• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Zumo 660 at Costco

Gps

Wow, what a spirited debate. So, here are my two pennies worth. I have the Nuvi 765T. Bluetooth so I don't need wires to the J&M in my helmet. MP3 player - I like my music on SD card. I do sometimes bluetooth my iPod touch to J&M so have two sources if I want. No XM, don't care. Have lots of custom routes that I build using RoadTrip on my MAC and transfer over. Can put lots in the My Files section and can load up to 10. 1000 waypoints but by transferring the routes, I only use the starting and ending points. FM traffic stuff. Wide screen. Battery life sucks at only 3 hours on a really good day but get power from bikes so not an issue. Screen not designed for open air use but since it talks to me, don't care. Not waterproof but can stick it inside my jacket, don't care. Can't Bluetooth to my phone, don't care since I can BT phone to my J&M (in parallel), great for emergencies. Price, just over $200 at Best Buy several years ago, $500 delta, I care. All in all, very happy.
 
getting back to the original post on the Zumo 660, this does not seem to be offered at Costco in the US. Is there a difference depending on whether it's purchased in Canada or US? If not, I'll hae someone pick one up for me.
 
My understanding is that the special offer on the 660 is for a limited time and only online at the the Canadian site.
 
Yes, it was. My plan was to have a Canadian friend hook me up. But I've since found it online in the US for $569.05 with free shipping. It should arrive by Tuesday.
 
Planning a route on the computer and then down loading it is something I want to do. My Nuvi 265 won't do it. Exploring back roads without my GPS telling me where to go would be fun. It would be nice to use it in my car as well as the motorcycle.

What Nuvi or Zumo do I need that will allow me to put in my own routes? Having one that works off the cigarette lighter outlet would be a plus for me so I can put it in my car as well.
 
Planning a route on the computer and then down loading it is something I want to do. My Nuvi 265 won't do it. Exploring back roads without my GPS telling me where to go would be fun. It would be nice to use it in my car as well as the motorcycle.

What Nuvi or Zumo do I need that will allow me to put in my own routes? Having one that works off the cigarette lighter outlet would be a plus for me so I can put it in my car as well.

If you compare models on the Garmin site, any that has a number other than zero in the "routes" column allows you to design them using MapSource or other software and upload them. That includes all Zumos and I think all Nuvis except the 200 series. I think all of them will operate off of a cigarette plug.
 
Last edited:
I have the nuvi 550 and have been very happy with it. No bluetooth or audio jack, but I have not had a problem navigating by what I see on the screen.
 
I have the nuvi 550 and have been very happy with it. No bluetooth or audio jack, but I have not had a problem navigating by what I see on the screen.

+1 NUVI 500/550 are a HELL of a deal, great GPS. I only upgraded to a Zumo 660 because of Bluetooth/MP3. And now having spent the bux and getting the 660 I REALLY appreciate how good a GPS the NUVI 5xx series is.

I still have mine and won't sell it, too good of a backup.
 
+1 NUVI 500/550 are a HELL of a deal, great GPS. I only upgraded to a Zumo 660 because of Bluetooth/MP3. And now having spent the bux and getting the 660 I REALLY appreciate how good a GPS the NUVI 5xx series is.

The nuvi 500/550 also has a few features the Zumo line does not. It is a multi-mode GPS with modes for driving, walking (on-road), hiking (off-road with topo maps), and boating (when marine maps are added). To support the walking and hiking modes, they rate the battery life at 8 hours (more than twice the life of most).

One of my reasons to go with the nuvi was significantly lower cost. We have all experienced the progression of computer based electronic devices, and I am assuming the GPS units available in a few years are going to be faster with much larger data storage. I would guess there will be 3G or 4G cellular network integration and / or wi-fi for automatic map updates and web connectivity to add features limited only by imagination. If I spent $500 to $700 for a GPS, I would be reluctant to buy something newer for a long time. By spending ~$250 for a nuvi 550, I can justify buying a new unit with the new features much sooner.
 
Back
Top