The future of motorcycling

[Arnie]

Its pretty difficult to tell which FJR you're looking at unless you get very up close.
I haven't noticed any of the clutchless FJRs.
As far as the VFR1200, I've only ever seen one outside of a dealer's showroom.

Arnie

[ribbert]

I haven't noticed any of the clutchless FJRs.

Arnie

There's a brand new one in Stafford Motorcycles Preston. They have had it on the showroom floor for 4 years.
Can't give it away.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

"Back to technology.  It won't be the future if people don't buy into it.  Let them sit on the showroom and they will hear you...."

Yep, I agree, and the opposite is true...that's why the new FZ9's are flying out the doors... Yamaha decided to extend the 2014 production run to meet the demand.
A basic no frills hot rod with a $8k killer price.  

I'll bet a jelly donut that the new FZ9 will be 2014 bike of the year.

[FJ_Hooligan]

The VFR1200s seem to be languishing on the showroom floors over here too.  I visited a Honda dealer back in the summer and they were selling them for $10,999 a $5000 discount (1/3 off!).

I thought that was a reasonable price, but it was only for the cobweb bikes that were not current models.  Not that they've changed anything on them, I guess the dealer was tired of them sitting around.  They are nice bikes and I'd like to have one but I don't think the 1200 model is going to last, just not enough sales.  Besides, I won't be giving up the FJ anytime soon.

[ribbert]

Thanks Noel. I researched GPS and almost everything on site had to do with location and mounting. Not much on units or programs. Again thanks.  Dave

Yeah, you won't find much on here about the units themselves. I have a bluetooth intercom in my helmet so I can make and receive phone calls through my GPS as well, it also displays my contacts. I could get the spoken directions through my helmet but I hate that function, even in the car, and mute it.

I have the original finned screen (non USA) on my bike and find the GPS rarely gets any rain on it, only if I stop and the rain is coming from behind me. I can ride all day in heavy rain, or to use an old meteorology term, when it's pissing down, and it stays dry.

My point is, at around $775 (US) for the current model I would not contemplate replacing this with a motorcycle specific GPS when it dies. I will buy a car unit for about $150 that has all the same features and the same screen size. If I am really worried about the elements, I can get a purpose made w'proof cover for it for $20.

GPS on the bike has let me find more new roads in the last 4 years than I discovered in the previous 40, let alone the obvious of general navigation.
If on a trip you still need a map though to give you some perspective.

Going on a trip without my GPS would be like riding a Harley, you'd get there eventually but it would only be half the fun. No taking off down roads that generally head where your going on a whim and paralleling the main roads and highways. It has become a habit now and I no longer have to ride in traffic, I plan all my rides on secondary roads and have found some stunning country as a result. Did I mention no traffic?

You could do this with a map but the fact is we don't.

There is no shortage of Luddites out there (and probably here) that shun new technology on principle. They are missing out.

Noel

[Mike Ramos]

Stating that there are "no shortage of Luddites out there (and probably here)" as it pertains to GPS is as pertinent as saying that riding an FJ instead of a modern motorcycle with new technology makes a person a Luddite.

And believing that without a GPS a person is "missing out" on excellent roads and rides, or even secondary roads is not logical , it is ridiculous.

Mike Ramos.

[fj johnnie]

 I agree with Mike. 

[TexasDave]

Hello. My name is Dave. I am a Luddite. Not by choice but by circumstance. Technology is advancing faster than I am. No computers in school when I grew up. My youngest daughter has been playing with them since she was 2yrs old. She cannot stand to see her Dad sit and fight one. On my last trip going through Oregon with just a road map all it showed were main roads. A GPS would have made life easy. Noels idea of taking secondary roads to avoid traffic makes sense to me. My motorcycle survival depends on avoiding traffic and half of the women drivers I see on the phone not paying attention to me.  Dave

[Pat Conlon]

Yes, like Dave, I'm a Luddite. There, I said it....no I don't ride Harley's, yes I do like maps.

Yes, I do understand what Noel is saying about the accuracy and repeat ability of a programmed GPS.
I find GPS distracting while riding, then again I find trying to read a map distracting while riding.

There is something special about sitting down in the morning with a map and your coffee and bacon and eggs to plan your days ride. Sharing the route with your riding friends. It's tradition.

So I don't get distracted while riding I write down the basic route in abbreviations and put that note in the map window of my tank bag. It's easy to see at a quick glance.
Looks like: Hwy 62 west ...(R)Hwy138 north.....(L) Hwy 38 west....(R) Copper Canyon....etc, etc..
Been doing that way all my life.

I (we) do get lost often, but that's the fun part....
....except when your gas tank is on reserve...then, not so fun.....hmmm GPS?  

Might be not so bad....it's just too much like watching tv...

[rktmanfj]

I like maps, but I also like GPS, too.   

That's why I like to plot routes on Google Maps, then get them into the GPS.

[RD56]

My bikes have a hill start feature, called a back brake.  They also have a performance and rain settings that are infinitely adjustable, called throttle control.

It's bad enough in a car when you feel like you're controlling the computer that's driving, instead of part of the action yourself.

+1. Perfectly stated.

[FJ_Hooligan]

A GPS is good for telling you where you are or if you have a programmable one, where you are on your pre-defined route.  That's great I love to know exactly where I am.

One thing I HATE about Garmin is by the time I zoom out enough to see the bigger picture, I lose all the good roads.  When zoomed in enough to see the roads I want to see, I can't see enough to find a good route.

I use a combination of maps and Garmin's Mapsource to plan routes.   Unfortunately, Mapsource has the same problem as the GPS software with road resolution.  The Garmin road database leaves a lot to be desired.  If I have a destination without a specific route planned, I find myself fighting with it a lot.  With a GPS it really helps to know where you're going so you can know when to ignore stupid instructions. 

[movenon]

I love maps old and new.  And have bad mouthed GPS's to some degree in the past.  But last year I mounted a small hand held GPS on a RAM mount.  I thought more to use as a route log and to check my speed out.  I got caught up in heavy traffic on a freeway coming into Sacramento and rather than "jinking" wildly across the lanes of traffic it was safer to just go with the flow and sort it out in a calmer environment.  I ended up on downtown Sacramento and after a few choice words I had to find my way back on to the correct freeway.  The small hand held GPS was a pain to look at but it worked great to dead recon me toward the freeway I needed.  It displayed streets but was so small you couldn't ride and use it, so I would check it at a stop light or pull over.

When I had my crash at the WCR being on a strange road, quiet frankly I had no idea where exactly where the hell I was except West of the freeway somewhere.  Thanks to Jeff for his help sorting and coordinating that out.  The "scoop team" (Randy and company) had a GPS with them and used it quiet successively.  As I was being picked up another "rider down" call came in and they were able to navigate to there position also.

In my "after action" debriefing to myself (yea, I am old and talk to myself..)  I decided to get a better GPS as an aid.

I ordered a Garmin nuvi 2555LMT and installed it in the my truck before I went down to Randy's to pick up my bike.  And gave it a few tests on back roads I had never been on and just followed its instructions.  And it worked great ! In the end it put me right in RPM's parking area.

I still read and carry maps.  But the GPS is still nice to have.

Plots my current position (moving map display)
Reads out how fast I am traveling
Calculates my arrival time (recalculates with my speed adjustments and stops) accurate within a few min.
Gives me a current read out of the posted speed limit where I am (and it's pretty accurate and handier than you might think) Also turns red if you are over.
Gives me information on my current Lat/long in case of an emergency.  Me or someone else.
Records max speed
Records average speed
Records distant traveled
Gives warning of congested traffic ahead (must receive fairly real time satellite data? Beats me, it just works)
Gives me a route log
I can enter a trip or route also.

When I am destinated it will tell me where the nearest restaurants, fuel stations, hospitals, shopping etc is.  If I push GO it will navigate me to it.

I have to say for a 1/2 inch thick and 5 or 6 inch's across it supplies a lot of information.  I just use a auto version at a cost of 129.00.  It will take a few drops of rain I am sure.  If the rain gets to hard I can just put it in my tank bag ? RAM makes a nice mount for it.

On a bike it might be nice to have a 7 inch display ? Just have make one under 150.00....
They make some with bluetooth if you want to listen to "bitchen Betty" talk to you.  For right now I will keep my helmet as quiet as I can....

George

[Capn Ron]

Being a sailor, I've navigated with about everything out there.  Paper charts, sextant ,three-point fixes, dead-reckoning, following depth contours on the ocean floor, line-of-sight, LORAN-C and finally GPS (with and without chart plotting).  Knowing where you are, where you're going, how much fuel or time that will take and will the rations of women and water hold out are most important!

The road is different for sure...I've crossed the country a few times with just a Rand McNally road atlas, and managed to find an interesting road now and again, but that was mostly by stopping and asking people.  When GPS mapping became available for cars, I jumped on it.  On long road trips, it would put my mind at ease knowing there was a gas station up ahead not long before my tank was empty...kept me from pulling over for fuel every 100 miles in the desert.  Like others have pointed out, the ability to locate about ANY service is outstanding and worth having for that reason alone.

On the motorcycle, I carry a paper map for backup, but use a navigation app on the iPhone mounted to the dash with a RAM mount.  It's easy to just glance down at and gives me as much detail as I could want...or just a simple giant "LEFT ARROW" with "23.2 miles" below that.  That's all I really need while I'm busy with motorcycling tasks.  I find though, that the key to finding interesting places, is the ability to drag the route line to something squiggly looking, well off the main drag.  I'd ride more interesting roads, with less traffic, more scenery and better stories.  I ended up finding the weirdest little nooks in the country!  It makes taking the "road less traveled" less intimidating and therefore I'm more likely to do it.  The app will even find me the nearest winery!     Good stuff and a lot of richness would have been lost in my last trip with paper maps alone.

Cap'n Ron. . .

[movenon]

I found the same thing, you can get off the beaten path without the concern of back tracking.  You can just focus on whats around you and explore.  When you are done just punch in where you need to go and follow the instructions.

Ron, I don't know to much about water navigation and I am in amazement of the task.  In 1976 I spent 21 days at sea and never seen any land going from Hunters Point, Calif. and Viet Nam.  As I remember we seen a ship once or twice in the whole trip. The navigation just amazes me. Another thing that befuddles me is submarines. How in the heck do they navigate......
I spent some time in a P3 with a navigator that did some celestial navigation with some thick ass book and charts. Gave me a head ache just watching him....
I just went back up to my seat and power levers hoping he would get it figured out..... My job was to keep the funny things outside spinning not to worry about where we were going.
George