Zumo 660, Sena SMH10, Wunderlich Integrated GPS Mount 1st Impressions

Alright, so I'm finally feeling like a real BMW, farkled-out rider. Just added a Garmin Zumo 660, mounted onto Wunderlich's Integrated GPS mount system, and a Sena SMH-10 bluetooth device to my riding experience. I am about to take this stuff on a longer trip, and I'll report back later if someone's interested, but here are my first impressions.

I decided on the three items after talking with several friends, and after taking two short day rides at varying speeds, I'm very happy with all of the purchases. I have an Arai helmet (which are very quiet to begin with), wear insta-mold earplugs, and I ride an 09 R1200RT. I was able to hear both music and GPS directions in the bluetooth mode at varying speeds, including 60+ and with the windshield in the full up position (where the most wind is blocked) and the full down position (where you get hit in the fact with the most wind). I listened to MP3s via the direct outlet (where you can plug an MP3 device directly into the Sena, and I also listened to it using the bluetooth feature playing tunes on my IPhone. It's no surprise that the direct plug was louder and had more clarity than the Sena-Iphone bluetooth connection. I have not yet loaded any tunes onto the GPS unit itself, but expect that the integrity and sound quality might be better when I use bluetooth to listen to tunes there.

I have the Sena SMH10 mounted on the left side of my Arai profile helmet slightly forward of midway along the profile side of the helmet. That enables me to position the mic so that it is directly in front of the chin-level vent on my helmet, or if I want to, to raise the mic so that it is directly in front of the open area if I have my face shield raised. I have the speakers mounted directly onto the rear area of the removable cheek pads, just where those sections taper back to make room for your ears. I know that some people mount the speakers under the removable pads, directly to the styrofoam, but that makes no sense to me, because it is effectively burying the speaker behind a pillow. The Sena has been really easy to use - the large jog dial operates very easily in gloved hands, and the one button it easy to find.

So far, the Zumo 660 has been easy to see and hear, although I have not approached complex intersections to see how the lane following feature works.

The Wunderlich integrated GPS mount, which mounts directly onto the RT dashboard with no drilling of new holes necessary is absolutely in the perfect position. I'm 5'6" with a 16" torso and 32" inseam, and I don't have to move my head at all to see it, just direct my eyes toward the GPS, as it's sitting right there. Nice job Wunderlich!

Waiting for the longer journey and I'll let you know how it works out.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=135&pID=15000

http://www.senabluetooth.com/products/smh10.php?tab_menu=overview

http://www.wunderlichamerica.com/motorcycle/8600887-888.html

Ride Safe!

Great info.
I look forward to your update!

Update to 1st Impressions of Zumo 660, Sena SMH-10 and Wunderlich Integrated GPS Moun

I've now had my Zumo 660, Sena SMH-10 and Wunderlich Integrated GPS mount for three months and have been on one major ride (3500+ miles), a 1000-mile weekend, and several smaller weekend rides.

The gear continues to perform very well, and I'm very happy with it. The 3-D lane feature is very helpful, since about a mile or two before a turn point, it will show you what a picture of the interchange/off-ramp/on-ramp looks like, including street signs. This of course means that you'll need to be diligent about keeping your maps updated and that sometimes, with construction, the pictures may not be accurate, but the degree of accuracy has been very high. I really like this feature, especially with complex interchanges on highways. I'm still perplexed by some things, such as the way the Zumo recalculates routes that I've preloaded that someone else has designed.

One change I made to the Sena was to place the microphone inside of my helmet. I don't make a practice of making or answering phone calls when riding, but occasionally I have received them and its very difficult for the other person to hear me. So, if this is something you want to do when riding, you may not be happy with this.

I also loaded my Garmin with music and have listened to music via the Sena from the GPS. Today in particular, I was more pleased with the sound than previously, but I still prefer the sound of a chord (which comes in the box with it; it has 2 1/8 inch jacks) plugged from the Sena to my IPod or Iphone. Either way (from the Garmin via bluetooth or plugged directly), the voice GPS directions will still interrupt the music to tell you where to turn, etc. The nice thing about not being plugged direct, is that it's a few less pieces of gear you have to fool with when getting on or off the bike.

After some riding, I had to tighten the Wunderlich mount, but after that first tighten, it seems to have held fairly strongly. I really like the positioning of the GPS, b/c you don't really have to move your head, you just lower your eyes, so it's great for safe riding.

Welp, that's about it for me. Still very happy. Happy riding!

JES