Looking at a bike sat nav and especially the TomTom 400. Any thoughts on what sat navs if different or on the modal noted would be appreciated.

Thankyou

 

Danny

I use my phone, wprks very well in a holder.

 

John

I have the Garmin Zumo 590 and find it perfect. No screen glare, Bluetooth, music streaming, text messaging, glove friendly. 

The sat nav itself allows for on and off road mapping, multi point routing for more complicated routes you can create the route on your computer and send to the sat nav. Other Zumo users can send routes, waypoints etc to you wirelessly too. 

Edited 5 March, 20179 yr by CWARD

I have looked at the Zumo and TomTom and most of the reviews agree (Which magazine and others) the the Zumo is slightly better but not £200 plus unles you need it day in and day out.

This is going to be a 60th birthday present, so it is a treat.

I paid £350 for the Zumo through Amazon last year. Not sure how much they are now. 

 

I've been a long time fan of Garmin since the time I cocked up a map update and crashed the whole sat nav the day before I was due to travel down to Spain in the earlier hours of morning. Nearly a year out of warranty I thought I'd try their support line and after nearly an hour on the phone to them they were going to send replacement unit out by special delivery at no cost just to return mine in exchange. As it wouldn't arrive in time they instead took control of my computer and fixed the sat nav. All for nothing and out of warranty.

I've been using the Zumo 390LM for the past few years. 

 

It's great tbh.. i don't find it too big so doesn't get in the way, fits in my pocket when i leave the bike and i've had it mounted in various places on various bikes. 

 

Nice clear display.. i don't even use a headset with it.. just the screen. 

 

Went through the heaviest rain storm i've ever ridden though in France and it never missed a beat. Spot on. 

Reviews seem to favour Garmin, because of all the features... but TomTom seem to do better in terms of basic functionality, ease of operation and motorcycle-specific usage. Garmin's wealth of features bogging it down is precisely why I didn't get one. Most of my friends went Garmin and against my Rider 2 they still regret it.

Never found the Garmin to be complicated. The basics are with easy access, route options simply too. Absolutely nothing bogged down by features, even my wife has used within the car which when you do it automatically switches from twisty roads to main roads. Only way to make more simple to use would be to use telepathy. 

 

I would love to hear of some of these basics that are bogged down on a Zumo.

 

There are lots of add on features with the Zumo such as tyre pressure monitors, fuel gauges and consumption which require setup but these aren't basics and not something I require either as the bike does all this already.

Which ever you go for this program for your PC is great

 

http://www.tyretotravel.com/

 

John

I've had a Zumo 550 for many years, thought it was a lot when I bought it but VFM over an extended period and numerous trips to Europe, including:  France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Czech, Germany, Holland oh and quite a lot of hooning round the UK. In torrential rain and hot sun with music and phone connectivity all peachy and sound. Also used it as a back up in the car a few times.

 

It was brilliant when I did the Welsh National Rally as all way points were pre-loaded and I could make the route up on the hoof almost. Features such as POI, fuel and track recording were great and I haven't looked but they must have improved since then.

 

 If I were to buy again then I would go with Garmin without hesitation

Looks like it is going to be the Garmin 345LM. See where I can get it the cheapest!

Probably Amazon

2 hours ago, Danny 57 said:

Looks like it is going to be the Garmin 345LM. See where I can get it the cheapest!

 

Aldi was doing the 340LM for £200 not long ago. 

 

Might be worth looking at. Not sure what the 345 has that the 340 doesnt though... 

5 hours ago, Ttaskmaster said:

Reviews seem to favour Garmin, because of all the features... but TomTom seem to do better in terms of basic functionality, ease of operation and motorcycle-specific usage. Garmin's wealth of features bogging it down is precisely why I didn't get one. Most of my friends went Garmin and against my Rider 2 they still regret it.

 

I dont see how the Garmin could be any simpler tbh. 

 

Each to their own though. Im not really a TomTom person  

It came down to a two horse race between the TomTom 400 and the Garmin 345LM. I know the TomTom has a couple of extra features that the Garmin does not but those I can live without. It was what I believe (from reading various reviews for both) the back up support I would get for the Garmin against the TomTom is what won the day.

Try these prices:

 

http://satnav-discounts.co.uk/gb/product/garmin-zumo-345lm/

 

Do you have a mount? That's the next part of the fun

Edited 7 March, 20179 yr by Bud

They actually come with Ram bar mount which on it's own is pretty stable but if you want something that mounts over the clocks have a look at the SW Motech. What bike do you have Danny?

15 hours ago, fabiamk2SE said:

 

Aldi was doing the 340LM for £200 not long ago. 

 

Might be worth looking at. Not sure what the 345 has that the 340 doesnt though... 

 

I had to replace my aging 550 recently as it finally went pout.

I went for the 345LM and haven't regretted it.

It has been through 10 hours the heaviest rain ever no problem. Garmin all the way for me. Creating routes on the PC is easy, music and phone connectivity are spot on, support is second to none.

My only issue is that when using Bluetooth comms, spoken directions cut the comms and tunes.

I would like it be able to hear both, muted while getting directions.

Telferizer makes Ram mounts for all different bikes. Hes in Stockport. 

 

Really nice guy too. I pop down to him whenever i get a different bike n he sorts it out (:

5 minutes ago, CFB said:

 

I had to replace my aging 550 recently as it finally went pout.

I went for the 345LM and haven't regretted it.

It has been through 10 hours the heaviest rain ever no problem. Garmin all the way for me. Creating routes on the PC is easy, music and phone connectivity are spot on, support is second to none.

My only issue is that when using Bluetooth comms, spoken directions cut the comms and tunes.

I would like it be able to hear both, muted while getting directions.

 

That might be adjustable somehow? 

 

I was amazed how they cope with rain. It was literally bouncing off mine.. i could only see a very short distance. The only difference it made was it came out looking like itd had a good wash n like new again  

1 hour ago, CWARD said:

They actually come with Ram bar mount which on it's own is pretty stable but if you want something that mounts over the clocks have a look at the SW Motech. What bike do you have Danny?

 

I have an America, so I only have the speedo in front of the handlebars but I also have the warning lights located on my tank. I can put it either side just before the handlebar switches.

16 hours ago, fabiamk2SE said:

 

I dont see how the Garmin could be any simpler tbh. 

 

Each to their own though. Im not really a TomTom person  

I didn't want to track my average speed and fuel consumption while travelling a route planned on and downloaded from Google maps, while integrating my top ten playlists from my iPhone. I just want to go from wherever I am to a destination of my choosing. Garmin seemed to have trouble accepting that, as well as splitting its settings across 2 or 3 different menu locations.

IIRC, the bike Tom was also waterproof, while the Garmin needed a case?

2 hours ago, Bud said:

Try these prices:

 

http://satnav-discounts.co.uk/gb/product/garmin-zumo-345lm/

 

Do you have a mount? That's the next part of the fun

 

Thank you. I have looked around and yes it is Amazon that comes out cheapest.

24 minutes ago, Ttaskmaster said:

I didn't want to track my average speed and fuel consumption while travelling a route planned on and downloaded from Google maps, while integrating my top ten playlists from my iPhone. I just want to go from wherever I am to a destination of my choosing. Garmin seemed to have trouble accepting that, as well as splitting its settings across 2 or 3 different menu locations.

IIRC, the bike Tom was also waterproof, while the Garmin needed a case?

 

Are you sure you've used a Garmin? All you do from the main screen is select "Where To?", it takes up half the screen so you might not of noticed it. That takes you to second screen where you have options of selecting an address, favourites, POI (Hotels, Fuel, ATMs etc) Recently found etc. Very, very easy and quick too.

Garmin is waterproof including the power connections which Tomtom Riders suffered from when they first came out. My Garmin was thoroughly tested last October when it bounced it down all day when I did the Ride To The Wall. It was about the only thing I had other than my boots that was fully waterproof. 

39 minutes ago, Ttaskmaster said:

I didn't want to track my average speed and fuel consumption while travelling a route planned on and downloaded from Google maps, while integrating my top ten playlists from my iPhone. I just want to go from wherever I am to a destination of my choosing. Garmin seemed to have trouble accepting that, as well as splitting its settings across 2 or 3 different menu locations.

IIRC, the bike Tom was also waterproof, while the Garmin needed a case?

 

You just use the functions you want to use. It only does what you tell it to. You can enter a postcode in 3 clicks. Thats all i do most the time tbh. 

 

Nah no case on the Zumo. Its a proper bike nav, fully waterproof.