The Truth About Moto GPS: You Probably Don’t Need That Fancy Garmin

Why spending thousands on a GPS might be unnecessary for modern riders

Navigation has come a long way over the years, yet we still struggle with this primitive task. Software glitches, user-unfriendly operating systems, frozen devices, firmware issues, endless updates, loss of reception/signal, and user error quickly combine to create an incredibly frustrating riding experience.

The Case of Steve

We all know that guy who can’t navigate to save his life – let’s call him Steve (my sincere apologies if your name is Steve). Steve has the brand-new BMW 1300 GSA, solid panniers & top box, the latest 360 camera, and of course, that fancy Garmin or equivalent GPS, which is roughly the size of the average home-computer monitor.

Steve’s GPS lives on his bike and is always on while riding. 80% of the time, it is a costly decoration utilised for the sole purpose of illustrating his precise current location on a screen. The other 15% of the time, Steve’s mates need to personally send and load the GPX file onto his GPS device for him, as he is yet to figure out how to do so himself. Otherwise, they need to put up with waiting for Mr. No Idea at every turn. The remaining 5% is reserved for finding the nearest petrol station, which is both easily obtainable and infrequently required, considering the excessive fuel range of his GSA.

My Journey with Moto Navigation

My own journey in moto navigation started some years ago with a Garmin Zumo 390 unit. It was a beautifully made, rugged, and capable device. The mount was rock solid, the touchscreen appropriately sized, and just about good enough to enter inputs while wearing riding gloves (well, at least half of the time). Though I never tested this, it could likely withstand a fall from a dizzying height.

The trouble I found was that it was incredibly clunky to use. You essentially needed to attend a training course to successfully navigate using the device. Plotting a route felt like an act of Parliament and involved some or other desktop program such as Garmin Basecamp or similar. If you managed to make it that far, you would undoubtedly spend an inordinate amount of time plotting a dead-simple route on said program using waypoints. Next, you loaded the route onto a memory card, which you inserted into the device, ready for your ride… Right?!?

On ride morning, you’d wake up with great excitement, ready to execute the route you had planned so meticulously/painstakingly. You’d switch on the device and spend about twenty minutes trying to pull up the route. With little to no time remaining to troubleshoot, you’d inevitably give up and revert to Steve-mode (staring at some or other rider cursor of your present location, just like the majority of other riders). On the ride, you’d invariably end up right at the back, eating your mate’s dust all day long or even worse, getting completely lost and derailing the ride. This has roughly been my experience of attempting to navigate with GPS devices. You could say I developed a loathing, mistrust of them.

Discovering MapOut

That was until I recently stumbled across the MapOut mobile app as recommended by an incredibly knowledgeable and experienced local tour operator. It’s been an absolute game-changer for me. The modestly priced app (R99.00 or roughly $5.50) enables me to efficiently and seamlessly view, plot, and share routes in GPX format – practically on the fly!

The app can be used to live navigate without signal while in the ‘heading up orientation’, and routes can very easily be amended if plans should change. While the app lacks turn-by-turn prompts or notifications, I simply adjust the zoom based on my speed and follow the line on the map. It enables me to anticipate the sharpness of upcoming corners or simply check where a random road leads. I find it incredibly intuitive and easy to use.

Final Thoughts

If, like me, you find GPS devices to be more of a hindrance than a help, or if you’ve resorted to Steve-mode, then perhaps give the MapOut app a go. It’s not going to break the bank, and you won’t feel deeply disappointed if you don’t find it useful.

The app is unfortunately only available to Apple users, but from what I’ve gathered, the Locus app on the Android equivalent app store is quite similar.

Happy riding!
— LekkerMoto