Zumos or other GPS?

Fellow Tossers,

I'm looking to get a GPS for my 1200 GS, I have done a fair bit of research and I guess that money no object I would go for a Zumo 550, the features I want are:

-Uk and Europe maps
-Ability to add others such as Morocco
-Ability to pre-plan routes
-Not hugely technical so I would like adding extra maps and updates to be straighforward and don't want to have to go mad mucking about adding extra memory and such if I can help it

-I'm not really that bothered about bluetooth, it would be a bonus but not sure how much I would use it. I would like an easy way for the unit to flag up when action is needed such as turnings and so forth.. So an audible buzzer or perhaps the unit going into powersave mode and only witching on before turn offs and stuff (Tom Tom Rider V2 can do this).
- I'm not bothered about being able to sue the unit in a car, bike only is fine.

I am pretty up to speed on what the different Tom Tom's and Zumo's can do but not sure how the Quests, Streetpilots, Navigators and other Garmins compare, what are the pro's and cons compared to Zumo's? should I also consider the other Garmins?

Cheers

Jack

If you are looking for simplicity the Zumo 500 would fit your bill.

Quest is outdated / much less quality reception.
26xx (outdated as well) ditto.
The 28xx series are pretty good, and have more ability's to adjust the screensettings to your preferences. But that means they are a bit more complicated as well.
278 modell is top of the line, but even more complex in possibility's

You could also check out the Nuvi 500 rugged outdoor series. Lacks some of the functions of the Zumo 500 series, but might be good enough for you.
Recalculation OFF is not possible in these series. For me that would be a show stopper. But if simple A to B riding is your thing.. who knows...

ECM said:

If you are looking for simplicity the Zumo 500 would fit your bill.

Quest is outdated / much less quality reception.
26xx (outdated as well) ditto.
The 28xx series are pretty good, and have more ability's to adjust the screensettings to your preferences. But that means they are a bit more complicated as well.
278 modell is top of the line, but even more complex in possibility's

You could also check out the Nuvi 500 rugged outdoor series. Lacks some of the functions of the Zumo 500 series, but might be good enough for you.
Recalculation OFF is not possible in these series. For me that would be a show stopper. But if simple A to B riding is your thing.. who knows...

Click to expand...

Thanks but as mentioned the ability to pre plan routes is essential for me... so not just A to B riding, will check the 28xx series as you mention...money is an issue as i don't fancy spending close to £400. The 500 I looked into but the problem is it does not come with European maps and I'm not sure if it has anough memory to take them when bough separately...but when taking the cost of these maps into account it makes more sense to get the 550..but that is just too much cash for me right now. on ebay they go for almost the new price..

Buy a quest new £95 have a play see what features you like/dislike and you could probably sell it for nearly as much as you paid for it.
then you can wait and see how good the new 660 will be with out being one of the guinee pigs.
I prefer the screen set up on quest better than my nuvi I have for the car.
so tend to take quest in the car over the nuvi, bt I don't use sound so prefer more screen info.
I was having the same problem with wot to get, this worked for me so far.

Dazzle

Hmmm. Think only one region on the Zumo 500 is loaded, but the supplied DVD is unlocked for the whole of Europe. Could be wrong ......

The Nuvi 500/550 does not come with Mapsource, so is not suitable (unless you can get hold of a copy & set of maps. Unlocking the maps on your PC is simple & costs nothing). The lack of an ability to turn off auto-recalculation is far less of an issue with the later Garmins (Zumos & Nuvis) than earlier units. Recalcs now perform only up to the next waypoint (soft or hard). Autozoom & (pseudo) 3D views likewise are much more useable.

The Nuvi 500/550 are not just 'A to B' units; full multi-point routing & integration with Mapsource (RoadTrip on the Mac) is exactly the same as the Zumo.

The 2820 (Nav 3) is obsolete.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of mounting & powering the unit.

chasr said:

Hmmm. Think only one region on the Zumo 500 is loaded, but the supplied DVD is unlocked for the whole of Europe. Could be wrong ......

Click to expand...

Umm, I know the 400 does not have enough memory to add extra regions so not sure about the 500..?

chasr said:

The Nuvi 500/550 does not come with Mapsource, so is not suitable (unless you can get hold of a copy & set of maps. Unlocking the maps on your PC is simple & costs nothing). The lack of an ability to turn off auto-recalculation is far less of an issue with the later Garmins (Zumos & Nuvis) than earlier units. Recalcs now perform only up to the next waypoint (soft or hard). Autozoom & (pseudo) 3D views likewise are much more useable.

Click to expand...

Don't know what auto recalcualtion is??

chasr said:

The Nuvi 500/550 are not just 'A to B' units; full multi-point routing & integration with Mapsource (RoadTrip on the Mac) is exactly the same as the Zumo.

Click to expand...

Ok but they don't come with mapsource so essentially pre planned routes are not possible on the Nuvi's out of the box?

The 2820 (Nav 3) is obsolete.

chasr said:

Don't forget to factor in the cost of mounting & powering the unit.

Click to expand...

basolutely, this why in the ned, when all is weighed up i keep going back to the 550 but jsut don't weant to spend £400.

Is there any reason for me not to look into a Quest or 28xx series?

The Quest is very limited in storage - 243mb. That will just about cover England & Wales, which is not enough. Moreover, it uses non-NT mapping, which may not be supported much longer. Good though it is (& I've got one), it is too old.

The 2820 was the top of its line (2610-2720-2820). It uses NT mapping, has Bluetooth (though a bit sticky), loads of memory, but is quite large & has no internal battery. A good buy second-hand, though prices tend to be high. The 2610 is also a very good buy second-hand (I've got one of those, too), cheaper, quick recalculation, but - again - non-NT mapping.

The Nuvi 550 is around £235. As I said before, and you noted, it doesn't have Mapsource & a mapping DVD. Garmin will send you a DVD with the map for free if you ask them nicely. Mapsource, though, is a different matter. If you have a mate nearby with a Zumo or Streetpilot, he could install his software on your PC and then you're off & running. Other than buying second-hand, this is probably the cheapest way to get a decent motocycle GPS.

You will need to check further regarding the Zumo 500 and its memory limitations.

Auto-recalculation, & auto zoom, were 2 of the areas we used to bang on about in the early days. With Streetpilots, you could transfer a planned route with only the start & finish waypoints. As long as you stayed on the route, the GPS would guide you down exactly the roads you had carefully planned on your PC. As soon as you strayed, the GPS would happily announce 'off route, recalculating' and then do exactly that, normally down the nearest motorway. To add to your woes, mapping wasn't quite so good &, even though you might have been on the correct road, the GPS would decide you had made a mistake and send you round the M25 instead. Bummer. Zumos & Nuvis now take a string of waypoints, either soft (dragged to a point) or hard (added waypoints), and then will recalculate their own routing according to your preferences. As long as you've put in enough waypoints, or defined the route by dragging the (Mapsource) line to lots of points, the GPS will take you where you want to go. Even if you stray off route, it will only recalculate to the next waypoint, which is pretty much where you would wish to go anyway. The Zumo 400,500,550 allows you to switch off auto-recalculation but it doesn't really matter any more.

The Zumo 550, or upcoming 660 (which seems to be a larger version of the Nuvi 550 but with Mapsource & bike mounts) are your best bet - though at a price. A few months ago, I would have suggested going for a second-hand 2610. However, I'm not sure how long Garmin are going to keep producing updated mapping in non-NT format (NT & non-NT are the same in content, though use different storage algorithms. NT also permits post-code searching). A second-hand 2820 at the right price would be best but, I suspect, would approach the cost of a new Zumo. Dunno

+ 1 for Nuvi 550

And 'acquire' Mapsource

Just used my Nuvi 550 trip to S of France and back and it was faultless

chasr said:

The Nuvi 550 is around £235. As I said before, and you noted, it doesn't have Mapsource & a mapping DVD. Garmin will send you a DVD with the map for free if you ask them nicely. Mapsource, though, is a different matter. If you have a mate nearby with a Zumo or Streetpilot, he could install his software on your PC and then you're off & running. Other than buying second-hand, this is probably the cheapest way to get a decent motocycle GPS.

Click to expand...

Thanks very much!! very exhaustive write up and very useful.. not come across amotorbike mount for the Nuvi, how much are they and what type should i look for?

jack.pe said:

Thanks very much!! very exhaustive write up and very useful.. not come across amotorbike mount for the Nuvi, how much are they and what type should i look for?

Click to expand...

Just get one from www.gpsw.co.uk or www.ram-mount-uk.com

About a tenner for cradle and same again for Ram ball etc

Here ya go.This is the cradle.

Just attach with daimond base,ram ball,short or long arm and u bolt etc.

Connect to battery with this if you want it powered up.

Cradle seen on my Blade :

Guys,

The cradle, mount and then the power lead come to about £50 -£60 so with the Nuvi it will come to about £300... in that case it's probably better to go for the Zumo 550 for an extra £80 or so.. at least it won't be a compromise..

Thanks for all your advice..

jack.pe said:

in that case it's probably better to go for the Zumo 550 for an extra £80 or so.. at least it won't be a compromise..

Click to expand...

Good decision. You won't be disappointed

I've used the 550 on my RT1200 and now have it fitted to my GSA. I've used it all over Europe, in the U.S.A., and South Africa without fault. I got the South Africa maps on SD card off flea-bay for €90. I use it with an Autocom which gives me the option to use mp3 feature and phone. I see Garmin have a new 660 released but I'm happy with the 550.