Fazer Owners Club - Unofficial
General => General => Topic started by: adeejaysdelight on 18 March 2014, 11:04:07 pm
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I am planning this years Euro-trip, and as I bough everything I needed for last years trip, I am planning to treat myself to a bike specific sat-nav.
I have done the whole car nav in waterproof holder and smart phone via bluetooth headset thing. It is a pain in the arse. The sun makes the screen hard to see. The touch screen does not work with gloves. The routes are not "biker friendly". They are not really waterproof as condensation covers the inside of the screen every morning. I am on holiday and am NOT INTERESTED IN DOING THAT ANY MORE.
I am interested in the opinions of you guys who own one, other or have had both at some point. Good points and bad points.
I have read a bunch or reviews and it seems that they both have pro's and cons. Really, I would like to have one for a week and then the other so I can try em out. But that is not how it works. So I am hoping some of you knowledgeable foccers are willing to share your wisdom.
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Can't comment on either of those models but am interested in the bendy roads feature.
I've got an older Zumo 550 and it's good. I'd go bike specific every time.
All you're going to get here is reply's that cheapest is best from all the tight arses :lol
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Im Garmin bias but I look at Tomtoms as fisher price and Garmin as Makita.
One is a toy, one is tool.
Garmins have mapsource/basecamp to plan your routes on the PC, don't think tomtom has that feature.
Tomtom has the bendy road feature, Garmin doesn't.
Tomtom mounts are famously bad, heard lots of stories of it flying down the road but that was a few years ago, maybe the issue has been resolved.
Neither have a stereo built in, I like music on long trips.
Tomtom is bulkier than the garmin.
Garmin is faster at calculating routes and the screen is more glove friendly.
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I had thought of putting something like "I'm not bothered about the price", but then I though that would make me look like a twat. Well, I've done it now, and I'm not. Up to £500 is fine. Over that and the other half will bury me in that hole she has been digging round the back of the garage for the last 2 summers.
After some more reading last night, I see Garmin have the all new 390LM which has some more features such as twisty roads and connect to phone AND headset. It also has a tyre pressure monitor system (extra £75 for 2 sensors).
I think we might have a winner...
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I prefer the look of the Garmin. It does look tough. Tomtom use Tyre instead of basecamp. It is comparable and capable. The new 390LM has twisty roads, so that solves that. And RAM now make the Tomtom mount. The Premium pack comes with a lockable mount too (for an extra £90 :rolleyes ).
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I think Garmin now offer free lifetime updates?
They did a while ago, then started charging for updates, now I think they are free again...
Doesn't make much difference to me as I can download the latest maps from anywhere in the world for free, once you know how to do it and where to look its easy.
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Yeah, they offer free updates now.
I am a bit of a computer spaz, so I prefer to go down the official route.
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I have the 350 lm and so far so good so have lost the power a couple times but tap the cradle and it comes back ,think it might the angle I have it at
,I also have a Sena smh5 headset which means I can hear both the gps and the my phone calls and music
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I think the 390 has addressed the one or tuther issue. I.e. the phone and headset work via the unit...
How is the screen in direct sunlight?
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The Zumo will only pair with a headset not a phone .
So you pair the phone to headset and the headset to GPS which means you can hear both and the GPS fades the music when it talks
phone calls take priority over everything
Screen is really good better if you tilt and shade under the screen .
the only issue is when the bright sun is directly behind you it washes out then but you tend to change direction and it comes back
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(http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q531/bigralphie67/WP_000189_zps11353e20.jpg) (http://s1162.photobucket.com/user/bigralphie67/media/WP_000189_zps11353e20.jpg.html)
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I'm Tomtom Rider 2 all the way. My mate's Garmin regularly re-boots itself on the road. I look at Tomtoms as Yamaha and Garmin as BMW.
One is good value reliable machinery, the other is overpriced, overated and temperamental :rollin
To answer some of the misunderstandings:
Garmins have mapsource/basecamp to plan your routes on the PC, don't think tomtom has that feature.
You just use the free verion of Tyre - no problem
Tomtom mounts are famously bad, heard lots of stories of it flying down the road but that was a few years ago, maybe the issue has been resolved.
Never. Solid as a rock. Jiggling about, the Rider 1 used to wear down the mounting contacts, but improved from Rider 2 onwards.
Neither have a stereo built in, I like music on long trips.
With a decent Bluetooth receiver you can overlay both, streaming music from a smart phone etc.
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Love the Kwak bigralphie. LOVE IT. Anyway, I would fit the sat nav above the dash behind the screen, so it will be shaded for the most part. I just wanted to check as some reviews mentioned screen fade and some did not. I do prefer the look of the Garmin. It looks more like an item you would tour the globe with. What about this issue of the signal dropping out?
I have a TomTom car nav and the reception is fantastic. It has NEVER let me down. And I have been some random places with it. However, I am not convinced with the look of the bike nav and also don't love the idea it is around £100 more for a comparable package. Is it worth it? And where is that extra dosh going...
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No they are not worth the asking price really :eek ,it was just I tired of using a phone in a WP box
Thing is my sense of direction is lousy always has been ,so I do use a sat nav a lot so thought I would buy one
1, can be used in both the car and bike
2 has lifetime maps
3 I trusted, as I toured with a garmin SPIII for 8 years in oo's and while it was really slow it do stop me being really lost loads of times
I am thinking of moving it to the headstock you can get a ram mount that screws in ,I just to check I can see it with the tank bag on first.
Reception is remarkable so far even indoors ,but I have only done a 4 day Scotland tour so far with it plus the odd day out and about
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I ordered my Garmin 390lm yesterday and it arrived today.
The device seems good quality, as does the ram mounting system and the car holder.
I have not yet fitted it (or turned it on).
I will fit it at the weekend and let y'all know how I get on.
I plan to mount it in as "factory" looking position as I can manage.
Details to follow...
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if I did my install again I would splice a connector into the feed wire to the cradle so you can remove the whole thing off the bike if you wanted
Not a issue the cradle staying on the bike but it gives you the option ...I spent so long feeding the wire through the fairing neatly I cant be arsed to change it now :-)
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I plan to mount it above the clocks, behind/under the screen. I don't want to remove any of it to be honest. I park my bike in a "safe" location and rarely leave it unattended for long.
I have just opened the ram mount stuff and noticed that the metal parts are scored right through the paint to the metal surface underneath. I think for a £330+ product it should not be like that. The box was slightly damaged too, but I had put that down to a careless courier. Now I am thinking it may have been a return? Just about to email the retailer now.
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ummm yea you could be right ,got mine in a sale at Halfords and it was pristine
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For what Zumo's cost it should arrive in perfect condition.
Did you buy off ebay?
If you did, Garmin will only honour units bought from authorised dealers... :rolleyes
A lot of the Ebay units are refurbs.
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I never spend more than a few quid on eBay. £100 max.
I bought it from Thurgo, authorized dealer indeed. I emailed Thurgo and they gave me Garmin's number and told me to deal with them directly. I don't think that is the correct procedure, but I will email Garmin tomorrow with my serial number and receipt and let y'all know how I get on.
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The thing that is pissing me off is that I can't fit it to my bike. So I currently have an expensive ornament that my cat seems to like lying on. Makes a change from the sky remote or my mobile I suppose :lol
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I don't get the point of buying a separate GPS as surely everyone has a smart phone of some description. I use my Galaxy S3 with a £10 mount above the clocks and a homemade 12v USB power supply. Using coPilot software at £20 the whole lot cost me about £35 quid. £330 brings tears to my eyes!
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A few point there buzz...
Smartphones are smart, agreed. I got a new one for my euro-tour last year and here is my first hand experience...
Phones are not very good at being sat-nav's. If you are serious about touring and head "out of town" the signal will drop out when you really need it as it works on a phone signal. Been there done that and its pish.
Your £10 cover will fall to bits and it not really waterproof. And you will get condensation in it when it rains. And it looks crap. Take plenty of duct tape and zip ties to keep it together. Araldite too.
You will spend half your holiday taking your gloves off to re-set the device, then put them back on only to repeat the process 7 miles down the road. Three days of this results in monkey punching the tank in rage.
The on-line community is great with Garmin and the software allows you to plan your trip in as fine detail as you like. You can check out recommended routes and make the most of every ride and ensure you don't miss any gems.
Final point, and this one is personal... The thought of spending money makes me happy on the inside. I foccin love it!!!
Horses for courses, but 0's on a screen don't make me happy.
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Agreed, it's all personal...more importantly I hate spending money, my wife does enough of that!! A few points though, not to start an argument of course.
- The phone app has the maps stored so all you need is the GPS signal
- The case only comes out when it rains, other times it works fine with my gloves on because I've done this http://j.mp/1kQ0KR0 (http://j.mp/1kQ0KR0)
- The case is above the clocks and behind my double bubble screen, doesn't even get wet in the rain
It does look awfully crap though, I'll give you that! :lol
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I used a Nokia smart phone in a WP case and rigged up a power source and it does work but
It is really hard to see properly and drops out/wants to reset etc at the worst moments
I use my GPS in both the car and the bike and it never cocks up (so far) ....I dont mind paying for that but i agree they are overpriced
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Any joy with that cradle mate?
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Use TomTom Rider V2 each time l go touring abroad and in the UK, never had a problem with it, mounting and charging. The only thing l would complain about is that l d say the screen wasnt bright enough and on a bright day makes seeing the screen difficult, while on a not so bright day in torrential rain days on end it worked fine :D . Use a ram mount and an Interphone F4 bluetooth headset so taking calls, using the sat nav, rider to rider voice all work fine
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Any joy with that cradle mate?
I posted on my phone last night, but it seems not to have worked.
I emailed the retailer, who told me that I should deal with Garmin as my warranty is with them. I have now emailed Garmin and await my reply. I will keep you updated.
It is a bit of a pain because the thing is just sitting there. I want to fit it, now.
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Hope you get it sorted bud. I went for the 390 in the end, bought it today from tinklers yamaha in norwich for 350. It was twenty quid cheaper on amazon, but I'd rather give me dosh to a small business than one of the giant umbrella companies, and anyhoo for the sake of the cost of a tankful of gas if there is a prob Phil at tinklers will swap it. Hoping to get out with the missus and try it tomorrow
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That's the game. Have a great ride mate. I'm sure it'll be fun. And you doing the winding road thing or planning a route with the base camp software in advance?
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Windy roads bud. I'm not all that with software though I'll have a crack later on this spring at it. Got a mate in cambs who needs some locks and stuff so we gonna hit that. I'm told garmin are pretty good with customer problems, hope that's the case and you get sorted pronto. We had a 550 before the 350, that was a solid bit of gear, so this is our third bike specific garmin, they have always been pretty good.
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I got a reply from Garmin yesterday telling me that my warranty is still with the retailer (Thurgo.co.uk) as it is such a short time since purchase. I then called Thurgo and spoke to Perry. He said that he had the same problem with another customer and that I should send the mount back and they will replace it. Now why the hell did they not tell me that last week when I called the first time, rather than palming me off to Garmin? I am a bit pissed off as my new toy is not new anymore and it is just sitting there gathering dust. Thank for sucking the enjoyment out of the experience Thurgo... I will not be a return customer :(
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Returning the problem to Garmin is standard procedure, dealers wont touch defective units/mounts.
Luckily Garmin service is second to none and youll get a new unit/cradle, whatever is defective...
On a side note, I see the 590LM is due out soon........I want!!!!
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The retailer is always responsible as the sale contract is with them .
They can advise you to deal to the manufacturer (as it may speed up the issue) but they cant demand you do
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I have been using a car satnav in a bag for a while but when it died I got a second hand zumo 400. I mounted it over the clocks on my foxeye 600 this morning and reckon it looks pretty good. I didn't use the ram stuff just cut a couple of strips of aluminium and mounted the cradle straight onto them
(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee84/pj_otoole/ZumoSmall_zps44ed00cb.jpg)
Only issue is now with my autocom headset playing up but once I get a replacement headset I am in business. May consider updating the maps - but tbh my old satnav was 5 years old and I never had a problem.
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Nice one.
My Garmin is in its temporary home...
Under the coffee table :rolleyes
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Saw the 590lm on garmin site yesterday - mmmmmmmmmmm garrrrmin !
If it plays mp3's in stereo over bluetooth (no mention on website), then I'm hooked :)
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We thought about it, briefly, before going for the 390. The 590 is just too much money for me, and the 390 does all I want. As for music, that's already thoughtfully provided by one of the best litre lumps out there and a BOS end can... ;)
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Can you not multi-sync your headset with your phone and play Mp3 from there...
Also, a 5 inch screen will look a bit overkill on a bike imo. I think I will be able to "hide" the 390 as its quite compact. I will let y'all know as soon as I get to fit the foccer :lol
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Never thought about that, got a Schuberth Bluetooth system don't know if it would synch with a phone at the same time as a sat-nav. Anyhow I don't use my phone for music at the moment, battery life is the worry, particularly when on a euro tour, don't want my phone going flat while on the bike, just in case!
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I was going to fit it to the screen but it looks ok with the standard. Ram mount and sits nice and high right under me hooter with stock bars and risers
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The big knob ( fnarr fnarr) is a garmin locking nut thingy me missus got me..think it was twelve quid off the bay, it's a big lump but works brilliantly to stop someone nicking the cradle when your bikes outside some village B and B in the south of France all night...you do it up, lock it and the knob just spins instead of catching. Good idea :)
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Saw the 590lm on garmin site yesterday - mmmmmmmmmmm garrrrmin !
If it plays mp3's in stereo over bluetooth (no mention on website), then I'm hooked :)
It does :)
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Never thought about that, got a Schuberth Bluetooth system don't know if it would synch with a phone at the same time as a sat-nav. Anyhow I don't use my phone for music at the moment, battery life is the worry, particularly when on a euro tour, don't want my phone going flat while on the bike, just in case!
Fit a USB charger... I have one under the seat with a host of leads around the headstock. You can get marine (waterproof) ones off eBay for under a tenner. I could charge my laptop, if only I could find a way to mount it!
Seriousley though, I can charge my phone, my tomtom, my sportscam or anything else that fits onto the 3 types of USB connector I have fitted.
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With the new MT-09 (arriving soon I hope!) I'm not going to wire in lots of gizmo's as I have previously like autocom, radios and nav.
I like the zumo's all in one system where you can easily control everything in one place with gloves on. So I will hardwire a Zumo cradle and that will be it.
Ogri, is the mount easily removable then? My old 550 cradle is bolted on. The knob is rather large - ooh errr missus!
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Makes mine look very old fashioned - very smart. I get the idea of the knob but doesn't that just protect the cradle? Couldn't a tealeaf just help themselves to the satnav itself? Think I'm going to add a bracket to the top of mine to keep mine bolted on - Lee shaped from mount over the locking mechanism.
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Yup mate the knob just protects the cradle. I'd never leave the sat. Nav unit itself innit for a minute, that just clips out. Another reason I prefer the zumo over the tom tom, though the screen is the same size the tom tom is slimmer and easier to slip into a pocket.
Never had a sat nav til last year, but wouldn't be without one now. I do like the way it maps the road ahead out for as your riding, it's kinda handy on unfamiliar roads in the dark. And the twisty roads option does actually work, I'd recommend that.