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Garmin Zumo XT Discussion

greenie

Member
Member
A recent discussion in the C-14 accessories section led me to buy ($400 on sale) a GPS designed for motorcycles rather than the car GPS I have used for the last 8 years. I had never understood or appreciated the additional benefits of a GPS that worked in concert with a phone on the road. The GPS I had used (Nuvi 2557LMT) was 2013 technology and despite the "L" (lifetime) the 2557 no longer could be updated. The Zumo XT debuted in March 2020.
I spent much of yesterday learning about how the Zumo XT works. For Luddites like me it appears that the Zumo XT will be easier to use. First the screen is much brighter. Former GPSs I used were hard to see in bright sunlight - impossible at times. The unit is rain resistant. I can see weather conditions at a glance (if there is cellphone coverage). I can hear prompts via bluetooth earbuds.
In Mexico, where I don't speak the language it's incredibly easy to get lost. Major highways passing through busy towns and cities are not signed properly. Street addresses in Mexico do not work like the United States - maybe E911 efforts of the 1990's caused that magic to happen. Booking a hotel was a lengthy process that depended upon the GPS data - if the GPS didn't list the hotel or restaurant entering a street address instead would never work - sometimes I needed to hire a taxi to lead us to the hotel. The Zumo GT allows for interfacing with the internet via Garmin Drive which opens a full selection of hotels and restaurants I will be able to find.
Route planning, exporting and importing was a difficult process, but now I can use the Garmin Drive app or directly input destinations easier into the GPS. It appears to be a more intuitive design - time will tell.
The advent of citizens utilizing satellite navigation opens so many possibilities that will enhance travel and safety. There are folks that prefer paper maps - which still have a place - but I liken the map vs. gps preference to modern surgery vs. civil war surgery. The technology exists, and it rocks.
 
The Zumo XT is a terrific, feature packed device. Been using it for 2 years. This is the first GPS I've had that has live weather and traffic. I've taken it along in the cage and used it side-by-side with another device to review how the traffic feature compares.
 
The Zumo XT is a terrific, feature packed device. Been using it for 2 years. This is the first GPS I've had that has live weather and traffic. I've taken it along in the cage and used it side-by-side with another device to review how the traffic feature compares.
Was I imagining it or were you offering a webinar on GPS routing?
 
I have the xt and used it this summer. The phone app to get weather and traffic is especially nice. Traffic needs some work though. The only negative is the amount of battery it uses pretty much means you're going to have to charge all the time. That's not a big deal. But furthermore, at least on my phone, as long as the drive app was in the phone it continued to kill the battery until I completely uninstalled it. The other thing that happened was it had a bad effect on Google maps. The blue dot didn't move for a block or 2, then instantly catch up. Also location uncertainty was huge, miles not feet.

Anybody else notice this?
 
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GOt about 45 K miles on the XT after replacing my previous 660.

The XT is pretty fabulous. I have not got it all figured out yet but the co ordination with the Garmin rive app is really good. Using the live weather gets me around around storms, the other app finds gas stations, hotels, restaurants is stellar and easy to use on the fly. Marking where I am for future routes is something I often do while riding with a couple of taps.

I have not used the music function and do not route the phone through there but with time I may. Using Route planner and bluetooth to load them from the computer to the unit is easy.

It is a pretty nice set up and keep my butt out of trouble a couple of times a week. I would not go back to the other unit except to keep it on the bike I do my daily commute.
 
I've enjoyed the recent webinars which have rekindled my patience and interest in GPS navigation - to the extent that I've been able to update older "lifetime" Garmin units for the first time in recent years. Previous attempts to update these older units (50 LM & 2557LMT) were unsuccessful which led me to think that Garmin had a finite number of years it would update lifetime units.
The Zumo XT is hands down the most useful and capable GPS I've ever used but it's nice to have up to date backup units as well. Now I'll take a second look at Basecamp, download a more recent version, click around it and then look forward to this week's GPS webinar which will undoubtedly make Basecamp less Cruel and more Mistress. (reference to the phrase of something being a "cruel mistress")
Thanks for the useful GPS webinars!
 
A 10 month follow up on this thread. I've owned the Zumo XT a while now and have used it for an estimated 1,600 miles on the C-10. About a month ago the screen flipped from landscape to portrait during a ride. I was able to change it back to landscape once I got home and could spend a few minutes with it.
A few days ago we went for a 500 mile ride to the White Mountains (New Hampshire) and the GPS worked flawlessly all the way out and most of the way back. About 60 miles from home (which I had the GPS set to return to) the screen displayed "cannot calculate this route" while riding I tried clearing out the trip and starting a new trip to home - which the GPS indicated was now 5,000 miles distant. At a gas stop I shut the GPS off, waited, and started it again, no joy - home was now 10,000 miles away. Once home I tried setting a trip to a previous destination which was 50 miles distant - the GPS came up with a 15,000 mile trip. Inputting by phone had the same results. The GPS display shows my present location on the map and everything else appears to work.
I had heard that expensive motorcycle GPS units were finicky and have used car Garmin units for years having no other issues than the power cable connections - which I overcame by rigging a strap to hold the mini USB cable firmly in the GPS. I reached out for customer service and got a response asking me to check to see if all maps were enabled, I did, they were. Nothing since then from Garmin.
I'm hoping for a replacement or warranty work - but we travel to Mexico and would be royally screwed if the GPS conked out down there.
 
Changing display Landscape/Portrait orientation typically just requires physically rotating the unit unless the display has been set to a fixed view. Review the settings. Settings > Display > Orientation

Regarding "cannot calculate this route"
Confirm that the unit has the latest software and maps.
Confirm all routing avoidances settings are as expected.
Confirm the "home" waypoint is valid and did not get changed.

I've seen this message when using a provided GPX, which I later found was created for a different map set.
If not doing so, I suggest using a full power down of the Zumo XT and see if it corrects the issue.
The Zumo XT has a "power savings" and "power off" modes.
To turn off the device completely, hold the power button for about 5 sec until a prompt appears on the screen, and select Off. If you release the power button before the prompt appears, the device enters power saving mode.
 
When I head north from my place, my XT routes me through a hospital parking lot. On my previous 595, it used to route me to Wenatchee and back on routes up to Mt.Baker and the North Cascades Highway.

Luckily, I'm smarter than the GPS.

The XT has the ability to show a map of the route. If you're heading somewhere besides Home, it'll usually give you two routes. Even once you're following a route, click on the route steps at the top of the screen. After the route steps are listed, you'll see a map icon in the bottom right corner.

Your avoidances may make a difference. If you are excIuding Ferries and the shortest route involves one ... or a lengthy route to miss it, that can give you a strange route.

On a short route, I'll let the Zumo XT do all the routing. But on a more detailed route, I plan it first on my laptop, then set waypoints on the XT to force it to route how I want to go.

Chris
 
the screen flipped from landscape to portrait
Mine has always done this. I changed the setting from auto to landscape for the easy fix.
the screen displayed "cannot calculate this route
Mine just started doing this last time out. I generally just watch the map or do very short segments. Even short segments would blow its mind.

I'm glad you posted this because I forgot about it. After reading this thread I did check for updates and there was a big one. I'll find out next week if it's fixed.
 
laker9142 said: "After reading this thread I did check for updates and there was a big one. I'll find out next week if it's fixed." My unit also had a big update (warned it would be 5 hours but it took 30 minutes at 100 mbps) - which I did successfully a couple of days before this last trip when the unit couldn't calculate the trip. After the update the unit did work properly for 85% of the 500 miles trip. Still no response from Garmin customer service aside from the first suggestion to check to see if the maps were enabled.
 
Steve Smith said: " I suggest using a full power down of the Zumo XT and see if it corrects the issue." I tried this full power down at Steve's suggestion and it seems to have worked. I took 65 mile round trip today with the GPS and it worked correctly, finding the destination and returning home. Many thanks, Steve. I'm still wary with two months left on the warranty and riding season winding down.
 
Just got back from a trip to the Upper Pennisula in MI.... I keep kicking myself as I constantly forget to hit the "track" function which I use for future trips and reminiscing.
 
Every Garmin I've ever owned automatically saves trips without any input from me - either with a micro SD card installed or not. I'll bet if you connect the GPS to Basecamp you'll see your past trips.
 
Every Garmin I've ever owned automatically saves trips without any input from me - either with a micro SD card installed or not. I'll bet if you connect the GPS to Basecamp you'll see your past trips.
Interesting. I had got in the habit of hitting Track on the bottom last year. Sadly, this year I just had a brain fart the whole summer and forgot it was there. I have never used Basecamp but it may be worth finding out if that works/
 
Glad that worked for you. The other option would have been to do a factory reset. That would have lost everything you had put in it.
 
140 mile round trip with the Zumo XT ... It worked great going out - after lunch however it would not turn on. Usually just clipping the unit on the mount will turn it on, but even using the power button had no effect. I attached and unattached the unit, pressed the power button 7 ways to Sunday... no joy. Once home I tried different power connections, using the internal battery ... nothing. Then it came on. I still have over a month left on the warranty, but now it's working again. ....
 
Call them. Get a record of a malfunction in their warranty system so you can refer back to it later. The Zumo XT has a flaky method to provide power to the GPS. Those pins in the mount fail. I've had them send me at least two new mounts and they exchanged my GPS once. They'll honor the warranty, but you have to do your part.

Chris
 
140 mile round trip with the Zumo XT ... It worked great going out - after lunch however it would not turn on. Usually just clipping the unit on the mount will turn it on, but even using the power button had no effect. I attached and unattached the unit, pressed the power button 7 ways to Sunday... no joy. Once home I tried different power connections, using the internal battery ... nothing. Then it came on. I still have over a month left on the warranty, but now it's working again. ....
I killed the internal battery performing mapping remotely without hooking to a charger. Device would not turn on until what I supposed was 15 minutes in the charger - now has been fine dozens of trips. Any chance the same - killed the battery?
 
This has happened to me this September while riding during Fall Rally. I do not know if the unit got into a zero brightness setting or if it locked up. I performed a SOFT RESET and it restored correct unit operation. Here are the steps as described in Garmin web pages here: https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=Gn2l5lc4SQAnq7Rd9vj82A

Reset the Device​

A soft reset can help by forcing the device to reboot if the device still does not power on, or if the screen has become frozen and will not power off.

To Perform a Soft Reset:​

  1. Connect the device to the motorcycle mount
    • An A/C adapter or automotive power cable may also be used
      • Use the motorcycle power cable if the problem persists
  2. Press and hold the power button and slowly count to 20
The device should now turn on. Leave the device connected to power to give the battery time to charge.

Note: The zumo XT may not power on properly if a 64 GB microSD card is inserted and hasn't been formatted. Power the device on before inserting the memory card and a prompt will appear to format the card.
 
I killed the internal battery performing mapping remotely without hooking to a charger. Device would not turn on until what I supposed was 15 minutes in the charger - now has been fine dozens of trips. Any chance the same - killed the battery?
I doubt it - usually when there is no external power source will display a prompt, which if not responded to will shut the unit off. There was no prompt when I set out on this ride. I rode approximately 2 hours, shut off the unit and removed it from the mount and placed it in my jacket pocket. An hour later I reattached the unit to the mount and assumed it turned on as it always did and rode off. A few minutes later I realized the unit didn't turn on and pushed the power button to no avail. A few miles later I pulled to the shoulder, removed the unit from the mount, and tried the power button again. I rode back the remaining 90 minutes with the unit dark but mounted. Once home I tried again, even using another SAE power source - no joy. I disconnected the power, placed the unit on the seat of the bike and a few seconds later it powered up.
Thanks Steve for that information... I've found on earlier car Garmin GPS units the sd card can cause issues. Sometimes removing the card will return the GPS to functionality.
 
If the Garmin Zumo XT won't turn on, one easy thing to try is to temporarily remove the micro SD card.

1. To reinstall the micro SD card, put it in the shallow tray so it lays flush with the tray top edges.
2. Lay the metal "card cover" down, ensuring the Micro SD card doesn't move in the tray. (Easier said than done.)
3. Now press the rubber access plug in firmly.

Be aware this plug is not just a seal - it also presses the SD card into the tray to assure electrical contact. If the plug becomes loose, the micro SD card can easily move (the metal piece won't prevent it) and electrical contact will be inconsistent or lost.
 
A lot of information from a bunch of people whom I respect and I still can’t decide if this is a good GPS to bet $400 on. Hmm..
 
A lot of information from a bunch of people whom I respect and I still can’t decide if this is a good GPS to bet $400 on. Hmm..
Try it and find out! You should be able to return if you dont like it. And you can read through the manual to understand all of its features. It's a high quality device with excellent build quality that has a number of features that I at least find very useful for riding.
 
A lot of information from a bunch of people whom I respect and I still can’t decide if this is a good GPS to bet $400 on. Hmm..
If you didn't spend $400 on it...what would you use instead? I'm old enough to remember using paper maps, and being able to remember the route on the paper map in my head. But those days are gone now. Not that my memory is all that bad, but the roads are more dense and the traffic all seems to know where it is going...when I don't.

Back in the fall of 2016, I went to a BMW rally in Coeur d'Alene. I had purchased a Samsung Note 4 to use as a GPS and had it in my tank bag pocket...where it was worthless. "Luckily" I had also brought along my trusty Navigon 2100 Max, an outstanding car GPS. I was going through Spokane towards Coeur d'Alene and had two instances that convinced me to buy a real motorcycle GPS.

First, being a car GPS, the Navigon didn't have Bluetooth communication to my headset. I was only getting visual instructions...and the sun was washing out the screen. I was on the freeway and almost missed my exit as I was trying to watch both the traffic around me, the road, and this washed out screen. I ended up making one of those last second exits that we see and shake our head when someone else does it. I wonder how much it would've cost me if I picked up some metal debris as I cut across that area where you aren't supposed to drive? Or what if I didn't see the car that I had an accident with in that last second maneuver?

Later, I'm a couple blocks away from the hotel in Coeur d'Alene and I made a wrong left turn...because I couldn't see the screen clearly enough and didn't have any BT directions to rely on. No big deal, I'll just do a U-turn, right? Well, it was a narrow road with cars on both sides and it had a high crown. I almost dropped the bike as I was making that U-turn.

As this was happening, I'm thinking in my head that in trying to be frugal (cheap), I could actually be costing myself far more. Sure, I won't be spending $600 for a "motorcycle" GPS...I'll be spending far more on replacing and repairing body panels from when I dropped the bike, or had the accident getting off the freeway.

And then I had this vision of being out on my post-retirement ride and pulled over on the side of the road, trying to squint at the GPS screen to see where my next turn was in the hot blinding sun. How much time would I waste doing this over and over? What would I miss on that post-retirement ride because of the time I wasted?

A Garmin 590 was about $600 at the time. It galled me to pay that much for it...but I finally did it and never regretted it. The Garmin Zumo XT is $200 cheaper...and far better. If mine ever dies...I'll buy another. No questions.


One of the features I use on trips is to look for gas stations. Can't find those on a paper map. But with the Zumo XT, I can have the GPS search along my route for gas stations and it'll list them by mileage. So if I figure I'll need one at about 150 miles, I can do that search while I'm riding down the road. (Probably not smart to do that without pulling over, but...) The interesting thing is when you figure you have about 150 miles left of range...and the results the GPS comes up with are stations at the 120 mile distance...and the 170 mile distance. In other words, if you didn't have the GPS to help out, you could end up walking.

It's worth $400. Do it. You won't regret it.

Chris
 
If you didn't spend $400 on it...what would you use instead? I'm old enough to remember using paper maps, and being able to remember the route on the paper map in my head. But those days are gone now. Not that my memory is all that bad, but the roads are more dense and the traffic all seems to know where it is going...when I don't.

Back in the fall of 2016, I went to a BMW rally in Coeur d'Alene. I had purchased a Samsung Note 4 to use as a GPS and had it in my tank bag pocket...where it was worthless. "Luckily" I had also brought along my trusty Navigon 2100 Max, an outstanding car GPS. I was going through Spokane towards Coeur d'Alene and had two instances that convinced me to buy a real motorcycle GPS.

First, being a car GPS, the Navigon didn't have Bluetooth communication to my headset. I was only getting visual instructions...and the sun was washing out the screen. I was on the freeway and almost missed my exit as I was trying to watch both the traffic around me, the road, and this washed out screen. I ended up making one of those last second exits that we see and shake our head when someone else does it. I wonder how much it would've cost me if I picked up some metal debris as I cut across that area where you aren't supposed to drive? Or what if I didn't see the car that I had an accident with in that last second maneuver?

Later, I'm a couple blocks away from the hotel in Coeur d'Alene and I made a wrong left turn...because I couldn't see the screen clearly enough and didn't have any BT directions to rely on. No big deal, I'll just do a U-turn, right? Well, it was a narrow road with cars on both sides and it had a high crown. I almost dropped the bike as I was making that U-turn.

As this was happening, I'm thinking in my head that in trying to be frugal (cheap), I could actually be costing myself far more. Sure, I won't be spending $600 for a "motorcycle" GPS...I'll be spending far more on replacing and repairing body panels from when I dropped the bike, or had the accident getting off the freeway.

And then I had this vision of being out on my post-retirement ride and pulled over on the side of the road, trying to squint at the GPS screen to see where my next turn was in the hot blinding sun. How much time would I waste doing this over and over? What would I miss on that post-retirement ride because of the time I wasted?

A Garmin 590 was about $600 at the time. It galled me to pay that much for it...but I finally did it and never regretted it. The Garmin Zumo XT is $200 cheaper...and far better. If mine ever dies...I'll buy another. No questions.


One of the features I use on trips is to look for gas stations. Can't find those on a paper map. But with the Zumo XT, I can have the GPS search along my route for gas stations and it'll list them by mileage. So if I figure I'll need one at about 150 miles, I can do that search while I'm riding down the road. (Probably not smart to do that without pulling over, but...) The interesting thing is when you figure you have about 150 miles left of range...and the results the GPS comes up with are stations at the 120 mile distance...and the 170 mile distance. In other words, if you didn't have the GPS to help out, you could end up walking.

It's worth $400. Do it. You won't regret it.

Chris

Ah, I’ll get around to it.😉

I either (currently) use a gps phone app playing through my helmet or I write out the directions 1, 2, 3… turn by turn, and put it in a tank bag window.
 
I bought a Zumo XT about a month or so ago, I've never owned or used a GPS before. I have been using the phone GPS a little bit over the past year but mainly for finding specific street addresses though, still carry paper maps for travel.

The big question for me is whether or not I'll ever figure out how to use it without getting aggravated & throw it in the river. :unsure:
 
I bought a Zumo XT about a month or so ago, I've never owned or used a GPS before. I have been using the phone GPS a little bit over the past year but mainly for finding specific street addresses though, still carry paper maps for travel.

The big question for me is whether or not I'll ever figure out how to use it without getting aggravated & throw it in the river. :unsure:


go-for-it-you-can-do-it.gif



However... just in case... instead of the river... throw it in a box with postage addressed to me. ;)
 
go-for-it-you-can-do-it.gif



However... just in case... instead of the river... throw it in a box with postage addressed to me. ;)

I hope I can, don't care for the other two choices!

Cliff, did you watch Steve's series on the zumo GPS that he did last year? Now that you have a zumo go through the whole series. It will teach you about the unit and basecamp.

By the way Steve, thanks for hosting this event.

Thanks, I'll check it out.
 
I’ve been trying to get the Garmin tutorials out of the COG library but the only one that will open is the first one. When I try to open the others they come up blank. They’re in the COG library under the education drop down. Are they not available anymore or am I missing something? Thank You.
 
Huh - that's interesting (they are just youtube embeds) - someone will look into it and post back
 
Well if that’s the case I’ll look on YouTube. It’s nice how they are in the library tho they’re in sequential order. Thanks for replying.
 
That’s fantastic! They’re all working now! Thanks for the help and immediate response! Now just have to figure my Garmin out!!!! 🏍️
 
When the Zumo XT sits idle (like for the winter) and use is attempted in a vehicle with a cigarette lighter power cord the internal battery may not allow the GPS to power on... that's my impression. Only returning the unit to the square snap in mount (powered) brought the Zumo XT out of its coma. Possibly a Samsung fast charger powering the mini USB might work too. The Zumo XT is a great GPS, packed with features but sometimes temperamental and fussy....
I purchased a Garmin car windshield mount for the Zumo XT. The mount has no wires/power/ or opportunity for 12 volts - just the plastic square with the retaining clip - which requires the mini usb port for power. But the mini usb power tricks a low battery XT into thinking there's some data coming and it waits and waits....
 
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When the Zumo XT sits idle (like for the winter) and use is attempted in a vehicle with a cigarette lighter power cord the internal battery may not allow the GPS to power on... that's my impression. Only returning the unit to the square snap in mount (powered) brought the Zumo XT out of its coma. Possibly a Samsung fast charger powering the mini USB might work too. The Zumo XT is a great GPS, packed with features but sometimes temperamental and fussy....
I purchased a Garmin car windshield mount for the Zumo XT. The mount has no wires/power/ or opportunity for 12 volts - just the plastic square with the retaining clip - which requires the mini usb port for power. But the mini usb power tricks a low battery XT into thinking there's some data coming and it waits and waits....

When I first got the XT I used to mainly use the power savings mode to shut it down until the time I was unable to power on the device. I plugged in a USB power cord and had to leave it charging for a short period of time until the internal battery had sufficient charge. Now I only use power saving mode when on the road and perform a complete shutdown and the end of each day of use.

Turning the Device On or Off
  • Turn the device on: Press the power button, or connect power to the device
  • Power Saving Mode: Press the power button while the device is on
    Screen is off and the device uses very little power when in this mode, but it will wake immediately when power button is pressed. The device battery charges faster when device is in power saving mode
  • Complete Power Down: Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds until a screen prompt appears on the screen, then select Off.
    If power button is released before the prompt appears, the device enters power saving mode.
 
Thanks Steve, I was hoping you would weigh in. I'm guilty of placing the unit into a power saving mode when I had intended on turning it off.
 
Thanks Steve, I was hoping you would weigh in. I'm guilty of placing the unit into a power saving mode when I had intended on turning it off.
Me too and had a scare on vacation when unit would not turn on until charged for a few minutes in the base.

On vacations I like to plan every mile, every day (of course we’ll impromptu venture off plan) so when thy happened I was like oh crap…

All is well that ends well.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
I've had a weird situation happen on my Zumo XT. I go to church and take the GPS off the mount and put it in the top box. It still is checking for updates when I close the lid. I come out a couple hours later, put the GPS on the bike and start the bike. Instead of automatically starting like always, it stays blank.

So I stop and unclip the GPS from the mount and snap it back in again. Nothing. Try again...nothing. After several more tries, I go home and plug it in to charge thinking that the GPS stayed on in the top box and ran out of battery. On a recent occurrence, I went out to the bike the next day and nothing again. Huh?? Is my GPS dying? Did I buy the extended warranty I wonder?

Finally I tried just holding the power button in for about 30-40 seconds...and it started right up like nothing was wrong at all. I'm not exactly sure why it acted like this, but if yours seems dead, I'd try holding that power button in and see what happens.

Chris
 
I've had a weird situation happen on my Zumo XT. I go to church and take the GPS off the mount and put it in the top box. It still is checking for updates when I close the lid. I come out a couple hours later, put the GPS on the bike and start the bike. Instead of automatically starting like always, it stays blank.

So I stop and unclip the GPS from the mount and snap it back in again. Nothing. Try again...nothing. After several more tries, I go home and plug it in to charge thinking that the GPS stayed on in the top box and ran out of battery. On a recent occurrence, I went out to the bike the next day and nothing again. Huh?? Is my GPS dying? Did I buy the extended warranty I wonder?

Finally I tried just holding the power button in for about 30-40 seconds...and it started right up like nothing was wrong at all. I'm not exactly sure why it acted like this, but if yours seems dead, I'd try holding that power button in and see what happens.

Chris

I‘m pretty sure the device does not “look for updates” unless connected to Wi-Fi. Updates will not be applied without user action.
I’ve seen the black screen before… unsure what causes it, but a hard reset (as you did) has been my standard fix...

Zumo XT Hard Reset

  1. Connect the device to the motorcycle mount. An A/C adapter or automotive power cable may also be used.
  2. Press and hold the power button and slowly count to 30.
 
We're in Mexico with the ZumoXT (sadly, in an SUV and not the C10 this time) Street addresses here are all goofy and can't be used in GPS for finding a location so we need to find hotels and restaurants already in the XT's data base. There are a lot of them now. Used to be with older GPS devices I'd spend an hour before making a reservation to make sure the hotel was in the GPS data base. Most weren't. Even if the destination isn't in the GPS data base there are easy ways to use Tripadvisor and the 4 Square databases included.
I did switch the route selection to shortest mileage from fastest time and we found ourselves parting goat and cattle herds on some pretty "rural" 2 lane roads in Michoacán, drove slowly past a large group of men walking along the road with machetes too. But eventually that road brought us to a better road. The wife loved the scenery on that road we happened on by mistake.
The ZumoXT hangs stuck to the windshield in the hot greenhouse that quickly overheats my phone if exposed to the same hot conditions without a hitch. The ZumoXT does a poor job at finding banks and ATMs here - my only complaint.
 
At the risk of being off-topic (again :rolleyes: ;) ) I received an email today announcing the new Garmin zūmo XT2.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/867974

Thoughts? ......Anybody? .......anybody?

.....and just to stay on topic....will this lower the price of the Garmin zūmo XT(1)?
 
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I don't think the XT2 will do anything to lower the price of the XT...it'll give Garmin a reason to increase the price of the new model. Which is only a half inch bigger.

My riding buddy from up north got tired of his Tom Tom and used a small tablet on our last trip. It worked extremely well. I checked Amazon, and some of those tablets are around $50-70. If something happened to my Garmin XT, I think I'd go that route.

Chris
 
My riding buddy from up north got tired of his Tom Tom and used a small tablet on our last trip. It worked extremely well. I checked Amazon, and some of those tablets are around $50-70. If something happened to my Garmin XT, I think I'd go that route.

Chris
Interesting thought, initially tablets were tried and dismissed as being too dim to see in sunlight and not robust enough to handle the elements and vibration from mounting on a motorcycle. In addition, at first there were no tablet navigation apps that allowed for custom routes. Although I can't name any now, (OH wait, ..Drivemode dashboard 2 ? )I'm sure there must be some navigation apps out there that allow that to be accomplished. Some tablets now are boasting super bright screens and robust protection from elements and built in toughness. They cost a lot more than $50-$70 however, more like $700-$800. The extra money would be worth it though if it did everything a Garmin zūmo could do plus all the other functions that a tablet can do that a zūmo cannot do and have a larger screen as well.

What tablet did your friend use?

The new tablets are claiming a screen brightness of 1200- 1300 nits....anybody know the nits brightness numbers of a (me staying on topic section :D ) zūmo XT or XT2?...I can't find any numbers online.
 
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After years of non use my XT completely died. AC port would not work. Used MC mount to charge for a few mins. now everything is back to normal. Just an observation that might be usefull to someone
 
I don't think the XT2 will do anything to lower the price of the XT...it'll give Garmin a reason to increase the price of the new model. Which is only a half inch bigger.

My riding buddy from up north got tired of his Tom Tom and used a small tablet on our last trip. It worked extremely well. I checked Amazon, and some of those tablets are around $50-70. If something happened to my Garmin XT, I think I'd go that route.

Chris

Tablets will run GPS apps, have larger screens, lower cost, etc. However, I feel the tablets will fail prematurely when used on a motorcycle. They do not have a high IPX rating as motorcycle GPS devices and some form of waterproofing is necessary. Like many cell phones, the electromechanical assembly are not designed ruggedized to withstand the vibrations and jarring of being mounted on a motorcycle.
 
Seems like they could be put in a map pocket of a tank bag to insulate from vibration and protect against the weather.
 
Tablets will run GPS apps, have larger screens, lower cost, etc. However, I feel the tablets will fail prematurely when used on a motorcycle. They do not have a high IPX rating as motorcycle GPS devices and some form of waterproofing is necessary. Like many cell phones, the electromechanical assembly are not designed ruggedized to withstand the vibrations and jarring of being mounted on a motorcycle.

Don't get me wrong, I love my zūmo XT but if it were to need replacing, tablets have come a long way since I last looked at them, I'd have to give them serious consideration now. As for the cheaper non waterproof ones, well if they are bright enough to see and use...at that price point you could have a couple of spares in your saddlebag to replace the one you couldn't get the plastic bag over quickly enough in a downpour. However I don't think there are any under $100 that are bright enough.

IP68 is a pretty good rating and tablet available...albeit not for $50-$70 though. Some do have the same Mil-Std-810 rating as the zūmo XT

Links of interest:​

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rugged+tablets+1200+nits+IP68&crid=M0FDMPK6OB53&sprefix=rugged+tablets+1200+nits+ip68,aps,146&ref=nb_sb_noss



Hmmm...how to stay on topic...... :unsure:
:unsure: :unsure:

Oh...repeating...anybody know the nit rating of the zūmo XT or XT2?
 
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I used the Zumo XT on vacation in the SUV almost 9,000 miles mounted to the windshield. It performed flawlessly - aside from a few wild goose chases looking for a bank or an ATM. 9,000 miles averages out to 200 operating hours given the car's claimed average speed of 46mph for the trip. Although the unit was protected from rain it literally baked in the hot Mexican sun - hot enough to put my phone in an overheat condition if I left it on the dash for more than 20 minutes.
Only one newly completed highway north of Puerto Vallarta lacked full data - the road showed but mileages and details were lacking. Every hotel or restaurant I wanted to find was in the database along with points of interest we visited like zoos, swimming areas, and hot springs. I was not able to incorporate basecamp but blame that on my own shortcomings - but as a stand alone GPS it worked very well. I could either enter destinations directly on the GPS or by the phone using Drive.
For comparison the SUV has a GPS which I occasionally tried for comparative purposes. In Mexico the car GPS had the main roads but little else. Chevrolet wants $99 to update the GPS every year which I have never done.
I've avoided GPS units designed specifically for motorcycles for years thinking they were expensive and not all that reliable - but this Zumo XT really impresses me.
 
I like the XT. I make my Routes in myrouteapp.com and use Drive to export them from my phone to the XT.

Love the elevation option- super fun in the mountains to watch.
 
I downloaded a 5 minute update on the Zumo XT the night before a ride. The next day I had endless "incidents reported" that seemed to be following me with street addresses as we rode along. Speeds over 67 seemed to stop these very annoying incidents that took 1/2 of the screen and contained no details. Finally at the first gas stop I shut that (dys)function and rode on in peace.
But today, in Quebec I saw a purple banner on the Zumo XT's screen warning of a speed camera ahead. Traffic around me slowed - the locals knew where the speed cameras were. Quebec, like all of Canada has mind-numbingly low speed limits (top posted speed around 62mph) and budget busting speeding fines. I'm not sure how many of these speed cams are located on the Zumo XT or how current the data is, but it's just one more feature that is very helpful.
 
I downloaded ($26) the red light and speed camera database into my Zumo XT ... It only took a few seconds to download ...gulp.... . Maine has neither red light or speed cameras. Quebec has both but last summer they showed up on the XT without the extra download. We'll see how it works. One problem I realized after the purchase is that I always have the XT volume muted so I don't hear annoying play by play - the second problem is that I only glance at the GPS occasionally so I might miss visual warnings.
Some gps/radar detectors have speed trap areas located - we all probably have seen places where police wait for hapless speeders routinely. AAA Triptiks used to have "heightened speed enforcement areas" noted. I would wager right at this moment in Washington County Virginia on I-81 a deputy is either writing a summons or shooting radar. These predictable traps will not be warned about - only the stationary cameras.
 
That's why you don't mute your GPS completely. There is a setting I think for how frequently you want your direction guidance. In other words, you can set the frequency down to where it isn't as annoying.

In the summer, I pull out my radar detector. It seems like when the weather is good, the LEOs don't mind so much standing outside to write out performance awards. That will often give you enough warning of the radar traps to avoid being pulled over.

Chris
 
Glad for the xt for this year's rally. That part of WV doesn't do well with cell phones.

I used the weather overlay coming back from Canyonville last year and found it to be invaluable. We were in our rain gear at the right times.
 
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