GPS Navigation for Adventure Riders in 2022

As time marches on GPS technology for navigation when adventure riding continues to improve. As much as I love them I haven’t carried a paper map with me when riding for years now. GPS technology is super accurate and reliable as long as you choose (invest) wisely and prepare before going walkabout.

I last touched on this topic in 2020 with this article here: https://maschine.com.au/gps-vs-smartphone-navigation-for-adventure-riders/

For 2022 here are my top picks for GPS technology for adventure riders – call it my “Dummies Guide to GPS Navigation for Adventure Riders”!

GPS

Having a dedicated off-road motorcycle GPS on your adventure bike is fantastic. Typically the benefits are:

• Turn-by-turn Route navigation
• Follow pre-planned Tracks off-road
• View maps when offline out of mobile range
• Fairly accurately estimate distance and time to your next destination even when out of mobile range
• Large clear glove friendly displays
• Reliable powered mounts
• Waterproof, dust proof, damn near bomb proof

You may notice there are two bold words in that sentence above – “off-road” and “motorcycle”. Reason being, not all GPS are created equal.

Frankly, to start with, I wouldn’t bother buying anything other than a Garmin brand GPS. I have played with many other brands and they just don’t have the functionality of Garmin.

Secondly, an off-road orientated GPS will have improved functionality when it comes to navigating quite literally “off-road” on minor tracks.

Thirdly, a motorcycle GPS will have a bright touchscreen that works with gloves and has an IP Rating that makes it waterproof and dust proof. Kind of essential!

For many years my “go to” navigation device has been a Garmin Montana 680T. It has been uber reliable and has great functionality for adventuring in many forms. Sure I’ve had the screen replaced on it once in the 5 years I’ve been using it but man it’s put up with some abuse! I would still recommend this unit now but it has been replaced in 2020 by the updated Montana 700 series.

I have just recently purchased the relatively new Garmin Tread Off-Road GPS and will mount that up to my Ducati DesertX for the 2nd half of 2022. The main upgrades I am looking forward to on this unit:

• Larger clearer 5.5″ TFT display
• Ability to sync my inReach and Smartphone to the GPS to share Tracks, Waypoints and satellite messages
• It has a group ride tracking function that allows to see where your mates are on the map screen if they also have a Tread GPS or Group Ride Tracker radio. This could be awesome for small (or big) group rides.

I am expecting it to arrive in the post this week so I will report back with a review once I’ve mounted it up and had a play in the field.

One side note is your GPS should come preloaded with some maps but you can also load different maps into your GPS with topographic, open source or street orientated maps available. You can even download satellite images to your GPS screen now which can be handy in certain situations. Topo maps can for sure be handy but frankly the maps on the GPS kind of aren’t super important to me because I rely more on my iPhone apps to “read” maps. The problem with using maps on a GPS is you typically lose detail as you zoom out so it makes them difficult to “read” and get a good reference of where you are.

Mapping apps on your phone are better in this respect, read on below.

Smartphone

Using an iPhone or Android smartphone is absolutely a viable option nowadays for being your sole navigation on bike. Since about 2016 I have ridden everywhere around Australia (and many other countries!) with a phone mounted to the handlebars for navigation. That said 95% of the time I also have a dedicated GPS running simultaneously.

I currently use an Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max and I tend to update my phone about every two years. The Max size gives you a larger screen size of 6.68 inches which makes it usable as a navigation device.

The added power of smartphones comes into play when you consider all the additional functionality that comes with them:

• Being able to search for a fuel stop when your arrive in a town
• Finding the best rated cafe for your double shot espresso
• Look at BOM weather app to see if that black cloud on the horizon is dumping rain in the next valley over
• Amazing cameras that are perfect for capturing the vibe on your ride

Crucially, to make your smartphone useful on your bike you also need to consider:

• Mount your phone where you can see it while riding
• Power up your phone 
• Mapping or navigation Apps 

More details below about each of these points.

Smartphones are relatively delicate devices compared to a dedicated motorcycle GPS so you need to be a little careful in your prep.

• Choose a phone model that is water resistant (or waterproof with a case).
• The stabilisers on the cameras are sensitive so read the info below about mounts.
• If it rains the cable in your charging port is likely to be the weak link that makes your water resistant phone an expensive tech brick. Read charging info below!

An important side note is you must be on the Telstra network as your mobile service provider in Australia. Telstra has the best mobile coverage in regional areas (where we spend our time) by a long shot and the other networks are a liability once you go bush. Even if you have to buy a pre-paid Telstra SIM card for adventure rides would be better than going bush on another network.

Another interesting fact is many phones now have “eSIM” where your phone can access two different networks by having a virtual sim card as well as a physical one. I use Airalo as an eSIM when travelling overseas and it works brilliantly because you can still receive calls on your regular number but also access cheaper data overseas without global roaming charges. Fantastico!

Smartphone mounting

If you haven’t heard the name Quad Lock then you are missing out. Quad Lock produce a range of mounts for different purposes that all integrate with hard wearing protective cases for your smartphone. Securely mounting your phone to the bike (or car or arm or MTB) is as easy as a 1/8 twist of the wrist. Super easy and super secure.

My setup includes:

• Quad Lock case for iPhone 12 Pro Max
• Quad Lock handlebar mount
• Quad Lock vibration dampener
• Quad Lock weatherproof wireless charging head

In addition to this I have a tempered glass screen protector for a bit of extra screen protection.

A crucial note in the setup above is the vibration dampener. Modern smartphone cameras have image stabilisers in them which are very sensitive mechanical parts to help stabilise the camera when taking photos and video. The vibrations from motorcycle engines have been proven to destroy the stabilisers so Quad Lock produced this vibration dampener in response to this issue.

Officially Apple have also responded about the use of their iPhones mounted to motorcycles with cautions about vibration and have a page dedicated to it on their website: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT212803

So caveat emptor!

My personal experience is that I have been using the Quad Lock mounts since about 2018 on a range of different bikes with 1, 2 and 4 cylinders and I haven’t had an issue with damage to my phone or their cameras. Touch wood!

Smartphone Charging

Don’t even think about using your phone for navigation while riding without having the ability to charge it on the fly. The GPS in your phone will suck the battery dead in around 1-2 hours! Even with a charging cable plug in if you start the days ride with a low battery charge it often won’t keep up becuase the GPS sucks more power than the cable can deliver.

Charging your phone when exposed to the elements is often the achilles heal of water resistance of smartphones. I’ve had a few times when riding in heavy rain that the phone has stopped charging and displayed a message saying “Charging Not Available” or “Liquid Detected In Lightning Connector”. Basically the open port where your USB charge cable goes in is a point of ingress for water and you can no longer charge your phone if it gets water in there. Obviously in extreme situations it can kill your phone entirely.

If it starts raining it is perhaps safer to leave your charging cable plugged in a resist the temptation to unplug and replug. Once you get that warning above though unplug your cable and try submerging your phone on a container of dry rice to help dry it out over several hours. This has successfully worked for me a couple of times.

Quad Lock have a better solution though with their awesome wireless charging head (make sure your phone is compatible with this charging method) that negates the need to plug a cable into the charging port. This almost eliminates the problem of water preventing you from keeping your phone charged up because the wireless charging head has no direct electrical contacts. I say “almost” because we still have to power up a USB cable from our bike somewhere so depending on your setup this USB could still be a weak link.

Quad Lock also sell a poncho to add an extra degree of waterproofness to phones but frankly I rarely use it. I mostly use the poncho when running or MTB riding in the rain.

So all up for about $230 AUD I have a quick and secure method of mounting on phone on the bike and keeping it charged up. Brilliant!

I usually pack a charging battery and cable in my backpack as well as a back up in my “get out of sh&t kit”. This again is some redundancy if my charging setup fails me or I get carted off to hospital. Touch wood I haven’t faced that scenario yet!

Smartphone Apps

To make your phone work as a GPS you need an app with maps that will assist with off-road navigation. Probably nearly everyone has Google Maps on their phone and that works brilliantly around town but once you get off-road it will cease being as useful.

The app I use mostly when adventure riding is Gaia GPS for mapping and navigation. These are the key benefits for me of Gaia GPS:

• The main maps in this app are based on OpenStreetMaps which are pretty damn accurate and are constantly getting updated by users around the world. Multiple maps versions are available that cover the globe including topographic maps.
• The app itself works really well when loading and following a pre-planned track as a .gpx file like we use on all our Maschine tours.
• Track colours can changed and made visible or not which works really well on multi-day rides with different track options.
• Great data is available from the recorded track logs.
• You can take photos in the field and have them display on the map screen at the location you took the photo. 
• The free version works very well and does most things you need as an adventure rider except downloading maps for offline use once you get out of mobile phone range. To get this functionality the Premium version will cost around $55 AUD ( $35.99 USD) which is great value considering the functionality and range of maps.

I previously used Hema Explorer because their maps are very detailed in certain parts of Australia, but their updated 4×4 Explorer app has bugs and has caused me a lot of grief. I only use it now as a 2nd reference in some situations when route planning. Sad because their previous version was very good.

Some other apps to consider looking at installing are:

All up with the subscriptions I’ve subscribed to I’m paying around $100 AUD per year and quite literally have the world at my fingertips! Awesome!

• OsmAnd – probably the best app for on road (or off-road) navigation with turn-by-turn directions. I still prefer Gaia GPS though for daily use when following pre-planned .gpx tracks on maps. 
• Garmin Explore – sync your inReach (or Garmin GPS or Garmin smartwatch) to this app and you can use it to send and receive text messages via satellite or share Tracks and Waypoints between GPS’s
• Emergency Plus – a free app which fantastic for pin pointing your location in an emergency situation. Every Australian should have this app saved on the home screen of their phone.
• What3words – more people need to be using this! This app converts any location in the world into a three word “address” that can easily be relayed onto emergency services etc. The accuracy is down to 3 x 3 metres squares and it is so much easier to remember and communicate three words as opposed to a whole bunch of numbers and dots with GPS coordinates! Search up where “///relieves.migrate.guesthouse” is and if you’ve been there before it will no doubt put a smile on your dial!
• Trailforks – a great app for finding and riding your MTB on official MTB trails. Part of the Outside Plus network which includes Gaia GPS. Get both apps on a joint subscription.
• All Trails – This is what I often use when training on my MTB or trail running to find trails nearby.

Tablet Options

Going a step beyond using a smartphone for navigation is the option of using a tablet device as your main navigation unit. There are several tough tablets on the market but there is one dedicated option that may be worth investigating – Carpe Iter

Carpe Iter offer a package of products including software, mounts, controller buttons and a tough tablet that makes navigation with a large screen smart tablet a very viable option for adventure riders. This setup has the potential to be the “bees knees” but I’m not sure it’s mature enough yet for everyone. It looks like there is a bit of a learning curve with the setup and a few bugs still to be ironed out but the thought of having a bright 7″ screen in front of you with all the smart features of a phone is pretty tempting to explore.

Emergency comms

There are some great options now for emergency communications when the s*&t hits the fan and you are out of mobile range. My pick is the Garmin inReach Mini which is an emergency satellite communication and tracking device. If you’re not familiar with what these units can do then do some reading here: https://www.garmin.com/en-AU/p/765374

My reasons for choosing the Garmin inReach Mini include:

• Compact and lightweight (not much bigger than a box of matches!)
• Can use it for multiple outdoor activities like MTB riding, hiking or 4WD
• Syncs to smartphone via bluetooth for easy text messaging via satellite
• Has a dedicated SOS button that anyone can activate even with little knowledge of how to use the device
• About $480 for the unit and $20-$40 per month subscription I consider to be cheap life insurance!

Other options include:

• PLB or EPIRB – these devices use radio and/or satellite to get a one way distress signal out. Reliable, light and cheap.
• Satellite phones – seems like a good choice but they are more expensive and in our experience don’t work clearly as often as you need them to.
• Spot tracker – used to be popular but more expensive plans and less functionality than the Garmin options.

On Board / Built In Motorcycle Navigation

Some bikes like the Ducati Mulitstrada V4 and DesertX offer “heads up” navigation on the main dashboard display of your bike. While this sounds ideal in the sales brochure, unfortunately for off-road adventure riding it’s still not the magic pill you might hope it is. Typically these systems rely on syncing to your smartphone to get information on street addresses and for the maps to display. While it can work really well on main roads and around towns their short comings usually are that you can’t view detailed topographic maps and you can’t follow pre-planned Routes or Tracks from .gpx files.

This is a show stopper for me off-road and limits their usability to on-road riding around towns or on major highways which is not where I spend most of my time.

The Honda Africa Twin CRF1100L has Android Auto capability and while this is good because you can run Gaia GPS as an app on screen it still limits some functionality and it also decreases the bike info that is visible on your TFT dashboard. Getting close but we are not there yet unfortunately.

Which Should You Choose?

Truthfully, I think anyone that heads off-road riding an adventure motorcycle in Australia should have:

• A dedicated motorcycle GPS
• A smartphone with navigation/mapping app and charging source
• Some sort of emergency satellite communication device

Australia is a big remote continent and you can lost for days in our High Country or the Outback. Sometimes not on purpose!

There is a saying used in the military regarding preparation that goes:

“Two is one, and one is none”

Military saying

Meaning  that you must have redundancy in your kit. Navigation is mission critical for adventure riders and if (more like when!) one of your electronic devices fritz out you need to have an option with you to make it out of the bush safely without getting lost. Sure the satellites could fall out of the sky after the chemtrails take them down but I’m not talking about doomsday prepping here. I’m just talking about covering your bases and keeping your butt safe!

So kit up and go explore!

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*Full disclosure – no one is paying me to write any of the content above. I have paid retail for each of the products mentioned and we usually buy most of our tech gear from Johnny Appleseed GPS. They have awesome quick service and it’s easy to buy online or in store in Australia.

Included above are Amazon affiliate links to some products where we may earn a commission on purchases.