Nav V! vs Zumo XT

First a little background. Was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (cancer) this fall and going thru chemo. I bought a holdover 2019 k1600b without a test ride so I can scratch a bunch of stuff off my bucket list. Been riding motorcycles for about 50 years, mostly Yamaha's and Harley's though haven't ridden much the last 6 years (totalled the last Ultra classic). Anyway, being here in Minnesota I still have a few months before I can get the bike from the dealer, had him store it for the winter. I see I can get the Zumo XT for about half the price of the Nav VI and thinking it might be a better option than the Nav and just mount it to the handlebar vs using the cradle. Any thoughts.

Welcome to the forum!
The XT would be my choice. It has a brighter screen and supports wireless updates and route transfers. Birdseye views are also included. Newer software provides easier ways to get back on-route if you stray. I prefer to mount
my GPS on the left side so that when I inevitably need to tap the screen my hand is off the bar for the shortest possible time.

The Nav VI has a couple advantages. It does let you operate some functions with the handlebar wheel, and it can display some data from the bike. However, it is good deal more expensive and has a bad habit of randomly flipping screens that Garmin apparently cannot figure out. Some users have had four and five replacements so far. (I know, some are still on their first...)

Hang in there on the treatments. There's a lot of rhetoric about "fighting" cancer, but that's job for the doctors and researchers. The best a patient can do is endure the treatment. Sleep is your friend, but try to stay active to minimize lost fitness. The K16 is a heavy beast.

Thanks for the reply Ikraus. Been reading on the forum about the problems people have with the Nav VI. Am leaning towards the XT because of price and the way it sounds the reliability. As far as the cancer, yep, take a lot of pills and a chemo shot and do what the MD's tell me to do. They know more about it then I do. Was planning to do some snowshoeing to get in shape but don't have much snow this year around here. So might have to start walking. Not much of a walker tho (when I was in the army drove tanks cause I didn't want to walk) Gonna be at least a couple of months before I can ride the bike (big sigh).

Welcome to the site. Have you thought about a NavV? It's more reliable than the VI and used ones can be found for $300 to $350.
I really like how the BMW Navigators integrate with the bike.

I bought my Nav6 on eBay from a Canadian BMW dealership for $700. New in sealed box with 5-year warranty. I see that there are a few on eBay at this writing for about the same price. I see that a new Zumo XT is about $450.

I like the Nav6 for the integration, the ease of clipping it in and out of the built-in cradle, the saving of space and sight-lines on my handlebar area. I have never had a problem with my Nav6.

Cap

I have both a Nav V and a Nav 6 and love the way each integrates with my wethead GSA. But, the features of the new Zumo XT are impressive. If you choose to go this way, you can probably cannabalize the BMW GPS prep mount and mount your cradle on the crossbar above the instruments. I did this with a Zumo 665 several years ago before upgrading to the Navigator. Yes, the 665 would fit onto the BMW cradle, but in order to use SiriusXM, I had to install the Garmin cradle and found that I could use the same mounting parts BMW used for their cradle.

You won't be able to utilize the wonder wheel, but you'll have features the Navigator does not. I have not personally done this, but I assume the XT cradle fits onto an AMPS pattern mount and the BMW GPS prep has the same bolt pattern.

Good luck. Either GPS will be satisfactory unless it fails (my fingers are crossed).

I ride an RT with the Nav VI and also a Harley with factory navigation. I still prefer my low priced Zumo over either of them. On a trip I will enter in the end of day stop and use my Zumo for gas stops and any side trips. I like to be able to enter data on the fly.

Thanks for the replies. It's nice to have choices so will have to look into this a little deeper. I've been ordering some things in anticipation of the warm weather. Have a Sargent seat with back rest to replace the stock seat as I want the back support . Ordered the kickstand pad from Ilium to give it a bigger foot print. Back in the 70's when riding Yamahas more than once the kickstand would sink into hot tar and other spots causing the bike to tip. Don't want that to happen. Also ordered the guards to close the holes in the side under the seat from Ilium. Spendy but I like how they look plus that opening sticks out like a sore thumb. Cockpit bag from Wunderlich to carry the garage door opener, wallet etc. Who knows, might be the last bike I buy so I want to set it up with the things I want for long trips.

Wunderlinq?

I have seen some posts announcing a "Wunderlinq" device <search online for "blackbox embedded"> which is an integration with the Wunderwheel to operate your cellphone. Seems interesting to me, as cellphones have 100x the functionality of a mere dedicated GPS, at least if you have a waterproof phone, and would be one less thing to sync to your communicator (Packtalk, etc.,) plus you already own the phone. I like the idea of something like Android Auto/AppleTalk in place of a dedicated GPS.

I have a NAV VI, and after having the typical screen problems Garmin sent me a new one. It works fine. Nice to have it back. The locking mount for the NAV VI is very convenient.

One thing nice about the NAV VI--other than the usual GPS functions--is that it can display a number of other bike parameters, such as mileage, voltage, odometer reading, range, a couple mileage counters, coolant temperature, etc., etc.

jkjohnson said:

...One thing nice about the NAV VI...is that it can display a number of other bike parameters, such as mileage, voltage....

Click to expand...

And Max Lean Angle!

Need Advice on adding Garmin Zumo 595 to 2003 R1150 RT

Hi, i want to add my Garmin to my 2003 BMW. Is there a special harness I need? where to get it? thanks

After doing some research and pricing I found another option. Since the Nav VI is about a grand, I could buy the Zumo XT and bar mount it. With the rest of the money, since I've been in two bad accidents that totalled the bikes and walked away without wearing a helmet on either one it's time to start wearing one. I figure I can get a Shoei J-Cruise II and if I wanted to spend a little bit more an Aria Ram-x. Don't want a full face so one of those two would work. If I'm going to wear one I want something with good ventilation.

That’s a great decision. You have been blessed.

I did a review of the Zumo XT when it came out. I have about 40 screenshots in the review.

http://www.gregrice.com/zumoxt/zumoxt.html

gregrice56 said:

I did a review of the Zumo XT when it came out. I have about 40 screenshots in the review.

http://www.gregrice.com/zumoxt/zumoxt.html

Click to expand...

Thanks for the review. Weird to see that they still haven't fixed the compass display. Letters N/E/S/W are only rightside up if you're going north - going (e.g.) WSW you've got to interpolate between a sideways "W" and a sideways "S". Garmin makes displays for boats and airplanes (that's where they make their real money) so they know how to do it right.

I have both and like them both.


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Well, took my own advice. Got the Zumo XT and a Shoei j-cruise II helmet. Already recieved my Sargent seat w/backrest so now it's just wait the winter out till riding season. Would have been nice to take it for a test drive tho but I have no buyers regret yet. Thanks for all the replies.