The Best GPS for Motorcycles
The Best GPS for Motorcycles
The Best GPS for Motorcycles
The Best GPS for Motorcycles
Here are three of the best GPS for Motorcycles; they are Garmin products as they have been designed by motorcyclists for motorcyclist, sturdy, waterproof.
The Garmin Zumo 550 has an 8.8 rating out of 10 from over 200 reviews and the Garmin Zumo 660 has a 7.2 rating from 35 reviews and the top of the range Garmin Zumo 665 has a 7.6 rating from 17 reviews.
Garmin 550 v's the Garmin 660
I have a Zumo 550 and it was with interest that I helped a friend install his Zumo 660. After taking two road trips in the car and working with the 660 I have some comparisons to make to my 550.
Let me predicate my review as it is based on the 660 Firmware update 3.20 that came out towards the end of July of 2009.
1. The 660 doesn't display all street names when browsing the map. I found my friends house using the where to button and it showed the house but none of the street names (including his street name) surrounding his house. The zoom level didn't matter.
2. Won't follow the route you specify in Map Source custom route download.. The 660 will recalculate the route you download so there is no guarantee that the route you enter on your computer will be followed by the 660. You have to really get into the habit of using waypoints.
3. Construction of the 660 is like a nuvi. In fact, I think it is a modified nuvi. The USB connection on the 660 can only be accessed by removing the battery cover (which then causes an annoying message to appear that the battery cover is off) There is no tether for the cover, so if you lose it, guess what? All GPS functions are disabled! The 660 only works in GPS mode with the battery cover attached. The screen feels like soft plastic when you touch it. In comparison the USB connection on the 550 is behind a hinged door, and it doesn't matter if the door is open or closed. So even if you break the door, the 550 still operates as a GPS. The 550's screen feels more like glass to me. In my opinion - for fit and finish - the 550 is built like a brick house, the 660 - not so much.
4. The 660 doesn't come with a 120v charger adapter like the 550 does. Both the 660 and the 550 will recharge with the USB connection but if you are planning a trip with your 660, you have a limited amount of battery power because if you plug in the USB cable to recharge it - it enters the USB Mass Storage Mode. The 550 will operate as a GPS plugged into a 12v source (cradle in car or bike) or the 120v adapter (like at home or your hotel room.)
5. The 660 utilizes a micro-sd card. The 550 uses an easy-to-handle standard SD card. The SD card in the 550 can be plugged into your pc's card slot and read like a disk drive.The micro-sd card is so darn small, and inconvenient to get to, (you have to remove the 660's battery to get to it) it's hardly worth the trouble.
6. Never saw the lane change notice feature. Apparently none of the freeway interchanges we went through were programmed into the 660.
7. Even at maximum volume in the car, the 660's internal speaker was barely audible. This is a serious problem. You have to have all other music in the car off in order to hear the 660 through its internal speaker when using the car mounting. The external speaker in the 550's auto mounting gives you plenty of volume and can be heard over other noises in the car.
8. 660 don't have the screen change/flip/page button like the 550. You can toggle between screens by hitting the box button on the side of the 550 repeatedly. I find that a very useful way to navigate around the system. I could not find an equivalent key or process on the 660 to do the same thing.
9. On the 550 - touching the turn in xx miles portion of the nav map screen, the unit repeats the last verbal instructions again. I could not find an equivalent key or process on the 660 to do this simple task.
10. It may not matter to you, but the 660 is not integrated to work with XM radio and weather. The 550 will support XM and Weather if you get the GPX 30 antenna receiver and pay the subscription service.
CONCLUSION:
I still feel that after handling both units, the 550 is a true motorcyclists GPS, it does everything I ask of it. The 660 can be, but as stated elsewhere, it got released before all the bugs were worked out of it. It needs work.
It is interesting to me that Garmin is playing the field with the 660, the 550 is still a cataloged product, and is still for sale at most dealers. I don't know if they plan to phase out the 550 if and when more 660's are sold.
I do know that I'm very happy with my 550 for now and will watch Garmin to see what firmware updates they provide to address the shortcomings for the 660
Zumo 665 Motorcycle GPS has a motorcycle-friendly navigator with stereo Bluetooth, XM satellite radio, weather, and traffic. Take a ride on a new route and explore the open road with the zumo 665, whether you're on a weekday ride just across town or a weeklong trip to an annual rally with friends. The zmo 665 also includes a carrying case, vehicle mount and power cable. It's like having two full-featured navigators for the price of one.
Featuring a bright 4.3" touch screen color display, the zumo 665 puts all the information you need in an easy-to-read format as you travel down the road. The zumo 665 also has a glove-friendly intuitive interface that makes entering information as easy as shifting gears. In addition, the wide sunlight-readable display makes for easy navigation - whether you're riding during a bright day or a moonless night. And with a rugged waterproof case that resists fuel sprays and UV rays, the zumo 665 was built for life on the road.
To read the complete reviews of the best GPS for motorcycles and look at the video comparison of all three of these great Garmin products, please go to GPS Motorcycles.
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