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Garmin Zumo Newbie Questions????

kantuckid

New member
The senario:I just bought a used Garmin Zumo550 on Ebay. It is shown to be turned on in the pics and has 2011 Maps loaded. One screen shown indicates Software version 4.80 & another CN North America NT 2010.20. It comes to me with a WS mounting,original cradle,GTM 20 Traffic Reciever/Charger cable & a USB cable. There is no MC mtg included. It can be sent back for a full refund in 3 days from receipt. This seller has a number of Garmin units/accessories for sale on ebay. They sent me a "Square Trade" warranty "opportunity" in an email after I just made payment, offering protection for touch screen failure and/or chipset malfunction, regularly priced at $48,20% off @ $38 now. I'll say too, that I am not someone that usually buys add on warranties. I paid $345 total,shipping included to place a perspective on the siuation. I looked online and it appears that I can download the Owners Manual to a disk.
Questions: Which MC mtg is best liked for use on R1150R?
What am I missing that I need?
Would you buy the warranty?
Will the WS mtg work OK for a Toyota Tundra(as in too far away to view?
Will the WS mtg work OK in our BMW 328 sedan?
What items work best to hardwire the unit to my bike ?
Is the cig cord the best arrangement to use in the car/PU?
What questions didn't I ask that I should? The newbie part refers to me never having owned a GPS before!

THANKS IN ADVANCE!:wave
 
Sounds like you're in good shape with what you received. What is WS mounting?

If you received a car mount, which you should have, the car mount will stick on to your windshield and the Zumo goes in and out of the mount real easily. Plug the 12V plug into the car's outlet and you're good to go. The mike and speaker is in the cradle itself. The Zumo also has Bluetooth for hands free phone.

I believe California prohibits GPS mounts on the windshield so it has to go on the dash using a weighted bean bag type mount. Places like GPS City.com will have every kind of accessory for the Zumo.

There are numerous ways to mount your Zumo on your bike though the ideal way is to mount it centered and as high as possible to avoid having to look down away from the road. Many riders have them mounted on one side of the handle bars, but this way it's always moving and can be hard to reach with your left hand.

You might try Cycle Gadgets or Touritech for some mounting brackets. you should power the bike cradle to have power switched on and off with your ignition. The Zumo will power up when you start your bike and also power off in about 30 seconds after shutting your bike. It's designed that way to allow you to continue running on the Zumo's battery after shutting the bike. The Zumo battery will only give you 3 to 4 hours on it's charged battery.

As for warranty, I've had zero problems with mine after almost 4 years so from my perspective I think you can do without it.
 
The senario:I just bought a used Garmin Zumo550 on Ebay. It is shown to be turned on in the pics and has 2011 Maps loaded. One screen shown indicates Software version 4.80 & another CN North America NT 2010.20. It comes to me with a WS mounting,original cradle,GTM 20 Traffic Reciever/Charger cable & a USB cable. There is no MC mtg included. It can be sent back for a full refund in 3 days from receipt. This seller has a number of Garmin units/accessories for sale on ebay. They sent me a "Square Trade" warranty "opportunity" in an email after I just made payment, offering protection for touch screen failure and/or chipset malfunction, regularly priced at $48,20% off @ $38 now. I'll say too, that I am not someone that usually buys add on warranties. I paid $345 total,shipping included to place a perspective on the siuation. I looked online and it appears that I can download the Owners Manual to a disk.
Questions: Which MC mtg is best liked for use on R1150R?
What am I missing that I need?
Would you buy the warranty?
Will the WS mtg work OK for a Toyota Tundra(as in too far away to view?
Will the WS mtg work OK in our BMW 328 sedan?
What items work best to hardwire the unit to my bike ?
Is the cig cord the best arrangement to use in the car/PU?
What questions didn't I ask that I should? The newbie part refers to me never having owned a GPS before!

THANKS IN ADVANCE!:wave

At last - well done Mike! I think you have a deal, if it works properly.
Yes, you can dowload the user manual.
You can buy accessories, mounts etc direct from Garmin, and their (American) support is really good. Also, they will refurbish the unit (whatever went wrong) for a fixed price of about $135 (I think). But they are tough units and seldom fail - just learn the routine for a cold reboot, if the unit seizes up.
The Zumo comes with two different cradles (mounts) - one for the bike and the other for a car. The car mount power plugs into the lighter, I have my bike mount wired in.
Visit zumoforums.com for in depth dicussion of these units.
You will need to get your head around 'Mapsource' the desktop utility, used for planning routes, and up- and downloading data.
Just ask!
 
Thanks! WS refers to" windshield" mtg and my question revolves around the distance from the driver/front passengers eyes in a pickup or a car when using the stock WS mtg.. Also I would like to hear if a certain aftermarket cradle is better or the same as oem for less $? I'll check out the sources mentioned.:wave
 
what came with it should work fine. I use mine on three different bikes and in my Pickup. no problem seeing the screen. keep in mind it also talks to you...
 
I have been reading websites a bit and have a question as to best way to setup the hardwire situation so as to make the most stuff removable? I can do the wiring OK, it is the issue of a weatherproof connection that allows for the GPS & the mtg coming off that I am undecided. On the www.GPSCity.com website they mention using a trailer wiring connection in conjunction with the hard wire cable-how are others doing this ?Do these units come with two cradles new? Mine is coming to me with only one.
I see two styles of handlebar clamp available-one clamp & double clamp-is there an advantage to the double clamp? Either will likely fit between the handlebar riser/clamps on my R1150R.
Can I choose" Karen", she of the sweet Aussie accent, to speak to me with a Zumo? I've heard her on a son's Nuvi. I wear a Shuberth flip-up and now am wondering what speakers will adapt to my helmet?
 
kantuckid,
we have the two prong SAE connectors ( trailer parts store) so we can move the units between bikes. Run a fused battery tender lead to the bars ( had to lengthen them on some bikes) Then cut, splice & heatshrink a SAE connector to the Zumo lead...we leave about a 8' lead on ours .

I have used the u -shaped ram ball mounts on all our R bikes with round bars...no issues


The unit comes with the bike mount cradle...the cig lighter car kit and cradle are typically...EXTRA$$

and...on the voices...only the USA and the Brit women are on the unit...but you can download the others


We use earbuds...too much wind noise to overcome with helmet speakers in our Nolans unless it's stupid loud...but others LOVE them and will have Schuberth ideas:wave
 
Thanks for the wiring hints-I have now read that the bike cradle hard wire connector is supposed to be weatherproof,having a flap-does it do the job?
As to the ear buds, I always ride with foam ear plugs to protect the remainder of my hearing(noise induced hearing loss) and am wondering if the ear buds will serve that purpose or leave me going after molded plugs to avail myself of the lady's voice whilst proyecting my hearing? GPS City does price match online. and Amazon is competitive as is frequently the case . I see handlebar mounts from our Chinese buds on ebay for 99 cents, that have a wider clamp than the u-bolt style for the handlebar-anyone that can vouch for them? It would appear they wouldn't pinch the handlebar,question being, are they strong enough(appear to be the same plastic as the ram mount) for the job?
 
the cradle is w/p...we have had some of the brass pins stick in some early models...causing power or audio issues. The flap may help when unit is out, I just pop the whole cradle off the RAM mount when outa sight.

We use Etymotic ER-6i earbuds...they are noise cancelling and work for wind & background issues when not listening to the Garmin Girl or tunes. Still can hear sirens and faint loud pipes and friends yelling at you at a stop sign! They have a tri-tip earflange...we have used the IPOD brand or discount store brands...hurt our ears after a few hours or multi day trips where they contact the helmet/ear...the Etymotics have helped in that area

the stock u bolt mount has not hurt any of our bars on the R1150 or the 12GS...once you snug it down...it's not going anywhere. I would be careful with u bolts from China holding my $$$ GPS...but that's me
 
I use the Touratech MVG mount on my GSA. I like it because it does a really good job of securing the Zumo to the mount as it locks with a key. A simple unlock and the Zumo can be removed from the bike and into the Avalanche.

I use a locking RAM mount - got it from Rider's Warehouse (Aeorstich) You need a key to take the mount off the bike.

I have the zumo wired into an Autocom -Pro unit which is mounted under the seat. The Zumo is bluetoothed to my Droid which is carried in a pocket of my riding suit. I use noise-reducing earbuds made by Koss, (Walmart $about $30) inside my Nolan 103 helmet.

My Zumo has recently developed the dreaded touch-screen failure and thus needs to be sent back to Garmin. I bought it new in December 2008 and it has been used every day in either the Avalanche or on the GSA.

I have the unit mounted on my left handlebar - I'm left handed. On the right bar, I have the GXM30 XM radio antenna mounted. Seems to work well. I have an 8 gig SD card in the zumo which I load music, routes, and poi's. They are loaded on the SD card on my laptop. Then just pop the SD card in.

All seemed to work fine til the screen issue. The zumo has been in all kinds of weather from below zero to over 105 degrees. It has endured baking in the sun all day as well as rain and hail. I have a screen protector on it also.

Good unit, but its internal memory is too small for the new North American maps. Had to delete most everything except "Jill" just to get the whole NA map installed.

i really think Garmin should fix the screen issue. Apparently it is a common problem after some age. But I hear they are not really much on customer service. So maybe I should work on getting them bought out, replace curent management, and get them to do a better job on product development. Everything I hear regarding the new 665 is bad. Touch screens can't be too high-tech. They should last longer than about two years.

That's my 3 cents - inflation you know.
 
Can I choose" Karen", she of the sweet Aussie accent, to speak to me with a Zumo? I've heard her on a son's Nuvi. I wear a Shuberth flip-up and now am wondering what speakers will adapt to my helmet?

With the Zumo, I believe you can load different voices.

Regarding the Schuberth, Schuberth has a new fully integrated Bluetooth radio that will work with the Garmin (connect GPS, phone and audio source) and the intercom is made by and compatible with Cardo. On sale in the US shortly (they said September)
 
Good unit, but its internal memory is too small for the new North American maps. Had to delete most everything except "Jill" just to get the whole NA map installed.
Just an FYI. You really didn't have to do that. Connect to the computer, go do the download and save it to the SD card instead of the Zumo. When the download is ready to start, it finds your Zumo. When it's identified, where you see the device, that's a drop down that lets you select the target of either the Zumo or the SD card in it.

OR

You can select the coverage you want in Mapsource and download to the SD card.

The Zumo 550 is a little shy on memory but the handshake between the unit and the SD card is seamless. There have been a few reports from users of losing tracks etc. loading it up this way but no one I know has had any trouble with it at all.
 
I connected my Zumo 550 to Garmin & my computer for updates via the serial # and it already had the newest NA maps loaded when I bought it. I have done nothing else in the way of downloads,use, etc., so far... Presently shopping for a bike cradle,mount and cable.Also exploring earbuds and the hearing aspect. Probably have already found the best price new but sourcing the used market for a few days...
 
Make sure you buy a new cradle - not a used on. Buddy of mine bought one that "was never installed" from ebay. If you install them, they usually have marks where the bolts are connected at the back - like the one he received - that didn't work because there was corrosion on the pins - one of which was burnt somehow.

He contacted the guy and if I recall the story was he got it used and he never installed it adn thought that meant it had never been installed. He ate to loss and just bought a new one.

New ones run around $50. That is for the GPS mount, not including the handlebar mount if you need that as well.
 
We use Etymotic ER-6i earbuds...they are noise cancelling and work for wind & background issues when not listening to the Garmin Girl or tunes.

Minor point. They are isolating, rather than canceling.

A noise canceling system is an active system that uses microphones to pick up ambient sound (noise), electronically inverts it, and then adds it to the wanted signal (out of phase) so the noise component is effectively canceled. This system can give you about 10 decibels of noise attenuation in addition to whatever you're getting from the isolation factor of the earbuds you're using.

The noise cancellation is higher at low frequencies, say 50-1.5kHz.

Sony makes noise canceling earbuds and I own a set, but they're a bit too big to fit under the helmet. I use the Etymotic ER-6i installed in custom molds instead.
 
I just read some reviews on the Etymotics and it seems to me that they may be dangerous for riding a MC. One guy said he felt he had to be very observant just riding a bicycle when using for an ipod. For a guy like me with noise induced hearing loss in the first place I need to consider staying alive first. I wear foam plugs(ALWAYS!) and do hear traffic sounds such as horns and human voices when at a traffic stop-if loudly spoken. I don't want anything that cause me to loose touch or lose hearing I cannot afford to lose!, in order to hear the Zumo...
 
I just read some reviews on the Etymotics and it seems to me that they may be dangerous for riding a MC. One guy said he felt he had to be very observant just riding a bicycle when using for an ipod. For a guy like me with noise induced hearing loss in the first place I need to consider staying alive first. I wear foam plugs(ALWAYS!) and do hear traffic sounds such as horns and human voices when at a traffic stop-if loudly spoken. I don't want anything that cause me to loose touch or lose hearing I cannot afford to lose!, in order to hear the Zumo...

I'm not sure what this guy is talking about.

I use the Etymotics ear plugs. Great design. I find that I'm MORE aware of the sounds around me with them in. Provided the sounds are semi loud to begin with (think: traffic, horns, sirens, screeching tires, engine noise, wind noise)

They don't have a db rating that is very high, compared to some other foam plugs.

For me, the foam plugs or various brands of ear plugs seem to seal my ear off, and you more or less hear through your skull, and most noises sound muffled and you only hear the bass side of things.

The Etymotic plugs are supposed to be high fidelity, meaning you hear all the tones. But you hear them quieter. Think of it as having a volume control for the outside world. You turn it all down, where you can hear it still, but the edge is gone. This IMHO allows you to hear various sounds, where previously they are all muddy together.

All that said, if you have the headphone version, you are going to turn down the outside noise, then add back in sound. On a bicycle, I don't know if that's so bright. On a motorcycle, it sounds brilliant. Certainly you don't have to have the volume too high, as you are pumping it right in. Especially for directions.

FWIW
 
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