zuma 550 gps
I will be getting one of these in the near future. I played with one at a bike show and it looks great.
#1: I can get lost in my back yard. When I used to deer hunt, years ago, I was always getting lost. I even got lost in a parking lot once.
#2: I am a technology freak.
Anyway, I mounted the Zumo to the clutch housing and went for a ride. I had to move my eyes too far away from my primary gaze for comfort. I removed the mount and went to the c-clamp and relocated the GPS closer to the steering head and higher. Much better position IMO for riding comfort. Now only a slight gaze down from primary.
I live in North Florida and took a trip into South Georgia. I went on secondary roads and got good and lost on purpose. Maybe 50 or so miles from home. I stopped by the side of the road and hit 'go home.' I had the audio output of the Zumo plugged into the radio (2006 RoadGlide). I followed the prompts and became 'unlost' with ease. During the ride home I took a left instead of the right which Zumo told me to take. Zumo did a quick recalculation and got me back on course. Therefore, for me, the 'go home' feature would be justfication enough for me to purchase the device on my own.
I also like seeing what roads or streets are coming up, etc.
I wired direct to the battery but will probably put an SAE connector on in place and plug into the SAE connector I use for the Battery Tender. I will use one or the other anyway and give me a way to 'switch' off the cradle.
Getting experiance using Mapquest is next.
The unit looks good on the bike. The screen is easy to see except when the bright sun shines directly on it. I have not tried it at night.
Overall, I am very pleased with the device and recommend GPS for those who travel to unknown places, especally those who get lost easily. Amazing technology.
I've got mine mounted to my '06 Ultra with the supplied RAM mount and the voice prompts work great thru my headset or dash speakers....I've got the XM antenna coming next week.....$220 extra, but worth it to me to have it all integrated on the Zumo
This is my first GPS and it's been easy to use.....I'm still working on learning the MapSource program so I can design routes on the computer and then download to the Zumo
More to come
Karl
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If you don't need the extra features, you can get the exact same basic GPS operation(route to home, creating & loading specific routes, recalculation after a wrong turn etc etc etc)from many of the less expensive Garmin units.
I have been using a Garmin 2610 on my bike for a couple years & I still see little reason to upgrade at this point. When the Zumo drops to a reasonable price I may pick one up, but for now my 2610 uses the exact same maps & the same version of Mapsource/CityNav as the lastest units so as far as routing/getting lost etc I would gain nothing by upgrading.
I already have XM & Bluetooth & my stereo plays MP3's, so I'm pretty well set for now. I bought a brand new Garmin 2610 on ebay to give to someone for Christmas recently for $250.
~John
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