9 minutes ago, CWARD said:

 

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. 

Pretty sure it was a Garmin, yeah... It said GARMIN all over it, on the packaging and everything, but I could have been mistaken... and the utter geek who was flashing it around and kept calling it a Garmin, talking about how wonderful Garmin is next to TomTom, how Toms are for idiots and how he's a computer programmer and Gold standard advanced rider, etc etc so has enough sense to know how to use a Garmin... but it might have been another brand, yeah...

 

I took it for a spin, nonetheless and found it was like a snooty car driver, TBH.

Not so fussed about what you do, but picking holes in how you choose to do everything, insisting their way is the best and only way to do it...

 

Now, this was several years ago, when Tom's Rider V2 came out, so Garmin may have improved things lately... After all the V1 power connections were sorted pretty sharpish, so if Tom can improve, why not Garmin, right? But based on the brand new latest model one the Mrs has and her rants about how it lacks things that even my very old Tom has, I'm not so sure they have improved... I'm half tempted to get her an in-car adapter, as she never lost her rag with the Tom.

 

I've had Sat Navs on motorbikes since the 2000's with a StreetPilot that was basic beyond belief and not that user friendly. These got progressively better until you had the Zumo 500 series in 2006 and it was very user friendly based on the Nuvi series software and these have been very simply to use since. Some complained that it took away some of the true adventure aspects of the Streetpilot such as grid references, contour lines etc but for street use no one required these and Garmin targeted that market. They now offer all the aspects and much more depending on what the user requires to what model they buy. 

Taskmaster, you're obviously a fan boy for TomTom but have very little if any knowledge of using Garmin. Nothing snooty about Garmin, it's a tool you use to perform a function that's all, to suggest anything else is just ridiculous. Your friend waving his Garmin around saying it's much than TomTom sounds like a tool too but in a different sense. As I and others have said your experiences of using the very basics of a Garmin are miles away from our own and at least pre Zumo/Nuvi series. I actually had the Rider V1 when it first came out and it wasn't a joyful experience with cradle and charging problems although when it worked it was good. TomTom had a steep learning curve with the physical demands of use on a motorbike. Mine went back to Halford's for a full refund whilst I continued to use my very old Streetpilot until I could afford a Zumo. I've been unashamedly a fan of theirs since as they've been so reliable for me and when I have managed to break it they have gone above and beyond to help getting it going again. I'm still using Garmin now as I've absolutely no idea where I'm going but once I've finished exploring unknown roads and totally lost all I do is press the screen twice selecting "Home" and it will guide me back everytime without fail. As the saying goes "once bitten, twice shy".

 

P.S. If you'd bought a Garmin Zumo it would have come with a car mount so your wife could use it in the car without additional purchases 

I've had both Garmin and TomTom, I actually still have all of the devices starting with a Garmin StreetPilot 3, small memoyy and required special Garmin Memory Modules, TomTom Rider 2nd Edition lost France when they banned speed cameras, TomTom didn't supply the replacement Danger Zones as the unit was too old!

 

Currently have a Garmin 390LM puchased Feb 2016 and a Garmin 395 received as a freebie when I purchased a Triumph Sprint GT SE in September 2016.

 

I've had not usage issues with the TomTom until I lost notifications in France and its hard to compare it with the Garmin 390/395 as things have moved on so much especially not having to pay for map updates.

 

The Garmin 390LM is for sale for the right price (pm me), it will need the wiring loom and bracket (about £50.00) as thats fitted to the bike but have the complete RAM mount kit as that wasn't used on the Harley  Only really used in anger last September to go to the European Bike Week in Faaker See, Austria and it got us there and back without any issues, it has safely cameras installed although it was last updated at the end of Jan and the update option has since expired in February but can be easily purchased on line. Also has a car adapter with it consisting of 12v Power lead and suction windscreen mount.

 

The only issue I can see with the latest TomTom is that it uses your mobile phone data allowance to update the unit which could get expensive in Europe.    

Edited 7 March, 20179 yr by Prykey

>Taskmaster, you're obviously a fan boy for TomTom but have very little if any knowledge of using Garmin.
Not especially. I don't even use it in my own car, opting for Google maps on the phone instead.
I just found it far easier to do what I wanted, the way I wanted, than any of the Garmins I tried since.

 

>Nothing snooty about Garmin, it's a tool you use to perform a function that's all
Meh.
It just wasn't doing it for me and seemed most displeased when I tried to find functions that even my phone has.

 

>Your friend waving his Garmin around saying it's much than TomTom sounds like a tool too but in a different sense.

Well yes he is, but that's by the by. He's still someone I would generally regard to know his stuff inside and out, but none of what he was willy-waving about had any relevance, beyond being able to do it because it could.

 

>I actually had the Rider V1 when it first came out and it wasn't a joyful experience

Yeah, the V1s were utter crap.

 

>TomTom had a steep learning curve with the physical demands of use on a motorbike.
They seem to have sorted all that exceedingly well by V2 and even later versions haven't seemed quite as good.
Garmins also were nearly twice the price, IIRC?

 

>I have managed to break it they have gone above and beyond to help getting it going again.
I break most things, but never managed to break my Tom. Confused it a couple of times, but that's it and easily resolved my own self.
Maybe I'm just that lucky.

 

>P.S. If you'd bought a Garmin Zumo it would have come with a car mount so your wife could use it in the car without additional purchases
How does the speaker work and still keep the unit waterproof?

 

The Zumo was very expensive when it came out but still less than the Streetpilot. I bought the Rider because it had a colour screen, my Streetpilot was still monochrome, and it was also half the size of the brick I was using. Iirc the Zumo was around £150 more than the Rider. 

I only broke a Nuvi the day before going to Spain. See my previous posts in this thread. 

The Zumo car mount has the speaker built into it and sound sent to it via the contacts. When connected to the car mount it automatically changes is routing preference from twisty roads to main roads too. 

If you get the chance try a Garmin properly and it might just change your view. I gave my old Nuvi to my mother who was using a TomTom Go. Even though the one I gave her was much older she couldn't believe how much quicker and easier to use it was compared to her TomTom. The only thing she didn't like is that it took her on different roads to her TomTom although the time would still be the same. 

The speaker in the Zumo 390 is built in so can be used on the bike or in the car. The cradle for the car is just a cradle, and the power is plugged in too. 

 

How is the speaker waterproof? I dno, but it is, because i've tried it and it's never missed a beat. 

 

I even wash it with a spray of water out of a pressurised container then wipe it with a cloth  

 

Edit:

 

It is actually waterproof to an IPX7 rating.. which means..

 

What does ipx7 waterproof mean?

Protected against heavy splashing and rain. Must not fail or show water seepage when exposed, but not when immersed. IPX-7 Waterproof Standard. Protected against short durations of water immersion. Max immersion for less than 30 minutes and at a depth of less than 1 meter.

Edited 7 March, 20179 yr by fabiamk2SE

Fab, do you use the Smartlink app too? Very handy if you're having a brew, decide to go somewhere and all you do is look it up on your phone, finish your drink go back to the bike and just send it to the sat nav. 

You also receive notifications from your phone such texts. More handy than you'd think when getting your phone out of your pocket with gloves on can be so cumbersome. 

Also users your mobile data to give you weather updates, always better to get the waterproofs out before it starts raining and traffic updates which gives you alternative routes to avoid.  

4 minutes ago, CWARD said:

Fab, do you use the Smartlink app too? Very handy if you're having a brew, decide to go somewhere and all you do is look it up on your phone, finish your drink go back to the bike and just send it to the sat nav. 

You also receive notifications from your phone such texts. More handy than you'd think when getting your phone out of your pocket with gloves on can be so cumbersome. 

Also users your mobile data to give you weather updates, always better to get the waterproofs out before it starts raining and traffic updates which gives you alternative routes to avoid.  

 

I havent used that before mate, no. 

 

Just downloaded the app in one hand and i've got the nav in the other. See what i can sort  haha. 

 

Cheers. 

Zumo 345, smart link and Bluetooth headset = no need to get the phone out of a pocket.

Sorted.

I've never used the phone with any of them, am i really missing anything with the 395LM by not doing so other than not taking calls?

 

Weather, traffic and sending destinations to the sat nav from your phone. 

Edited 8 March, 20179 yr by CWARD

2 hours ago, CWARD said:

Weather, traffic and sending destinations to the sat nav from your phone. 

 

Might be useful then

 

Thought I'd share this as we are talking about screen based devices....

 

https://bikerandbike.co.uk/using-screen-based-devices-on-motorbikes/

Goes even further than that to include car radios too. The main point is being in full control of the vehicle, anything you are doing that may be a distraction you can be penalised for. Hand on vehicle controls only which excludes sat navs and radios. 

 

https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law

 

With the Garmin the information pops on the screen for a few seconds to allow you time acknowledge it before disappearing again so you stay in control of the bike and have no need touch anything other than the bars. Media and phone controls are taken via spoken commands using bluetooth. Iirc the latest top end Zumo are full voice control although if it's like anything I've used in a car it would end being more distracting than touching the Sat Nav as I yell at it for coming up with random commands to the one I requested. I already know the Garmin (DriveAssist 50 LMT-D) I have in the car is voice controlled and unless I speak very clearly in an unnatural way it struggles to do as commanded.

5 minutes ago, CWARD said:

Goes even further than that to include car radios too. The main point is being in full control of the vehicle, anything you are doing that may be a distraction you can be penalised for. Hand on vehicle controls only which excludes sat navs and radios. 

 

https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law

 

With the Garmin the information pops on the screen for a few seconds to allow you time acknowledge it before disappearing again so you stay in control of the bike and have no need touch anything other than the bars. Media and phone controls are taken via spoken commands using bluetooth. Iirc the latest top end Zumo are full voice control although if it's like anything I've used in a car it would end being more distracting than touching the Sat Nav as I yell at it for coming up with random commands to the one I requested. I already know the Garmin (DriveAssist 50 LMT-D) I have in the car is voice controlled and unless I speak very clearly in an unnatural way it struggles to do as commanded.

 

I've never managed to crack voice control on the phone when its in my hand, so there's no chance of me even trying it in the car or on the bike especially if it tried to react to comments like "******"

 

I have fitted a really neat integrated bluetooth intercom unit into my Shoei GT-Air Helmet, its made by Sena and its called the 10U. Its really good with no sticky out bits that create wind noise and has a remote control that clips to your handle bars.

 

Check it out at https://www.sena.com/product/10u/ the fitments are bespoke for the helmet so you have to buy the right one however if you have one of the helmets it makes a very clean install  

 

Uh yeah. Voice commands tend to be abit shocking on everything really. 

 

I've got an expensive Zenec headunit in the car and whilst its great, i do have to speak so clearly. Mom instead of mum helps too. Americannn. 

 

I do still use it for voice control but only to call people. 

 

I dont actually use a bluetooth headset either. I like to get on the bike to escape from the life the phone hassles me with (self employed). I find looking at the nav screen with it on mute easy enough. 

 

Infact ive even muted the nav instructions in the car. I just dont feel like i need them. Especially when it comes up on maxidot too. 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Prykey said:

 

I've never managed to crack voice control on the phone when its in my hand, so there's no chance of me even trying it in the car or on the bike especially if it tried to react to comments like "******"

 

I have fitted a really neat integrated bluetooth intercom unit into my Shoei GT-Air Helmet, its made by Sena and its called the 10U. Its really good with no sticky out bits that create wind noise and has a remote control that clips to your handle bars.

 

Check it out at https://www.sena.com/product/10u/ the fitments are bespoke for the helmet so you have to buy the right one however if you have one of the helmets it makes a very clean install  

 

I have the Scala bluetooth. They do the same thing for Schuberth helmets which I was tempted by but I also swap between that street helmet and an Aria Tour-X so would have needed two of everything which was silly money. Instead I got the Scala Packtalk and a spare boom mic and ear pieces which was only an extra £60 and much less than doubling up. I love the bluetooth comms compared to the old days of cables, much better functionality and no wires.

 

You think you have problems with voice control, you have to feel sorry for this guy

 

https://youtu.be/kQZCITslaz8 

 

30 minutes ago, CWARD said:

 

I have the Scala bluetooth. They do the same thing for Schuberth helmets which I was tempted by but I also swap between that street helmet and an Aria Tour-X so would have needed two of everything which was silly money. Instead I got the Scala Packtalk and a spare boom mic and ear pieces which was only an extra £60 and much less than doubling up. I love the bluetooth comms compared to the old days of cables, much better functionality and no wires.

 

You think you have problems with voice control, you have to feel sorry for this guy

 

https://youtu.be/kQZCITslaz8 

 

 

That is so funny!