So in one of our last posts I talked a lot about the different options for navigation while out on your bike or other off road vehicle. A GPS unit is ultimately the best option for navigating while on the trails as they are generally a bit more rugged and better suited for these activities. I personally use a Garmin Montana 610 handheld GPS for mainly for the wealth of options it offers for this specific application. The 610 has been discontinued by Garmin but the more expensive 680 and newer 700 series Montana units are now available and offer a very similar feature set. The 610 is currently still available through some online outlets and is still a great contender as a solid option for dirt-bikers.
Garmin Montana Series GPS Units
The Montana series of GPS units are a bit interesting compared to most other units in that they are highly customizable in both the operating system they use and the hardware they are made of. Let’s start with the hardware. The screen is a 4” diagonal TFT touch screen and although by today’s standards that is pretty small and not the clearest of screens it does two things way better than say a smart phone. The screen is very bright and easy to see even in bright sunlight and even more important since it is a resistive style touch it will work while you are wearing gloves, try that with your smartphone! The unit is supplied with a Li-ion 1,960mAh battery which is rated to last 16 hours, but the other great thing is the battery can be removed and replaced with three normal AA sized batteries which could be a great backup. The unit has a rubbery textured back and feels rugged in the hand. It will accept a Micro-SD card internally in the battery bay to allow for additional base map storage, pictures (for the 680 series Montana units) and additional waypoints and tracks. A single physical button located on top for power can also be mapped via the settings for additional tasks when double tapped. It has a mini-USB connector, headphone jack and external antenna jack in the back covered by rubber flaps for water proofing while using the unit. The GPS also contains a true electronic compass and barometric pressure sensor for ambient pressure and elevation readings as well.
Accessories
There are several additional accessories available for the Montana series GPS units and this is what really makes the unit shine in a dirt biking or off-roading application. The AMPS hole pattern is a industry standard mounting hole pattern for devices like GPS units. The Garmin Montana Rugged mount is a mount that will connect to anything with the AMPS pattern. The mount also provides power connections to the GPS so it can be hardwired into any vehicle with a 12volt system (like some dirt bikes). I use the rugged mount connected to a KTM specific mount made by H3D Moto and provided by Rally Moto Shop in Canada. Quick shout out to RMS as being an awesome online store to deal with I mean when the owner personally writes you a message thanking you for a purchase you have my business forever! The H3D mount bolts to the top handlebar clamp using the factory bolts and then allows attachment of the Garmin rugged mount to the bike. This setup allows the GPS to be placed in the perfect location and high enough that it is perfectly visible when riding. My only nitpick is that I cannot fully see the factory dash on my 2018 XC-W but the GPS does show speed and an odometer so it’s a bit of wash!
Using the Montana
The operating system of the GPS will be very familiar if you are somewhat tech savvy and have used any sort of GPS before, but it may be a bit intimidating for the newcomer with the wealth of settings and tons of menu structures but it should be a short learning curve and the manual does a pretty good job at explaining things. As I stated earlier the unit is highly customizable (much more so than most GPS units). The units utilize a “profile” setup that allows completely differing settings for different activities. Say you want a different map zoom level and different home screen icons for hiking? Just choose the hiking profile. Want a different base map for your car vs your dirt bike then you can set up the unit that way. The unit is also “smart” enough to determine the type of mount it is connected to and can change the settings profile based on that.
Custom Maps
The unit will accept almost any type of custom maps and this is especially important as it means you can save a little cash and forgo the units with the preloaded base maps. When you purchase one of the units with the preloaded base maps (the Montana 610T or the 680T) you end up with the 100K maps which is to say the 1:100,000 map scale. As stated in my last post there are numerous options available (other than Garmin) that provide great base maps for these units. Openstreetmaps.org is one of those options and those maps are 24K maps in the 1:24,000 scale which provide much better detail than the 100K maps. So, what does this all mean? For the extra cash you may pay for the “T” GPS units with the preloaded maps you are not really getting the best mapping options for your money. I use the Open Street Maps when needed but I mostly rely on maps created by GPSTrailmasters.com. This site provides maps that are dedicated to both ATV and snowmobile trails in the Northeast states. In Maine, the maps are based on those produced by the local ATV clubs in each area. The maps contain data related to the trail types, general trail numbering and off-road vehicles permitted on the trails. The trails are also routable meaning that I can use the GPS for turn-by-turn navigation if needed. I generally leave the maps in the “Track-Up” mode as it is generally easier to follow the map while riding and I can easily see any waypoints I have saved over time.
Closing
The one major pitfall of the unit is it is a bit pricy, but it can be found online at several different online vendors. I purchased mine from GPSStore.com and they were fantastic to deal with and had the best price at the time. Overall, the unit has been an excellent addition to my riding arsenal, and it keeps me aware of where I am riding and lets me track all my rides and give me a wealth of information.