Noticed quite a lot of chat about Sat Nav and being pricey! If you already have a Sat Nav for your car dont buy any more for bike.You can buy a waterproof box which is marine quality complete with handlebar mount to fit any bike. Beauty of this box is it can fit any make of sat nav you have,has knock out box for fitting power cable too. You can get power cable cigarette socket which runs off battery to charge sat nav on the move. Cost of all this is £55 for waterproof box complete with ram mount for handlebar. Another £8 for power cable/cigarette socket. Once bought you can put any electrical item in box safe and sound.Just fitted one to my bike , it work great!Hope this is helpfull to some of you out there.got mine from Buybits came next day!!                                                                                                                                                                             

It's a good idea. Pehaps we'll see a few more on meet ups now they will find it cheaper. I already own a zumo but this is a very usfull bit of kit.  link to Rams site... http://www.ram-mount.com/aqua_box_mount/aqua_box_mount.htm                                                                                                                                                                             

BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY   I can't say this enough.... BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Get a Zumo 550, don't settle for anything less.  It's expensive, 400 quid these days, but it's worth every penny and is the best money i've ever spent on anything. Never had so much value for money from anything.   You will be happy too, get it!  And then go around Europe with it like I am now, it's a life saver and never has a problem (Except yesterday when I was climbing the alps on the bike with it, up them zigzag roads and it thought I'd gone down a level to the road i'd just been up lol, didn't cause much trouble tho just one of those "EH" moments)                                                                                                                                                                             

Would need to be supadupa cos £340 change from £400 would buy me a lot of bits for my bike,gear etc!Building up my camping stuff just now and sooner have the readies for that.Must be loads of folk got car sat navs and dont use them cos of great weather we have in uk.This is a cheapish option                                                                                                                                                                              

Quite a few peeps I know just put a plastic bag over the sat nav when it rains. Does the job perfectly well in all but the heaviest downpours, particularly if you can get the satnav behind a fairing.
Either that, or one of the flattish ones will often fit in the map pocket of a tank bag, though you might need an extension aerial with some models.

Agree with Wills. Also, if u don't need to look at screen(and u shouldn't be), wrap it in a placcy bag, stick it in yr pocket(pref inside), connect aerial an headphone an sorted. External power socket is useful, but batteries will last coupla hours. Or just turn it on when nearing destination.                                                                                                                                                                             

nevermind shouldnt be looking at the screen.  The amount of attention i can now commit to driving and not scanning signs at roundabouts, motorway junctions etc. Never need to look at location signs now, just let the gps tell me which turn to take. And if im not sure what she said, i just glance down next to my speedo and see that its the 2nd roundabout exit. Saves a LOT of panicing, wrong lane selection, last minute manouvers etc.... a huge life saver in a foreign country, especially France where i am now!   I can glance at the map as fast as i can check my speed... oh and the speed is on the screen so i dont need my speedo anymore, its all combined.  Shows me in kmph too now so i dont need to check the microscopic markings on my normal speedo (Which are impossible to read when they go up to 350kmph or something stupid it tiny increments).                                                                                                                                                                             

I'm a sat nav sceptic, even though i've got a couple of the beasts.
As far as driving/riding at home is concerned, there's little to beat a human navigator who knows what he/she is doing. I don't need a hi-tech help to get me from Liverpool to Manchester or anwhere else, as long as I've got some decent maps.
When solo, I tend to use it XKLBR fashion, just switching it on towards the end when I need a bit of easy fine tuning.
Never used one in Europe, but I do know people who have who would never, or hardly ever, think of using one at home but wouldn't be without one when abroad.
Just as useful is the find nearst petrol station/cashpoint function!
Upshot is that I'm quite happy to pay under £75 for one (eg Garmin C510 from Laskys) but like Biffo I could find better things to do with £400. The other weatherproof option, btw is something like a used Streetpilot III. Bit clunky to use by modern standards, but armour-plated, versatile and still does its job, and if you can live without things like 3D maps you can't go too far wrong. About £70-ish s/h.

never had one sounds technical..always been road atlas/a-z man...but sounds like it could make navigation on bike a bit easier...mmmm...how much for an INEXPENSIVE one wiv bike fittings?                                                                                                                                                                             

am using basic tom tom on bike very expertly wired up by the ever practical mr HullRider750, works a treat, no option for headphones but as i slow down for junctions i can hear it which is when i need it but will look into buying a mounting box cos it is hard to see on the tank.

learning more every day on this site...luv it!!                                                                                                                                                                             

i worry julie that your lookin down at this little box instead of heads up at rd sign's tellin yu where to go[also seein what else is goin on], i see no need fer sat nav, basic map does the job[googled of google maps!]memorised b4 journey!try it!ok i gonna get flak from sat nav heads!

I don't look at the screen on my Zumo any more than i look at the speedo.  Why would i want to stuff it in my pocket when i could put it somewhere i can easily get to it like bolting it to my handlebars? I bought it so i didn't have to keep stopping every five mins to read maps. Biffo didn't start this thread so that people could use it as an excuse to have a go sat nav users. She was pointing out something that could prove usefull to a lot of people on here that might want to save themselves a few bob.                                                                                                                                                                              

good on yer bluesbiker..exactly what i was thinking..             an first bit o flak hits Tango square on...ouch...i love these threads

Never mind memorising the whole route TM. Im lucky if I can remember where I left my bike some days. Sounds like a good bit of kit. Is it easy to remove for short stops when you leave the bike parked up                                                                                                                                                                              

whos talkin about pockets?!julie said she cant hear her sat thingy an can hardly see it on her tank!!so she must be lookin down a bit to much fer my likin instead of lookin at the rd ahead!  in any case i pull over to look at maps!                                                                                                                                                                             

If TM wants to get himself lost half way to his destination cus his memory isn't wot it once was. Who am i to stop him? The Zumo comes of its mount in seconds. I've adapted mine so i can take the mount of without going under the seat as well.                                                                                                                                                                              

AND FLAK STRIKES AGAIN !!!   OUCH  YOU CAN HANDLE IT TANGO..        anyhows i,m off to bed...more of them effn u turns tomorrow                                                                                                                                                                             

cheap jibe there blues! aint got lost much not to warrant buyin sat nav any how!                                                                                                                                                                             

i used to get headaches when i had to remember it all.  Especially when I first started riding, and it took enough concentration to just ride the bike.  Wish I'd had a GPS then.  Whenever I went long distance from memory, my head would be banging by the end of it.  Now i've been all around Europe and I've enjoyed myself rather than panicking if I'm lost or not, cos my little GPS tells me if I'm en-route or not.   As for this topic - the subject says "To buy or not to buy" so it's a very open topic  :-)