Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => Accessories and modifications - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: gflint on June 16, 2012, 06:18:10 PM
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This is my latest farkle. And most useful. Requires no batteries, requires no updates, works in all weather, easy to use, visible in direct sunlight, comes with own mount, can be read at a glance, cheap, theft resistant (no one wants it), has a retro aspect and works best with a map. I like maps. They have zoom (just unfold it a bit more), cheap, easy to use and although they may get out of date they never dump you in the middle of a field on a non-existent road. I have a gps and have stopped using it unless I go into some big city. I am just too tempted to look at it while riding. This is a very bad thing to do. I have a map in the map pocket of my tank bag. In order to see it I have to pull over, this is much safer plan. Part of my gps problem is that I have the thing mounted on my triple clamp so I have to take my vision a long way from the road to look at it. I have considered getting a brake reservoir mount but I would still have to take my eye off the road.
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:chugbeer: :thumbs:
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Some people will not use a GPS and love the paper maps. But from your post, they DO require updates (new maps) because roads change, "work in all weather", ever try using one in 30 mph winds? Or rain? "Easy to use" that depends on who's reading it. I still can't read one, my nickname was "Wrong Way Rovito" And folding it back after using it can be a chore in itself!!
I have a Garmin 755WT and I love it, I have it connected to my J&M CB which goes to my headset in my helmet so I can hear directions & music through helmet speakers.
A few months back MCN had an article about riding with a map verses using a GPS, they said it was more fun with a map. I think they called the article, "THE ART OF GETTING LOST"
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"Wrong Way Rovito" - hence the compass. I have a Nuvi 265wt which was real handy in San Fran and Sacramento last summer and I really like the assurence the gps gives in the city. The military has insured I can work a compass and map really well so having a visible compass just gives me a feeling of comfort when I am exploring new roads.
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A compass is the one thing I wish mama kaw would have put in the cluster on this bike.
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That and a bobble head of some sort...
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Some people will not use a GPS and love the paper maps. But from your post, they DO require updates (new maps) because roads change, "work in all weather", ever try using one in 30 mph winds? Or rain? "Easy to use" that depends on who's reading it. I still can't read one, my nickname was "Wrong Way Rovito" And folding it back after using it can be a chore in itself!!
I have a Garmin 755WT and I love it, I have it connected to my J&M CB which goes to my headset in my helmet so I can hear directions & music through helmet speakers.
A few months back MCN had an article about riding with a map verses using a GPS, they said it was more fun with a map. I think they called the article, "THE ART OF GETTING LOST"
Everything you said, and I have yet to have a map tell me the location of the nearest IHOP, provide the street address and phone number of a nearby hotel, or let me wander for a day, then find the shortest route back by hitting the 'home' button.
To each their own...
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I like 'em both... Nothing like sitting is some distant greasy spoon poring over the map deciding where to head off to next. And I love how tattered the map is after the trip from being folded and unfolded so many times... But I also like the GPS especially when the gas gauge is gettin' close to empty or I'm ready to call it a night.
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That and a bobble head of some sort...
:rotflmao:
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GPS with the sound turned OFF is the best in my opinion...especially when you're trying to find a specific location that you've never been to before. Sometimes, believe it or not, I DO NOT want to get lost... :)
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Adding a GPS to my arsenal has allowed me to find many nice roads on the fly that I would never have known existed. It has enabled me to 'get lost' on cool routes I missed in years past. My ride back from the National to Michigan was a wandering of back roads - found some beauts. Never would have happened without GPS.
I carry maps as a backup and alternative refernence. I packed every state I would need for the National but forgot . . . . Arkansas. The welcome kit had one, but I've always found that state's maps hard to read - I think its the color scheme thats hard for me to see well.
Also use windshield mounted compass - very handy . . . . at least until the suction cup thingy let go. Need to replace it.