nuvi2689lmt any reviews or people using this on their bike?

Spent the better part of Sunday reading on gps units for a bike. Lots of pros and cons, but personally I'm having a hard time justifing cost of zumo 590lm. This 6" nuvi gets lots a good reviews, just wondering if if I can get enough features I want. I do like the larger sceen, would like to hear what you think.

I would want either Bluetooth to helmet speakers or at least an audio out jack. I believe that the Bluetooth on this device will work with a phone (uses the speakers and microphone on the Garmin) - but not with Bluetooth helmet speakers, e.g., Sena.

RonCharles said:

Spent the better part of Sunday reading on gps units for a bike. Lots of pros and cons, but personally I'm having a hard time justifing cost of zumo 590lm. This 6" nuvi gets lots a good reviews, just wondering if if I can get enough features I want. I do like the larger sceen, would like to hear what you think.

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Hope you don't plan to ride in any rain... or carry lots ziploc bags.
But once the bag gets wet the water will act like a finger tip and start "pressing" the screen. Which brings up the point of trying to operate this with gloves on.....

Good luck on your choice.

I don't know anything about the 2689. Can you download routes to it? Do you want to download routes?

Does anyone know if the 590lm can be used on a snowmobile or since it does tracks for geo tracking/ hunting?

RonCharles said:

Does anyone know if the 590lm can be used on a snowmobile or since it does tracks for geo tracking/ hunting?

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Probably better off with a Montana for that.

Have you seen the You Tube video about the guy waterproofing a nuvi gps by putting a bead of silicone around the scree? Then to prove his point sprayed it down with a hose...very interesting

For motorcycle use glove friendly big buttons, touch screen design, ease of use on the fly, shock vibration resistance, mounting cradles, etc. come into play. That said many riders use all sorts of GPS units and make them work for their needs. Zumos cost more but you do get some features oriented to their intended use and they may last 50,000 miles or more, at least mine do.

I could have overlooked it in the 2689lmt specs but I didn't see the capability to use routing software to build and preload routes or save routes from GPS tracks. That would be a deal killer for me.

The GPS you buy depends on your needs. One of the key differences is GPSs that have the ability to turn off auto route recalculation. A typical Garmin NUVI does not have this ability while a Garmin 78, more appropriate for off-road riding does. If I understand correctly, the Montana also has the ability to turn off auto route recalculation.

Why is this feature so important? If you spend hours designing the perfect trip on BaseCamp, selecting your favorite roads and scenic byways, and then send this route to a Garmin Nuvi, it will recalculate your route selecting the roads it seems more suited based on your preferences entered in setup (avoid tolls, avoid highways, etc...).

The correct way to do this with a Nuvi using BaseCamp is to create a trip using trip planner and enter enough way (via or shaping) points that the Nuvi has no option but to follow the route you have programmed. Once you understand what's happening, it's no big deal.

When riding off-road, you need a GPS that will follow at GPX file exactly and not perform any route recalculations. NUVIs can't do this. Montanas and Garmin 78s can.

If you ride on-road then, a NUVI will be fine. Off-road and you'll want a GPS that accepts GPX files with the ability to turn off route recalculation. Since this is a Honda ST forum, I'm guessing the NUVI is what you would be happy with. I ride a Yamaha Super Tenere so I needed off-road capability. I have both a NUVI and a Garmin 78 on my bike.

My best suggestion for a Honda ST rider is one of the Garmin NUVI 25xx series. http://amzn.to/1wXPCH8

The 2595 has Bluetooth which will connect to your helmet headset (ex. Sena) and phone. In all the models (LMT) stands for lifetime maps. Garmin makes more expensive units with higher resolution screens but these have disadvantages. The 5" screen the 25xx models have is low resolution which means the letters and numbers are bigger. With my old eyes, that means they are easier to read.

As for Bluetooth, I hate having that voice talking to me all day. I connect my Sena unit to my phone to listen to music and make phone calls so I never connect to my Nuvi. So, don't get hung up on Bluetooth unless you're sure you'll really need it on the GPS.

As for waterproofing your $100 NUVI vs spending $500+ on a unit that is waterproof... Yes, I saw the Youtube video, used silicone on the edges of the screen and did actually hose down my GPS (forgot it was on there...) and it works fine. I ride in the rain all the time in Oregon and don't worry about it.

One other downside to the more expensive (Montanas) is that they don't have the most current (user friendly) software that the newer NUVIs do. I'm pretty happy with my 2955LMT and Garmin 78 combo. As a plus, my 78 has marine maps that I can use on my boat.

Don't forget to budget for Ram mounts and to protect from sun glare, get a glare stomper. http://amzn.to/14ZeC9s

Youtube video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2UvIoL78Cg

Thanks for the info

If you want to connect a Garmin directly to a Bluetooth headset, without putting a smartphone in the middle, here's a pretty good explanation taken from the Sena website:

Let me explain:

I posted here a year ago because I was as mad as everyone else that my Nuvi wouldn't do what I believed it should do with the Sena SMH10.

Convinced that Sena was just jerking us around I got mad and gave up. The recent messages and the new riding season have prompted me to dig a bit.

I have done some research and I will share this to try to explain what Sena has NOT explained well.

There are actually TWO kinds of Bluetooth functions that matter here: A.) Phone pairing B.) Headset pairing These two mechanisms are SEPARATE functions.

A.) Phone pairing is what MOST Garmins have for use in a car. It lets the phone mate with the GPS and the GPS becomes a 'speakerphone' for your cell phone. You talk to and listen to the GPS and your phone is 'handsfree'. Note that there're no earbuds or headset involved in phone pairing. You're just talking to a speakerphone using the GPS's microphone and speaker at a distance. Your Nuvi will still pair with your phone while on your motorcycle...but you won't be able to hear it like that, of course.

B.) Headset pairing is a function that uses Bluetooth to connect the GPS's audio (microphone/speaker) to your headset (the Sena unit) to let you hear it and speak voice commands(if VOX supported).

I did not know this either, but it's the important bit: Car GPSs DO NOT support the use of a headset because there's no need for that in a car.

THAT is the reason that there is such a thing as a Motorcycle specific GPS. Headset pairing has been built in to the MC devices. There are other MC features of course.

Now, we just need to get Garmin to make a less costly MC GPS. None of this is Sena's fault, guys. But they could've explained it better

Below is a list of Garmin devices that can be paired with a Bluetooth headset:
?nuvi 765T
?nuvi 775T
?nuvi 785T
?BMW Motorrad III
?StreetPilot 2820
?BMW zumo
?Harley Davidson zumo
?zumo 220*
?zumo 350*
?zumo 500
?zumo 550
?zumo 660
?zumo 665

Thanks for the great information on GPS

Raymond,
I see you did not list the Garmin 590LM.
Did you find that the 590LM would not Bluetooth to a helmet headset, or was it not available at the time you posted your list ?
Thanks Ken

STraymond said:

If you want to connect a Garmin directly to a Bluetooth headset, without putting a smartphone in the middle, here's a pretty good explanation taken from the Sena website:

Let me explain:

I posted here a year ago because I was as mad as everyone else that my Nuvi wouldn't do what I believed it should do with the Sena SMH10.

Convinced that Sena was just jerking us around I got mad and gave up. The recent messages and the new riding season have prompted me to dig a bit.

I have done some research and I will share this to try to explain what Sena has NOT explained well.

There are actually TWO kinds of Bluetooth functions that matter here: A.) Phone pairing B.) Headset pairing These two mechanisms are SEPARATE functions.

A.) Phone pairing is what MOST Garmins have for use in a car. It lets the phone mate with the GPS and the GPS becomes a 'speakerphone' for your cell phone. You talk to and listen to the GPS and your phone is 'handsfree'. Note that there're no earbuds or headset involved in phone pairing. You're just talking to a speakerphone using the GPS's microphone and speaker at a distance. Your Nuvi will still pair with your phone while on your motorcycle...but you won't be able to hear it like that, of course.

B.) Headset pairing is a function that uses Bluetooth to connect the GPS's audio (microphone/speaker) to your headset (the Sena unit) to let you hear it and speak voice commands(if VOX supported).

I did not know this either, but it's the important bit: Car GPSs DO NOT support the use of a headset because there's no need for that in a car.

THAT is the reason that there is such a thing as a Motorcycle specific GPS. Headset pairing has been built in to the MC devices. There are other MC features of course.

Now, we just need to get Garmin to make a less costly MC GPS. None of this is Sena's fault, guys. But they could've explained it better

Below is a list of Garmin devices that can be paired with a Bluetooth headset:
•nuvi 765T
•nuvi 775T
•nuvi 785T
•BMW Motorrad III
•StreetPilot 2820
•BMW zumo
•Harley Davidson zumo
•zumo 220*
•zumo 350*
•zumo 500
•zumo 550
•zumo 660
•zumo 665

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