Description:

GPS navigation is on everyone’s lips. In rough motorcycle everyday to maintain robust outdoor equipment such as the brand-new Magellan Exploits 500th MOTORCYCLE has tested it in enduro use.


Know where to go, is now no longer a privilege. More and more motorcyclists are equipping their bikes with navigation solutions. But in many two-wheel cockpits is no place for large-sized devices. In this gap prescht the new Exploits series from Magellan. MOTORCYCLE tested the ultra-compact model 500 with a sunlight viewable color display and interesting features like the ability to store a standard SD cards, and automatic route calculation.

Disadvantage of the mini format: The keys are to use with gloves hard. Moreover, the very clear display screen size of only 55 millimeters for the motorcycle use is marginal. Reliable reading while driving is very difficult. You can tell that this device was originally developed for use on foot, by boat or mountain bike. In addition to the conventional GPS functions such as recording a distance traveled (tracks), the Show of stored points (waypoints) and manual routes dominated the Exploits but also the practical auto-routing.

These are the first company- own maps (Magellan Map Send direct route) to the device. Since the Exploits only stores this information on the postage stamp sized SD cards and have them go on the road quickly, there are no restrictions for long trips, the stored maps. To start the auto-routing function, simply enter the desired destination, an address or calculates a “point of interest” (POI) such as a gas station, and the device the fastest way. Turn-on is usually referred as handsets via tone and a more detailed screen display.

Unfortunately there is no way to exert influence on the calculation, for example by avoiding highways or toll roads. Even a “pedestrian mode”, about to drive into the city a particular restaurant from the POI database is missing.

When leaving the route starts the Exploits no frantic recalculation – what happens in other devices, partly in inopportune moment – but retains the planned route at first. So one can orient the screen displayed on the map and decide to rest for a return to the original route. If this is not desired, you start to calculate a new route manually by pressing a button.

Especially GPS beginners have a hard time with an enormous variety of functions and get caught up in the jungles of sub menus. Magellan shows that in this case less is more. Through a clear menu structure and the limitation of four-screen views of the manholes in the GPS world succeed fairly quickly. This applies also for the well-structured computer program that is part of the map software “MapSend”. This makes even large easy to plan trips on your PC and transfer them to the handset.

Conclusion: Overall this is presented as a super rugged exploits 500 handheld GPS receiver.

Due to the small screen and lack of variation in the automatic routing capabilities, it is designed for use on the bike but only limited use, but who needs more often to walk a pilot to find in it an interesting compromise.