Motorguide Xi5

I am inches away from pulling the trigger on a Motorguide saltwater Xi5 80lb 24V 60″ shaft. Any reason that I should do it? I haven’t had a bow mount for 15 years and it’s time I did again.

Any reason you should or shouldn’t do it?
I can think of lots of reasons you SHOULD do it!

Assuming you are talking about one with Pinpoint GPS you will have lots of great features at your disposal.
– Anchor Mode is second to none on the xi5. It can hold you in current and wind in a very precise spot. More precise than competitors models.
– Amperage draw at max is 38 AMP compared to 54 for the equivalent Minn Kota. Less heat, longer battery life.
– Quiet and fast turning
– Ability to set your speed at a specific MPH or % of prop is very nice (cruise control). The motor will compensate for wind/current and maintain the given speed if you use MPH.
One drawback would be the wireless footpedal. Its nice that its wireless, but it really isn’t the best design. I don’t use mine, just use the remote.

Ive had mine for 2 full seasons and it works awesome. I have the Pinpoint Gateway installed so its networked with my Lowrance HDS units. That is mega awesome!!!

Agreed with the post above. The only time I have ever even turned my footpedal on was to make sure that it worked. The battery life is better, the turn speed took some getting used to, it really is faster.

Anchor mode blows away my old ipilot, and the jog feature is amazing. The only downfall I’ve had is that it doesn’t have the old compass driven autopilot feature. I feel like it doesn’t always do the best job in a good chop with autopilot. Which is strange, because it holds me in place in a big wind than my ipilot could’ve ever dreamed of doing. I haven’t linked up with the gateway kit yet, but I’ve heard good things.

Sorry, I meant any reason I SHOULDN’T do it.

Thanks for the advise. I will definitely get the remote, I have never liked any of the foot pedals.

Bass Pro has them $250 cheaper than Cabelas, will Cabelas match the price?

I thought I heard rumors of motorguide coming out with a remote with a status screen. That’s something they don’t currently have that I couldn’t be without on my terrova. I am considering switching when they get this.

Check AnchorExpress. They are on the East Coast, I bought mine from there and saved some serious money. No tax, no shipping and the price started lower than I could get anywhere else.

I got mine from AnchorExpress too. Less than $1100 total.

sticker wrote:

Bass Pro has them $250 cheaper than Cabelas, will Cabelas match the price?

Sticker,
make sure you’re comparing the same units. They offer them with/without sonar and/or GPS, I sure don’t see a $250 price difference between Bass Pro & Cabelas, for the same unit.

Why the SW version?

HRG

Perhaps he wants a white model vs black.
FYI anchor express is considerably less than either Bass Pro or Cabelas for the same unit. With Cabelas you WILL have to pay sales tax which certainly adds up as well.
selling price is about $200 less at AnchorExpress right now, but it does vary based on which model you are looking at. I was looking at xi5 80#, 60″ sonar/GPS.

biggill wrote:

I thought I heard rumors of motorguide coming out with a remote with a status screen. That’s something they don’t currently have that I couldn’t be without on my terrova. I am considering switching when they get this.

I haven’t heard about a screen on the remote. I appreciate having a small remote. Since I have the Pinpoint Gateway installed I have the giant screen on my HDS unit to use if I need to look at something. Otherwise the motor itself tells me the status, prop on, GPS lock, Cruise Control on. Setting speed is easy. Turn it on its set to 1.0 MPH, speed up or down each key press is .1MPH. Easy to know where you are at.
With the Pinpoint Gateway you can punch in right on the screen what speed you want.
If I am not wanting to do that I have the speed displayed on all of my GPS units and if it isn’t where I want it I just adjust with the remote.

Thanks for the tips on Anchor express. I actually was looking at the wrong motor. I want the one with GPS and was looking at the one without. I want the salt water for the color. I won’t be hooking up to the graph. I appreciate all the help, the motor is ordered.

Congrats!
#blackmotorguideslivesmatter

Does the motorguide have follow the contour? I have been running the mk terrova the past two years and this is a feature I can no longer live without. Plus the terrova also has cruise control, you just set the mph and it keeps you at that speed. When combined, these two features make contour trolling a hands free experience that is simply awesome. The mk automation does a far better job with boat control than i can do manually, especially on tight break lines. I would be interested to know if motorguide has follow the contour?

Chad, a couple years ago was the first time I ever saw a motor with contour control and it was a MotorGuide. It was either just before MK did the same thing or very close to the same time.

Follow contour is not, to my knowledge, currently available on the xi5, but it is coming and has been in the works all along, just taking some time to fine tune it I guess.
Cruise control is already there.
Unless the lakes mapping is extremely accurate I don’t find the follow contour all that helpful vs just recording a route and then having the motor follow that. You can record it on the motor itself and/or on your lowrance unit.
The trouble I have seen is that while the lake maps are generally accurate, they are no way 100% correct. Its a cool idea, but I think there are at least some gaps yet.

Motorguide with the gateway kit will let you drop a waypoint trail for the motor to follow. I’ve also heard that a contour following update is in the works, but I’m a bit of a control freak with my xi5. I like to adjust up and down a break until I find fish.

The autopilot is a feature I use more often, and the spot lock the most.

wimwuen wrote:

Motorguide with the gateway kit will let you drop a waypoint trail for the motor to follow. I’ve also heard that a contour following update is in the works, but I’m a bit of a control freak with my xi5. I like to adjust up and down a break until I find fish.

The autopilot is a feature I use more often, and the spot lock the most.

x100!

Yes, follow the contour is only as good as the lake map. I guess the reason I have been so impressed with it for trolling tight breaks is because the Lake Master high definition water bodies have had deadly accurate contours for the lakes I fish. Simply awesome for trolling cranks. The non-high definition lake master maps are far less accurate and trolling tight break lines using follow the contour is worthless. I don’t know how the Navionics chips compare for accuracy? Probably depends on the lake.

Chad Engels wrote:

I don’t know how the Navionics chips compare for accuracy? Probably depends on the lake.

I’ve compared Navionics vs. Lakemaster on Minnetonka and Namakan. Lakemaster is far better on both for detail. I also used Navionics on Lac Seul this fall, where it’s the only mapping card available. It’s not precise there either. The 1-foot contours seem to be just interpolated from the 10-foot contours in the areas I fished. Lakemaster on Humminbirds also has the shallow water highlight and shaded depth options, both of which are very useful to me.

Depth shading and water highlight is capable on other chips too depending which SW version folks are running on Lowrance units.
If running a Lowrance unit I would suggest investing in the Lowrance Lake Insight Pro or HD chip because they match the Lakemaster chips from 2012 and have been updated since.
Navionics is better in some areas of Canada than others. I fish LOW and the area we fish is not HD mapped by anyone. For Lakemaster there is NO DETAIL while Navionics at least has the hazards all marked with depth and have depths marked periodically. Its not HD type detail, but certainly is better than a blank screen.