Garmin Zumo PAIN!

[STARSHIP]

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What puzzles me more are those that strap their 900 iPhone on a bike for it to vibrate apart and cannot be seen in the sun or cannot be used with a gloved hand.

Must have the proper tools.

Not every body is broke.

 

[matthew]

What puzzles me more are those that strap their 900 iPhone on a bike for it to vibrate apart and cannot be seen in the sun or cannot be used with a gloved hand.

Must have the proper tools.

Agreed. It's nice to have a dedicated tool for the job that doesn't require a data plan or some sort of offline mapping capability

 

[regder]

I am still baffled how people pay 600 bucks for a GPS. Crazy prices ...

A dedicated GPS functions infinitely better than a cell phone.

There's no reason for it to be, but no one has made a competitive app for cell phones.

 

[Baggsy]

I was looking at the TomTom Rider, the interface seems very slick and modern, compared to Garmins which feels old and utilitarian... which works ok for me, though some fresh UI is always a good thing. I wonder how the TomTom Rider stacks up to the Zumo feature wise.

Haven't used the rider, but I've had two Tom Tom's & a Garmin in the car, and a Zumo on the bike. Can't cancel a destination once you're underway, unless you come to a complete stop. Also, can't add a gas station/food stop to an existing route. Which the Garmin can do. English voices aren't available in Canada, you need to use U.S. What may be classified as a good safety feature: You can't change your destination, unless you are at a complete stop. On a Garmin, if you decide it's too busy, you can simply cancel, and then press home, or a favourite, on the fly. Ditto for gas stops.

 

[Ninja650Wolf]

I was looking at the TomTom Rider, the interface seems very slick and modern, compared to Garmins which feels old and utilitarian... which works ok for me, though some fresh UI is always a good thing. I wonder how the TomTom Rider stacks up to the Zumo feature wise.

I'm finding TomTom's interface not quite as friendly as Garmin. Also finding it seems to have more issue keeping connected to my packtalk then the garmin did. Still trying to figure it all out.

 

[Ninja650Wolf]

I am still baffled how people pay 600 bucks for a GPS. Crazy prices ...

I wish it was only $600. $689(i believe) + taxes and shipping for tomtom rider 400.
$799 + taxes and shipping for the Garmin i got(was about $1000 and change after).

Not Cheap, but not many if any of the car models will bluetooth pair with the Packtalk headset I use.

 

[shanekingsley]

A shame Garmin stopped making the Nuvi 550. It was waterproof and significantly cheaper then the motorcycle specific models. Works for simple A to B stuff for those who do not need all the bells and whistles.

I've been using the Nuvi550 for maybe about 6 years now. For the first few years, I was using a 99cent ebay mount. It actually lasted for about 100,000km of use. Then one day, about 3 or 4 years ago, I was riding on Southwood#13 and I look down and can see it shaking a little bit. I might have been riding around 80-100km/hr at that point. I think 'wow my GPS is moving around a lot - that's weird..." I lookup at the road for a bit and next time I look down, my GPS is not there anymore. I'm still moving at a good clip and look in my side mirror and can see it bouncing down the road way behind me.

I turn around and go get it. The outer bezel was totally destroyed and there were all kinds of scratches on it as it lay in the middle of the road. On my way home, I stopped by Radioworld and picked up a RAM mount and have been using it ever since. The Nuvi550 takes such a beating and still works perfectly to this day. I have ridden in constant heavy downpours all day without this thing having the slightest hiccup, and not to mention all the super bumpy gravel roads and so many times i have dropped my bike and this thing goes flying off the bike. I must have put on close to 200,000km on this thing and the battery still lasts close to 8hrs. I bought on closeout for under $200 from NewEnough way back when...

I have read so many stories about different issues with so many GPS brands models... I wish I had tried a Streetpilot 2720 or whatever it was... those seemed like really good units too.

 

[GreyGhost]

I've been using the Nuvi550 for maybe about 6 years now. For the first few years, I was using a 99cent ebay mount. It actually lasted for about 100,000km of use. Then one day, about 3 or 4 years ago, I was riding on Southwood#13 and I look down and can see it shaking a little bit. I might have been riding around 80-100km/hr at that point. I think 'wow my GPS is moving around a lot - that's weird..." I lookup at the road for a bit and next time I look down, my GPS is not there anymore. I'm still moving at a good clip and look in my side mirror and can see it bouncing down the road way behind me.

I turn around and go get it. The outer bezel was totally destroyed and there were all kinds of scratches on it as it lay in the middle of the road. On my way home, I stopped by Radioworld and picked up a RAM mount and have been using it ever since. The Nuvi550 takes such a beating and still works perfectly to this day. I have ridden in constant heavy downpours all day without this thing having the slightest hiccup, and not to mention all the super bumpy gravel roads and so many times i have dropped my bike and this thing goes flying off the bike. I must have put on close to 200,000km on this thing and the battery still lasts close to 8hrs. I bought on closeout for under $200 from NewEnough way back when...

I have read so many stories about different issues with so many GPS brands models... I wish I had tried a Streetpilot 2720 or whatever it was... those seemed like really good units too.

I've still got a streetpilot iii in the garage. Calculation speed is horrendous (if you calculate a route from GTA to the east coast, it is ~30 minutes before it is ready) and on the maps I have in it, every road in new brunswick is called "road". It also uses the stupid garmin cards, somewhere I have the garmin card to serial port adaptor.

I wish garmin offered a current version that was waterproof with buttons and a large screen. It would be easy for them to develop if they just canceled some of the 97 models that are almost identical and reduced their product line to something that makes sense.

I have had horrible luck with every garmin car GPS I have had since the iii. Probably 5 died (2 c series, 3 or 4 nuvi's) and I just told people to stop buying them and use phone gps. My edge died because of the crappy battery to board connection, the new edge (unavoidably colour) is almost impossible to read when the back light is off. My wife's forerunner (with a stupid touch bezel that goes crazy when wet) is on its way out and she won't be replacing it.

 

[wonderings]

I've still got a streetpilot iii in the garage. Calculation speed is horrendous (if you calculate a route from GTA to the east coast, it is ~30 minutes before it is ready) and on the maps I have in it, every road in new brunswick is called "road". It also uses the stupid garmin cards, somewhere I have the garmin card to serial port adaptor.

I wish garmin offered a current version that was waterproof with buttons and a large screen. It would be easy for them to develop if they just canceled some of the 97 models that are almost identical and reduced their product line to something that makes sense.

I have had horrible luck with every garmin car GPS I have had since the iii. Probably 5 died (2 c series, 3 or 4 nuvi's) and I just told people to stop buying them and use phone gps. My edge died because of the crappy battery to board connection, the new edge (unavoidably colour) is almost impossible to read when the back light is off. My wife's forerunner (with a stupid touch bezel that goes crazy when wet) is on its way out and she won't be replacing it.

My first GPS was a Garmin Quest 2, which was quickly replaced by a Zumo 550. The Quest 2 was incredibly slow to calculate which made it basically unusable if you had to deviate from the route, took to long to re-calculate. I still have it and used to pack it as a backup for the just in case scenario, but now I just throw my 660 in the bag as a backup or to lend to someone else if we split up on a trip.

I have never had a Garmin car gps so cannot comment on the quality, I have found the Zumo series to be solid, at least the 660. The 550 was nice, but the rubber buttons eventually wore out and fell out leaving it far from waterproof. The only option Garmin had was to send it away and pay for a refurbished one, no fix, no new buttons, just $250 for a refurb to fix a rubber button that probably costs pennies.

 

[mxs]

I wish it was only $600. $689(i believe) + taxes and shipping for tomtom rider 400.
$799 + taxes and shipping for the Garmin i got(was about $1000 and change after).

Not Cheap, but not many if any of the car models will bluetooth pair with the Packtalk headset I use.

Wow ... I am not poor by any means, but I would certainly rather pack a map than gave anyone that kind of dough for a black box with maps and lady telling which turn to take .... You can tell I don't need navigation for my kind of riding, I am just surprised at these prices. I had no idea, I thought 500$ all-in was about the most expensive bike friendly unit ... I guess everything is going up, not just taxes and bike prices.

 

[Ash]

I still use a Garmin Quest (the original, not the Quest 2). It is faster to calculate than the 2 because it doesn't come with all the maps preloaded - loading only the maps you need makes it faster to calculate. Mine is getting pretty beat up, and it still has the original 2002 maps on it, which as mentioned above are laughably inaccurate for New Brunswick. A simple bicycle handlebar mount has worked quite well this whole time.

I'm holding onto the Quest until it completely dies. The only real motorcycle-specific feature I want in a GPS is a transflective screen (yes, that's a real word; it's the technology that makes the screen actually readable in direct sunlight without a backlight), otherwise I'd just switch to using a cellphone with offline maps.

 

[wonderings]

I still use a Garmin Quest (the original, not the Quest 2). It is faster to calculate than the 2 because it doesn't come with all the maps preloaded - loading only the maps you need makes it faster to calculate. Mine is getting pretty beat up, and it still has the original 2002 maps on it, which as mentioned above are laughably inaccurate for New Brunswick. A simple bicycle handlebar mount has worked quite well this whole time.

I'm holding onto the Quest until it completely dies. The only real motorcycle-specific feature I want in a GPS is a transflective screen (yes, that's a real word; it's the technology that makes the screen actually readable in direct sunlight without a backlight), otherwise I'd just switch to using a cellphone with offline maps.

I found that out after I got the Quest 2. I did not do enough research it seems as I wrongly assumed the newer version would be better.

I can't imagine using the Quest now, the screen is so small. I am also spoiled with the BMW Nav V and direct integration with the bike making it more then just a nav unit.

 

[STARSHIP]

GP Bikes had those on ale for $495 a while back

Plus Costco has the Garmin Zumo 660 LM for $449.00

Great solid unit if you do not have to have the latest tech.


http://www.costco.ca/Garmin®-zūmo™-660LM-Motorcycle-GPS-.product.100043367.html

I wish it was only $600. $689(i believe) + taxes and shipping for tomtom rider 400.
$799 + taxes and shipping for the Garmin i got(was about $1000 and change after).

Not Cheap, but not many if any of the car models will bluetooth pair with the Packtalk headset I use.

 

[Face]

I had a Quest, but stopped using it after the antenna connection became intermittent and Garmin stopped updating maps for it. Replaced it with a Zumo 220, which has a 6 hr battery and the motorcycle mount is more solid than the later Zumos and uses Ram connections. Maps are updated same as the 660 and the mount is solid enough that I mount it on my dirt bike as well. No problem staying on woops, single track & fast gravel runs. Picked it up new for around $440 with both car and bike mount attachments. They've stopped making them, but if you come across a used one, I would recommend it.

 

[Ash]

I had a Quest, but stopped using it after the antenna connection became intermittent and Garmin stopped updating maps for it.

Ha, yes, the antenna on mine got flaky too, so I now have a plug-in external antenna taped to it, along with 6 or 8 feet of wire coiled all up.

Garmin's hiking units have been pretty good. I have an old eTrex Venture that works great on the mountain bike and dirt bike. I would consider getting one of the new eTrex units as a replacement for the Quest for the street bike now that they can do on-road routing (with separately purchasable maps), except that with the maps you are getting close to the price of a zumo and you still don't have Bluetooth audio

 

[regder]

I wish I had tried a Streetpilot 2720 or whatever it was... those seemed like really good units too.

I'm on my third Streetpilot (2720-2820-2720) in about a nine year time span, looking for another right now to use as a backup. Fantastic GPS that does everything I would want it to. Takes a bit of fiddling, but can be updated to the latest maps. Decently quick route calculation, can figure out Toronto to Deals Gap in about 30 seconds. Has all the semi-advanced gps features missing from some others; uploadable routes, route logging, insert and arrange multiple waypoints into your route on the fly, modify your route on the fly. And my favourite and often used feature, missing from most other GPS' including Garmin's, detour specific roads in route. Want to skip 407 but not turn off toll roads? Sure. Highway is backed up to hell because of construction? Bypass it. Garmin has a page showing models that support it, https://support.garmin.com/support/...caseId={eba16ad0-e56b-11df-ea12-000000000000}. There are no motorcycle GPS' between the StreetPilots and the modern Zumo's (660's don't have it) that support that feature.

Besides all that, they're generally around $50 on eBay/Kijiji. They're so cheap and old that you have no fear of leaving it on the bike.

Downsides are that there is no internal battery and it doesn't power off USB so if you want to upload routes or similar, you have to plug it in. The screen is smaller and lower res so it doesn't have as many data fields as the bigger Zumo's. Size of a brick so not aesthetically appealing. Doesn't have the advanced bluetooth/music control stuff of the current Zumo's Outside of that, you're not giving anything up. I owned a 660 for a few weeks and sold it to go back to a Streetpilot

 

[komodo]

I've had a Zumo 550 for about 9 years now.
Had to replace the screen about 2 years ago.
Did that myself for about $30.
Other than that it's been through everything.
Bikes have come and gone. But the 550 remains.
My only real gripe is uploading the latest maps is a PIA.
Plus paying extra for lifetime maps when the GPS is so expensive to begin with is a kick in the teeth. Especially when there are cheaper car units that include lifetime maps.

 

[wonderings]

I've had a Zumo 550 for about 9 years now.
Had to replace the screen about 2 years ago.
Did that myself for about $30.
Other than that it's been through everything.
Bikes have come and gone. But the 550 remains.
My only real gripe is uploading the latest maps is a PIA.
Plus paying extra for lifetime maps when the GPS is so expensive to begin with is a kick in the teeth. Especially when there are cheaper car units that include lifetime maps.

At least it is a one time charge. I thought the same thing, seemed really cheap on Garmins side, paying all that money and not getting life time maps (happened on my Zumo 550, and 660).

Garmin definitely simplified loading maps with the Garmin Express app. Plug it in, load the app, it tells you what map updates/software updates are there, you click go and let it do its thing.

 

[matthew]

Ill never part with my 2720.

 

[wonderings]

Ill never part with my 2720.

what does the 2720 do that modern bike GPSs can't?

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