Hi Chaps n Debs,
It looks like I'll be venturing solo into Europe on the bike for the first time later this year, so was thinking of getting a proper sat nav instead of using the phone in a waterproof case.
The phone sat nav has served me well over the years in the UK, but I find that the battery still discharges over a period of time even when plugged into a charger, and its also a pain trying to plan a specific route.
I was thinking of getting a Zumo 390 with lifetime maps and curvy roads feature, although its a little pricey. Is Garmin the way to go these days, is Tom Tom just as good, or are there any other options that I might've missed?
Cheers,
Mark
I have a Garmin 660 and a 500 so you decide yup can be pricey but well worth it if ya ask me :)
Sent from my iPhone by mini Elves.
Zeb
Garmin everytime over TomTom for me.
The 350 or 390 probably meet most people's needs. Do you really need the extra 'Apps' for MP3 playback or photo viewer, calculator etc., or the ability to make phone calls on the move?
I'm still using a trusty StreetPilot 2720.
Garmin 660 for me :yes:
Haven't checked out all the specs between the garmin sat navs yet, but do like my music on long journeys. As long as its easy to use with gloves on, will connect to my Sena SMH10 to hear guidance and music, will allow the upload of planned routes, and has lifetime maps I'm happy.
Looks like its narrowed down to a zumo at least anyway!
Thanks for the input - does anyone have one with all those features?
Quote from: shaggs147 on June 20, 2014, 09:01:46 PM
Haven't checked out all the specs between the garmin sat navs yet, but do like my music on long journeys. As long as its easy to use with gloves on, will connect to my Sena SMH10 to hear guidance and music, will allow the upload of planned routes, and has lifetime maps I'm happy.
Looks like its narrowed down to a zumo at least anyway!
Thanks for the input - does anyone have one with all those features?
Yes and I also use SMH10 :banana:
Quote from: O.C. on June 21, 2014, 06:41:18 AM
Yes and I also use SMH10 ~ I don't have the L.M option but its the same device :banana:
Garmin 660 ... no other choice. :yes:
Quote from: Rusty on June 21, 2014, 06:55:54 AM
Garmin 660 ... no other choice. :yes:
+1
Sent from my iPhone by mini Elves.
Zeb
:oops: I like TomTom
Quote from: shaggs147 on June 20, 2014, 09:01:46 PM
Haven't checked out all the specs between the garmin sat navs yet, but do like my music on long journeys. As long as its easy to use with gloves on, will connect to my Sena SMH10 to hear guidance and music, will allow the upload of planned routes, and has lifetime maps I'm happy.
Looks like its narrowed down to a zumo at least anyway!
Thanks for the input - does anyone have one with all those features?
my combo is a Zumo 350, samsung S4 active and Sena SMH-5 FM. works like a charm. Got phone and music from my phone. guidance and speed camera warning from the zumo and FM-radio from the SMH5-FM. Tried it on my recsent trip to UK and the function was almost seamless. The only problem was all your damn roundabouts.... music got interupted every 200 yards by " In the rundabout, take the second left" Baaah! Works great in Sweden, we only have one road with no crossings. :smiley:
Rusty very generously gave me his zumo 660 with the bike. I've not really used it until we went to the Belfry. Now I wouldn't be without it.
I have music to my sena smh10 and the phone to the Zumo. Works nicely.
Used Tomtom Rider 2 to get me to Barcelona and back and it was inch perfect. 2 hotels were well out of the way and if guided me there without a hitch.
The Scala headset lasted for days without a charge-up and the "Find the nearest Petrol station" was very useful when the trip is showing 320KMs since the last fill up!
Thanks for the input everyone, will be looking out for a zumo, maybe a 660 I think
I do not know the prices in the UK, but in terms of prices, I will always choose the TomTom Rider 2013 (v5) - ie. just because of the price difference. Garmin costs approx. twice as much as TomTom. Secondly, I think that TomTom has a much better user interface (GUI) and its ability to recalculate routes are unsurpassed. Winding roads is also something that TomTom Rider just doing better than Garmin.
A few years ago, the Garmin *was* a better product. However, TomTom has learned from their mistakes and today's edition is very durable. The lifetime of the maps, user share, maps changes/updates locally, IQ routes and much more.
Price and quality often go together - this does not apply to Garmin vs. TomTom Rider!
Just my 2 cents
Love my Samsung S4 Active... Its waterproof and have everything in 1. Downloaded the TomTom app for £50 and love it... Used it all over Europe without a problem..
Bloody good phone too Debs aint it ?....better than the Nokia Lumia :mfr_lol:
The most important to me between Garmin and Tom Tom, is custom routes, and customer service.
Tom Tom is poor in both, if you really know how to use your 660 (few riders do) it is a great Satnav, interaction between BaseCamp or Map Source or directly imputing the Poi's on the device is second to none.
Then, my device crashed last year ( bought it in 2009), I sent it for repair, they told me to pay 145 Euros first before they even looked at it, I did, then they told me that my device was beyond repair and sent me a new one. For 145 Euros that was well worth it!
Love the custom route feature, and they did the same when my 550 broke service exchange :)
Sent from my iPhone by mini Elves.
Zeb
To be honest, I was always happy with the sat nav on the phone, got you from A to B with no great fuss and I got the audio through the Sena SMH10.
If all goes to plan, I'll be having a little European wander about in September, and like the idea of being able to plan a route and upload it to the nav system rather than being sent the fastest or most direct way etc.
My phone seems fine for a few hours use to get me home, but the battery does tend to drain even with it constantly powered by the bike. It will be ok for backup, but don't want to rely on it as the main unit.
At the moment I'm sort of leaning towards the Garmin 660 but I'll see if they're any bargains to be had :mfr_lol:
I have only ever used Garmin. The only thing I do not like with the 660 is you cannot lock it to the mount, therefore you need to take it with you whenever you leave the bike out of sight.
A friend has TomTom which he swears by,BUT if he misses a waypoint due to road closures or similar, it will keep trying to send him back to that point,even if he has made the next one.
Quote from: doebag on June 23, 2014, 07:39:34 PM
I have only ever used Garmin. The only thing I do not like with the 660 is you cannot lock it to the mount, therefore you need to take it with you whenever you leave the bike out of sight.
ahem, yes you can my friend, my 660 is locked to its mount via a Touratech locking mount
see here :yes:
http://shop.touratech.co.uk/handlebar-mount-motorbike-for-zumo-660-v2-0-lockable-anodised-black.html
Yes you can but my pocket is way cheaper :)
Sent from my iPhone by mini Elves.
Zeb
Quote from: O.C. on June 24, 2014, 01:19:10 PM
ahem, yes you can my friend, my 660 is locked to its mount via a Touratech locking mount
see here :yes:
http://shop.touratech.co.uk/handlebar-mount-motorbike-for-zumo-660-v2-0-lockable-anodised-black.html
£135 :eek:
I can buy a lot of pockets for £135
Quote from: Debs on June 23, 2014, 11:57:15 AM
Love my Samsung S4 Active... Its waterproof and have everything in 1. Downloaded the TomTom app for £50 and love it... Used it all over Europe without a problem..
Hi Deb's what do you have to fit it to the bike - I know I saw you're old baby but can't remember.
Quote from: PCPeteUK on June 24, 2014, 05:11:10 PM
Hi Deb's what do you have to fit it to the bike - I know I saw you're old baby but can't remember.
One of these Pete.
(http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y411/bikergirl1400/20140315_084909_zps06ba7add.jpg) (http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/bikergirl1400/media/20140315_084909_zps06ba7add.jpg.html)
These are the items..
http://www.holdersandmounts.co.uk/herbert-richter-universal-holder-small.html
http://www.holdersandmounts.co.uk/herbert-richter-bike-phone-secure-1686.html
Its mounted on this from ProjektD
http://projektd.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_39_46&products_id=64&osCsid=82c510865c967bd5bc756cb014c8a107
Quote from: doebag on June 23, 2014, 07:39:34 PM
I have only ever used Garmin. The only thing I do not like with the 660 is you cannot lock it to the mount, therefore you need to take it with you whenever you leave the bike out of sight.
A friend has TomTom which he swears by,BUT if he misses a waypoint due to road closures or similar, it will keep trying to send him back to that point,even if he has made the next one.
One has to learn how to use all features! You can skip waypoints like a breeze - and you can do route planing just like Garmin!
;-)
Quote from: doebag on June 24, 2014, 03:20:30 PM
£135 :eek:
I can buy a lot of pockets for £135
Ermm you're the one who wanted a locking mount and its definitely cheaper than a replacement 660 :yes:
Quote from: O.C. on June 25, 2014, 07:27:43 AM
Ermm you're the one who wanted a locking mount and its definitely cheaper than a replacement 660 :yes:
Not quite, I mentioned it was the only thing I did not like about it, not that I WANTED a locking mount. Like I said, I can buy a lot of pockets.............................
Quote from: doebag on June 25, 2014, 09:47:46 AM
Not quite, I mentioned it was the only thing I did not like about it, not that I WANTED a locking mount. Like I said, I can buy a lot of pockets.............................
Whatever :wacko: ....the point is that you
can buy a locking mount if you so desire, ergo they
are available, yes, they are pricey, but then again the 'standard ' Kawasaki (non locking) accessory mounting is also pricey for what it is.
The choice is yours my friend :yes:
Im very happy with my 660, (when it works)
http://www.gtr1400.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4185.0
However, before the garmin I used a TomTom from my car in a ram mount waterproof box which gave me great service all over Europe.
the TomTom maps were far more accurate as in, what you saw on the screen is what you got as in degrees of bends coming up where the garmin in comparison is a little bit wishy washy. Needless to say I would never really on it as limit points are the only thing I trust.
Well I finally went for the 660, just waiting for it to be delivered. Thanks for everyone's input on the subject.
Does anyone know what the maximum size memory card the 660 will recognise? I have read that some people have used 16gb cards with no problems. I was thinking of upgrading my gopro card to a 64gb, then using the 32gb in the 660, but not sure if it would like it.
If nobody has tried that then I will wait for the zumo to be delivered to try it before I go buying more cards.
Cheers
Mark
I gotta 16 in mine cos it was laying about :)
Sent from my iPhone by mini Elves.
Zeb
I'm pretty sure I have a 32 Gb mini SD .... You will love the 660 ... Even I have been exploring it and there are many many features ... One of which is to accept pre made Scottish routes that just appear and off you go ...... Bloody amazing ! :mfr_lol: :mfr_lol:
I have a 16gb in mine and it works fine
Quote from: Rusty on July 01, 2014, 08:19:39 PM
One of which is to accept pre made Scottish routes that just appear and off you go ...... Bloody amazing ! :mfr_lol: :mfr_lol:
Nice one Rusty ...... I could do with one of those for my trip to Spain...... Does it appear by magic or do you employ a butler type of chappie :whistling:
Yes I do Shaggs but I only employ him when I go on trips to Scotland... . He is a decent sort of fellow with a couple of hounds rides a Gtr thingy and is of Northern origin posting funny threads on this here forum .... Not that I take too much notice of them ...
I'm not going to bite with Rustys comments. He'd be stuck in Bradford if it wasn't for my route planning!
Memory card wise for the 660, I have a 32gb one in mine, never had any problem with it. Just make sure you buy a quality card and preferably one with a high class rating, ideally Class 10.
Cheers Steve, room for plenty of music then!
PS I'm sure Rusty will return the favour and do the next route :mfr_lol:
I'm old school-ish.
I plan my route on Google Maps, then print it off and memorise it.
Yes, I often take a wrong turn but I generally have a good sense of direction so rarely get lost for long.
Besides, I like getting lost. :punk: It's FUN!
I have my phone as a backup which is fine so long as I can get a data connection.
What I don't like is following people who spend half their time looking at the SatNav.
When yer riding you need 100% attention on the road ahead and the world around you.
Everyone I have ever followed who was SatNav-ing has shown signs of being distracted to a lesser or greater degree.
Some are very good and the distractions are minor,... but noticeable.
Others are so bad if I were a cop I'd pull them for suspected drunk riding.
Be careful out there when yer SatNav-ing and please be aware that you ARE being distracted by it.
Quote from: Boomer on July 02, 2014, 11:23:19 AM
What I don't like is following people who spend half their time looking at the SatNav.
When yer riding you need 100% attention on the road ahead and the world around you.
Well George, you followed me all day through Wales, and I spent a lot of time looking at it !! :mfr_lol:
I also followed Doebag from Peterborough to the Belfry. It was obvious that you were both distracted on occasion but not dangerously so. Someone I followed a few years ago nearly rode into a canal because he was struggling to read his SatNav in bright sunlight. There are enough distractions out there what with scenery (of both the landscape and 2 legged varieties:) ) for me to be adding distractions in the cockpit.
I have one on each side so one is always visible in the sunshine lol but then using them is an acquired skill it also helps to have the sound on as my 660 has an external speaker, but safer than reading directions from a map or list stuck on the tank.
Sent from my iPhone by mini Elves.
Zeb
Yep yep yep .. Just as Steve says make sure it's a quality card with decent speed ... Bit like your pooter ... Want it to deal with stuff quickly as well as have plenty of room for music etc ... Enjoy. :yes:
Shaggs, regrettably I have to do it every year....he always has every intention of doing it does Rusty, but he just never gets round to it! :whistling:
Boomer, I agree the satnav is a slight distraction, as is anything which requires you to take your eyes off the road, however briefly, however I currently use the Autocom system so at least you are getting verbal input which minimises the need to look at the box.
Well I received the 660 today, and it looks a good piece of kit. Put the 32g card in with no problems, and currently have it plugged into the PC doing the updates. Yeah I know sat nav can be a distraction, but I think it can be a great help too, especially on European roads giving lane guidance, and also when trying to work out what the correct road is to take when dealing with unfamiliar signage. "Turn left here" seems a lot easier and way less distracting to me :mfr_lol:
I just need to get out on the bike at some point to give it a good test!
Indeed Shaggs people change with time as do what we ride and our perceptions of what we want to do ... for example I was until last year a great believer in " If Mr K has made it like this then leave it like this " .. and that meant big standard exhaust and no sat nav's and def no music or sat nav rubbish ..... :whistling: :whistling: Now I have gone Bavarian I have done it all and just love it that way ! :yes:
Quote from: Rusty on July 04, 2014, 11:15:54 PM
Indeed Shaggs people change with time as do what we ride and our perceptions of what we want to do ... for example I was until last year a great believer in " If Mr K has made it like this then leave it like this " .. and that meant big standard exhaust and no sat nav's and def no music or sat nav rubbish ..... :whistling: :whistling: Now I have gone Bavarian I have done it all and just love it that way ! :yes:
But then you are becoming more 'mature' with the passing of each year Rusty :mfr_lol:
Quote from: The Wolf on July 02, 2014, 09:25:59 PM
Boomer, I agree the satnav is a slight distraction, as is anything which requires you to take your eyes off the road, however briefly, however I currently use the Autocom system so at least you are getting verbal input which minimises the need to look at the box.
Indeed as Boomer pointed out, it can be distracting. I too listen to the audio directions mainly. The only times I felt distracted was when the audio directions did not seem to match what the road/road signs were telling me, then you look at the screen for some sort of confirmation of road layout, particularly when 'third exit' may be at your 10 o'clock on the approach.
My satnav talks to me so dont need to look at it at all.
Good thing about UK is that its so small so you cabt get lost. At some point you will reach the sea. Then you know where you are.