The Psion Series 5/Garmin GPS 12 with the Palmtop mapping software had its advantages; knowing where you are on a map is distinctly better than not knowing - it takes out the guesswork. However, the combination also had its disadvantages; stopping and setting it up was time-consuming and fiddly at best. What I really wanted was something on the bike that was always on. Something like the Garmin StreetPilot, for example...

The StreetPilot Colormap was just the thing. Well, almost just the thing...Nothing is ever "exactly" just the thing... 

 It had precisely what the Psion/GPS12 combination lacked; the ability to mount on the bike and be always on. The Metroguide maps supplied on CD can be loaded onto the unit and used either for route setting or passively as a rolling map while on the move. Route setting here is very much as the crow flies. Unlike the Psion, it did not do intelligent route setting. Using waypoints to make the route more accurate was best carried out at home using the PC and transferring it to the unit for use on the road.

 When my wife managed to get lost on the M27 roundabout because the route suddenly ran out, we discovered another shortcoming; limited waypoints. An email to Garmin confirmed this, the routes were limited to around 30 waypoints - if you want more, then you have to break up your routes. Garmin had no plans to upgrade the firmware as this would seriously affect the unit's memory. This was just too much of a pain to be bothered with, so I didn't, preferring instead, to use the machine passively and work out my routes as I went.

 Then Garmin introduced the StreetPilot III. This did have intelligent route setting. Having paid out UK£700 for the StreetPilot Colormap only eight months previously, I was naturally reluctant to spend as much again and more, for its successor...but, then, it did have what I was looking for in the first place...

 So I found the money. When it comes to the latest gadget, I always do...

The StreetPilot III comes with City Navigator software which, unlike the Metroguide, allows routing on both the PC and the Garmin. Any routes set with Metroguide will not work properly on  the Garmin loaded with Navigator maps and any Metroguide maps loaded on the Garmin will not support automatic route setting. I had Metroguide Europe (all of it) and City Navigator Europe with just the UK unlocked. Unlocking the rest of Europe on this software meant coughing up another UK£200. On the other hand, I had the whole of Europe on the Metroguide - but the two are not fully compatible. I could set up a route in Metroguide for France, for example, and use those maps when abroad. But this was exactly the time when I would need on-the-hoof route setting, surely? Decisions, decisions...

 I decided that the best course was to switch entirely to the Navigator software and forget about the Metroguides. So that was another UK£200...Oh, well....

 The advantage though is noticed once on the road. Once the machine has located the satellites, you can set a route and it will take you to pretty much where you want to go. There are,  of course, caveats. Maps, whether paper or electronic, are only as current as the time they were drawn. When travelling through the Languedoc-Roussillon we discovered that substantial road building programmes in recent months confused the Garmin as it tried to route us onto roads that no longer existed and it did not recognise those that did - this is not a fault of the Garmin, merely an observation, that no map is truly up to date and sometimes, you just have to think for yourself.

However, where it worked, it worked well. If I made a mistake and took a wrong turning (which seems to be something of a habit), it recalculated the route and put us right. It takes a minute or so, but once it has its bearings, a new route is set and off you go again. Need a room for the night? The Garmin will find one for you and route to it. Need to find a restaurant? Again, press a couple of buttons and away you go. This, of course is limited by those establishments set in the memory and it takes no account of the fact that they might no longer be in business or closed for the holiday or not quite what you were looking for. Not to worry, just look for the next one and off you go again...

This thing is good. Very good. I didn't even take my paper Michelin maps - now, that says something.

 The previous Garmin I mounted on the R1100RT using  a RAM mount. This is a ball and socket system that screws to the handlebars and holds the GPS firmly in place using a wing nut. For the R1150RT/StreetPilot III combination, I used the BMW  mount - their BMW Navigator is the same unit in everything but name and price. For UK£40 the BMW mount is a neater and more secure system - if not exactly pretty when the GPS is not mounted. It does, however, fit which is the benefit of buying manufacturers' original equipment and accessories. I prefer it to the RAM mount - even if the latter is a well made system and one which I would have no hesitation recommending for conventional tubular handlebars.

 I have not used the BMW voice activation. This is because I have an Autocom communication system - so the BMW ear-pieces will not fit in my helmet. The Garmin GPS will "talk" through the Autocom unit via the auxiliary socket. I bought the mobile phone accessory lead but this merely produced a buzz when the Garmin gave voice commands. An email to Autocom produced the information that there is a Garmin specific lead (presumably mono to stereo) that fits. I've since fitted this - it costs around UK£40 - and it works effectively. Also, since upgrading the firmware, the unit now gives indications of which exit to take before entering a roundabout instead of partway through.

So, would I recommend it? Unhesitatingly, yes. If you are the person who cannot navigate out of the proverbial paper bag, then this will do it for you. If you are good at navigating, this will help - even if you choose to ignore some of its choices, it will merely recalculate. If you are a gadget freak (and I am) then you will love it because it can do all those cool things that make having gadgets so much fun. Until the next one comes out...

Mark Ellott

Last updated 01/02/2003 16:16