| Author | Message | ||
     Kruizen |
Thinking about getting a GPS and am torn between the zumo 660 and the nuvi 3790t. Couple of key items: Not to stressed about waterproof or mp3 player Wife will also be using this in the car Have to be able to load routes from the computer Not worried about mounting this to the bike, for $200 I can find a way to mount the 3790 Any advice would be helpful. (Message edited by Kruizen on June 28, 2011) | ||
| Sifo |
I've got a Nuvi 500. I'm not sure how that compares to what you are looking at other than the 500 is water proof. I wouldn't have it any other way on the bike. Works great in the car too. Route planning on the GPS is very difficult so yes you do want to be able to load routes from your computer. I do this with free software called Tyre. It works with google maps to do your planning then you load it to your GPS. Be sure to take a good look at the route the GPS calculates. Just as an example if I plan a route from the north end of route 57 in Illinois to the south end the GPS will add in about 60 miles of detours. I had some discussions with Garmin about this that boiled down to them telling me that if wanted reliable navigation I may want to look at different technology. I still consider it a great tool despite some horrible map calculations at times. You didn't mention if you would want Bluetooth capability. I can't hear mine on my bike at speed, but it doesn't bother me much. It displays the distance to the next turn and usually I just keep it in mind how long till I need to pay attention to where I'm going. Bluetooth to the helmet would let you hear the directions. Not worth the cost to me though. I initially wired the cigarette plug wire to my Buell. It got shaken to death very quickly. I got a wire designed for a bike and it has held up very well. The bike version has all the electronics sealed in epoxy and will hold up to weather and vibration. The points of interest will be out of date the day you get it. It has lead me to closed restaurants, empty fields for hotels, and a 10 X 10 foot fenced in area with pipes sticking out of the ground for a gas station. | ||
| Jumbo_petite |
I have the Garmin Zumo 550 and love it. I have used it and a Tom Tom to get to the same location and the Zumo put me at the door accurately. The Tom Tom put me on the same road. | ||
| Sifo |
BTW, Tyre can be downloaded and played with to see what route planning will be like before you ever get your GPS. It's pretty darned user friendly though, at free, it's a real bargain. | ||
| Kruizen |
Thanks guys, gamin just emailed menand said that you cannot download routes to the 3790, so I guess it's the 660. Unless someone knows something I don't. Thanks for hint about the routing software, going t try it today. | ||
| Strokizator |
Mapsource is supplied with the Zumo and it makes trip planning a breeze. I just enter a start point and and ending point and it draws a route. You can then push and pull the route outline to take the roads of your choice. Save the route to the memory card and you can share it with others in your group. The Zumo also works great in a car. | ||
| Jumbo_petite |
My Zumo worked better on the bike than the Tom Tom in the car | ||
| Froggy |
Tom Tom? Would you trust a GPS that was named like a caveman?  Garmin units are the best you can commercially get, period. Waterproof is a must for a bike unit, even if you are a pansy fair weather biker, it will still get wet when you least expect it. All the units are pretty much the same these days, the more expensive ones have more bells and whistles, like XM radio, more storage for favorites, and ability to upload routes. Traffic and weather is great too, its nice having a small storm coming in and being able to plot around it. Works the same to help you avoid traffic jams. Garmin's support is top notch, I broke my Zumo 550, and even a good 5 or 6 months out of warranty they let me send it in for replacement no questions asked. The Quest model is junk, avoid that, but its so old and obsolete that it is rare to find them. | ||
| Nillaice |
it seems that for the cost of a map upgrade, i could have bought another garmin for less. so i did. nüvi® 295W on close-out it slips into the tank-bag map pocket and i use a ziplock bag for water-proofing. but i'm a cheap ass, and often have fun getting lost | ||
| Sifo |
Thanks guys, gamin just emailed menand said that you cannot download routes to the 3790, so I guess it's the 660. Looking at the manual for the 3790 they describe transferring route files between your computer and the GPS. My guess is that it just doesn't come with Mapsource software so you can't do it without additional stuff (such as Tyre). The 660 includes Mapsource as part of the initial purchase. Of the two I would go with the 660 just because it's water proof. | ||
| Xl1200r |
I have a 550 and like it well enough. Sometimes it does some weird-ass things, but it seems I can usually trace it to a setting I changed and forgot about. Planning on a computer is nice, mostly just because you have a bigger screen to work with. I'm now on a Mac and haven't been able to get the Tyre program to work for me, but I've also gotten good at planning routes right on the device - it's not hard. The touch screen on my Zumo is starting to get a little wonky, but it was used daily between bikes and cars for 3 years and has seen plenty of rain and such as well. | ||
| Kruizen |
Really leaning toward the 660, as it will be used in a pizza delivery setting also. My employees have a tendency to break things. Have read that the glass screen on the 3790 can break pretty easy. I would get the 3790 if I could find a case like the otterbox for it. | ||
| Kruizen |
Mark offer is still out there for the exhaust. -eric | ||
| Jumbo_petite |
Eric I can lend you my 550 and the car mount if you want some test time. | ||
| Kruizen |
Thanks mike, going to do it, just trying to figure out which one fits a of the criteria needed.0 | ||
| Kruizen |
Well I got the zumo 660, love it so far. Really had an issue figuring out where I wanted it mounted but this is what I came up with and so far I really like it. Its not in the way of the tach/speedo, the key, the fairing, or the airbox. easy to glance at   Used some double sided tape to level it out over the bolt and a couple of zip ties to make sure it stays put. |
