Tomtom or zumo

[v twin]

I have been using a cheap car tomtom gps but has started to turn itself off, probably not taking a charge. There is power to the unit, I'm guessing the vibration is causing a poor connection so I have decided to get a bike specific one. I have read a few reviews but wondered if any of you have recent experience with either the tomtom rider 400 or the Garmin zumo 395 ?

I have read that some people have experienced poor charging on the tom tom dock from vibes which is not what I need riding a v twin and the Garmin is up there in price....
I'd stick to the cheap ass units but pointless if they keep failing...

[Blackbird]

I'm still using a Garmin 76 CSX which is a decade old, small screen and no Bluetooth but it does the job and will keep it until it fails. What I like about Garmin though is the free Open Source software available in NZ for Garmins. Updated regularly and accurate, thanks to contributions from end users like KB's Gremlin.

[v twin]

I'm still using a Garmin 76 CSX which is a decade old, small screen and no Bluetooth but it does the job and will keep it until it fails. What I like about Garmin though is the free Open Source software available in NZ for Garmins. Updated regularly and accurate, thanks to contributions from end users like KB's Gremlin.

Yea I don't really need anything flash just something I can load a route into and not get too lost.
I've been thinking of getting a $100 unit from the warehouse and stick a piece of rubber on the mount to ease the vibes... but good money after bad and all that
Only looking at the 2 mentioned for durability really, I see your point with Garmin

[Blackbird]

Yea I don't really need anything flash just something I can load a route into and not get too lost.
I've been thinking of getting a $100 unit from the warehouse and stick a piece of rubber on the mount to ease the vibes... but good money after bad and all that
Only looking at the 2 mentioned for durability really, I see your point with Garmin

Yep, the Open Source maps (http://www.nzopengps.org/) load directly into the Garmin Base Camp or Map Source software. You can either load in a specific route (which is what I do when I'm doing coaching in territory which is relatively unfamiliar) or simply mark up an end destination and let the software sort out the route. It's totally auto-correcting and I've been totally happy with it. Gremlin is one of the guns on it and can answer anything really technical - I'm just a happy end user

[slofox]

Wot they said. The Garmin free map updates are worth gold.

Having said that, my Zumo (220) will no longer allow me to load a route. Fucked if I know why...

The Tomtoms sound pretty useful though. I'd be tempted.

[Ulsterkiwi]

I got a TomTom 400 a while back and I ride a big V Twin. Aprilia conveniently preinstalled a power supply under the front dash with a TomTom connector and marked the cable "GPS" so they must have anticipated something!

So far I have no issues with the unit, in fact I am very happy with it. The interface is very easy to use and has done exactly what I want it to. There are a couple of features I like. When selecting a route you can choose how twisty a road you want to go on, they call it "plan a thrill" The other one is that the mount is designed to rotate through 90degrees. The display goes from landscape to portrait while displaying the same information, just you can see the more of the shape of the road to come, useful when on a new road.
The display is clear, works pretty well on a bright day although dark glasses or a sun visor does change how you view things. Change mind, not make it invisible. I tend to use the audio prompts more than what is on the display so its not such an issue.
You get access to TomTom software AND an application called Tyre which I found easy to use. You plan the route on a PC for instance for loading on the unit after but you can do most things on the unit itself, just a bit more fiddly.
I probably havent even begun to scratch the surface of what the unit can do but like you have mentioned they are significantly cheaper than the Garmin offerings.
I was advised for general use the TomTom is more than adequate but if you want to do serious adventure riding the Garmin copes better with being off the roading network.

The unit is built to handle exposure to the elements and the vibration from a bike and comes with a complete mounting and wiring kit. When I looked at the car type units and then having to waterproof it and make provision for mounting and powering one of those, the Rider400 represents pretty good value then.

[Gremlin]

Well I'm firmly in the Garmin pretty much because of the open source maps. Garmin ones aren't that accurate and no idea on the TomTom ones. I guess it depends on your need. I'm out exploring every road or scent of a road I can find and feeding corrections back to the mappers to improve accuracy (plus running two Zumos at the same time). If you just want the regular roads then TomTom may suffice?

Zumo is the Garmin motorcycle range. You're usually getting motorcycle and car mounts thrown in, so shouldn't need to buy anything additional. As for reliability, I have 3 Zumos. The old 550 has done 100k, screen is a bit scratched and worn, got a spare I should install. 660 is still on the bike and actually working better for me than the 590 and has done over 50k and the 590 has done 20k ish? All have been through rain storms, bounced down gravel roads and the last two have done river crossings etc. So I reckon they're pretty robust. All have either been mounted on a KTM twin or BMW boxer in terms of vibes.

Off road tracks can be handled in the 660s and onwards, better support in the 590. Free software called Basecamp to create routes, send to GPS etc.

[rastuscat]

My first bike GPS was a Tom Tom Rider. It was okay, waterproof and robust.

Then I broke it. My insurance company replaced it with the Tom Tom Rider 2. That's when the problems started.

The Rider 2 only came with a non powered mount. How stupid is that? I'll tell you. Very stupid. I ride for a lot longer than an internal battery would last, about 2 hours 20 minutes.

The only solution was to pay Tom Tom extra money for a mount they should have included in the first place.

So I gave it back to the insurance company and took a cash settlement. I started using a Garmin Nuvi car GPS in a waterproof-ish mount from TradeMe. Worked fine, it not terribly responsive to gloved hands.

Then I got a job as a motorcycle instructor, and accessories became tax deductible. I bought a Zumo 590LM, the LM meaning lifetime maps. Not cheap, but very very good.

Then I bought a bike with a BMW Navigator 5 on it. Which is a BMW unit running Garmin software. Probably made in the same place as my 590. Very similar.

But the screen on the Nav 5 is far better in terms of readability in bright sunlight. And it integrates with the controls on my bike.

So now I run both the Nav 5 (my default) and my 590, which is basically only because I own it and think I should use it.

I've found that it's actually nice to have maps displayed on my Nav 5 but data on my 590. Works best that way for me.

I'd almost be prepared to say just get a car GPS with a decent case. It'll do most of what you want unless you're a gadget freak with a thing for the right tool for the job.

Out of interest, if you run with a GPS you will eventually stop using your bike speedo. I run on my GPS speed these days. Less margin for error.

[Gremlin]

Out of interest, if you run with a GPS you will eventually stop using your bike speedo. I run on my GPS speed these days. Less margin for error.

The GPS has too much delay, especially in area of heavy forest, cliff faces etc. GPS can be 10-20m out no problem, but usually 3-8m.

[rastuscat]

The GPS has too much delay, especially in area of heavy forest, cliff faces etc. GPS can be 10-20m out no problem, but usually 3-8m.

My RT has proven to be reluctant at travelling in heavy forests.

Nah, I just think it's more accurate than the Teutonic original speedo. In my previous job the bikes had two speedos. The original, and a digital, calibrated one. My GPS was always within 1 kmh of the digital enforcement speedo, but normally 8 kmh different to the bikes analogue speedo at 100 kmh.

It just leaves me having more faith in the GPS than the standard dial, at least for 98% of my riding.

[rastuscat]

I might add that I travel within (normally at) the tolerance at all times. I don't have to stress about police cars or vans at all. It's quite relaxing.

Cruise control helps immensely.

[release_the_bees]

Genuine question. What are the advantages of using a standalone GPS unit over the GPS on a decent phone? Just asking, as I've never had any issues with using the phone, so I am wondering what useful GPS unit-only features I might be missing out on.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[flashg]

Genuine question. What are the advantages of using a standalone GPS unit over the GPS on a decent phone? Just asking, as I've never had any issues with using the phone, so I am wondering what useful GPS unit-only features I might be missing out on.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

There is a dedicated GPS thread on here somewhere.
From what I understand from what I've read.
Some phones use cell towers for GPS to work,of the three (Windows, Android, I-phone) I think windows phones and one other use satellites for signal,(put phone on airplane mode and it doesn't use up data if it uses satellite) the other using cell towers ( which doesn't help in the boonies)no signal = no GPS
Although things may have changed and I could be completely wrong.
Hope this helps.

[Gremlin]

You've also got factors like the battery life in the phones, how you charge them, the multiple charging you do isn't going to be kind to the battery, the phone usually isn't waterproof or ruggedised against vibration etc. Then you have things like working with it and gloves, being able to see the screen etc.

Depends on your purpose, but I'm a reasonably heavy user and would need the functionality of a proper GPS.

[nzspokes]

Im right in thinking a Car GPS with a resistive screen will work with gloves?