garmin zumo

Hello

I think I may have decided to get the GARMIN ZUMO 550. What do you all think ?? Is it easy to fit only I'm a girl and I have natual blond hair (well it says so on the bottle) . Also does anyone know the best blue tooth I should get, I just have the bog standard Nokia 7373 with a crap wire handsfree kit, what will I need for the phone or the Sat nav.

I'm thinking of going to Decathlon as they seem to be the only local ones selling them.

I'm up for any info, only I've just took some days off so the roads need me

Stay safe.

Cheers

SANDY

I'm also looking at getting a Zumo. The Scala Rider bluetooth headset seems pretty well rated. It comes with the new version of the Tomtom rider. I'm sure someone who actually owns and uses one will be along with info. Check accessories here:

http://www.blokesstuff.com/Product.a...FQ0eEgodaEWsmQ

Before you invest your hard earned cash may I suggest that you take a look at the Motorcycle riders forum on "Pocket GPS" Linky Here

I like the Zumo, but it's damned expensive, have a look at what other with experience of GPS systems are saying, you may decide to opt for the new Tom Tom Rider II, as it's cheaper.

The Rider doesn't have a jack socket for audio out though. Not a problem if you're running bluetooth, but you may want to get yourself an Autocom or similar device at a later date, which requires a standard 3.5mm jack plug.

Autocom will sell you a bluetooth adaptor for £75, but then you can't use your phone unless it's plugged into the Autocom unit.

Food for thought....

.

[embee]

Before committing, spend an hour or 2 browsing here
http://www.zumoforums.com/zumo/index.php

There's a lot of user-type info on there which you'll take forever to find out the hard way.

I've got a 550 (first understand the basic spec differences, 500/550 etc). I had read the above forum front to back before getting it, so was aware of the couple of issues there are with them.

1 - the rubber cover on the contact of the bike mount can perish after just a few weeks (they got the rubber wrong). No big deal, phone Garmin and they replace it no questions, just a bit of hassle. I got mine in 3 days from phoning. Garmin's customer service is almost always excellent (one or 2 cases of complaint, but the vast majority are spot-on).

2 - the bike mount contacts can become electrically noisy on the audio channels. Same comment as for the rubber flap, but some folks are reporting good results with using WD40 to clean the contacts rather than any other electrical cleaner.

3 - there have been quite a few cases of the units "freezing". Usually fixed by holding two buttons down, or if that fails remove the unit's own battery, wait a minute and refit. If that doesn't work, put it on charge for a few hours. If that doesn't work, Garmin will replace it.

I don't know if they are any better/worse than others (TomTom etc), and all the problems get reported on the forum so it's a bit pessimistic sometimes, but the vasty majority are very happy with it. I've had the bike mount replaced due to the rubber issue, but otherwise it's been great.

On bluetooth with the Zumo, it seems to work well, though it doesn't support stereo so your mp3 comes over as mono. Most people have no issues with the Zumo and their phones.

I use a wired headset, it's less hassle than you might think, and does give true stereo. Also there's no battery issue like with the Scala. The Interphone system (more expensive) is rated better than the Scala, and they will do bike-to-bike intercoms up to a couple of hundred metres apparently, which the Scala doesn't (the Teamset is for Rider/pillion).

I got my Zumo from http://www.handtec.co.uk (cheapest at the time) but they are a bit expensive compared to http://www.blokesstuff.com who get pretty good reviews (though I haven't used them).

If you do get one (and in no way would I want to put you off, mine's great) then get the replacement finger-screw thing that is advertised on the forum (sticky in general forum) made by some dutch folks. It replaces the standard "security" screw which stops the mount from accidentally releasing, but is so fiddly to use you find you either don't use it or you do but can't be bothered to take the Zumo off when paying for petrol etc so get it nicked by a passing scally.

Fitting depends what bike you're putting it on, the forum has a section on installation. I strongly recommend fitting the bike with a "cigarette lighter" type accessory socket, and fitting a suitable fused plug (I got one from Maplins for £2-50) to the bike power lead Garmin supply, suitably shortened (and do away with the fussy in-line fuse it includes). You can then easily remove the whole mount from the bike in seconds and just pull the plug out, so it doesn't get nicked. The power lead fits into the bike mount with a small rater delicate plug/socket which is best fited with the 2 small screws supplied and then left alone.

Originally Posted by embee

Before committing, spend an hour or 2 browsing here
http://www.zumoforums.com/zumo/index.php

There's a lot of user-type info on there which you'll take forever to find out the hard way.

I've got a 550 (first understand the basic spec differences, 500/550 etc). I had read the above forum front to back before getting it, so was aware of the couple of issues there are with them.

1 - the rubber cover on the contact of the bike mount can perish after just a few weeks (they got the rubber wrong). No big deal, phone Garmin and they replace it no questions, just a bit of hassle. I got mine in 3 days from phoning. Garmin's customer service is almost always excellent (one or 2 cases of complaint, but the vast majority are spot-on).

2 - the bike mount contacts can become electrically noisy on the audio channels. Same comment as for the rubber flap, but some folks are reporting good results with using WD40 to clean the contacts rather than any other electrical cleaner.

3 - there have been quite a few cases of the units "freezing". Usually fixed by holding two buttons down, or if that fails remove the unit's own battery, wait a minute and refit. If that doesn't work, put it on charge for a few hours. If that doesn't work, Garmin will replace it.

I don't know if they are any better/worse than others (TomTom etc), and all the problems get reported on the forum so it's a bit pessimistic sometimes, but the vasty majority are very happy with it. I've had the bike mount replaced due to the rubber issue, but otherwise it's been great.

On bluetooth with the Zumo, it seems to work well, though it doesn't support stereo so your mp3 comes over as mono. Most people have no issues with the Zumo and their phones.

I use a wired headset, it's less hassle than you might think, and does give true stereo. Also there's no battery issue like with the Scala. The Interphone system (more expensive) is rated better than the Scala, and they will do bike-to-bike intercoms up to a couple of hundred metres apparently, which the Scala doesn't (the Teamset is for Rider/pillion).

I got my Zumo from http://www.handtec.co.uk (cheapest at the time) but they are a bit expensive compared to http://www.blokesstuff.com who get pretty good reviews (though I haven't used them).

If you do get one (and in no way would I want to put you off, mine's great) then get the replacement finger-screw thing that is advertised on the forum (sticky in general forum) made by some dutch folks. It replaces the standard "security" screw which stops the mount from accidentally releasing, but is so fiddly to use you find you either don't use it or you do but can't be bothered to take the Zumo off when paying for petrol etc so get it nicked by a passing scally.

Fitting depends what bike you're putting it on, the forum has a section on installation. I strongly recommend fitting the bike with a "cigarette lighter" type accessory socket, and fitting a suitable fused plug (I got one from Maplins for £2-50) to the bike power lead Garmin supply, suitably shortened (and do away with the fussy in-line fuse it includes). You can then easily remove the whole mount from the bike in seconds and just pull the plug out, so it doesn't get nicked. The power lead fits into the bike mount with a small rater delicate plug/socket which is best fited with the 2 small screws supplied and then left alone.

Cheers for that lots of info

I ended up buying the Garmin zumo 400 and I'm still trying to sus it out. Women hey

SANDY

Originally Posted by sandy

I ended up buying the Garmin zumo 400 and I'm still trying to sus it out. Women hey

Zumo 400 ??? I thought they only did the 500 & 550 ???