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[2010 FLHX]

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Ride_Planner/Ride_Planner.jsp?locale=en_US&bmLocale=en_US

Here's a feature on the H-D site. Ride Planner lets you set out a route, pick waypoints, stay off the superhighways if that's what you want to do. Provides mileage between points, driving time, total miles. Zoom in / out, drag drop waypoints if you change your mind. Good revision options. Print/email options.

On the road I have iPod Touch which offers "Maps" app. but this site seems to offer more options for editing, revision, "dialing in."

Credit where credit is due here: CAP posted this link on his Great Basin ride. Seems like something we might all find useful. (I tend to blow past a lot of the items on the H-D web site. I was blowing past this feature.)

 

[Twolanerider]

Had seen that before.  Either forgot or never knew it sync'd with or exported to Garmin GPS devices.  Anything has to be better than the PC software that comes with the Garmin devices.  Thanks for making me take a look again.

[2010 FLHX]

Either forgot or never knew it sync'd with or exported to Garmin GPS devices.

It do ? ? ?

I missed that part! I have a Garmin, Oregon 450t (topographic). You know that the Garmin topo will superimpose tracks on Google Earth? And then I use the "shift + left click" function to tilt axis and get some terrain features. It's amazing these days how applications are slotting into and interfacing with other applications.

Ohhhhhhh yeah . . . and these days Free WiFi is just about anywhere I stop.

[wideglidejoe]

I've been using the HD Ride Planner for years.  It's very helpful.  You can turn on/off dealerships, hotels, gas stations, etc.  I've got several rides saved on it, tho' they're probably not worth sharing with anyone else.  The version currently on the web site is only ~2 yrs old, it was updated over the original version.  I haven't thought of using it to plan a trip then move it to the Garmin, thanks for the idea.  I've only had this bike since Aug, and I haven't used the Garmin yet.

[Twolanerider]

It do ? ? ?

It do!!  Or at least it gives every indication it do(es).  Started the app and got a pop up asking to load a Garmin widget.  Once that was done there's now a button in the top right of the HD app page for "GPS Synchronization." 

Since HD is selling Garmin hardware it makes sense the two would gain some integration.  Good sense isn't always HD's strongest card.  But it's worth telling them thanks when they get something right.

[Chuck Pryor]

Yes, I use this site to route all of my rides... it's VERY handy and syncs nicely with any Garmin, TomTom, etc. You will need to download the communication Plug In from the Garmin Web Site but it's quick and easy.

A few tips I've learned along the way.

1) Zoom in really far when placing way points. You "think" you're on a road when sometimes you are not.
2) If you have a trip with 5 "stops" you will actually have 5 separate files. Let's say you call it "Country Ride" Once you sync to your GPS you will have "Country Ride" "Country Ride 1" "Country Ride 2" etc...
3) Use your starting address first then put in your ending address second. Frond there add "way points" for the direction and roads you want to travel.
4) Cross reference your route with Google Maps, Bing, or Mapquest. Those have more detail than the HD maps and you can find nice roads you may have otherwise missed.

It's fairly easy to do... If I can help in any way let me know.  Below is a few ride routes I've put together over the years.


http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.com/rideplanner/share/443553

http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.com/rideplanner/share/401320

http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.com/rideplanner/share/438682

http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.com/rideplanner/share/365965

http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.com/rideplanner/share/239081

CAP

[StevesCVO]

Thanks for the tips. Looks like something I'll have to check out next time we take a road trip or go on vacation.

[Midnight Rider]

I just tried this out for a little ride tomorrow down to Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa, AL (the original Dreamland location).  The route it "picked" to get there was all on backroads...I loaded it, but the Garmin recalculated a different route.  So I went back in and added a couple of waypoints, then sync'd it again.  Better, but it still picked a slightly different route after my two waypoints.  So, to get exactly the route you want, you'll have to zoom in and pick several waypoints...which is fine.  Hell, anything is better than Mapsource, and the Ride Planner seems to be a lot more user friendly.  Synchronizing to the RT 660 was no problem, and the unit immediately recognizes that you've imported new data after downloading.  Pretty, pretty, pretty nifty.  I would have never known it synchronized to the Garmin...thanks!   

[Chuck Pryor]

I just tried this out for a little ride tomorrow down to Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa, AL (the original Dreamland location).  The route it "picked" to get there was all on backroads...I loaded it, but the Garmin recalculated a different route.  So I went back in and added a couple of waypoints, then sync'd it again.  Better, but it still picked a slightly different route after my two waypoints.  So, to get exactly the route you want, you'll have to zoom in and pick several waypoints...which is fine.  Hell, anything is better than Mapsource, and the Ride Planner seems to be a lot more user friendly.  Synchronizing to the RT 660 was no problem, and the unit immediately recognizes that you've imported new data after downloading.  Pretty, pretty, pretty nifty.  I would have never known it synchronized to the Garmin...thanks!   

Yes, you will need to add a few extra way points to ensure you get the route you want...  I always verify the route prior to hitting "go" myself   But overall, I've never found anything that works more effectively. Still can't understand why Google Maps wont let you do this...  until then.

[2010 FLHX]

The iPod / iPhone "Maps" app is pretty efficient. It will even find business locations and navigate a route for you. I use Google Earth a fair amount for navigation too. Zoom in and find highways, interchanges, towns.

ANY map, route planner software will find the "road most traveled." The H-D Ride Planner has the option of staying off the main highways. Of course if you have a specific route in mind, you'll need to specify waypoints at every route option. Otherwise you get directed toward "the main highway."

If I'm headed somewhere I'm not familiar, I use several map sources. Google Earth allows you to get 360 degree street-level views of the area on a lot of routes. (Click on the "camera" icon . . . ) I've used the street-level view option on Google Earth to find gates, trail heads, off road entries when out with the 4WD. On the scooter, it's a useful tool to get down on the road and have a look at the condition of the pavement, terrain, features "in town" -- Crystal Springs, Nevada at the Junction of 375 and 318 looks like it might be a reliable stop-over for food/gas. In fact it's barely more than a ghost town, and the street level feature tips you off to that.

[sinktip]

Guess I am the only one that thinks the HD Ride Planner is severely lacking. I have used it some and never been blown away by it. The one advantage is it is quick but I have always found it lacks the ability to do a detailed multi-day trip including gas stops, (non Best Western) hotels, etc. Also, when I used it several years ago, the link to a Zumo was sketchy. It would download but not everything came over. Perhaps they have improved that.

I do most of my planning on Mapsource. It is not the most intuitive but it has a huge POI database. The only thing I have found that is better is Microsoft Streets and Trips. A number of the guys in my club use it for multi-week trips and love it. It has some great features and is pretty intuitive. The only problem is it won't download to a Zumo. Still a great product though.

[Twolanerider]

Guess I am the only one that thinks the HD Ride Planner is severely lacking. I have used it some and never been blown away by it. The one advantage is it is quick but I have always found it lacks the ability to do a detailed multi-day trip including gas stops, (non Best Western) hotels, etc. Also, when I used it several years ago, the link to a Zumo was sketchy. It would download but not everything came over. Perhaps they have improved that.

I do most of my planning on Mapsource. It is not the most intuitive but it has a huge POI database. The only thing I have found that is better is Microsoft Streets and Trips. A number of the guys in my club use it for multi-week trips and love it. It has some great features and is pretty intuitive. The only problem is it won't download to a Zumo. Still a great product though.

That's interesting and so very well illustrates the different methods some use for planning trips.  Sounds like you use what I've kidded a good friend of mine about; the Spiderman method.  That method details start times, stop times, fuel stops, meal stops, bathroom stops, unplanned stops, random stops, crosswinds and their impact on highway speed, times of day to plan to swerve for road debris and plans ahead for 58 seconds every 25 minutes for a little butt squirming to keep comfortable in the saddle. 

For that type of planning the more detailed control in the software obviously the better. 

Other trips, however, occasionally have a destination.  I try to never leave knowing a lot more than when I need to be somewhere and the general way I'll get there.  Fuel stops happen.  So do pee stops.  If not there are trees.  All that pre-planned detail would drive me nuts.  It doesn't others though.  Just a different way of getting there.

[sinktip]

I hear you but when you live out west, sometimes you need to plan your fuel stops or you find yourself out of fuel in the middle of nowhere.

[Twolanerider]

I hear you but when you live out west, sometimes you need to plan your fuel stops or you find yourself out of fuel in the middle of nowhere.

Amen to that.  When out west and off the beaten paths at all I practice the "don't turn down a fuel stop" ethos.  Rather grab gas more often now than run out later.  Will always vividly remember a case of the heebeegees just after dusk coming across The Great Basin wondering if I'd find fuel and just how cold it was going to get when the sun finished going down.  But that was back when I was young and stupid.  Surely would never do anything like that now .

[kjmessner]

I've used this extensively on road trips - and CAP is on the button with his advice!  Works great with the Zumo - it's been very handy.