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Favorite GPS

rgilroy

New member
I'm gearing up to add a Zumo 550 to my 1150 RT. I'm interested to know if this is a good idea. I would like your input

  • Have you found the Zumo 550 a reliable GPS or would it make sense to go with a 660 or the 665?
  • What mount do you recommend? My thought is to mount it low between the handlebars.
 
Until recently, I have had great success with my Zumo 550. But unfortunately, it is now acting quite strange. It seems to have a mind of its own. I caught it calling a McDonalds in Utah yesterday morning. It is bluetoothed to my Droid.

It also is now having problems find its XM antenna sometimes, and it seems to like to change screens on its own. Its favorite is one in which you create your own route while driving.

The touch screen is having issues to. Sometimes, it changes colors and does not work at all. Like when my phone rings and I try to answer by pushing the answer button.

I've been reading that most Zumos start having these problems around 3 years of age. Mine is 1 1/2 years old. But it is used everyday.

I've not heard much good about the new 660 - 665 series. They are touch screen only, no buttons. So if Garmin hasn't figured out how to properly build a touch screen, I'm sure that will be a BIG problem. i've also heard the 665 also suffers from many of the same problems my Zumo does. And they are newer units.

I'm probably incorrect in my thinking, but I think some of my problems are related to the latest may update. I hade zero problems until i put the new maps in. The Zumo 550 has a very small amount of memory. So I think putting all of North America in it did it in. i had to delete all the voices and languages except for one of each.

Overall, I really like the 550 and will be sending mine back to be refurbished. This costs a flat fdee of $150. But I really don't think the device should be having any problems. This ain't rocket science. My unit, when mounted on the GSA, is in the Touratech MVG mount. In the Avalanche, i use the mount that came with it.

As I am seeing many people having the same problems with the units, I wish we could force Garmin to provide free replacements for these bad units. Seems a class action suit would be in order. Even though they are out of warranty, they should not be failing in the numbers i see on the Web.

But I hate lawyers and believe there are other ways to solve most problems. Most issues going through the court system should never be allowed to be there in the first place. So I will work with Garmin and see if they have figured out just what the cause of these issues is. I have figured out that the touch screen does not like direct sunlight. And sometimes, the unit behaves like it should, maybe for as long as an hour or so. Then it just goes crazy.

Sorry for the long post. Did I help you at all? Not sure. But these are my experiences.
 
What mount do you recommend? My thought is to mount it low between the handlebars.
Too low. You want it as high as you can mount it without actually blocking your view of the road ahead. The farther your GPS is from your line of sight, the less you will/should look at it. I have the Migsel mount and fabricated a simple attachment for the GPS. It stays pretty dry there, even while stopped. PM me and I will send pics of my setup.

I've traveled many thousands of happy motorcycle miles with my Zumo 550 and have never had a problem with it. I don't know about the newer models.
 
Hi Mike :wave

I use both the Zumo 550 and 660 (on different bikes)
The 550 is a solid, sorted and rugged device - perhaps the industry standard.
The 660 has some issues that need sorting out - there is ample (negative) chatter on Zumoforums. I've spent a good bit of time with the support people at Garmin dealing with some bugs, with partial success.

BTW quite a few problems were related to the SD card, or its data, in both units.
 
I see on Amazon you can pick up a Refurbushed Zumo 550 for about $350. do you feel a re conditioned unit is the way to go?
 
Garmin 2720. Can obtain used for a great price. Routes can be built on Mapsource and downloaded to the unit. It is extremely waterproof. Rode through a hellatious hail storm in New Mexico last year to no ill effect on the unit.
 
Just turned my Zumo 550 in to Garmin to have it swapped for a refurbed unit for the $150 flat fee.

I was very happy with it until it started developing similar problems to STKMKT1's.
My touchscreen started going bad a couple of months ago. At first, all it needed was to be recalibrated. Lately it started to act as if invisible fingers were touching the screen at random points and at random intervals. It became unusable so I had to ship it back. Should get a replacement unit next week (in time for the FingerLakes Rally).

Four others in my local club have the 550 as well and none of them have had problems so far. I was an early adopter and got one of the first ones so maybe the later ones don't have issues like mine did.
 
I'm happy with my 550. I bought a Ram mount from Cyclenutz.com that attaches to the top of the clutch fluid reservoir on the left side.
 
Garmin 2720. Can obtain used for a great price.
I currently have a Zumo 550 on the bike. I just bought a Garmin 2650 for $74.99 on eBay - including everything it came with originally - in the box. It's a 2004 unit but does MapSource and handles Multiple Destinations that it will sort for the most efficient route. It also has dead reckoning capabilities to maintain routing when there's no GPS signal. Suggested retail when it was current was $1399.

The 2650 is not to replace the Zumo, it's to provide more data without having to drill into the Zumo, as well as provide data differently than the Zumo does. I like the Zumo. There's just not enough data available since it really doesn't do split screens like older units do.
 
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