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Harley GPS

alto

Active Member
I ask this question for a friend . ( I am getting a Garmin for my 01 ultra)..My friend bought an 08 Ultra last year. When he picked it up, the dealer asked if he wanted to 'activate' the built in GPS.. He didn't want it at the time. Implied , was that there is a monthly charge for service...
Is there a monthly charge and, if so, why, when Garmin/Tom Tom etc just have the one-time charge of buying the unit."
Thanks in advance for any info.
 
It is possible to upgrade the Harmon Kardon radio to provide GPS directions, but it is text only, no maps, and definitely not the way to go. I highly recommend the Garmin Zumo 550.
 
Get the Garmin, or any other brand of add-on unit. That way, you can take it off and use it in the car if you want. I have an older Garmin 2730 mounted on the handlebars, and it came with several different modes of connection and mountings for the car. Have had no problems whatever with it.

Also, a lot of the units can accept downloaded "POIs", "points of interest" lists and directions. Many are free, and they can be very useful. For example, there's one that purports to list every Harley dealer in America. Another lists every Starbucks. Some are for parks, etc. Point is, there's a lot of stuff you can't do with a built-in GPS that is an afterthought to a radio.

BTW, with Garmin, there is a monthly fee if you want to subscribe to real-time reports of traffic, weather, road closures, things like that. But you don't have to subscribe. If you just want the maps, you get them with the unit and you can update the next year, but like Thomas Guides, it's usually not necessary. In that case, there's just the one time cost for the unit.
 
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My brother has a Garmin Nuvi 550 waterproof & works great. Less money than the Zumo. A little smaller but OK. I have the Lowrance XOG. Not as many options but for $135 a great little GPS. Showed me the curves coming up it Tenn. a couple of weeks ago.
 
I agree an aftermarket one is the way to go. I use a TomTom Rider 1 I got from Amazon for $250 brand-new, in the box versus 500 -1,000 I've seen others listed for. It had a great selection of RAM mounts and connecting it was a breeze. Its biggest dowfall in my mind is the lack of an external speaker so you have to wear a BlueTooth receiver to hear the voice commands. I use a Motorola unit that is superior in my opinion to the one they send in the kit. The only other complaint I have is true with all of them, if the sun's coming over your shoulder, the screen will wash out.
 
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