Zumo 550 report

[radman]

From the limey forum-report by Chaz

anyone interested in the 550 should save their money. Got mine last week and am terribly disappointed. I don't know who designed the software that is loaded on the GPS, but it seems very unlikely that they were long distance motorcycle riders.I have recently used a 276C and should have kept it. The 550 doesn't have dual odometers, so unless you add up all of the resets, which I do at every gas stop so that I know how far I go on each tank of gas, you don't have a total mileage at the end of the trip. the gas gauge function built into the 550 ask you upon set up how many miles you can go on a tank of gas, and then on the data screen give you a bar graph showing the gas going down, rather than showing the number of miles you've traveled on that tank.

the Quest has a data field that shows altitude, not totally accurate, but gives you a good idea of your location.

Both the Quest and 276C have the ability to customize all of the data fields, including showing the time of day, overall average speed, moving average speed. The 550 can only show average speed. Both the Quest and 276C indicate your location on the map with a small triangle with a dot in the center. The 550, on the other hand, being designed for a motorcycle, uses a car or four-wheel-drive truck on the screen to indicate your location. Give me a break.

The 550 does come with a nice motorcycle mount, and automobile mount. and it does have all of the US maps preloaded, but Garman certainly could've done a much better job with the display options.

One mans opinion anyway.

The Thread

 

[Geezer]

When I saw that you posted about the 550 my first thought was that you had bought one. :lol: I have been trying to decide between the 276C and the new Magellan 2200T. I hate finger prints on my computer screen so I am not too keen on a touch screen. The 276C is available new for well under $500 after a $100 rebate from Garmin, but that doesn't include the accessory package which includes detailed maps. Add another $150 or so for that and it's over $600 and I see the Garmin 2720 for under $600 at Walmart. I am giving up for the time being and took the GPS off of my Christmas list.

 

[04FJR4ME]

From the limey forum-report by Chaz

anyone interested in the 550 should save their money. Got mine last week and am terribly disappointed. I don't know who designed the software that is loaded on the GPS, but it seems very unlikely that they were long distance motorcycle riders.I have recently used a 276C and should have kept it. The 550 doesn't have dual odometers, so unless you add up all of the resets, which I do at every gas stop so that I know how far I go on each tank of gas, you don't have a total mileage at the end of the trip. the gas gauge function built into the 550 ask you upon set up how many miles you can go on a tank of gas, and then on the data screen give you a bar graph showing the gas going down, rather than showing the number of miles you've traveled on that tank.

the Quest has a data field that shows altitude, not totally accurate, but gives you a good idea of your location.

Both the Quest and 276C have the ability to customize all of the data fields, including showing the time of day, overall average speed, moving average speed. The 550 can only show average speed. Both the Quest and 276C indicate your location on the map with a small triangle with a dot in the center. The 550, on the other hand, being designed for a motorcycle, uses a car or four-wheel-drive truck on the screen to indicate your location. Give me a break.

The 550 does come with a nice motorcycle mount, and automobile mount. and it does have all of the US maps preloaded, but Garman certainly could've done a much better job with the display options.

One mans opinion anyway.

The Thread

Radman

I think this guy needs to read the instructions better!

"The 550, on the other hand, being designed for a motorcycle, uses a car or four-wheel-drive truck on the screen to indicate your location. Give me a break."

You can change this preference, I think it's best for guys like this to stick with what they are use to.

"The 550 doesn't have dual odometers, so unless you add up all of the resets, which I do at every gas stop so that I know how far I go on each tank of gas, you don't have a total mileage at the end of the trip. the gas gauge function built into the 550 ask you upon set up how many miles you can go on a tank of gas, and then on the data screen give you a bar graph showing the gas going down, rather than showing the number of miles you've traveled on that tank."

What is he using his motorcycle odometer for? and what did he do before he purchased the Zumo 550? I think this guy must be a Garmin hater!

 

[fhaze]

I would like to add a positive experience of the Zumo.

It was delivered Mon am and I have been playing with it constantly. It has only been in my car with me and not mounted on the bike yet.

So far it does everything I require in a GPS/MP3 player. Nicely customizable, and feels really well built. People foget that included with the unit are well designed mounts for the car and bike with 2 diff ram mounting setups and a hardwire kit, and a full DVD.

The last GPS I had was a c550 so this unit is an upgrade for me. I am very happy with my purchase and my dealings with Rick at Autonav2000 were perfect.

 

[SkooterG]

I hate finger prints on my computer screen so I am not too keen on a touch screen.

After having the touchscreen on my 2730, I would not be able to live without it. Any future GPS that I have will absolutely HAVE to include a touch screen.

 

[chornbe]

What is he using his motorcycle odometer for? and what did he do before he purchased the Zumo 550? I think this guy must be a Garmin hater!

Yeah. And using the GPS as a fuel gauge is ass. Guesswork at best. I'd rather use my bike's... uhm... gas gauge.

 

[Knifemaker]

I just came home to find mine was delivered. I also got the "smart antenna" as I love my XM radio. Likely will not be able to mess with it until this weekend.

I have never owned a GPS before so I am a bit concerned about the coment that this unit is for "experianced" GPS users.

Does Garmin have an online Tutorial for this unit or is there one that covers general GPS use?

KM

 

[Barabus]

I just came home to find mine was delivered. I also got the "smart antenna" as I love my XM radio. Likely will not be able to mess with it until this weekend. I have never owned a GPS before so I am a bit concerned about the coment that this unit is for "experianced" GPS users.

Does Garmin have an online Tutorial for this unit or is there one that covers general GPS use?

KM

KM,

It just comes with two manuals. A lot can be said from reading those carefully and by just playing with the unit. Also check out the zumo 550 forum. https://razorbiker.com/zumo/index.php

 

[Mogan]

I don't have one, but I think I'd love one. I use the 2730 which I love...EXCEPT I'm a music lover and I'd really like to have lots of playlists on it and the 2730 has modest memory capacity. I believe the Zumo accepts a flash card so you could stick in a 4gig card in a be set for cross country rock n roll.

 

[gatorfjr]

The Zumo along with the StarCom1 Advance is the ultimate nav/com/music setup for my $$$! Yes, the Zumo seems expensive, but look at all the accessories you get with it... 2 mounts, including RAM parts, US maps, uh, a customizable vehicle picture And yeah, I still use my 2 trip meters on the FJR while jammin' to tunes, talking to my passenger, getting voice nav prompts and/or taking cell phone calls!!!! Oh and I alost forgot... it's WATERPROOF to like 3 meters for 30 minutes

 

[S76]

I have had my Zumo for a couple of weeks now and riden with it a few times on the bike, plus some usage in the car. I had a little trouble getting used to it as this is my first GPS but some wonderful gentleman on the Zumo forum has created this:

https://www.goldwinggadgets.com/Zumo/

A pictoral tutorial explaining how to use this thing. I learned more in 45 minutes from his work than reading the manual for two days. Thank you Jon.

I think the Zumo is ideal. It has an MP3 player if you insert an SD card, some use up to 4 GIG and that's a ton of music. It will Blue Tooth to your phone. Just throw your phone in the glove box or leave it on your belt and the Zumo finds it, no wires. If you get a call you get an on screen promt and one touch of the screen answers it and you can talk. Or, if you locate an on screen POI in the Zumo, one touch and you can call ahead. Resturant, hotels etc. For another $200 you can plug in the XM antenna and then either subscribe to just music/sports/news/talk or add the weather/traffic avoidance feature. Check your area, traffic coverage is limited. Oh, yeah, and it navigates too!

The fuel gage feature is not a big deal to riders with fuel gages on their bikes, but, if you set the mileage to coincide with your bikes miles per tank, when you get low on fuel the Zumo will automatically display the nearest gas stations and one touch will route you there. That is really good.

When used in the cage you can receive phone calls with one touch of the screen. The car mount has a built in speaker and mic. so you just sit there and talk hands free.

I have the unit set up for use in the truck or on the bike. Just grap the Zumo and go. The mounts stay on each vehicle.

One of the main reasons I bought it is it will do everything I need in one unit. I mounted mine on the steering stem so it is symetrical between the handle bars. It does not block the instruments, the ignition key, or the use of a tank bag. It keeps cockpit clutter to a minimum.

Very pleased with it.

Bob

 

[afterburn]

I just came home to find mine was delivered. I also got the "smart antenna" as I love my XM radio. Likely will not be able to mess with it until this weekend. I have never owned a GPS before so I am a bit concerned about the coment that this unit is for "experianced" GPS users.

Does Garmin have an online Tutorial for this unit or is there one that covers general GPS use?

KM

If/when you create your own routes using Mapsource, keep in mind _NOT_ to put route points on intersections. Ever. Period. Put them on roads, before or after intersections and use as few as possible by starting with start and end points and work your way from there.

This is THE major mistake people make with Garmin/Mapsource and the major cause of frustration when creating routes.

 

[04FJR4ME]

What is he using his motorcycle odometer for? and what did he do before he purchased the Zumo 550? I think this guy must be a Garmin hater!

Yeah. And using the GPS as a fuel gauge is ass. Guesswork at best. I'd rather use my bike's... uhm... gas gauge.

I think the idea is not to run the fuel tank so low that you have to count on ANY fuel gauge! It is better then not having one, but normally I recommend refilling fuel tank at about 1/4 tank for two reasons.

#1] Knowning you are running out of fuel and finding a gas station near you maynot always be possible.

#2] Running an electric fuel pump dry can damage the fuel pump since the fuel is part of the cooling system for the electric fuel pump.

But I am sure there are tons of reaason why someone would want to run a fuel tank on vapor just so they can test how accurate a fuel gauge can be!

 

[Unicycle52]

I just came home to find mine was delivered. I also got the "smart antenna" as I love my XM radio. Likely will not be able to mess with it until this weekend.

I have never owned a GPS before so I am a bit concerned about the coment that this unit is for "experianced" GPS users.

Does Garmin have an online Tutorial for this unit or is there one that covers general GPS use?

KM

If/when you create your own routes using Mapsource, keep in mind _NOT_ to put route points on intersections. Ever. Period. Put them on roads, before or after intersections and use as few as possible by starting with start and end points and work your way from there.

This is THE major mistake people make with Garmin/Mapsource and the major cause of frustration when creating routes.