Touring Models Road King, Road King Custom, Road King Classic, Road Glide, Street Glide, Electra Glide, Electra Glide Classic, and Electra Glide Ultra Classic bikes.
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Gps 550

Old Mar 26, 2011 | 03:55 PM
  #1  
spider2's Avatar
spider2
Thread Starter
|
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 309
Likes: 0
Default Gps 550

I just purchased a zumo 550 from a board member here. What I need to know is can your hear the gps through its own speaker or do I have to wear a ear phone or wire it through the bikes speakers? Also can I just plug the unit into the cigar lighter?
 
Reply
Old Mar 26, 2011 | 04:52 PM
  #2  
shooter5074's Avatar
shooter5074
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,590
Likes: 31
From: Western Illinois, land of bad roads, and corrupt politicians
Default

Originally Posted by spider2
I just purchased a zumo 550 from a board member here. What I need to know is can your hear the gps through its own speaker or do I have to wear a ear phone or wire it through the bikes speakers? Also can I just plug the unit into the cigar lighter?


If you have an HK radio, you can plug it into the AUX port..... or wear ear buds (MP3 player is pretty good on the 550)

DO NOT USE THE CAR MOUNT ON A BIKE....... the GPS WILL fall out of it. The bike mount has a security screw lock to keep it from falling out of the cradle.

Hard wire it to the bike.


Here's the manual.
http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/1369_OwnersManual.pdf
 

Last edited by shooter5074; Mar 26, 2011 at 05:18 PM.
Reply
Old Mar 26, 2011 | 05:00 PM
  #3  
bluffalobob's Avatar
bluffalobob
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,277
Likes: 4
From: Austin, TX - Some call it heaven.
Default

Shooter is correct, the 550 must be connected to the AUX in port on the radio in order to hear either the turn commands, or listen to MP3's from it's built in player.

The radio on the bike must also be set to AUX. Meaning if you're listening to the radio, you still won't hear the turn directions. You can however, listen to MP3's, and it will interrupt to give directions.
 
Reply
Old Mar 26, 2011 | 06:16 PM
  #4  
Mntsnow's Avatar
Mntsnow
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 989
Likes: 3
From: SLC, UT
Default

Also if you use the car mount the GPS will NOT track miles for the fuel warning...

It is very easy to hardwire the GPS to the back of the cig lighter. I added in a simple 2 conductor plug near where I have the wire come thru my fairing so I can remove my GPS mount as well and not have a bunch of wire flopping around http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=3870003 is what I used and just used some heatshrink to keep everything nice and clean where I spliced in the plug.
 
Reply
Old Mar 27, 2011 | 01:08 AM
  #5  
Potato_Potato's Avatar
Potato_Potato
Outstanding HDF Member
15 Year Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,600
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
Default

Originally Posted by spider2
I just purchased a zumo 550 from a board member here. What I need to know is can your hear the gps through its own speaker or do I have to wear a ear phone or wire it through the bikes speakers? Also can I just plug the unit into the cigar lighter?
You could take a look here regarding the cigarette lighter adaptor:

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/8101545-post76.html
 
Reply
Old Mar 27, 2011 | 08:59 AM
  #6  
Wassup8687's Avatar
Wassup8687
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 17,717
Likes: 1
From: NY
Default

I have ny 550 plugged into the AUX port and listen to MP3's, directions and also talk on my phone (oh did I say that on here LOL) which is paired to the Garmin.
 
Reply
Old Mar 27, 2011 | 11:00 AM
  #7  
katobird's Avatar
katobird
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,716
Likes: 8
From: General Sherman's Christmas Location 1864
Default

mine is removable and NOT HARD MOUNTED>>

I make a little piece of spring steel to keep the "lid down on the cradle".
It was a hassle using the little screw

I like taking the GPS and Crable in the motel room at night..
Hard wire and lock..it's a joke you just unscrew the mount and away everything goes
 
Attached Thumbnails Gps 550-picture-402.jpg  
Reply
Old Mar 27, 2011 | 11:19 AM
  #8  
steelhead's Avatar
steelhead
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 938
Likes: 0
From: Seattle WA area
Default

sorry if this is a bit of a hijack.

The sound answer is as described above. You can also pair to a bluetooth headset or earpiece. I regularly ride with a Jawbone earpiece that fits a custom molded ear insert. As good as wearing an earplug in that ear and you can hear the commands clear.

Two things to add on the cradle. 1st is I replaced the security screw with a knurled thumbscrew that a guy makes for the mount. Much easier to just pop the 550 out and take it inside with you. Except for leaving the bike overnight, I don't pull the cradle off on trips. When I do, or for most of my riding where I don't need the GPS, I wired a two prong plug into the hardwired power line. It is easy to just unplug the cradle and all that is left is a small female plug tied off under the bars at the top of the nacelle. Of course I still have the Ram mount ball but that is not a big thing.
 
Reply
HD Forum Stories

The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders

story-0

7 Times Harley-Davidson Chucked Tradition Out the Window

 Verdad Gallardo
story-1

7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles

 Verdad Gallardo
story-2

8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-3

10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-4

Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept

 Verdad Gallardo
story-7

Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II

 Verdad Gallardo
story-8

10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy

 Joe Kucinski
story-9

10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026

 Verdad Gallardo
Old Mar 27, 2011 | 03:25 PM
  #9  
UK FXSTB's Avatar
UK FXSTB
Outstanding HDF Member
15 Year Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,038
Likes: 2
From: Yorkshire
Default

Going slighty off topic ive just got a 550 and wondered how do you put music on to a SD card ( can you use music that i buy on i-tunes)plus will any SD card work ?
 
Reply
Old Mar 27, 2011 | 03:37 PM
  #10  
Potato_Potato's Avatar
Potato_Potato
Outstanding HDF Member
15 Year Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,600
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
Default

As far as I know any SD card will work but it is actually better to buy two 4 Gig cards than one 8 Gig card, for example. The reason is because the 550 will only recognize 1,000 songs. (There are work arounds if you are handy with computers.)

Unless you bought the unrestricted ITunes songs they won't play on the Zumo. The work around is first burn all of your purchased ITunes music to a CD. Once you have done that change the import preferences of ITunes under import settings to Import Using MP3 Encoder. Then import the CD you just burnt and your songs will be imported as unrestricted MP3s so you can then export / copy them to the Zumo.
 
Reply

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:43 PM.

story-0
7 Times Harley-Davidson Chucked Tradition Out the Window

Slideshow: Harley-Davidson built its reputation on nostalgia, but every so often, the company took a hard left turn into the future.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-20 11:18:19


VIEW MORE
story-1
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles

Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-29 16:50:35


VIEW MORE
story-2
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

Slideshow: Not every Harley gets it right, but these are the ones that genuinely earned their reputation.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-04-15 14:23:21


VIEW MORE
story-3
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever

Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-04-01 20:01:09


VIEW MORE
story-4
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In

Slideshow: Killer Custom's "Jail Breaker" build focuses more on stance and visual aggression than mechanical overhaul.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-18 19:20:32


VIEW MORE
story-5
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?

Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-07 16:15:30


VIEW MORE
story-6
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept

Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's new RMCR concept revives the café racer formula with modern hardware-and it may be exactly the reset the company needs.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-04 12:23:37


VIEW MORE
story-7
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II

Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-02-24 18:19:44


VIEW MORE
story-8
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy

Slideshow: There is no shortage of great motorcycles to buy, but we would avoid these ten.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-02-19 14:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-9
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026

Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-01-13 18:33:17


VIEW MORE