DangerMonkey 0 Posted October 14, 2010 From the BMWOCSD list: Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 10:33 AMSubject: Garmin Zumo 550, $599 @ Costco FYI: Costco and Amazon.com are selling the Garmin Zumo 550 for $599.99. This is a great price for a motorcycle GPS that debuted at around $1,000. I suspect that they may be trying to move inventory now that the Zumo 665 is out (for $1,000). The Zumo 550 has Bluetooth and support for XM Radio. All you need to add XM is the optional XM antenna and a subscription. Costco.com: http://tinyurl.com/2d6je2h Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/2cp2ga6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted October 14, 2010 From the BMWOCSD list: Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 10:33 AMSubject: Garmin Zumo 550, $599 @ Costco FYI: Costco and Amazon.com are selling the Garmin Zumo 550 for $599.99. This is a great price for a motorcycle GPS that debuted at around $1,000. I suspect that they may be trying to move inventory now that the Zumo 665 is out (for $1,000). The Zumo 550 has Bluetooth and support for XM Radio. All you need to add XM is the optional XM antenna and a subscription. Costco.com: http://tinyurl.com/2d6je2h Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/2cp2ga6 It is a great deal, and they were selling for $1000. But be aware this is unreliable off-road. I've had it work great and I've had it lead in some very odd places. On the road, pretty flawless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagstr 287 Posted October 14, 2010 Other than touch screen, what functions will the Zumo perform vs the 60csx. The first issue to me would be antenna performance. FakeN, I see you use both at the same time. Is that just for the XM? e.g. Tracks, waypoints, Topo maping. The larger screen would be nice. The sixty series just upgraded to 62 with more memory and better screen, supposedly. No doubt a larger, clearer screen would help the 60 system. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted October 14, 2010 Other than touch screen, what functions will the Zumo perform vs the 60csx. The first issue to me would be antenna performance. FakeN, I see you use both at the same time. Is that just for the XM? e.g. Tracks, waypoints, Topo maping. The larger screen would be nice. The sixty series just upgraded to 62 with more memory and better screen, supposedly. No doubt a larger, clearer screen would help the 60 system. The Zumo was new when I got it, and I had high hopes for it as a large-screen 60csx, and I removed my speedo/odo to usze just the Zumo as the instruments. But the Zumo does not use tracks, it uses routes. Routes work great on roads (even dirt) that appear on City Nav. However, in off-road mode the results are mixed at best. So, yes, it's mostly a speedo, odo and XM box, and I use Strega and Crawdaddy for navigation. I use it as a reference in navigation as well, but my aging 60cs is better tool for off-road. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DangerMonkey 0 Posted October 15, 2010 If you download tracks to the Zumo it will automatically convert them to routes and they'll be found under "Where to?"->"Routes". If you're riding off-road with a Zumo make sure to: -Set the Zumo to Off Road so it doesn't try follow streets: Wrench->Navigation->Route Preference->Off Road. -Set Auto-Recalulation to Off so it follows the track (that it automatically converted to a route): Wrench->Navigation->Recalculation Mode->Off The Zumo uses the SiRF III chipset so the antenna isn't a big factor. The SiRF III enables it to lock onto enough satellites to get a 3-D fix inside a house or garage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted October 15, 2010 If you download tracks to the Zumo it will automatically convert them to routes and they'll be found under "Where to?"->"Routes". If you're riding off-road with a Zumo make sure to: -Set the Zumo to Off Road so it doesn't try follow streets: Wrench->Navigation->Route Preference->Off Road. -Set Auto-Recalulation to Off so it follows the track (that it automatically converted to a route): Wrench->Navigation->Recalculation Mode->Off The Zumo uses the SiRF III chipset so the antenna isn't a big factor. The SiRF III enables it to lock onto enough satellites to get a 3-D fix inside a house or garage. All true. But frequently and arbitrarily the Zumo will recalculate the route anyway, especially when close to the destination. Or if the Zumo is in off-road mode and encounters a known route. Very, very odd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerTOWM 0 Posted October 15, 2010 I use Strega and Crawdaddy for navigation. I use the same Navigation devices and they have never failed me yet! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
