Route Planning - Basic

M

Mike Whelchel

Member
#1
#1
I have been reading through route planning threads that are informative but tend to get very specific. I have a couple of questions I would really like some thoughts on as it relates to rally planning which I am wanting to get involved in.

1. I have a 2018 Goldwing and I am apparently supposed to hate the NAV system on it - I don't - what am I missing?
2. Route planning software - I have tried and/or used Base Camp, Google Maps, Honda Trip planner, HD trip planner, and Good Sam trip planner. It seems to me that the Good Sam trip planner is the best of these; you can drag and drop the route to a different road, drag and drop the order of waypoints, enter waypoints via address or GPS coordinates, export to a GPX file. what am I missing on this?
3. Waze - does anyone use it to avoid traffic, etc

These are not challenge questions - I know from reading here that you all do some very detailed route planning and I think I am in a situation of I don't know what I don't know.

Thanks,
 
Stephen!

Stephen!

Flivver Flyer
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#2
#2
Mike Whelchel said:
It seems to me that the Good Sam trip planner is the best of these; you can drag and drop the route to a different road, drag and drop the order of waypoints, enter waypoints via address or GPS coordinates, export to a GPX file. what am I missing on this?
Click to expand...
You can do all of these actions using Basecamp as well.

Mike Whelchel said:
3. Waze - does anyone use it to avoid traffic, etc
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I have used a combination of Waze and Google Maps side-by-side. Waze for the hazard alerts (although Google Maps also does this with even more limited accuracy) and Google Maps for real-time traffic. The roads in Maps are color coded for relative traffic flow in those areas where there are Maps users allowing themselves to be tracked. Green is "normal" traffic speed and dark red is nearly dead-stopped. Waze may route based on traffic flow, but I have not yet seen it display such information. It is nice information to have to develop an "Big Picture" plan.
 
Greg Rice

Greg Rice

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#3
#3
The navigation on the 2018+ Gold Wings is not bad ( its not great ) and you can overlay the weather radar and traffic if you pay for the service. You can do all of your planning with online systems or something like Basecamp and then load the route with a flash drive into the built in navigation system.

I really used the 2018 Gold Wing built in navigation system for the weather radar and traffic information as I own two other Garmin GPS's.

The decision on what to use to plan your rides depends on how important your planning needs to be. Online route planning is good and works well. It is not available if you go places where there is no cell services.

I go to places like Alaska and Mexico and I ride in rallies and need something that I can access anytime so that is why I use Basecamp.

I do run Google maps or Waze on my cell phone while riding for the extra information it provides.
 
BMW RT Pilot

BMW RT Pilot

Premier Member
#4
#4
3. Waze. Waze is only effective if you have people in the area using it. I am not as well-traveled as many in these forums, but in many cases, I've found that the app was worthless because no one was in the area contributing. That's also a problem when you're in the middle of BFE at 3am.
 
M

Mike Whelchel

Member
#6
#6
OK, I downloaded BaseCamp and I've been playing with it - I gave up on it before but Ive been a little more persistent this time and starting to see what it can do.. I don't have a Garmin on the bike but I do have one in my truck that I could use for maps. Does the GPX file from BaseCamp tend to play well with my Honda nav system?

Thanks,
 
kwthom

kwthom

=o&o>
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#7
#7
Mike Whelchel said:
<...>Does the GPX file from BaseCamp tend to play well with my Honda nav system?
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@Greg Rice could probably answer this question specifically.

Since the nav unit in the '18 & up GW isn't a Garmin product, it might take a wee bit of tweaking the output of the BC-generated GPX to play better on the '18 & up bikes.

Would also strongly suggest the periodic upgrades available that may also help with improved usability of the built-in GPS. Really wished this would have been offered on the '12 - '17 bike...

Hope this helps.
 
M

Mike Whelchel

Member
#8
#8
Th
kwthom said:
@Greg Rice could probably answer this question specifically.

Since the nav unit in the '18 & up GW isn't a Garmin product, it might take a wee bit of tweaking the output of the BC-generated GPX to play better on the '18 & up bikes.

Would also strongly suggest the periodic upgrades available that may also help with improved usability of the built-in GPS. Really wished this would have been offered on the '12 - '17 bike...

Hope this helps.
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thank you! I have updated the software with the recent update. I have also loaded trips into from other programs but not BaseCamp. I will play around with that and see how it does.
 
J

JP Handley

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#9
#9
The Harley GPS doesn’t play well with basecamp either, it’s how BC names the file. I rename the GPX file and haven’t had any issues with the Harley system. Could be the same for the GW?
 
EricV

EricV

Premier Member
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#10
#10
Mike Whelchel said:
I have been reading through route planning threads that are informative but tend to get very specific. I have a couple of questions I would really like some thoughts on as it relates to rally planning which I am wanting to get involved in.

1. I have a 2018 Goldwing and I am apparently supposed to hate the NAV system on it - I don't - what am I missing?
Click to expand...
The main complaint with the Wing's built in GPS in the past was the inability to do things with it while moving. I do not know if that still applies to the '18 or newer Goldwings.
2. Route planning software - I have tried and/or used Base Camp, Google Maps, Honda Trip planner, HD trip planner, and Good Sam trip planner. It seems to me that the Good Sam trip planner is the best of these; you can drag and drop the route to a different road, drag and drop the order of waypoints, enter waypoints via address or GPS coordinates, export to a GPX file. what am I missing on this?
Click to expand...
Use what works best for you. Rally riders often prefer offline tools because the hotel wifi gets overloaded and slows down when 100+ riders suddenly go online to investigate and route after the start banquet. If this doesn't apply to your needs/uses, no big deal.

I'm old. I route point to point instead of putting in a route I built in BC or uploaded from another routing tool. :eek:
3. Waze - does anyone use it to avoid traffic, etc
Click to expand...
Sure. But again, cell signal dependent, user input dependent and it depends on your needs. If you're trying to get thru DC or ATL during a cert ride, it might be very handy indeed. If you're riding in a rally, you still need to get to the bonus, so maybe not that useful. On cert rides, a little planning in advance to understand high traffic times in the cities your route goes though negates most of the need for live traffic info. IMHO, Waze was really designed for commuters and does well at that in dense population areas.
These are not challenge questions - I know from reading here that you all do some very detailed route planning and I think I am in a situation of I don't know what I don't know.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
It's all about what you're routing for. Rally routing is a completely different animal in terms of needs, compared to a cert ride or normal off the clock ride. Asking questions is good. Keep asking.
 
Greg Rice

Greg Rice

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#11
#11
kwthom said:
@Greg Rice could probably answer this question specifically.
Click to expand...
The first version of the 2018 Gold wing navigation did not support the
Basecamp generated GPX files because Garmin has GPX extensions like phone number that the Gold Wing navigation did not recognize. I had to run the Basecamp GPX file through another program to strip the GPX extension data. I am not sure about today's Gold Wing navigation software as there has been about 4 new releases that may have resolved this issue.

There was a lot of information on the Gold Wing forum back then with Fred and I that you could probably search and find it.

If you test the Basecamp GPX file and it works lets us know because someday I may own another Gold Wing. :)
 
M

Mike Whelchel

Member
#12
#12
Greg Rice said:
The first version of the 2018 Gold wing navigation did not support the
Basecamp generated GPX files because Garmin has GPX extensions like phone number that the Gold Wing navigation did not recognize. I had to run the Basecamp GPX file through another program to strip the GPX extension data. I am not sure about today's Gold Wing navigation software as there has been about 4 new releases that may have resolved this issue.

There was a lot of information on the Gold Wing forum back then with Fred and I that you could probably search and find it.

If you test the Basecamp GPX file and it works lets us know because someday I may own another Gold Wing. :)
Click to expand...
Thank you for getting me on the right track. I tried BabelGPS but went into a fair Homer Simpson blind stare impression when I saw the directions - I'll try to figure it out later. That did get me on the hunt for something easier and I found a web site called GPSvisualizer.com. You upload your file and then download it with a new name and that worked perfectly. Disclaimer; I make no representations about the safety of this web site. It seems legit, it worked for me, and no strange death head messages have popped up on my screen.
 
Gerry Arel

Gerry Arel

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#13
#13
You're on the right track!

I agree that GPS Visualizer is a great tool, very easy to use for manipulation of files and GPX data.

Have you connected your 'truck' GPS to BaseCamp in order to use the maps? BaseCamp by itself has no real usage map detail, you need to be tethered to a GPS with maps and if you have lifetime updates, you can update the maps n the GPS and into BaseCamp using Garmin Express.

If you're looking for a good tutorial on baseCamp, there are a few, but I always recommend Ed's located in New England Riders site:
https://www.newenglandriders.org/GPS/Learn_BaseCamp.htm
 
M

Mike Whelchel

Member
#15
#15
Sorry for the never ending saga on this. I went back to what CVO James said about changing the file name which I tried to do on my PC but could not get it to work there. I tried it today on my Mac and it worked fine. No need for BabelGPS or the website. It did rearrange my waypoints, though that is easy to correct on the nav system but would be a PITA if there are a ton of waypoints. I'm not sure why/how that happened.
Gerry Arel said:
You're on the right track!

I agree that GPS Visualizer is a great tool, very easy to use for manipulation of files and GPX data.

Have you connected your 'truck' GPS to BaseCamp in order to use the maps? BaseCamp by itself has no real usage map detail, you need to be tethered to a GPS with maps and if you have lifetime updates, you can update the maps n the GPS and into BaseCamp using Garmin Express.

If you're looking for a good tutorial on baseCamp, there are a few, but I always recommend Ed's located in New England Riders site:
https://www.newenglandriders.org/GPS/Learn_BaseCamp.htm
Click to expand...
yes, I did get the maps off my truck GPS. I will read the tutorial on basecamp, thanks for the tip on that. I hav3 been using the Good Sam trip planner for quite a while and it seems to me to be quite capable but I am unclear about what it cannot do that would be useful in a rally situation - aside from the fact that basecamp can be used fully even off line What else should I be looking at in basecamp?

the RallyMaster of the Heart of Texas told me that we would be given gpx files the morning of the event. I dont want to wear him out with newb questions so I’ll ask here. What would I expect to get in these files? Waypoints only? Suggested routes? Mandatory checkpoints? I want to get myself as ready as I can before hand.

i have so many questions.

thanks
 
ScottAL

ScottAL

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#16
#16
JJ Jackson

JJ Jackson

Premier Member
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#18
#18
Another great place for data sets is teamstrange.com. They have most of their rally data sets archived by year and is very helpful. I have used it to plot routes in basecamp for practice.
 
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