Garmin Zumo 550 installed

[matt h]

I think I've found the cheapest option. I had to go into Boston today and wasn't familiar with the part of the city I was in. I pulled a street map off of mapquest and taped it over the gastank. Granted I could not see my blip on the map, but I was capable of reading the street signs and keeping my north bearing. It worked great!

[kilthro]

Originally Posted by matt h

I think I've found the cheapest option. I had to go into Boston today and wasn't familiar with the part of the city I was in. I pulled a street map off of mapquest and taped it over the gastank. Granted I could not see my blip on the map, but I was capable of reading the street signs and keeping my north bearing. It worked great!

[serhan]

Originally Posted by MrChicken

Yep, the Zumo is designed for bikes. Even the maps display a motorcycle rather than a car. The touch screen is usable with gloves, though it's a little tricky to work the GPS and ride at the same time. Brightness & clarity are excellent. Waterproofing is first rate and when the unit is not in its cradle, there's a cap that slips over the electronics to keep them nice and dry. I've just bought a Bluetooth headset, so it will be very cool to have the audio on-line. It's still fine without it, though. One thing to note is that it needs to be wired into your bike's electrics, as the internal battery is only good for about 4 hours. Wiring is supplied with the GPS.

Another strong selling point for me was that I can slip it into the supplied car mount which has it's own speakers, and the missus is then good to go in her car.

How hard was the getting wiring in place? Did you have to cut through any cables or is it just plugging in jacks?


S.

[kilthro]

It comes with all the wiring that is needed. The longest/most time consuming was running those wires. It runs from the mount to the battery for the power and from the mount to the frame for the ground. It has directions that walk you through it.

[serhan]

Originally Posted by kilthro

It comes with all the wiring that is needed. The longest/most time consuming was running those wires. It runs from the mount to the battery for the power and from the mount to the frame for the ground. It has directions that walk you through it.

Sorry to bother you again, I just received my unit. It looks great and it has fabulous features (i will find out the rest of the features along the way, there are so many...).

I will probably do the wiring on the bike this weekend,or tomorrow night. I just need to go pick up some black zip tights. It came with one power wire, this is the one with the fuse on it, with stripped ends. Red and black, fairly simple. I didn't see any ground wire though. Did your set include the ground wire? If it did where does it attach on the bracket?


Thanks in advance...

S.

[kilthro]

Originally Posted by serhan

Sorry to bother you again, I just received my unit. It looks great and it has fabulous features (i will find out the rest of the features along the way, there are so many...).

I will probably do the wiring on the bike this weekend,or tomorrow night. I just need to go pick up some black zip tights. It came with one power wire, this is the one with the fuse on it, with stripped ends. Red and black, fairly simple. I didn't see any ground wire though. Did your set include the ground wire? If it did where does it attach on the bracket?


Thanks in advance...

S.

Sorry for the confustion. I was typing one thing and thinking another. One of those days. You are correct. Just one cable. It is the power cable and it screws into the harness. There isn't a ground. The power cable is used for maintaining/charging the battery. I had to get black zip ties as well. I ran my wire under the left neck cover down the left hand side of the tank and zip tied it up out of the way. You will have some extra cable. I just bunched it up (like you would put a water hose in a circular coil) and then zip tied that so it wouldn't un bunch. I left that under the seat.

As an FYI after some drving with it keep your eyes on the 4 phillip head screws that hold the gps brack to the mount as they will come lose after a while.I have had to tighten mine a couple of times.

[serhan]

Thanks for the info. I definitely will check the 4 screws.

[DaveAlvarado]

Originally Posted by serhan

Thanks for the info. I definitely will check the 4 screws.

If you don't have some already, pick up some lock-tite when you're out getting zip ties. I've found it's the #1 most helpful thing to have when you're working on your bike.

[wildwolf]

Getfeetwet.com has the unit for $654.99. You can see the price after you add it to your cart. I'll be getting one soon.

[MrChicken]

Originally Posted by serhan

How hard was the getting wiring in place? Did you have to cut through any cables or is it just plugging in jacks?


S.

I'll confess to being a complete dunce when it comes to wiring and it sounds fiddly trying to route everything back to the fuse box. I had my local bike shop do it. Very professional and set up so I can remove it easily if I ever want to change. Cost me about a hundred bucks. Bargain.

[serhan]

I found about the accessory outlet inside the headlight housing. It looks pretty easy to hook into, and it is fed by the accessory fuse inside the fusebox. I guess I'll go with that.