Garmin Nuvi GPS vs Zumo

CDNolddude

CDNolddude

Joined
Mar 20, 2007
Messages
530
Location
Hamilton Ontario
OK..so never used a gps on the bike before. always have maps in my tank bag.

I have the nuvi 2555lmt for the car and like it a lot.

are people here using the Automobile GPS instead of the zumo with any success?

Other than maybe waterproofing do they work/stand up?

thanks
 
When setting up my latest tankbag, I added a Cortech "GPS Bag" I was in a pretty good downpour when riding the 2012 out of Oregon, It held up just fine!

Cortech-GPS-Bag.jpg

All the dots you see on the face are "buttons" I made so I can activate pressure points on the GPS with my gloves. Which reminds me, I need to add one. ;)
The knob to the left is for volume control coming out of the GPS. Makes a huge difference when I can turn it up or down with that knob!

GPSMount.jpg
 
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CDNolddude said:
...are people here using the Automobile GPS instead of the zumo with any success?
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Hi Ken:

Way back in the 'old days', when all Garmin automotive GPS units were waterproof, long before Garmin ever thought of making a motorcycle-specific GPS, I used the StreetPilot 3, and various 2600, 2700, and 2800 series automotive GPS units. They worked just fine for motorcycling. What was significant back then was that Garmin either offered motorcycle-specific mounts for these devices, or, the all-purpose mount that came with it grabbed the device sufficiently well that one didn't have to worry about the unit bouncing off the bike if you hit a pothole or big bump.

The current series of Garmin motorcycle-specific GPS units offer a few additional 'features' aimed directly at the motorcycle community, such as twisty road routing, fuel tank reminders, resistance to gasoline, etc., but I honestly don't think that any of these 'features' offer sufficient benefit to offset the very high price differential between the Zumo series (motorcycle-specific) and the mainstream Nuvi units. I am a little bit vexed at Garmin as a result of the very high price differential between the Zumo series and the Nuvi series.

I'm sure that a Nuvi would serve the purpose perfectly well for motorcycle navigation, but there are a few things you should probably investigate very carefully before making the purchase:

1) Security of the device in the mount - does the mount hold the device securely? If not, could it be easily modified by you to hold the device securely in the mount?

2) Attachment of the mount to the moto - in the old days, all the automotive mounts had 4 little holes in the back that lined up perfectly with Ram-Mount brackets. Check to see if the mount that comes with the device can be easily attached to a Ram-Mount.

3) Will the touch-screen respond to being pressed with a gloved finger?

4) Can you easily protect it from water by just encasing it in a Zip-Loc bag? Or, better even still, can you live without it (by keeping the device in your pocket) if it is raining out?

5) Can you live without the voice guidance (because I don't think that the Nuvi devices are designed to transmit audio via Bluetooth)? FWIW, I didn't have any voice guidance at all for the first 8 years I used GPS on a bike, that didn't cause me any problems.

6) Is the device capable of downloading, storing, and navigating a route you create in BaseCamp?

I think that if the answers to the above questions are satisfactory to you, then you should be pretty happy using an automotive device (a Nuvi) on your bike.

Michael
 
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Good things to check on.. thankyou! did not think of some of those..
Just found out there is now a ram mount aquabox to be water proof so need to check that out too..

Ken
 
I use a Nuvi 40LM ( I think it is the cheapest of the Nuvis), and it works just fine for auto and motorcycle use. I do keep a Ziploc bag to cover it just in case, but may end up waterproofing it as in the video. I have been using it for 4 years now with no problems. I just can't see paying the price of a Zumo. I rode for years with a Garmin 76, which has no "voice", and prefer NOT to hear the routing instructions.

I DO recommend a ram mount- they are very secure, and will work in your cage too. My GPS is mounted on the "dashboard", right below where my eyesight line is, so I can take frequent quick looks at it. The only drawback I can see to the Nuvi is that, even on full brightness, it can be hard to read in full sun. I made a "velcro'ed on" sunshade for it out of some aluminum.
 
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I have used 3 different Nuvis on 2 different bikes over the last 8 years. I live in the rainy area of the NW.

I have only needed to pull out a ziplock bag a few times. I use the RAM X Grip. All 3 units still work fine.

I love the X grip but I do recommend that you Gorilla Glue the 4 rubber pieces on to the X bracket just as extra insurance that one of them will not fall off. Takes 5 minutes to do.

The X Grip makes it simple to put the bag on and off and it also gives you flexibility in the size of device that you use. It has fit all three Nuvis and three size types of smart phones as well.

As a previous poster mentioned the sun glare is a challenge at times and I do wish they had XM receivers.

My current one is a 2597LMT.

Good input by previous posters. Thanks.

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Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 
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I use a Nuvi in an Aquabox. It's a little difficult to see if the sun is right (wrong). I might try a Tom Tom Rider next time. I haven't thoroughly investigated it yet as I hope I don't have to buy one for a while.:)
 
Same here as others... been using the 760 for a good number of years and just got a new 55LM ( about $90 )... it works fine.

I can't see the price value point when i can buy 5 or so just to have a mc specific unit.... a zip lock works ok.
 
Nuvi models 500 and 550 are waterproof from the factory. The problem is, the factory does not make them anymore. They can be found on eBay, sometimes.
I have had a 550 for about seven or eight years, very happy with it.
Ducati used to rebrand them in red with their logo, to put on Multistradas as an option.
 
klaproth said:
The NUVI 40 LM WON'T load routes.....
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That's a very good point, and not one to be overlooked. In the "old days", all the Garmin GPS devices had more or less the same capabilities. Today, capabilities such as the ability to load routes generated with an external application (e.g. BaseCamp) have been dropped from many of the lower-cost automotive devices (in other words, many of the Nuvi products). In fact, I don't think it is even possible to generate a "route" on some of these automotive models - the best you can do is select a few waypoints ('favourites') that are within the device, and then tell the device to optimally organize a trip to all of them (in other words, sort them out so that you visit all of them in the shortest distance possible).

That might not present a problem to a motorcyclist who only wants to use the device to get from A to B, but it would be a real deal-killer for a rider who wants to create a custom route for a day's riding along a selection of scenic or twisty roads, or to follow a group of other riders on a pre-determined path.

Michael
 
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