Sat Nav

[GixxerChuck]

Bit of a rant coming.
Had a ZumoXT for about three years now and with various issues had it replaced twice. The latest one bricked about a week and a half ago so just paid ?112 to get a replacement from Garmin. Was going to sell it on eBay as they are going for 250+ pounds and just happened to be in Infinity Holborn yesterday and bought a tom-tom rider 550. Having spent overnight updating, trying and failing to connect to the app, then trying to see any music controls and discovering that none exist on the tom-tom, it looks like it?s going back. Think the issue with the Garmin is down to not handling the vibrations. Maybe my expectations are too high [emoji1745]


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[GixxerChuck]

Also doesn?t help there?s no easy access to telephone support with tom-tom. Using the chat support services gives you an auto bot which is useless. Eventually says it will connect you to a person but no one ever responds


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[Zxcv12]

I?ve had a Tomtom for years, never been able to update it connect it or do much with it tbh. I didn?t expect much and it delivered!

 

[alex]

Anyone used the phone based TomTom app?

 

[GixxerChuck]

Phoned Garmin about Bluetooth and got told they shouldn?t have charged me so ?112 coming back [emoji106]


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[Oli]

Anyone used the phone based TomTom app?

It works well as a SatNav, but it?s a subscription model rather a one time purchase as per the standalone units and it doesn?t include the route recording features that the Rider 550 has.

It?s annoying as I?d personally much prefer to have the app have full functionality and replace the standalone unit

 

[KMAC77]

I?ve a Rider 550 and it updates fine on a window a based laptop, but on any Apple Mac product I?ve found it near to impossible to update on.

 

[oldwobbler]

I've had a few Garmin motorcycle sat navs over the years. The easiest one to use and most robust was the 660 but as the maps increased in size it started to struggle. My current 595 has screen issues which I suspect are due to vibration. I've held off on the XT as there seems to be a few problems with it. I've always found the Zumo forum a very helpful place. Lots of people on there know far more about sat navs than anyone has a right to. A sure indication of how flaky the units are in general!

 

[MrSmooth]

I was a volunteer blood biker riding at night through London and Surrey. I looked up my destination using What3Words on my phone, used either Apple/Waze or Google Maps to direct me to my destination end point and connected my phone to my Bluetooth headset. It was a little like listening to a co-driver in a rally car but it got me to my destinations quickly whilst I was ferrying the blood box(es) through the night and warned me of fixed speed cameras on my route.

I have both a Garmin Xumo and an old TomTom Rider, but the audio commentary suited me the best when I was 'trying to make progress' on unfamiliar roads through London carrying urgently needed blood supplies at the dead of night. Familiar roads at night ain't that familiar anymore when you are in a hurry and it is dark.

Sat Nav can be somewhat distracting when touring, but always flippin' useful at complex junctions when they show you which lane to be in. I prefer the Garmin if I need to use a Sat Nav. I've also used my iPhone on a handlebar mounted powered cradle touring around Gran Canaria on a (ahem) Moto Guzzi V75. The phone worked brilliantly as a Google Maps Sat Nav but it was bone dry and no rain forecast so as not to ruin the phone.

Just alternative ideas for others who might not be able to justify a Sat Nav.

Another really useful tool I have just started using is MyRoute App, it's a web based cloud app with a corresponding phone app and is pan-European. The map quality is superb and you can design a route choosing exactly the roads you want to ride on and then export it to your Garmin or TomTom. Also you can get it to record your ride route with your phone and afterwards you can save it so that you know exactly where you went if you come across a fab road that you'd like to know where it is. I've used Callimoto and previously bought a subscription, but I didn't get on with it that well and for my needs, My Route App suits me better. - If you start using it, make time to sit through the various FREE YouTube courses, the My Route App makes much more sense afterwards.

 

[stevenesq]

I use beeline and no issues so far.