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Willy Van Driessche Friday 30 Jan 2026 16:47:26
Hi John.
I have no experience with the Garmin Zumo.
Given the dense road network, extremely challenging.
I tested the traject using Bmaps. No succes nok.
OsmAnd may be the only one that adds usable TBT.
Check this online as follows.
Go to https://osmand.net/map/
In the left panel, tap the direction icon.
In the top panel, select motorcycle icon.
In attach to roads, tap Select track.
Import the Japan gpx (5 tracks) file.
After the calculation, tap Details.
Tap Turns and observe the (355) turn instructions.
If you like the result, the OsmAnd app may be useful.
If not, I don't know of any other usable app.
Find the gpx test files.
This link will expire in 3 days.
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John Abell Friday 30 Jan 2026 01:01:15
Willy Van Driessche
i looked up Bmaps that you mentioned, and it actually looks pretty good. Before I go and pay $16.99 for it, have you actually tried it?
If so, does the imported Plotaroute GPX track satisfactorily work as turn-by-turn navigation? It doesn't look like they have any trial versions, and with so many navigation apps promising the world and not delivering, I'm hesitant to pay up front.
This is one of my Plotaroute tracks for Japan, and it follows very specific paths, so I'm not wanting some app to make up its own mind about how to get from A to B, particularly as there will be 8 of us, and if they all get their navigation apps going off doing their own thing, then we'll all be spread across the countryside.https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1GxPwpDUoyPhpZOHxH-vCcT2SgpNf0iI&usp=sharing
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John Abell Thursday 29 Jan 2026 23:43:53
Last year I used Osmand for a motorcycle ride through Japan, and I enabled the option to "Attach to Roads" which I interpret to being the process whereby Osmand looks for road junctions close to the list of coordinates in the GPX, and from that calculate left/right and distance. Good in theory, but so many times I'd prepare for an upcoming junction only to find it was a bend in the road that the algorith had incorrectly judged.
So far I think that Garmin has a better record of interpreting the difference between bends and junctions with its'internal "Convert to Trip" function. Bmaps GPS I've not heard of, but I'll investigate. I'm going back to Japan in September for another 2 long motorcycle trips, and I've been hunting high and low for a phone based app that will take a Plotaroute Track GPX and accurately turn it into turn-by-turn directions, and not so much for me, but I want the other 7 riders to all have this map so that they are not all totaly reliant on me to navigate.
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Willy Van Driessche Thursday 29 Jan 2026 17:56:20
"Garmin Zumo has a function whereby it converts a track to, in Garmin speak, a Trip, which is turn-by-turn version of a track"
Osmand and Bmaps gps app offer a similar functionality. The recent Bmaps version also exports the result as gpx navigation track.
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Mark Worthington Thursday 29 Jan 2026 10:41:38
turn-by-turn
But it sounds like you have a good handle on how a Garmin processes a track! -
John Abell Thursday 29 Jan 2026 09:57:31
I'm sorry Willy but I have no idea what TBT is.
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Willy Van Driessche Thursday 29 Jan 2026 08:48:22
@John Abell
Download this route > GPS > GPX > Track > Directions
Years ago I requested the TBT in wpt mode specifically for Locus map.
Info: https://forum.locusmap.eu/index.php?msg=50723
The track so remains 100% intact and is not recalculated.
There may be other GPS devices that recognize this mode.
I now only use the improved version with the TBT in the trkpt..
The online Brouter exports the mode, as does the Cruiser GPS app.
Info: https://forum.locusmap.eu/index.php?msg=49519
Plotaroute does not offer this reliable discrete TBT track mode.
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John Abell Wednesday 28 Jan 2026 11:16:26
Now I understand that "Directions" just means comments, I realise that Tracks, as I've been using for many years, is what I want, and that 'routes' are a dead end for complex routes.
What I've also realised, is that a Garmin Zumo has a function whereby it converts a track to, in Garmin speak, a Trip, which is turn-by-turn version of a track.
I can see now how they are doing this, which is by laying the string of coordinates in the track over their roads layer, and working out where all the road junctions are along that string, and then calculating turn-by-turn 'directions' if I dare use the word here! All performed within the GPS as Mark suggests, and nothing to do with Plotaroute.Much easier once you understand how things are working.
Many thanks for you help Julien.
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Julien Plotaroute Monday 26 Jan 2026 11:50:12
Hi John,
Thanks for clarifying!
What you're looking to achieve, like Mark says, is not something you'll achieve with the Route download option.
Like it says in the tooltip, the Route option is for devices that calculate their own routes between waypoints.
So Track is to keep what you have plotted and Route is to let your device calculate the route again (with more or less waypoints to guide it, if you have added directions/labels)
I hope this clears things up a bit more.
Best regards,
Julien -
Mark Worthington Monday 26 Jan 2026 09:25:42
Isn't it the device itself that creates the Track Navigation (Off/On Course)? In the Garmin world, this is "turn-by-turn guidance", which takes the PR gpx (track) and creates the turn directions.
Personally, I turn that off as I've found that Garmin can fight what I've created in PR. It's the latter that I trust and follow. But then I'm even more old school, as I turn the map off and just follow a breadcrumb trail, as my eyes are not so good for looking at such map details when cycling!
