Sat Nav

My recommendation is to buy a Zumo 550 cause all of the bugs in the firmware in the new 660. Register on www.zumoforums.com or visit http://garminzumo.wikispaces.com/ .

There you can find all the info you'll ever need. I'm very satisfied with the 550. You can plan all the routes at home and transfer them to the zumo. You can add waypoints , speedcameras , convert your triplog to a route , etc... There are NO limits !

Hey.

Did a quick search but didn't find what i was looking for.

Where have you guys stolen the DC for the satnav?

I just bought a Tomtom Rider, and it needs some juice.
I heard that there might be a power outlet ready somewhere near the fusebox?
Or should i just steal the power from the taillight?


Thanks.

On the newer SD model there's four wires behind the headlight cowl. One pair (+ and -) is 12V on all the time, the other one is 12V on when ignition is on. They're labelled ACC 1 and ACC 2 I think. I can't remember which one's which at the moment. Got my heated grips connected to the one that's on when ignition is on.
They're both rated at 10A.
I think the same wires exist on the earlier SD models, but they're under the seat. Correct me if I'm wrong on that one.

On the 07+ wires are in the headlight cowl.

I have a Zumo 550 which mounts via a Telferizer (same as Sinex). I also drilled the dash to fit a 12V socket so the whole thing could be removed quickly (Powelet or similar - it's a DIN 12V socker and they are avaialble on fleabay quite cheaply. Just get a metal shrouded one as the plastic ones break). Putting a plug on the Zumo lead is a doddle!

I put some pix in the gallery a long time back....

http://www.superduke.net/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=347
http://www.superduke.net/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=352

On my 08 SDR there were 2 sets or wires in the H/L cowl as described above. The 05 SD also had 2 sets of wires tucked away near the fuse box. The SM is similar to the SDR.

I also use a Scala Teamset and it works a treat with the Zumo and the Mobile phone (linked through the Zumo). The only issue I have had with it is in VERY heavy rain it has lost connection with the Zumo a couple of times, but it was absolutely pissing it down and it was only after about 2 hours it started to go wrong. Once dried out it was fine again.

The old original post date slips by again, I bought the Zumo 660 ages ago now.

Unlike the 550 the 660 motorcycle mount has all it's ports for headphones, usb, mic and power in one cable from the mount itself, which then splits into 4 cables much further down the cable.

It's good for waterproofing and having the sockets coming out by the seat so you can run your headphones/mic leads down the inside of your jacket and just poke out the bottom so no trailing wires across the tank but it's a pain in the bum if like me you wanted to put a quick connect on the power so you can swap the whole cradle to another bike and weren't planning on using the other connections anyway, I decided to buy a spare cradle for my RC8 but was not the cheapest solution, i could have altered the original but didn't fancy ruining it in case i upgrade in the future and want to ebay it.

I bought the Scala q2 dual headset with it and for the phone and directions only it works great but for music is utter shite so it looks like I might use the hard wired connections after all as you can split the mp3 and directions to the hardwire while still operating your phone through the headset. The reason it's shite is that as it turns out the headset is not stereo it is two mono earpads and so just sounds completely wrong. It seems there are other stereo bluetooth intercoms around but the Scala is so widely marketed and sold at every single online sat nav dealer that I just automatically bought it, my mistake, I usually research everything thoroughly

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the 660, it looks good, the cradle when empty is also better looking than the 550 and it does what it's supposed to do and gets me to where I want to go, sat nav is worth the money just to be able to custom route yourself away from motorways in my opinion and made my travels much more interesting, it even survived 160 miles of constant pissing down rain at 80-90mph, I stayed on the mway for that one as I just wanted to get home.

Here's some pics, I went for the left bar in the end as although I originally wanted it central I found I much prefer it there, it's high enough that I don't have to look down to see it and it's easily operated with my left hand and doesn't get in the way of the clocks or tank bag

I'm TomTom allergic, so let's not open that can of worms.

I've been thinking of getting the Zümo 660 too, but I've not wanted to spend the dosh at the moment. Twisted Jester, could you get some pics up of the cables etc of the 660? Sounds very interesting!

We've also got the Scala Q2 Teamset with my chicadee and we love them. We didn't expect stereo sound so we're not disappointed at all. The moment there's a good stereo BT headset (A2DP profile) out, I'll probably swap if I have some spare dosh burning a hole in my pocket.
Only complaint about the Scala is that it seems to be female to decide when it cuts out when doing lid-to-lid conversations.

Apprently there's an A2DP intercom called or made by Chatterbox but I've yet to look into it.

I'll try and find a pic of the cables as mine are all laid up behind the frame and on the RC I've literally a couple of days ago cable tied them to the air tube behind the fairing as I'm only using the power which is under the clocks so loads of excess cable to tuck away.

I'm sure there's one on the zumo forums somewhere

Here's what it looks like on the inside, you can see that the power is a seperate 2 pin plug to the other connections but there's no way of seperating out the cables from the single cable that leaves the unit without completely butchering seals at A & B and then resealing the resulting hole that's left to keep it watertight, so if it's done there's no easy way to reverse it later on.

Still looking for the actual full cable, have only seen pictures of them all wound up as it comes out the box so far

Good to know.

If you're going to go touring around Europe for 3 weeks or more, a dedicated Bike SatNav with all the bells and whistles might well be worth the money, but if you're just "riding around" on day trips or weekend trips, then I believe a Car SatNav should do you just fine. However, do remember that most Car SatNavs do NOT go off road unless you buy new maps. Walking GPS' are the other way round, they'll go everywhere with either the (poor) supplied base map, and then do turn-by-turn navigation by adding some expensive road-maps.

My GF had the Garmin i3 which she used in her car, she wants it now onto her bike. It's really cheap and really easy. Then for Xmas she got the Nüvi 265W which has bluetooth and she just loves in the car. I believe it'd be easy to fit onto the bike too. The on-screen buttons seem large enough to prod with a summer glove.

I bought a refurb TomTom Rider v2 on ebay and although I havent used it on the bike yet it seems like a pretty cool and intuitive unit. I wouldn't hesitate getting a Garmin either though as I have one built into my car and the system is flawless.

I will tell you this much though: I had a fockin helluva time trying to find a spare replacement cradle for the TomTom unit and their support SUCKS. I had to order one from a site called buybits.com after months of searching... so be warned. Also some people complain about the cradle breaking and the unit falling off while riding. Im gonna take the precaution and add a fallback of some sort so that it doesnt happen to me.

Indeed, the best thing about my Garmin Zumo is the ability to create custom routes so I don't have to sit on the motorway or some straight dual carriageway the whole time, to me that alone made the satnav worth its weight in gold.

Owning an 05 I'm also making good use of the fuel guage, it's only really a trip meter but the good part is that when it gets to my predefined mileage an icon comes up which I can press to direct me to the nearest petrol station without having to search through various menus to get there while driving, it definitely saved my bacon at least once on a long trip as the distance to the nearest petrol station was right on my limit and was not on the main road I was on so I'd have never found it without the satnav.

I also use the phone through it, this is not something I use on spirited rides and I keep it to a minimum on any ride but when turning up for customer installs its been brilliant for getting directions to the right entrance or car park without having to deglove, remove my helmet, undo my jacket etc, especially if it's raining. Also good for teling the mrs to unlock the side gate when I'm getting close to home.

I'm still not convinced by the zip bag idea although lots of people mention it so there must be something in it, I rode 160 miles in the hammering rain at 80-90 mph on the motorway and the Garmin came through it perfectly intact which is more than I can say for the gear I was wearing.

Double Post

anyone recomend a good satnav for the bike ?

thanks in advance .

I've had a Garmin Zumo 550 for close to six years that is still going strong. My next one will be the new Garmin Zumo.

I use my iphone with this:

I have a Zumo 550 also, works great on the bike and in the Jeep.

I have a Garmin Zumo 660

Clips between the bike and the motor - cant really complain other than couple of things

Some of its decisions arnt the best compared to my tom tom on the same routes.
When it recalculates routes it says "external power lost"

Its my first sat nav on a bike and I think that unless your very strict about when you look at the screen or have bluetooth/voice commands in your lid then the second or two spent glancing at that could mean you miss that bit of vital info that saves your skin.

I dont use mine much for that reason.

+1 for the Zumo 550
Good workhorse. I don't use the audio, so don't know about the bluetooth etc.
And as with all satnav, it's not a replacement for common sense. Looking at a map before you go makes good sense