Sat nav options
 

I'm looking for a sat nav for my xtz but I'm not sure which one to go for. Is there such a thing as a unit that is good for road and off road use? Also have any of you managed to mount one on the bar above the speedo console? Pics would be great if you have any.

Although dated, the Garmin Zumo 550 is a very popular choice here in Australia. They are still available S/H but starting to become rare now.

I have one mounted on my XT660Z and it works well. However am considering upgrading to a Zumo 390LM with integrated TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring).

Mine has City Navigator and Topo mapping installed....99% of the time City Navigator provides all the information I need.

Garmin Zumo GPS's come with mounting hardware.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...t/P8310510.jpg

Great stuff I'll have look on ebay. I've ordered a holder for my waterproof phone for now but I want a dedicated gps for the bike eventually.

I have a zumo 550 and I've had it for about 6 or so years and an x forum member for near 5 years. main units still working ok but they have a common problem with the cradle as the charging pins weaken and then fail. this has happened twice with me. but every gps has it's problems.

I've had a Zumo 400 for the last 8 years and swear by it. A good coating of ACF50 on the pins works a treat and it is possible to replace the connector if you can track down the parts.

The Zumo 400 is limited to UK only. To get full European mapping you need to move up to the Zumo 500 or above.

I have a Ducati Monster as my 2nd bike and use the Zumo on it as a speedo as the standard instrument cluster is really hard to read in daylight.

Al.

After deciding to upgrade from a smaller unit, I decided on the Garmin Montana 600.
I also got a AMPS Rugged Mount that fits it (there is one with and one without electrical connections). Decided on the cheaper one that comes without electrical wires. The Montana 600 can go 16 hours on it's own Li-Ion battery or 22 hours on 3 AAA's. I intend fitting a USB socket on the Tenere for charging the unit.
The connection between the top bar and the AMPS Mount is a GPS handlebar mount with a rubber spacer to fit around the thin top bar.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...F5C75D5C60.jpg

This is what the setup with the Montana 600 looks like. I have the South African as well as the Australian Topo maps on it and have used it in both countries

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...8820D28D85.jpg

gps
 

Hi I use a tomtom xxl 5 inch screen from the car at the moment it fits in a waterproof case which clamps to the bracing bar of the handlebars its ok but the mount wont quite fit on the gps bar above the clocks you need a ram mount type attachment I think touratec do a auxillary bar for the ten. When i get time I will be looking for a better mount for my car gps as looking down in traffic is not good!! When I used mine i had to keep stopping and studying the route while in bradford to find the road i wanted.:sad10:

I use a Zumo 550 and it's perfect for this application, though a bit long in the tooth now.

I did take a look at the newer offerings from Garmin, but they never really gave me anything over the Zumo. For such an old unit (must be close to 10 years old now), it's a testament to it's versatility that Garmin still support these. They still hold a good price on the 2nd hand market to.

I've had a few problems over the years (nine that I've had this unit), sometimes they can lock up, so you have to disconnect the battery to reset (lesson there was to carry the right sized allen key to remove the battery!), the touch screen went so I got a new one off eBay for a few quid, and last year in torrential rain the screen seal let in a pinprick of water (you'd be amazed how much chaos that caused!), but this was easily fixed to. Most of these things are covered on YouTube, so straightforward to perform.

Some of the features I really like on the Zumo is WAAS support, so your position is calculated by both GPS and land based augmentation systems. I also like the road / off road navigation facility and the easy at which you can create your route on a PC/Laptop then drop it effortlessly onto the Zumo. Repairs don't always mean the bin or specialist tools either.

I do it the old style :happy11: I use the Garmin GPSMAP 78S, that is originaly made for watersport. Very rigid, more than 100% waterproof. Maps from OSM.

But the routing is, well, let's say, a bit tricky. Good to follow tracks you made with another software on your PC.
But no sound, just beeps. Very small screen. If you load very big OSM maps (for example whole Europe) the scrolling of the map is very slow. But if you load just smaller areas (I made a map only for the alps from Munich to Milan) it is fine.

A big advantage is the old round Garmin power connector, this connector is absolutely vibration proof, best power supply you can get. But therefore there is no cradle with integrated power supply available.

I really like that old brick

Ciao
Solitario

Some great advice there guys thank you very much. I like the idea of the montana as I can use it whilst hiking too. I've got my phone mounted at the moment but I'm sure I'll take the plunge and get a gps unit soon.

I just pulled the pin on a Garmin Zumo 390LM...Complete with two TPMS senders...Hellishly expensive though !!!!

If any Aussies are interested in purchasing my Zumo 550 complete with integrated TyreDog TPMS before I list it on FleaBay...send me a PM. (See pic at start of this thread)

If you are wondering why I am so keen on TPMS....wait till you have a front tyre blow-out at 100+K's...you will have your answer.!!

After doing a 800km off-road trip this weekend on very rugged and rocky roads, my impression of the is that it is a bit heavy. I shook and vibrated a lot and finally pushed the soft neoprene spacers (that I stuck under it for support from the dash) out and I had to take it off on Saturday. But at our overnight stop, I tightened the clamps and fitted new thinner spacers under the GPS AMPS bracket. It worked much better. We did some horrible roads (at high speed) and everything stayed put.
After 2 days of usage, the built in Li-Ion battery of the Montana is just above 30% still. One can program the battery savings mode so the screen switches off after a determined time and only comes on when you touch it or when you approach a turn in the road when in Routing mode.

Hi, great gps, I have one too.
What maps are you using? Garmin city navigator only works the 2010, newer versions slow down the device too much.

The problem is the device cpu which cant hold newer city navigator versions, since they are a bit heavier. I use topographic maps on mine to have it more updated just lost the routing capabilities which I didn't use too.. Thanks for the help! :)