Garmin Nuvi Road Test

[Bill Lumberg]

Commuting in the rain for the fourth of four days this week, I spotted a clear lane to get around some downtown traffic. Upon arriving in the promised lane, I found that it had been patched so frequently, so poorly, and so heavily that there was no flat surface anywhere. The frequency and size of the bumps were enough to, for the first time in years of use, overcome my trusty old Ram Mount's magic fingers. I saw something to my left, looked over, and saw my garmin ignoring its own squareness and spinning cheerfully down the road beside me, like a tiny gray wagon wheel. Having a sentimental side, I kept an eye on the garmin, silently wishing it godspeed in its newfound independence. As it turned out, we both ended up stopped at the next light. With no course modification or repositioning, I put the bike in neutral, bent down, and retrieved the gps, and returned it to the mount. It was missing the front bezel, but that was merely ornamental. Still worked fine. Road test complete.

 

[BkerChuck]

Wow!

 

[mcatrophy]

Garmins are tough. I know a man who's several times thrown his to the ground in frustration with its behaviour.

I'm sure he's hoping it will break so that it won't work at all and he can justify something different, but it still keeps on keeping on and continuing to frustrate him.

 

[SLK50]

I dropped some of my Garmins hard enough to shear the

digitizer ( touch screen ) and they continue to otherwise work fine.

This is pleasantly surprising as I've had about six of them apart

and they're not inordinately robust inside.

 

[Warpdrv]

Mr Lumberg my good man - you have quite a way with the verbage......

So nice to hear that it survived the reincarnation of the early iterations of the Flintstones wheel.

As much as I'd like to get a 590, I am very concerned about the failure of Garmin to address the display of detailed roads when zoomed out.... which in fact, has served me very well to find the off the beaten track "wiggly roads" if you will....

Us motorcyclists tend to have a niche market, which we pay greatly for, and to not address this seems to me a point they are missing....

Any suggestions are welcome...

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

I crashed my FZ1 three years ago low siding into a corner. Me, the bike and Garmin Nuvi 550 slid, rolled, and tumbled 75 yards to a stop along a tree line. I had my buddies try to find my GPS which abandoned ship somewhere along the way but the four of them could not find it. Four weeks later when my broken neck and ankle were sturdy enough to ride I went back to replay the accident and try to figure out what caused the low side since the deputy reported a "soft spot on the road". When I walked the 225' from the police paint showing front tire washing out to my landing zone I found my Nuvi less than 10' from where I laid in a crumpled heap. After four weeks of laying in the ditch, I charged it and was amazed that it come to life and I have been using it every since. I have a new Zumo 660 arriving today so the old trusty Nuvi will go on the XR650 until its demise.

 

[Fred W]

Mr Lumberg my good man - you have quite a way with the verbage......
So nice to hear that it survived the reincarnation of the early iterations of the Flintstones wheel.

As much as I'd like to get a 590, I am very concerned about the failure of Garmin to address the display of detailed roads when zoomed out.... which in fact, has served me very well to find the off the beaten track "wiggly roads" if you will....

Us motorcyclists tend to have a niche market, which we pay greatly for, and to not address this seems to me a point they are missing....

Any suggestions are welcome...

zumo 550 FTW!

 

[Warpdrv]

Thanks Fred.....

Forgot to check back on my question....

 

[AlleyCat]

Just started using a Garmin Nuvi 2797 on the bike to replace my 3790. Going from a 5 inch screen to 7 inches makes a very big difference (the ladies will say that inches matter - maybe they don't

). Love the 2797 because I can now work the screen with my gloves (could not with the 3790). The voice command on both work well enough in most cases. The larger screen makes taking quick peeks at the GPS easier and faster. I just can't justify the $$$ for the Nuvi 590 at this point in time (eventually). A ziplock bag will be my waterproofing for now.

 

[rogdeb]

.................. Still worked fine. Road test complete.

That there is one funny write-up. Got me laughing anyway