New Garmin Motorcycle GPS Unit

garmin-zumo-660-gps A few years ago I was leading a group of riders on an out of state trip. At one gas stop I pulled out a map and started looking at it. One of my friends wife was watching me and she announced to everyone “Hey look Sam is lost”. I told her that no, I wasn’t lost, I just didn’t know where I was. She said “Then you’re lost”. I said we were on the right route going the right direction, I just didn’t know where we were on that route. There’s a difference between being lost and not knowing where you’re at. But with this item you’ll never be either.

The Garmin zumo 660 is a successor to the successful zumo 550 and the newest in the line of biker and cyclist GPS devices. The gadget boasts a waterproof casing with a 4.3-inch screen and text-to-speech directions audible via Bluetooth connectivity. It comes preloaded with a North American map (other country maps can be purchased on DVD or SD/MicroSD card). The Garmin zumo 660 will be released at the end of April for around $800.

Enjoy Bike-Friendly Design
Tough and dependable, zumo is built for motorcycles:
• Glove-friendly touch screen with left-handed controls makes it easy to operate
• High brightness, sunlight-readable, UV-resistant display makes it easy to view your screen
• Motorcycle console for trip information, including resettable fuel gauge to warn you when it’s time to fill up
• Motorcycle mount with universal mounting hardware so you can mount it anywhere

3 Comments

QuesyRider

By ‘North American’ map, does this include Canada and Mexico? Does it include all those little streets in the cities? Considering how well I use a computer, is it idiot proof?

I once tried to route myself on an old model GPS to Sturgis, Canada to get some mileages and times and found that my mapping program died at the border. Some of these devices are so packed with features and so difficult to learn that resetting the flashing clock on my VCR seems easy by comparison.

I liked Sam’s story and have many such stories of my own. “I have never been lost. But I have been confused for several days.” -Daniel Boone I used to tell my kids that I don’t consider myself lost until I can’t tell which direction is North. Some of those routing devices tell the rider to turn left/right which is ok unless the rider can’t tell left from right. I myself am still stuck on gee/haw (line dancing wouldn’t be possible without this.) and port/starboard and never did get left/right sorted out. Will the unit take a program for compass points and the other stuff so that I can get away from right/left? Close order parade ground commands are completely lost on me. anything could happen and usually did. When I have lead group rides, my fav hand signal was that overhead twirl for ‘turn around and go back’. That was pretty bad for a while. Now my budds make me lead when they need the amusement.

22 Apr 2009 04:04 pm
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Snakebit Sam

Quesy,
By the looks of what I’ve read it has maps of Canada and Mexico plus you can add maps. And listen to music and look at digital photos too.
Of course no new electronic device is adult proof. I can’t figure out how to turn the ringer off on my cell phone.

24 Apr 2009 08:04 am
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GPS for Motorcycles

Although this is a successor to the Zumo 550 I have been reading on other pages that it may not be that much better than the 550. So if you already have the 550 just stick with it but if you are in search for your first system the 660 is the way to go. Garmin is much better than tomtom in my opinion. You can read more reviews about the two brands on my site.

25 Apr 2009 11:04 am
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