What's Hot in Motorcycling? Motorcycle GPS

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.

There are, however, some drawbacks using portable GPS for a motorcycle GPS system. When mounted on a motorcycle a GPS unit needs some special qualities. It needs to be vibration resistant, as a motorcycle has vibrations. It needs to be weather resistant as any equipment on a motorcycle will be out in the weather, including the rain. And it needs to be readable in all conditions, including direct sun.

And a motorbike rider needs to be able to program or use it whilst wearing heavy motorcycle gloves.

Luckily there are some excellent GPS manufacturers who have come to the rescue of the motorcyclist by manufacturing dedicated motorcycle GPS systems that combine all these features and more. The GPS mounts are designed to allow mounting without the problems of vibration, and the GPS units are vibration resistant, waterproof and can be read, and used, by the motorcyclist.

And even better, the best motorcycle GPS units can be used without the need for reading the screen. With bluetooth technology built in they can send directions by voice direct to the helmet of the motorbike rider, so the rider doesn't need to take his eyes off the road.

Program in where you want to ride and it will take you there every turn, turn by turn. Ask it to and it will tell you all the places of interest along the way, like food or fuel stops, and accommodation. With the right extras it will even tell you in real time where the traffic jams are and how to ride around them. This saves you both time and fuel.

And along the way your motorcycle GPS unit may even allow you to play your favorite music or do the odd phone call or three.

And a good motorcycle GPS system should set you back less than $1000. It's money extremely well spent for a motorcyclist who likes long, hassle free rides.

So if you ride a motorbike, and have a lazy $1000, you can't do better than spending it on a quality motorcycle GPS system. It will repay you over and over.