I'm looking for a bike-mounted compass (not a compass feature in a GPS!).

Any recommendations? I can't find anything that looks decent without paying £50+ for a marine-type one. Otherwise just a couple of quid. Somewhere in between would be about right I reckon!

From what I've read, some can be calibrated/adjusted to work near metal.

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I've tried the cheaper ones. They're crap.

Quite simply, you get what you pay for.

On a bike you need a marine one. A bike is almost like a ship on high waves and it will be the only kind which is worth using.

Most compasses require to be on a flat, level surface to track properly. No use on a bike unless you want to stop every time to see which way you're really going.


Get a good one or just don't bother. Maybe a second hand one on ebay ??

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Thanks Ted, pretty much as I thought. After chatting to the vendor, think I might try this one:

Ritchie Navigation X10BM - Sport Compass Bracket Mount Power Black

or:

http://www.marinecompasses.co.uk/sil...arch=58%20star

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Ian:

I'm not sure how much experience you have using magnetic compasses on moving vehicles (ships, aircraft, motos), so, here are some things you will need to consider:

1) The compass will not be accurate during acceleration or deceleration. It generally takes about 10 seconds to settle down and become accurate again after acceleration or deceleration has stopped.

2) The same problem exists during and after turns (heading changes). That problem is exacerbated if the vehicle the compass is mounted to vehicles that bank during turns, as motorcycles and aircraft do.

3) You will need to 'swing' (calibrate) the compass once you have installed it on the moto. That is a time-consuming process. Make sure you have the engine running when you do this, because presumably the engine will be running when you intend to actually refer to the compass. It will either be accurate with the engine off, or accurate with the engine on, but not both.

4) You will need to know the magnetic variation of the area you are in, and correct for that mag var when reading maps... the maps are always oriented to true north, a whisky compass indicates magnetic north.

5) If you have heated handgrips on your motorcycle, the compass will be completely untrustworthy when the heated grips are operating (they set up a localized magnetic field when they are turned on).

Based on my experience as an aircraft pilot and aircraft mechanic, I suggest you find a cheap, used, beat-up GPS that has a compass display in it and attach it to your bike. You will then have a far more accurate & far more reliable indication of heading than you will ever get from a wet (spirit) compass. Chances are you can find an old, out of date Garmin device on eBay for $25. That would do the job just fine, without any of the problems mentioned above, because it uses vectors of movement rather than the Earth's magnetic field to determine your heading.

Michael

I fitted a Ritchie compass to my bike a while ago, and I find for my needs it works very well. I use it mostly in support of my preplanned route, i.e. checking I am heading in the right general direct as I progress toward way points (town, crossroads etc) I have listed. When I first started using it I plotted bearings from a map, but soon realised this was unnecessary since following roads or tracks is not like following a straight path from one point to another as I imagine you would at sea, in the air
I find I get best results if I am riding at a steady pace and by mounting the compass on my bike screen it gives acceptable accuracy and does not appear to be affected by the bike's electricity. Interference from the bike's iron components can be compensated for by adjustments made to the compass when you are setting it up.

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I had a globe type, liquid filled magnetic compass on my BMW R 80RT. It worked reliably, with no issues for many years. It was mounted in the cockpit.
However, when I replaced it with a Goldwing GL 1800, a similar compass would not work anywhere near the bike. This was due to all the electrical systems on the bike.

Thanks guys!

I use a GPS all the time Michael, but the reason I'm after a good compass is for a no-GPS navigation event - HU's very own HUMM in fact. Just back from this year's event in Spain, and concluded that a compass you can follow against the map is the way to go, rather than keep stopping and getting one out of your pocket.

Think I'll try the Ritchie, hopefully I've got a little less elec-trickery on my 1190 than a Gold Wing!

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

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If you decide to buy the Ritchie, I recommend you reinforce the hollow base inside around the moulded mounting bracket with some Araldite or similar as it is a weak spot and likely to crack and break in time. Mine did crack, but since repairing / reinforcing, it has been fine.

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You look at where you're going and where you are and it never makes sense, but then you look back at where you've been and a pattern seems to emerge. (Pirsig)