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Gotta love the Harley navigation.

12K views 43 replies 26 participants last post by  woverby 
#1 ·
Going to the dealer I decided to just bring it up on the navigation. This is where it put me. Obviously this road has been closed a long time. Had I been on the Pan America I could have tried the Jeep trail to the right and maybe gotten further before having to turn around. LOL!

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#5 ·
Part of the adventure. I knew how to get to the dealer on the main roads, just wanted to see where the GPS would take me.
 
#6 ·
Map updates require human intervention. Looks like a human failed to report a road closure. I wonder what Apple maps, Google maps or Waze shows??? Such is life…🤷‍♂️
 
#16 ·
I did some research this morning looking at a satellite view and the reason the road was blocked is for the new Toyota/Mazda plant that is being built, or already built that broke ground in 2018. So if I would have detoured down the jeep trail I would have probably ended at a fence.

I wish we had free map updates with these Harley GPS devices.
 
#14 ·
There was a Jeep trail to the right of where I stopped. Way far off in the distance it looked like the road may have been under water or a bridge out.

I use the GPS as a guide not the rule when we set a destination. The GPS is definitely NOT the best, but it’s better than nothing.

I use to use a Garmin on our 2013 RGU and was able to program routes a lot easier, not to mention performing upgrades. That’s the biggest issue I have, getting FREE upgrades myself so that you can avoid problems that the OP mentioned. It’s funny, I set no dirt roads and I still get sent to dirt roads……

Harley Davidson needs to do a better job with the GPS.
My Garmin Zumo 660 "avoid unpaved roads" doesn't work worth a dam either.

With either GPS creating a custom route based on research using online maps works very well. They are both limited on the number of custom routes you can have loaded in memory at one time.

Just blindly following the GPS is part of the adventure of riding sometimes. I will just pick a point on the map and have it calculate a route to get me there. This is better done on adventure style bikes than big touring bikes though.
 
#13 ·
I use the GPS as a guide not the rule when we set a destination. The GPS is definitely NOT the best, but it’s better than nothing.

I use to use a Garmin on our 2013 RGU and was able to program routes a lot easier, not to mention performing upgrades. That’s the biggest issue I have, getting FREE upgrades myself so that you can avoid problems that the OP mentioned. It’s funny, I set no dirt roads and I still get sent to dirt roads……

Harley Davidson needs to do a better job with the GPS.
 
#17 ·
I never use navigation, I just google the place I want to go to and google shows me where I am, so I just pick out a road that goes in that general direction. I have ended up on a couple of crappy gravel roads but thats no big deal, I learned to ride on gravel roads. My main use of the radio is for time and temp. I think one of the best accesories they put on a motorcycle was a gas gauge, it's handy.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 
#18 ·
I still prefer Real maps. For many reasons. My wife and I have had a few good laughs and good rides just letting HD GPS take us on the cray route. But be warned it can test your riding skills.
I for one do not use google for anything.
 
#19 ·
I never have liked the Harley navigation, one reason I didn’t mind changing the OEM radio to a Sony. I use CarPlay from my phone, but am actually thinking about buying the new Garmin Zumo because of the extra features, mainly live weather.
 
#21 ·
The new bike hooks up to Waze, Google and other mapping options that show on the Harley screen. I am liking that a lot. Still learning the new controls and missing the lighted controls I had installed on my 2015. Not yet available for the 2021. Bummer.
 
#22 ·
Doh! 😖 I had them do the Boom software update on mine with Android Auto and I've been using that with good success, since it uses Google Maps.
 
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#25 ·
The new bike hooks up to Waze, Google and other mapping options that show on the Harley screen. I am liking that a lot. Still learning the new controls and missing the lighted controls I had installed on my 2015. Not yet available for the 2021. Bummer.
My problems with internet based routing aps is that you have to have data connection for traffic, etc. even if you have loaded map data to the phone memory, you can't create a custom route, can't do shortest distance, and if it provides a few options for routes that diverge somewhere down the route, it will always put you on what it considered the best regardless of what you chose unless you quickly hit the correct button while trying to drive.

The Harley, and Garmin navigation work best when the route is planned in advance, while the online maps work best finding a place to eat, sleep, etc.
 
#44 ·
When we travel, Lesley is my GPS. She can get you x to y off the top of her head. Can't boil water to save her ass, but want to go to somewhere, she can tell you in detail. Main roads or backroads...

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
Plus, I don't think the "fastest" route calculation includes any delays for stop lights and traffic.
 
#27 ·
I am clearly not HD biggest fan anymore. In my case the HD System works . Being one that will not allow goggle in my life it is an option that works. I used it yesterday to head to a city near here.
I had no idea where a funeral home was. So I put the address in and took off. I could ride to that city in my sleep. I decided to just do what ever the GPS said. It was not the route I would have taken.
It was a few miles shorter and a little faster.
I do not need a GPS to get anywhere. It is a tool. One way I use it is if we are staying some where and spending a day riding I keep lodging address set. When day is ending if needed I just turn it on and
use it to get back on track . A good day is when you do not realize the phone was left at home until you get back.
When we leave home the Map is in the tour pack.
 
#28 ·
I too like the GPS mapping in the new Harley-Davidson Infotainment System. I just traded my 2009 Road Glide for a 2021 Road Glide Standard. The Standard comes with the smaller radio without the GPS mapping. I wasn’t sure if the new system was going to be useable. But I had the 6.5 GTS with the GPS Mapping installed and it works. I have the Car Play, and tried the Google Mapping. I found that I needed to input the destination in my phone before hooking it to the Infotainment Center. This may be caused from not using it before. But I can enter the address in the Harley-Davidson system and it’s easy to find. Plus once entered, I can find the address later by just scrolling previous destinations. I’ve made two cross country trips, so far this year. One trip was to a new destination. The Harley-Davidson GTS made it easy to find. And I have the SIRIUS radio. With it and the GTS, I can find specific brands of gas along the route. Then directions to the station.
 
#29 ·
In the GTS there are some nice things in there that you have to know are there. Once you stumble on it Easy to use.
if you have not Done it Hold left toggle a few seconds then toggle informaation on the right go through the options.
 
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#33 ·
Where have you ridden using the GPS? What do you set it on? Fastest route? Try setting it on curvy road, avoid highways and see how it works out for you.

Here in Middle Tennessee, if I ask it to take me somewhere and avoid highways, it almost always comes back with "incomplete route" and even though I follow it without wavering it will sometimes say "Recalculating" like it lost its way. LOL!

Yesterday I downloaded the lastest maps for my Garmin Zumo 660 and created a custom route with 22 waypoints on tiny twisty hilly farm lanes and the GPS tried to have me turn on a road that probably hasn't been a road for 50 years. LOL!
 
#34 ·
Iam one of the few that like the HD GTS navigation. I've made a few routes to ride on my laptop at night, lots of way-points and check the avoid unpaved roads box.
Then the next day, just import them thru the hd.com app.
When out just riding, I keep the Navi on looking for interesting roads to try, learning what the color of the roads mean...avoid black roads. In So Jersey and PA that means anything from sugar sand to "unpaved"

Best thing I like, is the "go home" tab when I get lost on purpose in PA.. I do find it funny the route it chooses when I get close to home though.......normally doesn't take the easiest or shortest route. But I just turn it off or laugh while it recalculates
And easy to pull old destinations

Having the ability to use Waze with Android Auto is nice to see where the Police are sitting when doing 6th gear pulls is a nice option too.
While that depends on people entering locations, in this over populated state, that's not an issue here....lol
 
#35 ·
Iam one of the few that like the HD GTS navigation. I've made a few routes to ride on my laptop at night, lots of way-points and check the avoid unpaved roads box.
Then the next day, just import them thru the hd.com app.
When out just riding, I keep the Navi on looking for interesting roads to try, learning what the color of the roads mean...avoid black roads. In So Jersey and PA that means anything from sugar sand to "unpaved"

Best thing I like, is the "go home" tab when I get lost on purpose in PA.. I do find it funny the route it chooses when I get close to home though.......normally doesn't take the easiest or shortest route. But I just turn it off or laugh while it recalculates
And easy to pull old destinations

Having the ability to use Waze with Android Auto is nice to see where the Police are sitting when doing 6th gear pulls is a nice option too.
While that depends on people entering locations, in this over populated state, that's not an issue here....lol
That is the best way to use any navigation. Create a plan and then execute it. I do the same thing when I am not just playing around. Yes, and the home feature is nice because then you don't wander down a 5 mile road that ends at the river when you are ready to just get home. LOL!

Most people leave their navigation on fastest time, and that is what Google Maps and iPhone navigation do.

When I would put my GPS device on shortest distance back 10 or more years ago, there were times where it would take you off a highway exit, across the street and back up the highway onramp because that was shorter than staying on the highway.

I remember sitting in a restaurant one day and was playing with the unit and told it to bring me to a town 15 miles away. On shortest distance it created a route that I knew well of nice curvy roads and 15 miles 25 minutes. Then I switched it to fastest time and it wanted me to hop on the interstate north, then a state highway east to get to the same town. Basically the shortest distance was the hypotenuse of the triangle and it wanted me to travel the adjacent and opposite sides to get there. So 21 miles and 24 minutes. 6 more miles of fuel at a faster speed to save one minute at a lower mpg.
 
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