[Garmin Colorado vs. 60csx]

I agree with Rich, bike usage is the worst because you can't reorient the screen to optimize the brightness of the reflection.

 

Overall, I've gotten used to the Oregon, although after being down in Florida for a week using it in the bright sun I noticed it a lot more than at home.

 

GO$Rs

I am looking for a GPS upgrade for my dual sport motorcycle. I currently have a Magellan CrossOver which works well enough for most aspects except for the fact that the position locks up randomly. When I need it to tell me where I am, I can never be sure if it is working or locked up. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a GPS. The touch screen isn't ideal for motorcycle gloves as well. I had set my sights on the 60CSx but the feedback from a fellow biker was frustration at the 20 track 500 point limit. He likes to be able to store interesting rides and recall them when/where-ever and I can see myself wanting this luxury as well. The Colorado and the Oregon don't have this limitation, but do suffer from less than desirable screen visibility. Since the primary use will be attached to the handlebars, this does make for a difficult decision. Which sacrifice to make?

 

I suspect when I have the money in hand, an extended evaluation at the store will move me in the desired direction.

[Magellan Crossover GPS]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for the advice and help. Unfortunately everything I have tried failed to cure my problem with the CrossOver. It appears I have an oddly defective unit or something. I am inclined to believe it is a software issue as everything works fine in Auto mode. I have tried the simple reset, the reset to first use, and even re-loading the v2.14 firmware, it still fails to work right.

 

Unfortunately it is over a year since I purchased it and I am out of warranty. I'll try calling Magellan and see if there is anything they will do, but I doubt it and I don't think it will be worth trying to repair it. At this point I will give up on the dual purpose nature of the CrossOver, leave it in the vehicle, and get a Garmin 60CSx. The Colorado and Oregon are attractive options, but I got burnt with the brand new cutting edge CrossOver already so I will stick to the tried, tested, and true 60CSx.

 

The other attractive capability of Garmin devices is the third party software and map selection. That is practically non-existent for Magellan.

 

Tim

[Magellan Crossover GPS]

G'day Eh!

 

I purchased the CrossOver last summer as a travel companion for my Kawasaki KLR 650 and our rides along logging roads and trails. I was a RoadMate 760 owner and was happy with that unit for car navigation so the CrossOver was a welcome transition. The other competition at the time was/is the Garmin Quest 2 and I didn't like the limited memory it has.

 

A year later...

Foolish me, more memory is useless when there is no data to put on it. Or at least so I thought until I read about a successful MapSend Topo Canada user story here. I have already purchased the download BC/Alberta map though

 

Car/street navigation is still good and I am happy with that which is the majority of my use, both in the car and on the bike. Ram mounts and cradles are permanent fixtures in each vehicle making for quick swaps. The standard Magellan cradle has held firm even on rough gravel and trails.

 

Two firmware updates later (V2.14) and Outdoor/Marine mode are more or less useless due to an annoying lockup glitch. This never happens in Vehicle mode. The symptom is that the GPS freezes location. The map does not move although your heading appears to change. If you go to the compass display, speed and bearing are updated, but the coordinates and altitude do not change. The CrossOver does eventually recover, but the time is never consistent and one could have moved 200 m or 20 km by that time. This makes the tracking feature more or less useless as suddenly you have a straight line between the lock up point and your current point. Try and trace that one back... Last note, this occurs on either the SD AB/BC topo map I have or the built in base map (which is useless in Canada).

 

Magellan said to "reset the unit and contact us if the issue still persists." Many resets later and the issue still persists.

 

I have seen a few other references to this issue here and elsewhere so I would just like to detail my experiences and see if others have the same issue. If so, have you found a fix? Street mode is fine so I am sure it is just a software issue in the connection between the actual GPS hardware and the CrossOver software.

 

If I cannot find a solution, I will likely move to either a Garmin 60CSx for Bike/Outdoor only use and keep the CrossOver in the car or get a Zumo and see if it will do both. That decision will be based upon final price and if I can see the 60CSx in street mode and the Zumo displaying a topo map.

 

Thanks for listening and keep your stick on the ice.

 

Tim from Calgary