GPS

I must admit, although I am not a technophobe, I had never considered getting one; paper maps had always served quite well. Until, that is, I visited a friend in South Africa. He demonstrated his Garmin GPSMap 276c, which he had installed in his Land Rover. I then realised that a GPS would be a very useful item to have on the bike.

Now my friend JC and I have a similar outlook on things. Quality is important, as is doing things properly. So it was not really a surprise when I did some research and found that the most suitable model for my own purposes would be the model he had chosen. It’s actually a marine chartplotter unit, so being in a semi-exposed position on the bike is not a problem as it is waterproof. I haven’t linked it to a fishfinder yet though!

The buttons are easy enough to press even when wearing gloves.

Although this particular model was no longer available new, (just like the ST1100 itself!) I found a second-hand unit in pristine condition on Ebay.

I had already installed a dashboard shelf so that took care of a mounting platform; I just needed a bracket. Once again, I made one myself from some scrap steel.

            

Using the Garmin automotive kit, I took power for the GPS from the Auxiliary Fuse Box and wired the GPS into the Autocom unit so that I could hear the spoken directions.

It’s also a fairly useful item for checking road speed; I found that the ST1100 speedometer tends to over-exaggerate slightly.

Return from GPS to Accessories
Return from GPS to ST1100 front page
Top of page