Gps

[Guest thedrunknmastr]

alright folks, I'm looking to get a GPS for the bike. I've heard of the oh so wonderful zumo 550 however the price tag is what's stopping me from picking one up considering there are so many alternatives out there for a fraction of the cost. Is it really worth it? Why?

My main features I'm looking for on a bike are, turning prompts w/ street names during navigation, programmable routes prior to riding (via pc?) and the ability to just for a ride and it create a track of my route for the day which I can save, upload and reuse again. bluetooth would be nice as well as I'm still trying to figure some way to reduce the wires in my helmet and incorporate my phone and mp3 player.

comments? suggestions? thanks.

[BonusVFR]

Have you looked at the "Tales of Zumo" thread?

I have been very happy with my Zumo and it can do all of the things you listed and more. There are less expensive alternatives but.......

[wasmeneh]

I bought a used Quest off of Ebay. After I paid for a mount I've got about $100 in it. It works great for how I use it, the screen is smaller but it is waterproof and it's rechargable batteries seem to last forever, at least 8 hours per charge. Very happy with it for the money. I think if you go with the Quest 2 you get more memory.

Mike

[AB-Oz]

My Zumo has paid for iteself by warning me of fixed speed camera's along the highways here.

Dunno about the US, but in Oz the company I bought my zumo from gives free Points Of Interest (POI) updates which include red-light camera's, fixed speed camera's, school zones.

[jasonsmith]

I've been looking and looking at alternatives and I keep coming back to the Zumo. If you want a feature full gps I think it's the only option really. It will do all that you need and slightly more. Some are almost feature full but are missing one thing here and there. I would study the features and decide what is important to you and go from there. ie, Do you want the ability to add way points on the fly, you want to be able to track where your were, are speed or fuel readings important? Bluetooth, music, phone etc. The new 660 has AD2P which is stereo Bluetooth for way better music playback. Again none of this stuff matters if your not going to use it or miss it. I'm a feature junky so I'm 98% sure I'm getting a 660 this winter. Unless someone wants to upgrade and sell me their 550??

[HispanicSlammer]

I have had both a quest and a zumo, the quest was the orginal and it had a generation 1 antanne, it worked good till you got up into a place with high trees such as California or high canyon walls, it lost signal alot. The Zumo on the other hand has been great, I like the built in card reader - I listed to mp3's alot so now I dont need to bring along my Ipod anymore. There is a the occasional missroute onto a dirt road but other than that its been a huge improvement over the quest. The new 660 has a larger screen and mostly the same features I cant speak to those but the 550 is good, I sometimes get static when hooked to my dual sport, intermitent contact on the pins in the cradle. Check out

http://www.zumofourms.com

for info about other issues.

[Ryanme17]

Am I the only one who still navigates via the sun and the stars? I guess I'm getting old...

[rangemaster]

Paper map and a compass plus an old Magellan 310 I used overseas in my tank bag. Love to have a Zumo though.

[jeremy556]

Am I the only one who still navigates via the sun and the stars? I guess I'm getting old...

I use my Quest more for seeing what the radius of the next turn(s) are, more than navigating.

[Silver#788]

Am I the only one who still navigates via the sun and the stars? I guess I'm getting old...

I use my Quest more for seeing what the radius of the next turn(s) are, more than navigating.

Yes its like the mini map in the moto gp games :blink: :blush: :biggrin: :cool:

[solohvs]

I sit at home with my Zumo and look at the routes I have ridden over the last few days. With a paper map and my computer I pick out the best of the best and SAVE the new route for next time. It all goes on the SD card and I try to work out any problems before I hit the road.

When it's time for a ride I turn on the ignition and my cell phone syncs with the GPS and the GPS syncs with my Cardo Q2 headset. Incoming calls show up on the screen which I can answer or ignore.

If I select the route I planned I can pull that up for turn by turn directions with voice through my headset or just go on my way. I can type in an address or just search for a location... endless possibilities.

The MP3 player has all my favorite tunes loaded and I can select by song name / group / genre - whatever.

I guess this is nothing new for most GPS users but it changed the way I ride. Hour after hour of highway riding goes past quicker with the music playing and I actually slow down and enjoy the back roads more when the right song is playing.

I even called ahead and made a hotel reservation once and never had to worry if a room was going to be there (in the middle of the night) when I wanted to stop - all while seated on my bike / 60 mph.

I'm a total beginner - and so far it all works even on my MAC laptop computer.

The Zumo is a great tool. I still have my Quest II and I use both in my car, but the Zumo with Bluetooth is a very good set up. Like I said - it does exactly what it is supposed to do.

Brian

[SpiralGray]

I've got the zumo 550 as well and have been very happy with it, it does everything I need it to do (route planning, spoken directions, etc). I bought mine off craigslist for ~$575 IIRC. Haunt craigslist and eBay. They don't go really cheap, but you can usually save a hundred bucks or so.

You might also look at the nuvi 550 (not to be confused with the zumo 550). It has most (if not all) the features of the zumo for less money. The thing is, the zumo is supposedly 'hardened' for motorcycle use. If the constant jarring and vibrations cause the nuvi to go T.U. then you're stuck. Also, the zumo comes with everything you need to mount it on a bike, if you buy anything else you'll have to purchase additional parts (not a huge expense, but something to consider).

[Macs06VFR]

Am I the only one who still navigates via the sun and the stars? I guess I'm getting old...

I'm with you. Prob worse - I only use the sun. (If I'm seeing stars on my bike, I'm not riding. :blink: )

But I do like gps'... Got wife one for her cage. She loves it, and I havta admit, it's pretty slick.

[rodm850g]

Guys,

The Zumo line are some fine pieces ofequipment but I just want directions....I have a quest but as I have aged the screen is too small. The 2610 I use and can go from my VFR to my ST1300 is the bomb...big screen easily updated uses CF cards

which have come way down in price....I can do custom mapping from a lap top or desk top..... or use the built in features and was way cheaper....music is nice but I wanna hear my motor...and call me some other time.....YMMV..

Rodm850g

[Terminex]

I guess I'm the only one who uses a Nuvi. (765T) I have it in a waterproof RAM box mounted to the front tank bolts. I didn't like the box at first, but I have grown to love it, since the GPS is locked in the box, and RAM offers a Key lock screw for the stem. Means I can leave the GPS on the bike and not have to worry about someone grabbing it.

Would love a Zumo, just not worth the money to me right now.

cheers

[Guest]

The #1 feature I am looking for is MP3 and Cell Phone integration in my GPS. Is there an alternative to the Zumo that is not so expensive? I could deal with the cheapo $100 nav but the bluetooth and dialing right on the GPS almost has me sold already.

[vfrcapn]

Was reading a thread on STN and was wondering, does the Zumo have XM reception? Or do you integrate satellite radio in to it like an mp3 player?

[SierraRider]

"My main features I'm looking for on a bike are, turning prompts w/ street names during navigation, programmable routes prior to riding (via pc?) and the ability to just for a ride and it create a track of my route for the day which I can save, upload and reuse again."

I have the Nuvi 500 and it will suffice for your first set of wishes. I have mine mounted with a RAM mount on the tank bolts. Wired to the battery for power. It is waterproof as well.

However for the second set of desires....

"bluetooth would be nice as well as I'm still trying to figure some way to reduce the wires in my helmet and incorporate my phone and mp3 player."

....The Nuvi 500 does not have bluetooth or a mp3 player. Zumo does do it all, but as with many things you get what you pay for. Oh...Nuvi 500 list price is $299, although I got mine for $229.

[BonusVFR]

Was reading a thread on STN and was wondering, does the Zumo have XM reception? Or do you integrate satellite radio in to it like an mp3 player?

Plug this extra cost ant in.

[BonusVFR]

"My main features I'm looking for on a bike are, turning prompts w/ street names during navigation, programmable routes prior to riding (via pc?) and the ability to just for a ride and it create a track of my route for the day which I can save, upload and reuse again."

I have the Nuvi 500 and it will suffice for your first set of wishes. I have mine mounted with a RAM mount on the tank bolts. Wired to the battery for power. It is waterproof as well.

However for the second set of desires....

"bluetooth would be nice as well as I'm still trying to figure some way to reduce the wires in my helmet and incorporate my phone and mp3 player."

....The Nuvi 500 does not have bluetooth or a mp3 player. Zumo does do it all, but as with many things you get what you pay for. Oh...Nuvi 500 list price is $299, although I got mine for $229.

Besides BT, the Zumo also has a 3.5mmm plug for audio (stereo) that allows you to plug just about anything in to hear MP3, NAV, incoming cell, XM etc. I get my sound on three bikes with that............I don't want any more batteries on tour.

The Nuvi 500/550 has a speaker but no audio out jack....not good for a MC. The Nuvi looks to be much less expensive alternative with many of the features of the Zumo but not all including MP3. A strong candidate. Its routing/tracking capabilities look to be on par with the Zumo.

[dnossirb]

I have a nuvi 350. It is a discontinued model but you can find them used on ebay. It has a sd card and an external audio output. I listen to the turns and mp3's through my autocom. It's not water proof but a sandwich bag and a rubber band fixes that. I mounted to my tank with a ram mount. I'm very happy with it. I would like a record of my route but for the price I can live without it. There is one used on ebay right now for $32, you can't beat that. It may be enough to let you figure out what features you really need.

[ron_al]

Was reading a thread on STN and was wondering, does the Zumo have XM reception? Or do you integrate satellite radio in to it like an mp3 player?

Plug this extra cost ant in.

IIRC, that works with the initial-top-of-the-line-Zumo-550, but not with the current-top-of-the-line-Zumo-660.

But if that's a factor in the buying decision, you'll want to verify that on your own. (Don't take my word for it.)

Ron

[DaveM]

I have the Nuvi 760. Had a Zumo 550 till some little SOB broke into the car and stole it. I'm reasonably happy with the Nuvi, 500 waypoints and 10 programmable routes - enough for almost any trip, but having owned the Zumo I really wanted the BT cell and spoken directions capiability with my Scala. The Nuvi won't sync to a head set, so you need a work around. Here's what I came up with: I bought a Jabra A210 BT adapter, a couple of 3mm mono plugs and and a stereo jack from Radio Shack. Wired the commons of the plugs and the jack together then one plug to one side of the stereo jack and and one plug to the other. Plug the Jabra into the stereo jack and the plugs into the mic and headphone ports on the 760. Sync the cell to the GPS and the Scala to the Jabra adapter and there you go - full in helmet BT cell and spoken directions. (I can provide pics and wiring if anyone is really interested)

Ram mount and hardwired into the electrical, this system works pretty well, but it's just not as convenient as the Zumo. Not waterproof - you need a ziplock for rainy days. Not secure - I take it off the bike at almost every stop. Have to carry a second (or third) charger for the Jabra. The cell, Scala and Jabra chargers can start to press a hotel room for outlet space - especially if your sharing a room with another gadget geek. The screen is just as nice as the Zumo - if not nicer, and no problem with using gloves.

The Nuvi , Jabra, mount and power adapter cost me about $200 total. At the time I just didn't have the money to replace the Zumo, but given a chance, I'll give the Nuvi to the wife and buy another Zumo - it's just a slick package.

[BonusVFR]

Was reading a thread on STN and was wondering, does the Zumo have XM reception? Or do you integrate satellite radio in to it like an mp3 player?

Plug this extra cost ant in.

IIRC, that works with the initial-top-of-the-line-Zumo-550, but not with the current-top-of-the-line-Zumo-660.

But if that's a factor in the buying decision, you'll want to verify that on your own. (Don't take my word for it.)

Ron

You are correct. 660 does not offer XM/Sat Radio...the 550 does .

Funny but the 660 does have lower price than the 550 despite the higher 660 number. The 660 has more Nuvi features but does not have some features that the 550 has ....like hard buttons for instance. 660 also has stereo BT while the 550 has mono BT. The 660 has several ongoing software/firmware issues that have largely been sorted out on the 550. I am not upgrading now.............waiting for the 770.....880....990! :fing02:

[jasonsmith]

You are correct. 660 does not offer XM/Sat Radio...the 550 does .

Funny but the 660 does have lower price than the 550 despite the higher 660 number. The 660 has more Nuvi features but does not have some features that the 550 has ....like hard buttons for instance. 660 also has stereo BT while the 550 has mono BT. The 660 has several ongoing software/firmware issues that have largely been sorted out on the 550. I am not upgrading now.............waiting for the 770.....880....990! :laugh:

I'm still studying hard on the GPS front and in regards to the 660 is does have hard buttons. They are actually multifunction buttons, the pwr button triples as a volume and a brightness adjustment as well. Re the software/firmware issues, this is so typical for a new product. Looking at the firmware history Garmin has made some big fixes and improvements with more to come I'm sure. The 550 is certainly more refined at this point in time, when the 770 comes out the 660 will be just as refined. Doesn't pay to be an early adopter with any firmware based device.