Compass

[RLD]

So, this has probably been discussed several times, but a search in the general, tech, and old tech sections comes up with nothing. Seems to me I read a while ago that a compass will not work on these bikes. I was going to mount one last weekend when I remembered this and thought I'd check here before bothering. Any suggestions? GPS's intrique me, but I find half the fun of riding is getting lost, so wouldn't the GPS defeat that? All I really want to know is a compass direction when I'm riding anyway.

[Joe Hummer]

I know that magnetic fields mess with compasses...but I find it pretty hard to believe that a Valkyrie motor/electronics generate near the level of magnetism while running necessary to mess up a compass.  Now, if you mounted your compass right near the coils...yeah...but on the handlebars...I don't see it. 

Joe

[dreamaker]

With a compass you have to compensate it, you just it to the surrounding to make it functional.  If you notice on older boats compasses you will see two objects, one on each side of the compass, that is for compacting the compass. I had one on my bike made for bikes from Formotion and it worked fine.

Dan

http://www.formotionproducts.com/compasses.htm

[fudgie]

Odd number of roads go north/south, even roads go east/west. Odd house numbers are on the South and east side of the road and even houses are North and west side of the road! 

Your right tho, gps would take your fun away. I like trusty maps! 

[Joe Hummer]

Odd number of roads go north/south, even roads go east/west. Odd house numbers are on the South and east side of the road and even houses are North and west side of the road! 

Your right tho, gps would take your fun away. I like trusty maps! 

Ok...what about lettered highways?

Joe

[Ratdog]

Odd number of roads go north/south, even roads go east/west. Odd house numbers are on the South and east side of the road and even houses are North and west side of the road! 

Your right tho, gps would take your fun away. I like trusty maps! 

My home's address is an even number and is on the east side of the street.   

[fudgie]

Odd number of roads go north/south, even roads go east/west. Odd house numbers are on the South and east side of the road and even houses are North and west side of the road! 

Your right tho, gps would take your fun away. I like trusty maps! 

Ok...what about lettered highways?

Joe

damifiknow!  ??? Never been on any. Hmmm.....I guess use the sun.  

[fudgie]

Odd number of roads go north/south, even roads go east/west. Odd house numbers are on the South and east side of the road and even houses are North and west side of the road! 

Your right tho, gps would take your fun away. I like trusty maps! 

My home's address is an even number and is on the east side of the street.   

Hmmm....you are in washington state right?  Ah, kidding, not sure what happened there. Lotta times house numbers get screwed up. My 1st house was given a address but the abstract listed a different number. After further searching the realitor screwed it up. We left it since it was easy to remember.  Some towns as they grew got renumbered also. This is something we go by when people dont number their homes.

[RLD]

Ok...what about lettered highways

Exactly why I want to now add a compass, those wonderful western Wisconsin letter roads are addictive, but you can lose your direction quickly on a cloudy day.

Thanks for the Formotion link. I had not seen that one before.

[Wildman]

When your are home you want to get lost and you have to go farther and farther away to make it happen. BUT !
When I'm on tour in a state far far away I like to look at the map and see what kind of twisties are out there, the more contour lines it crosses the better, a lot of the road connections for some tours I wished I could have done, are dambed near impossible to  follow with a map, your'e lucky if there are even street signs in some locations.
With a GPS you never have to consult a map while on the road it tells you where to go before you get there.
I don't own one yet, but I road with Joe Studabaker, after last year's Inzane,  joe is a master of the GPS arts (an IT guy to boot) . GPSes totally Rock. And I really liked all the imformation Joe could bring up in seconds flat on that thing. Food, Gas, lodging you name it.

[Colin]

Go to a marine store and get a portable electronic boat compass. They are waterproof and self compensate just by doing a 360 degree turn. I had one a few years ago when I was boating and they weren't expensive should cope fine with being mounted anywhere on the Valk.

[Willow]

GPS's intrique me, but I find half the fun of riding is getting lost, so wouldn't the GPS defeat that? All I really want to know is a compass direction when I'm riding anyway.

This doesn't answer your question on whether a compass can be mounted on a Valkyrie, but it's my observation on your reluctance to use a GPS.

A GPS will always tell you which direction you're moving and how fast.  It only tells you how to get home if you ask it.

A compass should always tell you which direction you're headed, but never how fast.  A compass will not tell you how to get home no matter how politely or desperately you ask.

Riding a horse across the country would be a genuine adventure.  Riding a technologically advanced motorcycle takes a lot of the elements of the horse adventure away.  I'd go with the technology and simply choose when not to use it, especially since you've already acknowledged that they're intriguing.

[DFragn]

+1000 4 the GPS

There's nothing like taking off in any direction and making mindless turns for a few hundred miles while never knowing where you are.
When it's time to head home turn on the GPS & touch Home. Da heck with maps anymore-but I still carry 'em should the GPS self implode.

I've intentionally gotten lost with maps a few times [S.W. WI Alphabet Rds.]. Good thing I could see the sun and even more special was being able to see the Moon a time or two!

I threw my Fomotion compass away...............

[Airetime]

So, this has probably been discussed several times, but a search in the general, tech, and old tech sections comes up with nothing. Seems to me I read a while ago that a compass will not work on these bikes. I was going to mount one last weekend when I remembered this and thought I'd check here before bothering. Any suggestions? GPS's intrique me, but I find half the fun of riding is getting lost, so wouldn't the GPS defeat that? All I really want to know is a compass direction when I'm riding anyway.

Unless you want to compensate, NO it will not work correctly. Take a boy scout compass and play with it near the valk and see what happens, next Q? 

[Piper]

Odd number of roads go north/south, even roads go east/west. Odd house numbers are on the South and east side of the road and even houses are North and west side of the road! 

Your right tho, gps would take your fun away. I like trusty maps! 

And per a compass all rail road tracks run north/south.
And I have this real nice mil spec compass that will back me up on that one....

[BudMan]

I saw a really neat compass at a parts store down in Lawton OK and bought it for the Valk.
It attached easily via a suction cup and looked really great right above the instrument panel.  Got on the road and headed North to Oklahoma City.  It was easy to read, indicated a steady 360 (North) and all was great! 
Then I turned off the expressway to the East.  The heading was still easy to read, and still indicated a steady 360! 
A good compass with compensating magnet adjustments on the bottom of it MAY work on the Valk after enough compass swings, but I suspect it will be a lot of work.  I have been involved in several swing procedures in the B-52 and I NEVER want to be involved in another one!  We had to position the plane, make an adjustment, reposition the plane, take out half the adjustment, make another adjustment, reposition the plane, take out half the adjustment, etc etc for the entire day.  Of course it would be easier to "swing" a Valk, than an eight engine bomber, but it is still more than I am willing to go through.
I'll just stick to using the GPS on my phone when I get bumfuzzled out there some where. 

[Mo Lee]

I really don't see how a compass is of much use, of course here in the Ozarks just about any road you take your compass will tell you north,south,east, and west in a matter of ten miles regardless of the eventual direction of travel.

[MP]

I have a Zumo 550 GPS, and it gives you compass directions.  Not sure about other units, as I have not used them.

MP

[bogator]

you don't need a compass, stop and check the moss on the trees, moss is always on the northside     LOL         have a blessed day,

[Bruce J.]

I installed the Formotion compass. The 1st mounting position I tried was on the windshield just above the instrument pods. I was unable to get it compensated so that ithe reading was consistent. The 2nd position is just above the mounting bracket on the left side of the windshield. I was able to get it compensated so that it reads reasonably accurate. It tends to spin a little while riding, but it settles often enough so that you can get an accurate directional heading. I like having it. I've wondered whether the inexpensive digital ones that are sold for cars would work, but not enough to try one.

[Black Pearl's Captain]

Lost? I may wander but I've never been lost.

Raymond

[ricoman]

Odd house numbers are on the South and east side of the road and even houses are North and west side of the road!  


Wish that were universal, the town I'm in-nope. Next town north-yes.
Next town north-avenues run east/west; streets run north/south. The town above that-the opposite, the town I'm in- any which way.
It's no darn wonder I drive lost. Ya do meet nice people when you stop for directions though!

[T.P.]

Do you want to try out my GPS on your bike before you buy one ?

[RLD]

Thanks for the offer, but the wife's car has one (built in). I can see the merits, just a little tight I guess. I can't just buy the $99 dollar one, and the one I would really like is the Zumo 660; very spendy, and I spent most of my extra cash on the bike this winter. Just thought a compass would buy some time.

We should be able to get that evening ride in here real soon the way the weather's going. Woo hoo!!!! 

[cdwhit]

Many Cell phones have built in GPS and if push comes to shove, can be used to figure out where you are, at least if you have internet on your phone.  The smart phones have various programs to turn your phone into a compass, I don't know if standard phones do.

As far as non-tech ways to tell your direction - Moss doesn't work.  I've been places that moss only grows under logs, and other places it grows on the uphill side. 

Someone from Missouri mentioned even/odd highways going all directions.  House numbers here do also.  At least one street has consecutive numbers (even AND odd) on the same side.

Unless you are within 5 miles of a coast, all rivers run generally north to south EXCEPT IN MISSOURI. Really look at a map.  They hit the state line and turn to run south to north!  Close to the coast, they tend to run towards the coast.

If the number of dead armadillos on the road increases, you're going south. Also generally works for number of pick-up trucks.

[Ratdog]

Lost? I may wander but I've never been lost.

Raymond

Hmmm.... 

[fudgie]

I never get lost with my compass. 

[Ratdog]

I never get lost with my compass. 

LOL  Thought you were gonna post a pic of your girlfriend... since they tend to "know it all".   

[YardBoy]

I have gotten used to riding with the ZUMO 550 and would feel something was missing without it.  It has a nice big round compass if you want to see the 360 degrees, altimeter, miles to distance and several other features.  About the only thing it does not have is air temperature. 

[R J]

I have used compasses on bikes and got several bad readings over time.

With that said, here is how I do now.

I have the GPS.    YOU DO NOT have to have it routing you to a destination.  It will follow the map on the screen, give you MPH and a good solid direction.  The one I have now, well one of the 3, gives me a MPH allowed on the current roadway.   Don't work worth a crap in that dept in cities.....

Okay, should I get lost or want to see a larger map, just make the map cover more miles.    If ya blow it up too big, you blow those little roads clear off your map.    Pull it back in a few miles till they reappear.    Look the map over and decide where ya want to head and take off.   If ya get lost, look for a town on your GPS, route yourself to it and once you figure out where you are, turn off the follow my directions portion and go back to map reading.

It makes ya stop to try and figure it out, but that can be over ridden, I don't recommend that, but it is available.     When stopped you can find all kinds of information also.      Potty stops, gas, food, you name it and it is probably available.       One of my old units, you have to put in the route you want to go, I let the grandkids play with that one.  The other 2 are locked away until I'm ready to take a trip.   Pull it out, turn it on, press menu, press MAP and away we go.      Decide I want to go to a specific place and not really sure how to get there, press menu, press route to, key in the state, then the town, the house #, if ya don't know the house # (100 Main st) will get you into 99.9% of the towns, the street and it will ask you to choose from a list.  Select one, and then press GO.    Very shortly, the lady is talking to ya, follow her directions.

Now, ya want to keep firkin around with maps you have to lay out, figure out where you are and find a way home?   Not me, I'll go with my procedure.   Thanks for listening, I'll step off the soap box now.

[fudgie]

Sometimes the roads you are familiar with can be called something totally different on the GPS. US 24 is Illinois Rd, which is 20 miles away. In big cities with tall buildings, forget about it working. 

[R J]

In big cities with tall buildings, forget about it working.  

Mine isn't bothered by tall buildings for some reason or another.

I took it right downtown in Chicago on Power Tour a couple of years ago..

Not a problem.    Now, if ya pull into a gas stop and get under a canopy, it will poop out on ya till you pull out from under the canopy.  Tunnels pi$$ it off also.

[fudgie]

In big cities with tall buildings, forget about it working.  

Mine isn't bothered by tall buildings for some reason or another.

I took it right downtown in Chicago on Power Tour a couple of years ago..

Not a problem.    Now, if ya pull into a gas stop and get under a canopy, it will poop out on ya till you pull out from under the canopy.  Tunnels pi$$ it off also.

Couldnt get ours to work on Wacker Dr, upper and lower. Or in DT Indy. By the time it recalculates we miss our turn!

[R J]

In big cities with tall buildings, forget about it working.  

Mine isn't bothered by tall buildings for some reason or another.

I took it right downtown in Chicago on Power Tour a couple of years ago..

Not a problem.    Now, if ya pull into a gas stop and get under a canopy, it will poop out on ya till you pull out from under the canopy.  Tunnels pi$$ it off also.

Couldnt get ours to work on Wacker Dr, upper and lower. Or in DT Indy. By the time it recalculates we miss our turn!

When it gets a new signal. it will take you in the back way.   I told mine to never ever give me a 'U' turn, and it doesn't..    In Arlington, TX and San Francisco, CA (Bay Bridge) you have a upper deck that will also kill a GPS.

[sheets]

If you happen to notice, mile markers along side the road with numbers increasing in your travels you are going in an easterly or northerly direction.  Mile marker numbers decreasing you are going in a westerly or southerly direction.  Which way or the other depends on if you are on a even or odd numbered highway.  Yrmv,

[Hoser]

I saw a really neat compass at a parts store down in Lawton OK and bought it for the Valk.
It attached easily via a suction cup and looked really great right above the instrument panel.  Got on the road and headed North to Oklahoma City.  It was easy to read, indicated a steady 360 (North) and all was great!  
Then I turned off the expressway to the East.  The heading was still easy to read, and still indicated a steady 360!  
A good compass with compensating magnet adjustments on the bottom of it MAY work on the Valk after enough compass swings, but I suspect it will be a lot of work.  I have been involved in several swing procedures in the B-52 and I NEVER want to be involved in another one!  We had to position the plane, make an adjustment, reposition the plane, take out half the adjustment, make another adjustment, reposition the plane, take out half the adjustment, etc etc for the entire day.  Of course it would be easier to "swing" a Valk, than an eight engine bomber, but it is still more than I am willing to go through.
I'll just stick to using the GPS on my phone when I get bumfuzzled out there some where.  

Swinging the compass was part of the 30 hour check on our aircraft when I was stationed at NAS Corpus Christi when I was in the Navy.  What a PITA.  Glad they were'nt B52s.  Hoser

[Ferris Leets]

Odd number of roads go north/south, even roads go east/west. Odd house numbers are on the South and east side of the road and even houses are North and west side of the road! 

Your right tho, gps would take your fun away. I like trusty maps! 

Check out Route 28 in N.Y.  It goes West then North then East and then South.  It is the only road I know of that does this and the signage on the road reflects these directions.