Garmin Zummo 350 vs TomTom Rider V5

[adeejaysdelight]

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

[Buzz]

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!

[adeejaysdelight]

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.

[Buzz]

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
- 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

[bigralphie]

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

[ogri48]

Any joy with that cradle mate?

[shady]

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  . Use a ram mount and an Interphone F4 bluetooth headset so taking calls, using the sat nav, rider to rider voice all work fine

[adeejaysdelight]

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.

[ogri48]

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

[adeejaysdelight]

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?

[ogri48]

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.

[adeejaysdelight]

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 

[Mattsplat]

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!!!!

[bigralphie]

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

[Gingernutz]

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





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.

[adeejaysdelight]

Nice one.


My Garmin is in its temporary home...


Under the coffee table  :rolleyes

[locksmith]

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

[ogri48]

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...

[adeejaysdelight]

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

[locksmith]

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!