Garmin Zumo GPS thread.

Discussion in 'Gear & Accessories' started by jasonsmith, Nov 3, 2009.

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What do you have?

  1. Zumo 550

    30 vote(s)
    50.8%
  2. Zumo 660

    10 vote(s)
    16.9%
  3. Older Zumo

    4 vote(s)
    6.8%
  4. Want to get a Zumo.

    15 vote(s)
    25.4%
  1. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    Yea finding places to eat in the tourist stops is not hard...............but the right one (cheap, good & fast) is another matter. Local knowledge is key so the Zumos do not provide a total solution. But I rarely know exactly where/when I am going to stop for chow and it is hard to investigate "eats" before hand as I am focusing on the best roads to ride mostly.

    As stated Leavenworth is the same gig............another theme park!
    [​IMG]

    Great pie place between Leavenworth and Wenatchee...local MC guy pointed it out...of course.
    [​IMG]

    Am I crazy but are there not a lot of f....ing dear up there??? Don't you guys have a deer season? Saw this on another one of my trips up to the area...by Lake Chelan. Plenty on Stevens pass too! I think I saw some big time warning signs on RT20.
    [​IMG]

    The Zumo needs a Venison warning like this......but then what do you do? Right, left, stop, go fast....what would McGiver do??
    [​IMG]
     
  2. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Fun for a couple of times but SOS after that. Next time through there is a bypass just West of the first traffic light. It's a loop that spits you out just East of town. Nice little set of twisties.

    Heard about that pie place. Is that the same one where they have all the coffee cups?

    Hit one of the roadside stands in summer for some of the produce. We used to take 20 then hook North to Osyoos on the way up to Sportbikewest in Kewlona. Produce stands seemingly every few feet and some great munching.

    Deer, Elk, bears, and other roadkill that can kill you. The last stretch on 20 is wilderness. Lots of critters. Deer are problematic. They will usually take off unless it's a buck in estrus. Elk are the ones to be really careful about. Big and pissed off sort of sums it up. Nice to have someting other than the stock chickenshit and way too apologetic horn on the bike. Lots of alternatives. Mine is a mid-70's junkyard special out of I think, a Caddie.

    McGiver would figure something out, finance and star in a whole new gig about aliens who dress like Steve Martin then sit back and count his money.. This of course after ditching the mullet.
     
  3. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    I have been on that loop cutoff thru Plain. It eventually hooks up back RT2 and Stevens Pass. I enjoyed some nice twisty sections just south of town as well...but it dead ends eventually. Wish I had my Zumo then to see where my tracks/I actually went as I was following a local. Some pretty good dirt stuff in the area for dual sports. Not sure about the coffee cups as I had my beady eyes on the Apple Pie!
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2010
  4. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Set up a "run" a few years back. Started in Monroe with a timed and dated receipt from the local Chevron station on 2, to Stevens Pass> 97 Blewitt Pass> I-90 Snoaqualmie Pass. Three such checks ending in Issaquah,WA to stay out of the unpredicatable Seattle traffic. Basic deal: All three checkpoints mailed to a PO Box. Originals only w/no markings. Fastest time gets name on trophy that sits in local biker tav and presented on Halloween night. Had to back off on that one..We changed it to an American type rally with several categories, charged an entry fee, After expenses, bucks to charity and cash prizes based upon the number of entrants. The guy who won the big prize (about $500.00 as I remember) just did it for grins riding an airhead BMW. No maps, no GPS no nothin. Plain was one of the take a pic for extra brownies on the final version of the run. The original version was nuts..




    Still running in several forms called "The Three Pass Blast."
     
  5. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Set up a "run" a few years back. Started in Monroe with a timed and dated receipt from the local Chevron station on 2, to Stevens Pass> 97 Blewitt Pass> I-90 Snoaqualmie Pass. Three such checks ending in Issaquah,WA to stay out of the unpredicatable Seattle traffic. Basic deal: All three checkpoints mailed to a PO Box. Originals only w/no markings. Fastest time gets name on trophy that sits in local biker tav and presented on Halloween night. Had to back off on that one..We changed it to an American type rally with several categories, charged an entry fee, After expenses, bucks to charity and cash prizes based upon the number of entrants. The guy who won the big prize (about $500.00 as I remember) just did it for grins riding an airhead BMW. No maps, no GPS no nothin. Plain was one of the take a pic for extra brownies on the final version of the run. The original version was nuts..




    Still running in several forms called "The Three Pass Blast."
     
  6. jasonsmith

    jasonsmith Member

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    Here are some Zumo 665 screenshots that I have gathered from here and there. Same unit as the 660 but with XM radio and what seems to be the most liked XM Weather.

    Things to note about the XM Weather. You do not get active weather in the main navigation screen. You can hit the little blue weather icon for the weather screens that you will see below. You will however get weather warnings on the main nav screen and if clicked on they go to the main weather screens. The XM requires a subscription for each feature, the XM radio as well as the XM Weather. I think the cost is less than $20 a month.

    Also like everything new from Garmin there are issues with the antenna and BT conflicting with each other. Not sure yet if the the XM can be sent stereo bluetooth to a headset yet. Waiting for confirmation on that one, very important one too in my opinion.

    XM Weather

    [​IMG]
    ^^ Tools Screen

    [​IMG]
    ^^ After hitting the weather icon.

    [​IMG]
    ^^ Forcast

    [​IMG]
    ^^ Forcast

    [​IMG]
    ^^ Radar

    [​IMG]
    ^^ Radar

    [​IMG]
    ^^ Nav screen with weather icon button.

    [​IMG]
    ^^ Nav screen with snow warning.


    XM RADIO

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  7. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    An option if my 550 dies. I wonder how it handles tracks.....have not heard yet.
     
  8. jasonsmith

    jasonsmith Member

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    It's identical to the 660 Bonus, just has XM.
     
  9. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    I saw somewhere there was a software feature/rumor maybe that allowed showing multiple or old tracks but no confirmation. THis is more imporatant for dirt riding.

    Weather would be nice on a long tour especially the radar bit to see the actual fronts. The 550 has weather forecasts but not the radar.
     
  10. jasonsmith

    jasonsmith Member

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    There's an update in the works that will bring the 660 up to the 665 minus the XM obviously. I haven't heard anyone confirm the multitrack thing yet either. I think it was skipped on the current update.

    I'm not sure I'm ready to pay an extra $240 a year for a service that I wouldn't use all the time. Plus the 665 is about $200 more than the 660. Maybe the 770...
     
  11. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    I have the time to tour more now but don't. If you did mega miles than the radar/weather would be a ticket. I have a buddy in San Diego that rode 92K last year....he could use it but his 550 is still working fine.
     
  12. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    Wow. Did he stop to sleep. It has taken me 3 1/2 years to ride 95K km and I thought I rode a lot
     
  13. jasonsmith

    jasonsmith Member

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    FWIW the newest Garmin Map Set 2011.10 has the Golden Ears Bridge. Your GPS's should stop freaking out when your going over it.
     
  14. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    That's great cause I thought that woman was going to miscarry last time I went over the bridge. Now I just have to pay the fee to get the upgrades. You would think at what the cost of these things are, they would give you at least a year's worth of upgrades. Maybe I will send them an e-mail to that effect and they will ngive me a free upgrade.
     
  15. jasonsmith

    jasonsmith Member

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    You get one free one with your purchase that expires within 6 months of activation. Your request will fall on deaf ears but give it a shot. I agree with you, for the cost of the Zumo they should be free for the lifetime of the unit.
     
  16. jasonsmith

    jasonsmith Member

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    UPDATE AVAILABLE !!!!!!!!!!!! and it's a good one. EDIT: IT'S THE BEST ONE YET!!!!

    Use webupdater to install
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2010
  17. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    Well it is about time. Finally I have full use of my Turkish keyboard. I have just been so lost.

    But seriously though, I think I will bite the bullit and pay for the life long upgrades. At my rate, that should give me three years of use.
     
  18. BonusVFR

    BonusVFR New Member

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    My Zumo 550 is starting to get a bit tired so I don't think the lifetime upgrade is that great a deal for me.

    As a word of caution be careful about major upgrades just before a big tour espeically if you have planned all the routes out already on the old mapsets.
     
  19. jasonsmith

    jasonsmith Member

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    Just noticed there's also an official "Off Road" mode now too, don't know what attributes it adjusts or adds yet but am looking into it.
     
  20. jasonsmith

    jasonsmith Member

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    As I stated above Garmin has now added an Off Road Mode to the 660.

    You can easily select it by clicking on the motorcycle on top of your main screen. You will get the following selection screen which I am sure you have seen before.

    [​IMG]

    You will now see a wheel kicking up dirt on the very top instead of a motorcycle or car or person, pending on what you had selected before.

    [​IMG]

    In this mode you can tweak all your settings such as you avoidance's, map view, navigation orientation, auto-recalculation etc. The Zumo will remember all the settings per mode for you so you only need to set them once. A very useful ability IMO.

    **************

    The other thing that goes along with this mode is the new track handling ability. The point of this is to show you your tracks on the main map screen when you happen to be in an area where your tracks are. You can change the color of the tracks and choose which ones you want shown on the map.

    There are some limitations that smrt'r than me fella found...

    This feature is in it's infancy so I can only imagine it will be improved upon over time.

    When you have a track imported to the unit you will get the following "Off Road Tracks" icon in your tools menu.

    [​IMG]

    That icon is ONLY available if you have a track imported to the unit. How to do it is, go to your "My Data" folder in your tools menu and select "Import Data"

    [​IMG]

    Then go into the "Off Road Tracks" folder and select a track.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Select import on the next screen after selecting one of the tracks.

    Now you can go back to your "Off Road Tracks" icon in tools.

    [​IMG]

    You will find your track in there. When you click on that track you will see the following options.

    [​IMG]

    From there you can change the color of the track, and choose whether or not you want that track to show on your main map screen.

    Once you done importing and messing with you tracks you can go back to mountain and kick up dirt and have all your previous tracks with you.

    (Borrowed Image from the same smrt'r than me guy) There are 15 different tracks cleverly in the shape of numbers to depict the 15 track limitation.
    [​IMG]

    ************

    What does all this mean? It means that Garmin is actively making the 660/665 more and more useful and powerful as the days go by. This recent update to 3.80 has kicked it up a couple of notches and I for one am really impressed with it. A nice to know for those that shelled out the big coin factor for such a device. If you happen to have a bike that can travel on dirt (SCUBA) you can really benefit from all of this.
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2010
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