Looking for input on how well you like the Zumo 450/ 550 and posting mounting photos of it on your bike.Is the unit all you thought it would be, and is it worth the money?Battery life? Pros, cons and ease of use? Would you do it again. Any mounting problems?&nbsp\\;Again, anyone with photos please post.We are considering purchasing either the 450 or 550 and want to mount it on our Heritage Softail Classic.&nbsp\\;
Thanks in advance for your Opinions and Posts. We appreciate your taking the time.

 

Well, Reaper isn't a Heritage, but she IS a Softail.&nbsp\\; I have a Zumo 450, and use the clutch housing mount that was included to hang the Zumo under my apes. When it's off the bike, all that's left is the small rubber ball mount, which is almsot invisible. I have a Powerlet Harley Mid-kit and I bought their Zumo power cable, so I don't have to rely on the battery (which does last the advertised 4 hours or so). I've used it in all sorts of weather (including hours-ling major rainstorms), and on long trips over roads I've never travelled, and it's been just awesome.

Here are a few pics of the Zumo on Reaper (this is without the power cable. When I use it, I route the power cable along the bars and under the tank to the Powerlet connector on the horn mount):




Here are the same shots with the mount removed, showing what's left on the bike:




Cheers!
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I have a Fatboy with the ZUMO 550. It comes with a power plug that you can connect to your bike battery so you don't have to run on the ZUMO battery. I have mine mounted to the handlebars (mount comes with the ZUMO). I would do it again if I had to. Love it. Especially when it tells me I am low on gas (you set in the mpg and when you want to fill up) and on the display pops up a gas pump and when you touch it, it shows all the nearest gas stations with directions. Numerous other benefits, way too much to list. Get it. I also use it in my truck as it comes with a mounting system for a vehicle besides the bike. Get the 550 so you can get voice directions.
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We dont have FULL FACE helmets&nbsp\\;or bluetooth devices, so&nbsp\\;do you need ear phones to hear it? &nbsp\\; We're new to all&nbsp\\;this stuff, but feel this is something we should invest in since we do our biking in rural areas that can change from asphalt into dead end&nbsp\\;dirt roads in the blink of an eye and where gas stations are few and far between.&nbsp\\; We're also close to Canada and see the Zumo has pre installed maps of both the US and Canada.&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\;We&nbsp\\;read where the&nbsp\\;the Zumo seemed to be the preferred device (&nbsp\\;even over the HD's own&nbsp\\;GPS) with bikers.
Do you have to upgrade ( download) &nbsp\\;maps every year and is that difficult to do?
We're in our 60's and these new&nbsp\\;high tech toys&nbsp\\;can be daunting.&nbsp\\;We're still trying to figure out how to use our new cell phone.....so ease of use is a MUST for us.
Thanks&nbsp\\;
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You don't "need" audio to use the Zumo since it will display miles to go before your turn, plus it zooms in on the area as you approach a turn and the route is highlighted so you can see where you need to go. Personally, I do feel safer using the audio off the unit since then I don't have to worry about constantly staring at the screen to see if my turn is coming up. When you're riding a hundred miles or so on the same highway, it is nice to just have a voice chime in to tell you that your turn is coming up.

As for upgrading maps, you really only need to upgrade them as often as you think the roads you'll be riding are changing. The map software (if you plot routes on your computer) will remind you of a map update, but it does not require that you install the map update every year.

The warning I will give is that sometimes I've found routes I plotted in there that just didn't work out. Once, in Arkansas, it told me I could take a turn to get onto a rural highway, but the only thing at that turn was some guys driveway.&nbsp\\; Another time I branched off for gas, and when I tried to get back to the road I was originally riding it led me to a dead end in some Christian compound in the Texas Panhandle.&nbsp\\; These were both reasonably out of the way places, but I just figured I'd mention this.&nbsp\\; The other thing worth noting is that it's not always easy to tell that a road is dirt (unless I'm missing a feature on mine).

I still love having the thing, though, since I think it gives me a bit more freedom to just explore while still knowing I can easily find my way back. Even the dead ends it's led me to turned into interesting places to see, and I was always able to work around it.

 

I have the Zumo 450 mounted to my Fatboy.&nbsp\\; I love it.&nbsp\\; I do not use any headset with it, nor do I use any added features of mp3 music or photos.&nbsp\\; I use it for mapping and let the visual queues tell me when to turn.&nbsp\\; I don't need a computer voice telling me when to turn.
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I wired the bracket to my battery so that everything is at its brightest.&nbsp\\; I love using map-view when heading out to no-where, then simply select the "Home" feature to get me back again.
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This is VERY easy to use with its USB cable for loading routes and Points of Interest (waypoints).
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Not the best pic, but I have mine centered on the bars:
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Zumo 550 is a really good unit.
I have it installed on a bike that I do a lot of touring and looooooong distance riding. I've had it for more than a year now. Yes, I would buy it again. I do not have it installed with audio connections, yet. But, I'm working on that. I will try to install it on my Fat Boy, using some of the good ideas I see on this thread.

 

I was also looking at the Cardo Scala Rider Q2 Bike to Bike Bluetooth intercom with GPS voice capable -FM capable- cell phone capable- headsets. I have my own bike and dont always follow right behind my hubby..... or I get caught by a traffic signal, it would be nice to let him know my situation, or him tell me there's a turn coming up shortly.........or if I need a break. This units suppose to be really nice...but you need either a full or 3/4 size helmet to fit. Some say they can put it on their half helmet, but lose clarity because of where the speakers need to be placed.But this really looks like a neat accessory to have,except for the cost per unit. We had a set of intercoms when we had snowmobiles years ago....and loved them. So we may end up getting these if we go with the Garmin&nbsp\\;GPS.
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Thanks for the photos.&nbsp\\;Its a great help seeing where and how you've placed the mounts, and if you've wired them or not. I would imagine having them direct wired would make the screen brighter rather than relying on battery power only....but does that prohibit you from moving them from the bike and into your automobile easlily?

&nbsp\\;BTW, I saw a sun shield visor / hood for the Garmin 450/550...... It was on ebay. I just typed in Garmin 550 and happened to see it.Probably good if you're riding with the sun at your back and looking at a&nbsp\\;washing screen.
Here's a link&nbsp\\;for anyone interested in looking at the features of the Q2, plus another link&nbsp\\;to someone who's given an personal road review of the set he and his wife have.
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http://www.jcmotors.com/p-10748-card...municator.aspx

http://motorcycle.meetup.com/2/boards/thread/4258380

 

Ok, this is what I have learned the hard way in the last 2 months. I have a 2003 Road King and a 2005 Night Train. Neither have the clocks in the speedo like the newer bikes. I don't wear a helmet and if i'm required It is only a half helmet, so audio from the gps is out of the question. I bought the Garmin 550 and upgraded to the newest maps. The first thing I noticed was that there is no clock on the map screen which sucked, plus there is no way to customize the map screen. If you don't have audio, it is sometimes difficult to know what lane to be in untill you are right on top of a turn. You can see the correct time with the push of a button, or the next turn also with the push of a button, but I don't want to have to be pushing buttons while i'm rideing. So 1 week after I get the unit We decided to go to the new Orange County Choppers building. Opps, address not found on the 550. Now my Tomtom with 1 year old maps found it no problem. The Tomtom Rider has a customizeable screen, clock, an arrow on the screen that tells you which way your next turn is, no matter how far away you are from it. I'm really much happier with the Tomtom, even though most swear by the Garmin.