New Honda Satellite Linked Navigation System
Nothing cramps the fun and enjoyment of motorcycle touring more than becoming hopelessly lost. Until now a collection of maps has always been a necessity, but stopping to consult them and try to determine one’s current location sometimes is not as easy as it sound. Honda’s new Gold Wing comes to the rescue with the first fully integrated navigation system made specially for motorcycles.
Similar in look to the systems found in some of the latest cars, the Gold Wing’s highly sophisticated yet easy-to-use navigation system uses GPS satellites and an extensive map database to show current location and help guide riders to their desired destinations with both visual and voice guidance. The map database covers the entire European continent and British Isles, including accurately mapped metropolitan and rural areas, and offers six easily selectable languages of voice guidance.
The system’s memory is pre-programmed with the locations of many businesses, hotels, restaurants, petrol stands, Honda dealerships and more, and riders can quickly and easily enter the addresses of new Favourite Places. In addition, a home address can be entered to simplify the return trip from any destination.
Installed in a central, easy-to-view location between the ignition key and the speedometer, the recessed navi system screen features a small hood to shade the unit for enhanced visibility. Menu controls are located on the right side of the screen, and are interlocked to only permit operation while at a complete stop. Controls that can be operated while riding are all conveniently located on the left-side handlebar control unit. These include the volume lever and a multi-function lever to zoom map scale, activate voice guidance and view a scrollable list of all directional changes over the course of the entire route. Of course, all navi system controls are fully weather resistant.
Compared to most automotive navigation systems, the Gold Wing’s system takes advantage of the most up-to-date hardware. Specifically, a compact 2-gigabyte computer flash card replaces the slower-responding DVD data logs found in most systems. Since communities grow and businesses change ownership and location with regularity, the Gold Wing’s navi system can be updated regularly with new map and point-of-interest data provided by Garmin.
The navi system’s viewing screen also doubles as the menu screen for the Gold Wing’s audio system, and the two functions can be easily switched between, although the audio screen will automatically revert to the navigational screen after a preset interval.
Because the GPS antenna is situated beneath the windshield, metallic accessories should not be mounted near the windshield, as they can seriously degrade or even completely prevent reception of satellite GPS information.
Simplified Control Interface
During operation, the GL navigation system offers seven types of screen displays:
• Maps: The default is Half Map. Also available: Wide Map and Full Map.
• Menus: The five-choice Main Menu and its sub-menus.
• Keyboard: Used to enter names and numbers to search for locations.
• Lists: Compiled from the system database based on the information entered; lists act as a gateway to the Point Review screens.
• Point Review Screens: Provides a map for a given location, a menu for selecting the location as a route destination, a stop along the way (also called a via) or as a favourite, as well as route information.
• Route Calculation Screen: Used to input preferences and trigger route calculations.
• Edit Route Screen: Displays the destination and vias along the way with edit options.
The Main Menu includes five priority functions:
• Setup/Info: Used to change or restore default settings and display system information.
• Find: Used to find a location.
• Route: Used to create a new route or edit an existing route.
• Favourite Places: Used to ease routing to locations previously saved as a favourite.
• Go Home: Used to save or route to a home location.
Each of these main functions offers a variety of sub-functions that provide a full range of navigation options and features.
Colour Display Screen
Because the navi screen is displayed in full colour, various hues give readily recognisable indicators for different purposes, and some default colours can be changed according to user preference. For example, the route chosen is outlined in blue, a chequered flag pinpoints the route destination and a green circle indicates a town. The default map background is khaki coloured, but yellow, grey or orange can be selected as alternate daytime colours; at night, black is used as the background. For optimal clarity, highways are shown in black during daylight hours, but switch to blue-green against a black background for improved legibility during night-time operation, while major motorways are shown in red.
Easy Operation
As even casual use quickly reveals, the Honda Satellite Linked Navigation System is remarkably intuitive in operation, and those unfamiliar with such devices should encounter few obstacles when first using this unit. At the same time, its feature-rich design allows for extremely sophisticated route planning, and its mapping and location listings will surely prove to be a boon while exploring the many sights to be seen across the length and breadth of Europe.