can easily update your GPS system with new information like petrol stations, government officers, hotels, cash machines and other places of interest. Some even have MP3 players included.

The cheaper GPS systems for your motorbikes are typically handheld devices which you can attach to the bike using a special mount. A disadvantage of using these units is that they aren't usually resistant to the vibrations from your bike, which can damage the machine. Other devices are specifically designed for motorcycles and are therefore vibration resistant.

The TomTom Rider and Garmin Zumo 550

There are two original types of motorcycle GPS units, which are the Garmin Zumo 550 and the TomTom rider. Both are resistant to vibration which means they are very robust and will not be effected by the reverberation from your bike. They have a touch screen which you can use, even with your gloves on. They are also able to give voice commands through a special wireless Bluetooth earpiece that fits inside the helmet.

Using a GPS on your motorcycle can open up new opportunities for you to explore the open road. You will be able to fire up your bike and GPS, and set off on a Sunday ride without ever being worried about getting lost. Finding a petrol station or hotel will be a breeze, meaning you could be away for days without a worry. A GPS designed specifically for a motorcycle will be your best choice but you can make do with a handheld device attached to your handlebars if you are willing to take the risk of vibrations damaging your unit over a prolonged period of time.