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Tourer
Posts: 599
New Mexico | I was thinking about getting this. Does anyone own one? Is it worthwhile? Where do you have it mounted (pic)?
(Victory_Compass.jpg)
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 Victory_Compass.jpg (20KB - 8 downloads)
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1117
Northeast Ohio | Dudes don't need no stinkin' compass!  In all seriousness, I think most are running GPS units. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2118
Pitt Meadows, BC Canada | Threw my GPS in the trash. North is where the mountains are. West is the ocean. Don't need no stinkin' compass....
And I loves to get lost....
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 10
| donetracey - 2010-12-22 2:44 AM
Threw my GPS in the trash. North is where the mountains are. West is the ocean. Don't need no stinkin' compass....
And I loves to get lost....
Lucky you. ;-)
In Eastern TN, roads do not run straight. And after they follow the contours of the hills, etc, easy to get "lost" per se.
Though, in SoCal, your statement is true as well |
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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | I don't believe I've ever seen a compass on a motorcycle except on one of those GoldWings jobs. Unless it was absolutely accurate it would just take up space. I find a GPS is very distracting and would never put one on my bike either. Personnally, I never head out into the unknown without a reasonable knowledge of the direction I am heading and the time to do it. I've seen the sun set and still a good ways off from home after a great day's ride "out there" as a heading. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3006
San Antonio, TX | I get out on the backroads of South Texas from time to time and find a GPS very useful. If I head to the South Texas gulf coast within 50 miles of Corpus Christi it is most flat and featureless. Add in light winds and overcast skies and you would never able to tell which way you are going.
So when I took off the other day to the coast I forgot my GPS. After visiting a place on Lake Corpus Christi (I followed someone there) I took a different route back home over roads I have never taken before. I did OK but If I had the GPS I would have done better. When I am riding like this a GPS is much better than the folding map in the trunk. Plus, if I wish to go home I push three buttons and I know the shortest path.
I also like the stats the GPS keeps on the trip. Total miles traveled, Max Speed, Time to Destination and Time Elapsed.
I really wish I had some mountains down here to go by but I guess I will have to use satellites instead.
Ride Safe
Edited by radioteacher 2010-12-22 9:28 AM
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Cruiser
Posts: 226
on the edge of Los Angeles | If a Compass gets to complicated this may help explain wher you are going or where you have been.
http://asuwlink.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/guidance.wav |
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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | JSP - 2010-12-22 10:31 AM
If a Compass gets to complicated this may help explain wher you are going or where you have been.
http://asuwlink.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/guidance.wav 
and that is why I don't need no stinkin' GPS... |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 825
, WI | I guess if you're really not going anywhere you don't need a GPS. I find them very useful.
One less thing to think about on longer rides and also helps find gas stations, motels and campgrounds. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | Rollin' - 2010-12-22 6:06 PM
I guess if you're really not going anywhere you don't need a GPS. I find them very useful.
One less thing to think about on longer rides and also helps find gas stations, motels and campgrounds.
Truly an asset for riding 49 states in 10 days, invaluable. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 725
Reno County, KS | Yeah, I second that. It's kinda hard to read a paper map on a motorcycle when you're actually doing something besides dragging Main. As far as a compass goes, the GPS has it. The magnetic type might be a little more convenient if all you want to know is which direction your heading in the city. The Sun rises in the East and sets in the West, so I can generally figure that out pretty quick. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 47
centrel Minnesota | Ok so how accurate are the gps , I have heard some complaints that they don?t have all the roads in them . I really like back roads . I stopped in one town that I only found out where I was by the city town signs on the RR track for the trains and my map only shoed one road into the town and it wasn?t the one I road in on. If the gps doesn?t have all the roads you?d be better off with a compass
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Tourer
Posts: 599
New Mexico | JSP - 2010-12-22 9:31 AM
http://asuwlink.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/guidance.wav
OW!OW!OW!OW! That one HURT!
Thanks for all the input. I do have a GPS for my truck, and has an audio jack I plug into the ipod connection. Works fine, invaluable sometimes.
Guess will stick with the Sun, and plan on many hours getting lost & found on the best damn bike ever made!!
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Tourer
Posts: 390
| I find getting lost on the backroads fun...but only because the GPS can get me home before I have to trust the locals to direct me back to civilization. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 126
Meadow, Texas | I use my GPS for its MP3 more than the directional function. Granted I'm in an area that I can easily get lost but a compass around here isn't really handy. Roads may be marked as a "N" or "W" - but that doesn't mean they will ever go that direction.
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Tourer
Posts: 492
Indianapolis, IN | stevestreet - 2010-12-22 8:46 PM Ok so how accurate are the gps , I have heard some complaints that they don?t have all the roads in them . I really like back roads . I stopped in one town that I only found out where I was by the city town signs on the RR track for the trains and my map only shoed one road into the town and it wasn?t the one I road in on. If the gps doesn?t have all the roads you?d be better off with a compass Steve, this depends on which GPS you buy. I have a Garmin and I find that 99.9% if the time the GPS has the correct streets in their map system. Where it falls short is when new roads are added or removed or sometimes re-arranged. Garmin does offer quarterly updates to the maps on their GPS models but face it some changes take a while to get added to their updates. Also sometimes it's a little hit and miss on business locations etc. because nobody is required to keep Garmin updated when they decide to move or close a location. As was mentioned by someone else, one of the best features is being able to quickly located the nearest businesses and services, especially food and gas. Otherwise finding gas in some far flung regions can really add to the drama during a trip. Garmin's work like this, at any time you can touch the motorcycle that represents your location on the map on the screen and a list of three options appear. 1. Nearest fuel station. 2. Nearest Police. 3. Nearest Hospital, as well as geographical coordinates and the nearest intersection. If you need to find other businesses you simply enter the main menu and follow the prompts that list businesses from closest to furthest. And best of all if you love to just ride and explore aimlessly as we do, and decide it's time to head home but don't quite know which way to head to get there, just hit the home button on the main menu and the route and instructions instantly appear on the screen. As for the compass, it looks like just another chrome option to to add, maybe a backup for if the GPS dies out on the road, but I think not. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 725
Reno County, KS | stevestreet - 2010-12-22 6:46 PM
Ok so how accurate are the gps , I have heard some complaints that they don?t have all the roads in them . I really like back roads . I stopped in one town that I only found out where I was by the city town signs on the RR track for the trains and my map only shoed one road into the town and it wasn?t the one I road in on. If the gps doesn?t have all the roads you?d be better off with a compass
They are VERY accurate. About as accurate as any road map. These "problems with accuracy" that people complain about are due to the fact that they bought one last year or 2 ago and never bothered to pay for the map updates. Sorry... That's just the way it works with GPS and maps... You gotta update them or the data becomes obsolete. Updating them is usually not free? You have to spend the money to keep them up if you want reliability. Then when they change the overpass directions in Michigan or BFE, it will put you on the right exit. Magellan estimates that US roads change 6-10% per year due to road construction and civil engineering. A plus I thought of for the compass: The compass would tell you what direction you are pointing (magnetically). With GPS, you generally have to get a direction or vector before it can estimate which way is forward. It usually takes about 1/3 of a block or so before it figures this out. Some of the higher end models have an actual magnetic compass integrated into them for this reason. But again, you gotta spend the extra $... |
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Tourer
Posts: 506
Woodland Hills, CA | Boots - 2010-12-21 6:19 PM
I was thinking about getting this. Does anyone own one? Is it worthwhile? Where do you have it mounted (pic)?
Somehow this discussion got side tracked to the virtues of the BPS (not a bid diversion, but not quite to the point). For me, I have not need for a compass unless I am flying. Otherwise, the sun rises in the east, sets in the west, and the rest is fairly easy to figure out. And since I have no control over the direction of the roads, I guess I just find a compass a waste. I have had one in my car for years, but have never even referred to it.
So for me, I do not think a compass is anything that provides any real help, even if you have a GPS. (And for the record, I have ridden for well over 40 years, and just bought my first GPS this last summer. Yes, its great and now I don't leave home without it, but I somehow managed to get by without one (and without a compass) for a long time and always managed to find my way home.) |
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New user
Posts: 1
| Boots, I have a 'Formotion' compass that looks exactly like your picture without 'Victory' on it. Got it for my last birthday. Have mounted it in 3 places without success. Mechanic at local shop says CC just has too much electronic interference, so I guess I'll have to keep looking at the sun or go GPS. Good luck and let me know if you have more success than me.
2010 CC
Edited by mhender334 2010-12-28 4:20 PM
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Tourer
Posts: 599
New Mexico | mhender334 - 2010-12-28 3:15 PM
Boots, I have a 'Formotion' compass that looks exactly like your picture without 'Victory' on it. Got it for my last birthday. Have mounted it in 3 places without success. Mechanic at local shop says CC just has too much electronic interference, so I guess I'll have to keep looking at the sun or go GPS. Good luck and let me know if you have more success than me.
2010 CC
Thanks for the info, 334. That was one of my concerns. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 51
Edmonton AB, Canada | I have a similar compass on my Suzuki cruiser and it never worked right, they have set screws for getting them pointing north but I could never get it to work properly. |
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Anyone install the Victory Compass?
