Who uses GPS/Earphones?

[alesiajade]

Complete newbie to scooters here! Just passed my Pre learners over here in Australia and hopefully picking up a new PCX150 in a few weeks time (very excited!).

Now, being a 20 year old female in a new city... I really need to figure myself out GPS-wise or I will be hopelessly lost trying to get to my local grocery store (Okay a bit of an exaggeration... maybe). I would look at mounting a proper scoot GPS later on down the track, but for now was wondering if I could use my phone as a turn by turn GPS.

Is it possible/okay to have my phone in an inner jacket pocket and my earphone going up into my helmet so I can listen to turn by turn directions from my phone's built in GPS? Does anyone do anything like that? Would my earphones be likely to come out?

I'm just sort of trying to suss out if this would be an option or if I will really have to work on memorising routes etc until I can afford a GPS to mount.

Any help/advice/anecdotes much appreciated!

Alesia

[iceman]

Hi Alesia, and welcome to PCX World!
Two people I work with use bluetooth from their phones to their helmets for music and comm's between both of them as they often ride in together. I would not recommend having a cable from helmet to jacket as it may be bad in a fall (hopefully not, but best imho not to have a cable yanking at your head/helmet). Bluetooth TX/RX units can be got off ebay for little money, and the headset that has small earpads and small RX unit that sticks to the helmet is about £40.
Using the phone should be fine for GPS as there are many free apps to compete with the pay ones, such as NavFree for Android, etc.
Navfree can be purchased but the free version (assuming an android phone) has world maps, all the normal features, etc.
There must be good apps for Iphones too - not sure about cost.

[alesiajade]

Would Bluetooth be compatible with the GPS apps? I sort of thought it was just for calls! Correct me if I'm wrong, I really don't know much about it.
Also, would standard earbuds really get in the way in an accident? I'm just talking about the little flimsy things that come with mobile phones. I would have thought they'd just be more likely to break than to cause any real trouble to myself.
I'll have to look at some of those on ebay and see what could work! Thanks!

[Valiant]

Would Bluetooth be compatible with the GPS apps? I sort of thought it was just for calls! Correct me if I'm wrong, I really don't know much about it.
Also, would standard earbuds really get in the way in an accident? I'm just talking about the little flimsy things that come with mobile phones. I would have thought they'd just be more likely to break than to cause any real trouble to myself.
I'll have to look at some of those on ebay and see what could work! Thanks!

The Bluetooth should tie into your phone's audio, so any sound it makes(including music) should be transmitted.

The flimsy cable earbuds probably wouldn't be dangerous, but I could see a lot of potential for them to distract you should they get yanked out at any point.

As far as tips, I would recommend spending a free day just driving around. You generally want to familiarize yourself with major traffic veins, freeways, and landmarks. I've lived in Hawaii for 19 years but never really drove anywhere, so my first time out I tried driving to the airport 5 miles away and instead drove to the next city about 25 miles away . No better way to have a sense of direction than to get lost a few times .

The advantage of having a small vehicle is that I can literally pull up anywhere to yank out my phone and see where I'm at. I generally find that so long as you know which general direction you're headed(North, South, West, East), you'll never get too lost.

[alesiajade]

The Bluetooth should tie into your phone's audio, so any sound it makes(including music) should be transmitted.

The flimsy cable earbuds probably wouldn't be dangerous, but I could see a lot of potential for them to distract you should they get yanked out at any point.

As far as tips, I would recommend spending a free day just driving around. You generally want to familiarize yourself with major traffic veins, freeways, and landmarks. I've lived in Hawaii for 19 years but never really drove anywhere, so my first time out I tried driving to the airport 5 miles away and instead drove to the next city about 25 miles away . No better way to have a sense of direction than to get lost a few times .

The advantage of having a small vehicle is that I can literally pull up anywhere to yank out my phone and see where I'm at. I generally find that so long as you know which general direction you're headed(North, South, West, East), you'll never get too lost.

I will 100% be spending some time driving around trying to get used to my new city! I'm just a little worried about when I go to pick the pcx up.. I will have to drive all the way across the city on unfamiliar roads just to get it home. I have ONLY done my prelearners, so I have a grand total of about 4 hours on a scooter going no more than about 30kph max. So I was hoping to figure out some way to take a different route/use GPS to get myself back from the dealer! Ah tricky...

[RideLondon]

It's very easy. I use Google maps with my iphone in a waterproof inner pocket, and run the headphones up inside my jacket and then in one ear. Works perfectly.

Having said that, you're better off not using a GPS, and getting lost for a few hours. That's how you get to know your way around.

[Valiant]

I will 100% be spending some time driving around trying to get used to my new city! I'm just a little worried about when I go to pick the pcx up.. I will have to drive all the way across the city on unfamiliar roads just to get it home. I have ONLY done my prelearners, so I have a grand total of about 4 hours on a scooter going no more than about 30kph max. So I was hoping to figure out some way to take a different route/use GPS to get myself back from the dealer! Ah tricky...

I typically plan my trips on Google Maps beforehand, taking time to memorize street names, highway exits, and even observe the street view to see if there are any notable landmarks or shops(say, a McDonalds on the right side of the intersection I want to turn into). It doesn't always go as planned, so if I'm off I'll pull off to the side somewhere, pull out my phone, and see where I'm at.

[iceman]

I've taken the wrong turning at roundabouts in my car due to Tom Tom not updating quick enough and lots of traffic and lorries - not always time to slow and read all the signs!

[Mel46]

I have a gps and it has a mount on my pcx, but i am finding that my cellphone works just as well. I made a shaade cover for the gps so that i could see it while riding, but if you wanted to, you could pull over to check your phone map. Both would work well at getting you where you want to go.

[alesiajade]

Pulling over would be ideal, but for what I have in it mind won't work as well. Basically when I go to pick up my PCX Ill have to ride it back from the dealership. I only have about 4 hours experience on a scooter so rather than braving the 90kph roads for 20 or so kms I decided Id plan a custom route on the gps which allows me to stay on slower roads, so I would probably need directions in my ear! Or I'd be stopping every couple hundred meters! On the other hand, I suppose I could always arrange for it to be delivered... but that's just money I'd prefer to be spent elsewhere.

[glennix]

I have a garmin zumo 210 gps mounted on my pcx with a sena smh5-fm bluetooth motor headset on my helmet and it works very good. Before i used the zumo gps with a normal bluetooth headset with normal earphones and it was terrible and very unsafe to drive! The earphones hurt in my ear due to the pressure of my helmet and it got stuck and got yanked out of my ear when i needed to turn my head for watching the traffic on crossroads. I wouldn't recommand normal earphones. When you want to use your phone as a gps i would recommand investing on a bluetooth motor headset that you can mount on your helmet.

[sendler2112]

I use in ear monitors for hearing protection and music on my 37 mile highway commute.
.
http://www.headphone.com/products/shure ... -earphones
.

[GARETT0439]

Earbuds (and Gmaps on a smartphone) are the way to go for sure. They make the ride a lot quieter and stay in the ears much better than any other thing I have tried.
You can jam music and then when you approach a turn the music fades for a second for the directions.
I have used a lot of different expensive/inexpensive earbuds in the past and have settled on these
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-RPHJE12 ... =panasonic

They sound great(as good as any I have ever had) and I have even put them through the washer and they still work fine. Sometimes I wish they had a mic so I could answer calls while riding, but for 7$ they can't be beat.

[tomtic]

Just to add my experiences with satnav devices .....
I've found my Nokia phone with ovimaps to be the most useful for me. The phone slips into a pocket and gives clear instructions. I use ear buds that pop into your ear, rather than the earphones that just hang on your inner lobe. The ear buds should feel comfortable unless you have a very tight helmet.
I've used conventional car satnavs but the phone is smaller and has the useful earphone socket.
I've just returned from a few days touring on my PCX and used the Nokia phone 'strapped' onto the handlebars. This meant I could see the screen as well. I rigged a homemade bracket made from corrugated plastic to hold the phone securely.
One thing to remember PLEASE, and I hope you don't mind me saying this. But you are new to scooter riding, and will get distracted very easily. If you decide to use your phone for navigation please remember one golden rule:-
If the satnav sends you in one direction that turns out to be wrong don't let yourself over-react and swerve to the correct direction. You are new to this, and it is dead easy to overcompensate with your steering. The traffic around you won't expect you to swerve all over the place. Ride smoothly and safely. If you take a wrong turning stay calm, pull in when safe to do so, and decide which turning you should have taken.
Then ride smoothly and safely to where you can turn around. The thing with satnav navigation is, they will (mostly!!!) try and get you on the right road.
I hope all this makes sense, and please don't be offended. We just want all riders,whether old hands or novices, to stay safe.
Enjoy your scooter, like many of us on here, we reckon the PCX is perhaps the best bike we've ever owned!

[JohnL]

[quote=" I suppose I could always arrange for it to be delivered... but that's just money I'd prefer to be spent elsewhere.[/quote]

That's what I did, being in a similar position to yours. My dealer was happy to deliver my PCX to my door, the charge was about $80, but was worth it to save the hassle and possible accident due to inexperience. You will then have more time to familiarise yourself with the new roads.

If you approach the dealer and explain your position he may deliver it for no charge.

[katschamne]

For the past year I have been using speakers that are made for helmets. They plug into your headphone jack on your phone. I use mine for music on long rides. Since they don't fit in your ear they are better because you can still hear the road around you. For my new helmet I have a bluetooth unit so I can communicate with the hubby. I bought ones similar to these.http://www.amazon.com/SharkMotorcycleAu ... t+speakers

[dkazzed]

My motorcycle instructor mentioned during class that he uses custom fit hearing protection that doubles as a music and phone headset. I can't recall if it's wired or Bluetooth. I am going on a practice road ride with the school this Saturday in preparation for my final road test so I will ask him where he had it made.

[Gar]

I use my phone for a GPS when I ride. My Garmin is stuffed in a drawer and hasn't been used in years. Corded ear buds will work, but as mentioned, do your best to tuck the cord away so it doesn't snag on anything. The last thing you need is for it to somehow get caught on the handlebars.
I also think it would be good to save up for putting Bluetooth in your helmet. No wires are even better.

My own solution is a Shark Evoline 3 bluetooth ready helmet, and the Shark bluetooth kit. It's not inexpensive, but take a look at the safety rating on Shark helmets. What's your brain worth? :-)