just wondered what maps people would recommend? i've got a big road atlas but unless i tear out the individual pages it ain't gonna fit in the map pocket on my tank bag.
all i can think of are the OS maps, but are they more for walkers? (hikers, not crisps )
ta, moff.

Microsoft Autoroute, (Came with my PC) I print routemaps out from that.

I have a set of map's that i bought from Aldi...Touring maps for motorcyclists..bloody great, water proof and write on-wipe off ...cant remember the cost, but im sure they were only a couple of quid

and thats exactly what I do - large format road atlasses are cheap (last one I bought was £2.99 so rip out the page/pages you need and use them in your mapcase/tankbag.

I do also have a wonderful A to Z (A5 size) very detailed atlas (including details of junctions) which I carry when going a distance or somewhere new but I want to keep it in good condition, so it gets stored carefully and sealed in a zipped plastic bag.
the cheapo ones are also good when you need to highlight a route, saves printing off from Autoroute etc.

I use a mix, always have the lidl wipeable maps in my tankbag so that if I get lost I at least have a general idea of what roads I need to go on to get where I want to.

However if I'm going somewhere specific I print out some autoroute maps with directions and close-in maps of the destination (lidl map isnt that detailed).

If I had the money i'd get a GPS though.

As an aside...

Why are there no Republic of Ireland maps on TomTom navigator.

Only realised when I got on the ferry and landed in Dublin, only to find that the TomTom screen was just a green land mass with no roads

It has Northern Ireland though.

I use Autoroute to get the address to plumb into my GPS which has all european roads loaded into it. Also carry a "tuff-map" A5 size just in case!

I think TOM TOM only have the UK roads so you have to pay them more to get the other roads, or get more memory cards to have all the maps available?

The Mio Digiwalker 269+ has ALL european (27 countries) maps already uploaded to the built-in 2.5Gb hard drive, so never a problem... I can still get lost anywhere!

Maybe because Northen Ireland is in the UK, and the Republic isnt..might be a big clue mate.....

multimap and print here, then i have a large road map for everything else, ok so i cant fit it in my tank back so its visible but i am more than happy to stop and check where i am

It was not far wrong them.

Noooo you dozy git...There are no EIRE maps for TomTom Navigator

well you should have bought a pacard bell system then ....thicky...

I use Multimap


as well as some large maps at home to check for a route

got as small A5 that can go on the bag

and Now a Garmin Quest GPS.......

Multimap is great for printing out directions.


however for Cheap GPS get yourself a PDA off ebay, a GPS reciever and get your hands on some satnav software. Its not waterproof (just like many maps) but you can get covers

You can do it for around £200ish if you look around for a good deal.

I use a HP2200 PDA with battery expansion
Bluetooth GPS reciever
Some Software........
Ram mount

Its worth the money if you do alot of travelling.

I think if you have autoroute it comes bundled with pocket streets. Its not powerful but its good for telling you where you are and detailing roads

TomTom. Like Alex, it's through a PDA and mounted on Karen's ZX6R. Power through a wired in accessory socket under the pillion seat.

Go for a blat, get lost chasing fantastic roads, and still find your way home. Lovely.

oooh, a geek solution, I like it 8-)
i did have a very brief look around when I got my new phone cos it's a windows mobile (o2 Xda-mini s) but couldn't see anything.
will stick to printouts and road atlases for the moment, thanks for people's answers

out of interest does autoroute let you pick a route and print it out? i've played with google maps, multimap, aa route planner etc, but the printouts aren't much use if i decide i want to take a round-about way rather than their suggested one - end up printing a blank map and scrawling on it with a pen - no big deal, but would be nice if there were a site/program that let you plot a route and then print it.

yes autoroute lets you mark where you want to go via


I still go with tear offs though - so much cheaper, and no-one ever wants to steal it

Y'know what?? I would be SOOOOOO impressed if I could work out what the flamin L that all means


pda??ram mount?? (sheep husbandry?)some software - ahhhhh the secret bit?

Sorry i'll try and add more detail

RAM make universal mounts for anything and everything

Ram Mounts

PDA - Personal Digital Organiser. As well as assisting businessmen in their quest for corporate stardom you can also install TomTom software (at a reasonable price if you look in the right place). If however you decide to use bluetooth GPS reciever you may find that you cant get it working with a windows mobile 5 device. I had loads of Com port problems. Its cheaper to just get an older pocket PC. Works just the same and is cheaper. Look for something that has a processor over 300mhz though for best performance

If you can run it check out google maps for mobiles www.google.com/gmm

Its bloomin marvelous if you know roughly where you are, and where you want to be but dont know how to get from one t'other.

that is frickin awesome!

Unless you have unlimited internet bandwidth I'd save it for emergencies though, it can be a right bandwidth eater and you'll only discover at the end of the month when you get your bill (well unless your PAYG)

I fear my mobile bill for this month. I used the UMTS internet service a lot whilst in Ireland.

Was so stupid and forgot I was in another country.

The old fashioned approach I'm afraid. A5 Collins "Handy Scotland Road Atlas". Soft covers allow me to fold it open at the right page & it's a perfect fit in the map pocket of my tankbag.

i have the maps from aldi, never used them

have tomtom 5.2 on my mobile i listen to it rather than watch it.

also have all the western europe maps

just to resurect this thread ...

I've got a Windows smartphone (xda mini-s)
I've got Autoroute which came with PocketStreets as you said
I've got a SD card for my phone to load maps onto
If I buy one of these will I be all set to ride off whereever I want and then whip my phone out and find my way home?

I'm eyeing up proper satnav so don't want to spend too much on this solution, but for 40 quid it sounds like a good'un.


ta, moff.

I use Garmin street pilot up to now its never failed, easier than getting the map out.

i use these as well and cant really find fault with them



...........Sam

I have the same touring maps as chili and a tuff map from infinity.

oh i forgot about the tuff maps i have too......and love the avatar Dink. its just you

I have the big AA road atlas based on the OS maps too - the £2.99 one. I have no probs getting it in my tank bag, just fold it in half!

But I use Autoroute for planning the route, as I can try different versions and see the difference in mileage and time. I ralrely print off the routes tho, as they are far too detailed, I use Autoroute to see wher I want to go, in conjunction with my road atlas, then just write out my route in a kinf of shorthand, on sheets of A4 that fit nicely in the map pocket on my tank bag. I do it thick marker pen so I can read it with a quick glance.

I'll scan one of my sheets and add it so you can see what I mean.

This is my route home to Dorset from the NABD National Rally near Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. The place names in brackets are places I'm not actually going to, but need to look for on the road signs. It doesn't go any further than Salisbury cos I kinda know my way from there!

Having problems posting it even after resizing - I'll try another way.....

Garmin 2820

I still carry my tuffmap - but never really use it force of habit. When making my initial plan I'll still look at the road atlas, for the big picture and alternative routes

I use shell,esso,morrisons, asda plus aload of other maps. Come free gratis with the petrol I need to buy. I don't ever get lost. I might however find alternative routes to my destination. Cheers Mally

I sell maps for a living so I just choose the one that best suits the job sometimes a few as they can carry different information on them apart from how to get there such as hills, footpaths,detailed tourist information even where the PO, pub,camp site and police station is.

For me it doesn't matter too much is they get a bit soggy or lost, being able to have an over view that by being inquisitive allows me to discover things I did not know where close to me is cool too.

Big respect to Sat Nav too

I get a looky on Multimap- with a close enough view of a route I want to take, for a long trip, this might involve more than a few screenshots.
I then photoshop several images together to make a decent length map and write a route description on the back (and on a seperate piece of paper that I hold onto the tank with a magnet.

for example- this is the largest one I've done... to Squires this year (avoiding motorways cos the the L-plates)

I run a copy of TOMTOM v6 on my xda mini S - tomtom state its for the exec - faster processor. I don't have any problems useing it though. I feel it beets pocket streets hands down as it has the full UK on it in one hit (+ major EU roads). Also you have the route planing functions etc.

not tried it with the GPS function yet. Though I have buckled and ordered one..

Also I thought it would be a bigger program than it is.. you could get everything you need onto a 256MB flash card!. don't know if it needs more space to run it - mines on a 2GB card.

Don't know if you have tried pocket streets but you have to select areas of map from autoroute and export them. I found the size i could export limiting.

If you want to know where I got my copy from PM me.

regards

Andy

Motrax "World's Strongest Map" UK & Ireland. Fits in the tank bag pocket with a bit of massaging, spiral bound, waterproof and hard to tear. Not very large scale so doesn't have all the local roads marked, but if you need one map for all occasions this one's hard to beat IMO. They cost about £10 and there's a separate Europe one.