Would you replace a 550 with a 660?

RSavage

RSavage

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I have a Zumo 550 and was wondering whether to upgrade to a 660.

This is partly because my riding companion uses a ghastly TT in a frightful (Givi) waterproof handlebar-mounted bag that renders the TT unreadable in the rain. We are planning a tour of (East) Germany and Poland and it would be nice if I didn't have to lead when it rains! However, he cannot afford a Zumo and I was thinking of (permanently0 lending him my 550 if I buy a 660.

Also I fancy spending some (more) money on my new 1200GSA.

Where do you mount the 660? My 550 is mounted next to the clutch lever. I tried it on the screen bars but like to be able to reach the unit with ease to enable in-flight programming.


Any thoughts would be very welcome.

Richard
 
RSavage: Well you would be killing 2 birds with one stone if you upgraded. Your buddy and you would both have Zumos.

My opinion is Upgrade. The 660 just had a great update that adds more features and eliminated most all of the problems it had. The features are very updated and the unit is faster and has much more storage. Also no more MP 3 issues with the 660 like the 550 had. You can put as many MP 3 files as you want on it and use any size SD Micro card. I have a 8G card

That being said I am sure you will want to share your routes with your buddy so you will have to have make sure both the 550 and the 660 have the samne maps in them an dalso Mapsource. Plan on doing the update when you get the 660, the first one is free.

The mount is also much better than the 550

I am glad I purchased the new 660 and would not look back
 
I've just upgraded from 550 to 660. It's a good bit of kit, the lane assist is good if on unfamiliar motorways. Bigger screen, faster etc
The mount 'looks nice' but it not as secure as the 550 mount with its fiddly screw. There is no security on the 660 standard garmin mount....just push the side button and the unit lifts away so you need to keep an eye on it at petrol stations or remove it for peace of mind...
I'm happy I upgraded anyway...:thumb2
 
 
rudiemoto said:
in-flight programming.
if seen by plod would get you due care and crash tester
like this twit keep the hands on bars and look where the r going
:comfort
View attachment 161492
flippyfly is an offroad god
most r not
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me i am a drop test dummy
Click to expand...



Hence, mounting it within reach of my left hand. And, no I don't do it in more than normally hazardous situations - other than on a bike.

But thanks for your concern.

Richard
 
GeorgeH said:
I've just upgraded from 550 to 660. It's a good bit of kit, the lane assist is good if on unfamiliar motorways. Bigger screen, faster etc
The mount 'looks nice' but it not as secure as the 550 mount with its fiddly screw. There is no security on the 660 standard garmin mount....just push the side button and the unit lifts away so you need to keep an eye on it at petrol stations or remove it for peace of mind...
I'm happy I upgraded anyway...:thumb2
Click to expand...

Where have you mounted it? Is there a TT or similar lockable mount?

Richard
 
azone said:
RSavage: Well you would be killing 2 birds with one stone if you upgraded. Your buddy and you would both have Zumos.

My opinion is Upgrade. The 660 just had a great update that adds more features and eliminated most all of the problems it had. The features are very updated and the unit is faster and has much more storage. Also no more MP 3 issues with the 660 like the 550 had. You can put as many MP 3 files as you want on it and use any size SD Micro card. I have a 8G card

That being said I am sure you will want to share your routes with your buddy so you will have to have make sure both the 550 and the 660 have the samne maps in them an dalso Mapsource. Plan on doing the update when you get the 660, the first one is free.

The mount is also much better than the 550

I am glad I purchased the new 660 and would not look back
Click to expand...

Thanks. I would update the 550 for my friend as I bought the lifetime map upgrades.

Richard
 
Thanks. I would update the 550 for my friend as I bought the lifetime map upgrades.
Click to expand...

This is an oldish thread now but it may be worth noting that giving the 550 away will not mean you can buy a 660 and use the Lifetime maps you have already purchased as they are locked to the 550. You will need to buy a new update for the 660 but at least the price has dropped to £75.00.

I have the Lifetime maps for my 660 and the download requires the 660 to be connected to the computer to start the download. The download will not start if I connect my wife's 550. Lifetime means the time you own the 550 - not your lifetime.
 
andyclift said:
This is an oldish thread now but it may be worth noting that giving the 550 away will not mean you can buy a 660 and use the Lifetime maps you have already purchased as they are locked to the 550. You will need to buy a new update for the 660 but at least the price has dropped to £75.00.

I have the Lifetime maps for my 660 and the download requires the 660 to be connected to the computer to start the download. The download will not start if I connect my wife's 550. Lifetime means the time you own the 550 - not your lifetime.
Click to expand...


Sorry I might not have made myself clear. Although I intend(ed) to give Barry my 550 while enjoying(?) the 660 myself, I always intended to keep the maps updated for both units myself IYSWIM.

I'm now not sure that buying a 660 is a good move. I'm surprised by how few people here have replied saying that it's a great idea and I have seen a lot of, mostly N American, comments elsewhere that slate it.

Richard
 
First about changing. I did last year, giving my wife the 550. The 660 is without doubt a better satnav in many areas. I probably would not have changed if a second satnav was needed (my wife was becoming increasingly frustrated with the limitations and reliability of her Tomtom Rider) but I am very happy with the 660 and I understand that Garmin will not issue any more updates to the 550.

There were some problems with the early 660 software but the updates seem to have solved most problems and the 550 is not perfect. The latest published update 3.9 is pretty stable and has some good extras. My 660 has 4.0 and, so far, is totally stable but is not available for download yet.

Now to my original point. The Lifetime Maps update deal is locked to the satnav it was bought for. It cannot be used for any other so you cannot use it to update BOTH systems. To update both the 550 and 660 you will have to have two subscriptions, one for each.

On a general note. I wish people would not use pointless collections of letters in posts. This is not a text message, there is no limit on the number of characters and it does not cost any more to write in clear English. That way everyone knows what is being written. BGRTTMFFF. Meaningless isn't it.
 
andyclift said:
On a general note. I wish people would not use pointless collections of letters in posts. This is not a text message, there is no limit on the number of characters and it does not cost any more to write in clear English. That way everyone knows what is being written. BGRTTMFFF. Meaningless isn't it.
Click to expand...

:thumb2
 
andyclift said:
First about changing. I did last year, giving my wife the 550. The 660 is without doubt a better satnav in many areas. I probably would not have changed if a second satnav was needed (my wife was becoming increasingly frustrated with the limitations and reliability of her Tomtom Rider) but I am very happy with the 660 and I understand that Garmin will not issue any more updates to the 550.

There were some problems with the early 660 software but the updates seem to have solved most problems and the 550 is not perfect. The latest published update 3.9 is pretty stable and has some good extras. My 660 has 4.0 and, so far, is totally stable but is not available for download yet.

Now to my original point. The Lifetime Maps update deal is locked to the satnav it was bought for. It cannot be used for any other so you cannot use it to update BOTH systems. To update both the 550 and 660 you will have to have two subscriptions, one for each.

On a general note. I wish people would not use pointless collections of letters in posts. This is not a text message, there is no limit on the number of characters and it does not cost any more to write in clear English. That way everyone knows what is being written. BGRTTMFFF. Meaningless isn't it.
Click to expand...


Right ho Mister Clift

I'm perfectly clear that the subscription for lifetime updates to the maps for my satellite navigation system is specific to each device. I'm sorry that I didn't make it clear that I know that to be the case. I am fully aware that I will have to carry out the updates for each and every unit for which I have bought a lifetime updates to the mapping detail.

I'm also sorry that you aren't familiar with the abbreviations which litter the world of news groups and pre-date text messaging - a most ghastly means of communication if ever there was one. However, a 'please' would not have been unwelcome in your request to desist in their use.

Thank you for being the only contributor, so far, to comment on the reliability of the 660. Do you use the supplied mount or one of Touratech's expensive solutions? Where do you mount it and on what machine? My 550 is mounted on the left bar (next to the clutch reservoir) with Touratech's locking mount. I found that the 550 vibrates too much if mounted on one of the screen rails.

Regards

Richard

TTFN :augie
 
Hi, I order a zumo 660 after having a tomtom for the car and needing a more upto date satnav for bike, car. Also good do to watpoints for cycling, walking and canoing (not sure wife likes idea of satnav and water!!)

As for ease of use I did fund it a bit clunky compared to the tomtom originally, but it's not a comparison thread.

I like the 660, still lots to learn on it but spent an evening just playing around, big screen and speed limits, junctions all good.

As for a mount. I've got a 2005 Dakar and didn't like the idea of the ram mount supplied. So I bought a sw motech centre console mount. Fits easy, looks better, easier to see as it's in front of you and reduces risk of random stone hitting 660 if it's on the bars. Oh, and did ivy it looks better too. Doesn't catch on BMW tank bag and I can also put my oxford hand muffs on too :eek:)

No problems so far and it's wired sieve into the bike too. The car mount I'd great.

Not sure if the ram mount will now fit my cycle, but will try. Completely universal sat nave, very happy.
 
RSavage said:
I have a Zumo 550 and was wondering whether to upgrade to a 660.
Click to expand...

Do it, you won't regret it. I much prefer the 660 to the 550, I prefer the mount as well... doesn't seem to suffer the same water ingress problems as the 550 mount. For me the 660 is better because:

better/bigger screen
better mount
built in speaker, good for the car
faster
can take larger SD memory
lane assist

RSavage said:
Right ho Mister Clift

I'm perfectly clear that the subscription for lifetime updates to the maps for my satellite navigation system is specific to each device.
Click to expand...

Depends what side of the fence you sit on this.... but I would begrudge having to pay twice for the same data.
There are a couple of programs hiding in the various corners of your internets that allow you to copy the mapping from a device, unlock it, install it to another device and install it into mapsource. Not that you would of course :D Just what I've heard :augie
 
Just for the record, I've had a 660 from almost day 1. I've always been happy with it, although the 3.80 shut downs were a pain.

Having been in groups led by 550 users, it seems the more info on the 660 screen and the extra features are useful, as quite often I spot the mistakes of the leader, while other 550 uses just follow blindly on.

Junction View and Lane Assist, as well as the 4 user definable boxes in "More Data" view, make the 660 a good machine.
 
boos boy said:
Hi, I order a zumo 660 after having a tomtom for the car and needing a more upto date satnav for bike, car. Also good do to watpoints for cycling, walking and canoing (not sure wife likes idea of satnav and water!!)

As for ease of use I did fund it a bit clunky compared to the tomtom originally, but it's not a comparison thread.

I like the 660, still lots to learn on it but spent an evening just playing around, big screen and speed limits, junctions all good.

As for a mount. I've got a 2005 Dakar and didn't like the idea of the ram mount supplied. So I bought a sw motech centre console mount. Fits easy, looks better, easier to see as it's in front of you and reduces risk of random stone hitting 660 if it's on the bars. Oh, and did ivy it looks better too. Doesn't catch on BMW tank bag and I can also put my oxford hand muffs on too :eek:)

No problems so far and it's wired sieve into the bike too. The car mount I'd great.

Not sure if the ram mount will now fit my cycle, but will try. Completely universal sat nave, very happy.
Click to expand...

I have a keyboard for sale if interested - all the keys work:augie
 
Zumo

550 or 660

Well for me off road 550 - tough as old boots - good at what it does responds well to GPX files ( total off road , ) My old one has been in a river lost for hour or so then found , knocked off in a Brecon rock climb , bounced down 50 metres or so - still 100%.

660 - road use excellent - tours music etc . Off road i not sure it would be as good as not as robust .

Still have both as could not get rid of the battered 550.

Both as good as each other.:roll:blagblah:roll
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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