Best Motorcycle Travel Apps 

Best navigation for bikers is mapy cz + old smartphone. Paved roads. Unfortunately there is not even single navigation for mixed type of roads; paved + offroad.

@@podunkman2709yeah, mapy cz doesn't have innate off-road support, one needs to switch to cycling-MTB navigation, although in that case it can lead you to a path with a moto vehicle ban. I've seen people put it into auto-center mode instead of navigation and loading a GPX, it then scrolls the map with the GPX so you can see what path you should take. The best feature, IMO, is the maps themselves, I don't recall any other app having such good maps, free or paid. It is also very easy to transfer maps from computer to cell phone, especially if you have an account, and planning is very easy and straightforward. But really the maps are one of the best points - you don't have to be ever surprised when what seemed to be an important road on the map turns out to be an enduro bike worthy mud bath. Mapy cz will show it's not a big road but a small path. At least in my experience, here in Europe. And it is free.

That's a very wise attitude. My step-son's phone when flying off his handlebar last week at a cost of several hundred dollars. I always carry a paper map and I enjoy browsing to get to know a region. But I admit, I enjoy trying out lots of different tech, which is just a personal preference.

I love having paper maps. I buy the Butler G1 maps whenever they go on sale and have built up a pretty comprehensive collection. Too bad they haven't put together maps for Canada..

I had a situation where I was parked alone in a metropolitan area, minding my own business and setting up a new route on a GPS unit. Although I didn't realise it at the time, somebody was watching me and called the cops, who arrested me and they confiscated my phone & laptop (but didn't take the GPS). The stupid cops believed a false accusation from another person but would not accept my position on the matter. If I had a paper map on the day, then things would have been much more simple.

Wild that scenario is beyond comprehension to read? What became of it and your stuff?

Absolutely Love paper maps. Take them with me on every ride❤

REVER is garbage ime. Paid, and wish I didn’t, you go slightly off route, and it never recalculates, just annoying beep until you stop it.

I agree. I used rever for a 10,000km adventure ride last year and it worked great! Used it for everything short of trails.

Same here. Tried Calimoto, which I just didn't click with. Used Scenic to plan my France/Spain tour and other than forgetting to turn off one setting (tried to route down farm tracks!), it was brilliant. The developer is super responsive too.

So true. I'm old enough to have grown up with paper maps, and I love going over them just to see what is out there. There's more serendipity with a paper map. I always carry one on my trips, including a detailed topo map when I'm in the back country.

Thanks for watching!

@@RetiredAdventureRider a couple of questions if you don’t mind. Do you use CaliMoto for your trip planning only? And then push what you’ve created in CaliMoto to your Garmin? Or do you also run CaliMoto on your phone simultaneously? Did you look into Scenic? It also has a lot of type of route planning options….like Fastest, or Curvy, etc. I too am a CRF250L owner. Awesome lil bike that does almost everything “okay”. Thanks for the video.

I have used Scenic for almost 70,000 km in Australia. I use Garmin Basecamp on my desktop to plan trips and import the .gpx file into Scenic. Basecamp can be clunky and frustrating but worth persevering.

I use REVER’s Butler maps as a reference, but I plan and document my route in MRA Route Plannner

My route works me easy to plan and down load to Garmln

Thanks for sharing

I agree, It is great when travelling overseas as the maps are stored on the phone, so no cell coverage required. I have used Sygic for 10 years at least here in Australia where there are vast amounts of land with no cell coverage. So well before Google and others had the offline tile storage capability. I add and delete countries as required.

I've only ridden that route once, three years ago. You won't have a problem along 16 finding gas or accomodation but use Google Maps to plan ahead a bit. Cell service will be off and on, but as far as I remember, mostly on. Hyder is 287 km (about 180 miles) from Kitwanga, so you can do it easily in less than a day. Fill up at Kitwanga. You take 37 north to Meziadin Junction. You probably won't get cell service between Kitwanga and Meziadin Junction, which is where you get the road to Hyder. Here's the link to the map for cell service by Rogers www.rogers.com/mobility/network-coverage-map

@@RetiredAdventureRider Thanks for the info.

Look into a android emulator for your computer, I use to play a game in one worked perfect. So I'm sure a Map app would be just fine.

I think for most basic navigation, Google maps does the trick. The only advantages other apps can offer is making it easier to find campgrounds, gas stations, or Harley Dealers. I used WAZE a few years ago for commuting because it showed traffic details, but it wasn't valuable for me at my last job because there were no alternative routes no matter what happened on the highway. I'm not sure how it would be for long-distance planning.

BRMB certainly has the details that I want. I just find the user interface complicated. Maybe after I've used it for a while, it will become more intuitive. I'm going to look at it more closely for off-road adventures.

​@@RetiredAdventureRider Yes I agree it's clunky to try and plot routes and such. I just run it with the downloaded maps with appropriate layers added before download. Download in Town and City View to get the appropriate details you need. Newest version has added 3d to map which is useful when zoomed in. I also like that elevation contours have ample stated elevations.

Yes. It’s common in Canada to be out of cell service in many places. You need to set the route before you lose cell service. But most apps use GPS to track you. So you can follow a route that you have already set.

I download the maps to my phone via wifi. Then there's no need for cell service. In fact, I use a phone without a sim card to navigate.

I think you need the paid version to download maps to use off-line. If you don't download maps, then the resolution out of cell range is poor.

Get a Beeline, sounds like the perfect product for you.

@@ArmadilloGodzilla I’ve been looking at beeline for awhile but I think the new one that just came out is going to be the one. 🤘

I can second Ride with GPS. I've been using it for several years. Easy to plan routes and share with friends. You can download offline maps for use in areas with no cell coverage.

Personally I have a Garmin Zumo XT but I plan my trips on the desktop.

I think you're out of luck on that one, unless Florida changes its state boundaries.

I use a Garmin InReach Mini 2. I like that I can send text messages through it.

@@RetiredAdventureRider thanks! I’ll look into it

iPhone 14 and 15 have free GPS service.

If you're riding off road then it's a whole different thing. Those are certainly worthy of consideration.

OnX makes me crazy off road. Hate it for the lack of legend and the tiniest trails (or non-existent roads) sometimes come up looking like major roads due to the coloring and highlighting. They lost me as a paid customer over this issue Cannot differentiate between single track and fast roads (at least in Utah and Arizona and WA) where I have used it. Gaia I have used for BDR's and offline it works, it just tends to lag a couple minutes on the moving map, so quite often to avoid missing a turn I would have stop and wait for GPS to catch up. But otherwise very good. OSM has been reasonable also on free version. I have WRR also, great bike (and DR650 and KLR)

Yes, I can use Garmin Explore on my desktop and on my phone, but it's really clunky to plan a route, so I've learned from other users to use an app (most likely one of the ones in this video) to plan a route and then transfer it to Garmin Explore to use on my Zumo. I was originally going to include the process of exporting routes from these apps but the video would have been too long. Moreover, this video is aimed at people who don't use a dedicated satnav.

Thanks, I'll have to give OnX a serious look. My first impression was that the focus was on the US.

Zumo XT is a dedicated satellite navigation device from Garmin. A new version Zumo XT2 was recently released. That's a different debate: dedicated navigation device or phone?

@@RetiredAdventureRider I would be curious to know if you use a Zumo. I don't own a phone with a GPS in it, so if I want some navigation device on my bike I either have to buy another phone, or a dedicated device like the Zumo. I'm leaning towards a dedicated device, but that's based on personal prejudice more than logical reasoning.

Yes, I have a Zumo XT. One of the main reasons I bought it was because phones can overheat and they are vulnerable to rain. I was on a trip where I developed a bad muscle spasm in my back. I wanted to get to a drug store to buy some pills, but the temperature was super hot, and just as I arrived in town, looking for a drug store, the phone shut down due to heat. Super frustrating. The Zumo has a nice big display, and it's always on. The new version is bigger and brighter. But planning a trip is something I do at my desktop (usually in the dead of winter when riding is not as pleasant). So, I like to plan my trips in advance; I can transfer the routes to the Zumo later. (And that's not necessarily a simple process.)

@@RetiredAdventureRider Thank you for taking the trouble to reply. I'm thinking along the same lines.

I had the XT. Although I generally liked it, it was quite buggy. It died after 3 yrs use. I would consider the XT2, but the price is ridiculous.

I think it's called MyRoute, and it seems worth checking out.

​@@RetiredAdventureRider I use MyRoute App. I plan multi-week trips all across the US. Expensive, but great app!

If you have a Garmin device and an iPhone, you can put Tread on your iPhone and then upload .gpx files to your Garmin device. Use whatever you want to create a route (provided it will export a .gpx), export the .gpx, then use Tread to load it to your Garmin. I'm currently using Rever to do all of the above. Rever has some nice features, but it also has a major limitation: it will only allow 24 waypoints. You can plan longer rides in stages, but it's kind of a PITA, and it's sub-optimal to have to use a workaround for that limitation. Good luck.

Fair point. I’m not sure that I stated everyone uses a cell phone for navigation but this video is certainly aimed at those who do. I have a Garmin Zumo XT for many of the reasons that you cite. I use these apps for planning not necessarily for navigation. I was going to go into the process of downloading the gpx file for the Garmin but that would have made the video too complicated. Perhaps I’ll make one on how I transfer a route to my Garmin later. Thank for your input.

I use an iPhone for navigation both on the bike and in car. I tend to route plan on an iPad then Airdrop the results to my two iPhones. An elderly iPhone 6S+ came from eBay for $25 and like the iPad it runs that excellent iOS only PocketEarth app. I can preload an entire continent of up to date OSM mapping and data onto it, and no data plan or SIM card is needed. The camera probably doesn’t work and it won’t be the end of the world if it bounces down the road into oblivion. The good phone in my pocket will however Hotspot to it’s brother if I do have to create or modify a route and there is coverage. What is not to like?

Your last statement is wrong. CarPlay is not only for four wheels. Check out Chigee and Carpuride units that is for motorcycles using CarPlay