[Fred H.]

Today I built a route in Mapsource (being careful to make sure all waypoints were at intersections) and loaded it onto my SD card and imported it into the 2012 Nav system. This route took me through probably a dozen road changes, and was about 107 miles long taking me to RipFest in Eastland Texas via small back roads the whole way. http://www.eastlandchamber.com/ripfest2011.html

The GPS worked flawlessly all day long. I think I can honestly say that I won't need to mount a second GPS on this bike. With XM weather and the ability to load routes, I can pretty much do everything I need to do with it. If I push the zoom button in it speaks the distance to the next turn and the road name, and if I hold the zoom button in I can see the weather screen. I also find the screen on it is much easier for me to read and see than my 376c. The larger fonts on it make everything easier to make out.

I did discover on the way back that there is no "invert route" function that I can find, so I had to reorder all my waypoints to reverse the route. This took me a couple minutes to do, but I was able to do it on the bike. Next time I'll simply invert the route and load both a forward and backward route before I leave.

The only remaining complaints I have are the legal Nag disclaimer that you have to acknowledge and the way the small roads disappear when you zoom out past 1 mile. Interestingly enough some roads will disappear at the 2 mile scale, but reappear at the 5 mile scale. Go figure. If they would fix these two remaining issues, I think it would be just about perfect. Once Honda resolves the reboot issue, I think folks are going to like the new Navi a whole lot more.

 

[bbcwing]

2012 Nav

I've a different experience with routes built in Mapsource and then uploaded to the Honda 2012 Nav system.

Specifically, I built a route from SLO, CA up hwy 1 through Big Sur, over the Golden Gate to a Best Western. All I really wanted it to do was navigate me to the hotel once I crossed the GGB.

The Nav system continued to try and re-route me to US101, which would be the faster of the two routes.

I'm wondering if the on bike preferences are over riding the route created in Mapsource. One would think that the Mapsource route would over ride the on board preferences.

Any thoughts on what I might explore to reslove this issue? Once I figure out what I'm doing wrong, I agree that the system will meet my needs.
bbc

 

[Fred H.]

I've a different experience with routes built in Mapsource and then uploaded to the Honda 2012 Nav system.

Specifically, I built a route from SLO, CA up hwy 1 through Big Sur, over the Golden Gate to a Best Western. All I really wanted it to do was navigate me to the hotel once I crossed the GGB.

The Nav system continued to try and re-route me to US101, which would be the faster of the two routes.

I'm wondering if the on bike preferences are over riding the route created in Mapsource. One would think that the Mapsource route would over ride the on board preferences.

Any thoughts on what I might explore to reslove this issue? Once I figure out what I'm doing wrong, I agree that the system will meet my needs.
bbc

It may depend on what preferences you selected for calculating the route. If you selected FASTEST, it may try to route you on the highway. Sometimes selecting SHORTEST will fix this. There also is an AVOID Highways selection you might want to try.

Usually I find just putting multiple waypoints on the highway I want to ride will force the route to take the road I want to.

 

[bbcwing]

It may depend on what preferences you selected for calculating the route. If you selected FASTEST, it may try to route you on the highway. Sometimes selecting SHORTEST will fix this. There also is an AVOID Highways selection you might want to try.

Usually I find just putting multiple waypoints on the highway I want to ride will force the route to take the road I want to.

Thanks for the reply. In preperation for a large group ride I'm leading this weekend:
I changed the preferences to "shortest" and removed all avoidences except "u-turns", on the bike.
I created the route in Mapsource and have successfully uploaded it to the bike's nav system. ( My ability to use Mapsource and upload to the nav system are not the problem)
I have opened the route on the bike and scrolled the entire route on the screen. It seems to be the route I created.
Hopefully, there won't be any drama. Oh yea, I've also sent the route to a buddy to load on his garmin 550 so that if my system decides to go exploring, one of us will still have the original Mapsource route.

The one issue that keeps on nagging me is that it should not matter what the preferences are. The route created in Mapsource is the "Route", and the bike's nav system should just follow it. Many times, with my Zumo 550, I've forced a change to a route I'm creating without changing system preferences. The Zumo just followed the Mapsource created route.

Thanks for the input. I'll post results after the ride.
bbc

 

[Fred H.]

A route is simply a collection of waypoints with a begining and and end. When you load it into your GPS, all that loads are the waypoints. The GPS then calculates the correct route based on those waypoints. So if your preferences in Mapsource for route calculation are set different than your preferences on your Honda GPS, then you could indeed end up with a different route.

One thing you do have to pay attention to is that when you create a waypoint, make sure it is at the intersection of two roads. If you just drop waypoints anywhere you want along a road and they aren't at intersections, your GPS may reboot when it tries to recalculate. This is a bug in the Honda system.

 

[bbcwing]

2012 Nav

A route is simply a collection of waypoints with a begining and and end. When you load it into your GPS, all that loads are the waypoints. The GPS then calculates the correct route based on those waypoints. So if your preferences in Mapsource for route calculation are set different than your preferences on your Honda GPS, then you could indeed end up with a different route.

One thing you do have to pay attention to is that when you create a waypoint, make sure it is at the intersection of two roads. If you just drop waypoints anywhere you want along a road and they aren't at intersections, your GPS may reboot when it tries to recalculate. This is a bug in the Honda system.

Ok, I think I have the preferences set the same in each system. The route for this weekend just happened to have the waypoints set at intersections or fuel stops, so maybe that is why it seems to be working.

I usually just set a start and end point for the route, add a few fuel/rest stops, and then click and drag any route corrections as necessary. If you are correct, then I will need to be a lot more careful until Honda fixes the problem. If all it's going to take is a little more time to plan a route, I can live with that.

Thanks.
bbc

 

[mtnwb]

Tripplanner Routes

You are using mapsource for your routes, however, if you use Honda's tripplanner, you will have problems uploading the route and reboot issues if you do not follow the route. I agree that there is a bug in the software associated with going off route or onto routes not shown in the gps database, like side roads in National Parks.

 

[bbcwing]

2012 Nav

Thanks for the reply. In preperation for a large group ride I'm leading this weekend:
I changed the preferences to "shortest" and removed all avoidences except "u-turns", on the bike.
I created the route in Mapsource and have successfully uploaded it to the bike's nav system. ( My ability to use Mapsource and upload to the nav system are not the problem)
I have opened the route on the bike and scrolled the entire route on the screen. It seems to be the route I created.
Hopefully, there won't be any drama. Oh yea, I've also sent the route to a buddy to load on his garmin 550 so that if my system decides to go exploring, one of us will still have the original Mapsource route.

The one issue that keeps on nagging me is that it should not matter what the preferences are. The route created in Mapsource is the "Route", and the bike's nav system should just follow it. Many times, with my Zumo 550, I've forced a change to a route I'm creating without changing system preferences. The Zumo just followed the Mapsource created route.

Thanks for the input. I'll post results after the ride.
bbc

:-(
Ok, so I built the route in Mapsource, uploaded it, and even printed it out and reviewed each and every turn before leading a group of 25 bikes on a 250 mile trip.
Most of the time it was dead on. However, the Nav did tell me to deviate from the planned route at least once. Eventially it did recalculate, but I don't understand why it tried to take a route other than the one that I loaded.
Also, I did experience a "crash", but the system rebooted and I was able to re-engage at the next stop sign.

Honda seems so intent on "safety" features by not letting us have access to the complete system while rolling, but in my opinion, system crashes and random route changes create way more distraction and potential hazards than access to a menu that tells you how to get to the nearest fuel stop.

I just want to get to a point where I can trust the the system will take me where I want to go, the way I want to go, without crashing.
bbc
:-(

 

[Don Swanburg]

Fred

I think there are 5 maps when you hold the button in. Found it in the manual.

You get to them when you push and hold the button in and toggle it.

Working from memory, which isn't so great now a days.