+ 1 good bit of kit, used mine in France last year where it rained most of the time and worked perfectly.
agree 100%, bought one last year June (Montana 600 World Base Map) and very happy coming from the Garmin Zumo GPS units....
I'm really liking the look/spec of the new Zumo 590..............but it ain't cheap!! zumo 590 LM | Garmin
Hope Garmin have learned something with their releases. Early adoption of the 660 was pretty rough. That said its matured into a pretty robust product now.
+1 for Co-Pilot. It is better than Google maps on the iPhone as it lets you drag to change routing like Google maps does on the desktop version. It also pairs very well to my bluetooth headset. Like others have done I made a USB power supply from the 12v GPS supply and use a RAM mount from the handlebar mount. The only issue I have had using my phone is that it occasionally pops up meeting request reminders and I need to take a glove off to clear. My thinking was: why spend a whole lot of cash on a stand alone GPS if you already own a smartphone?
Do all these iphone options not end up costing a fortune in data once you start travelling extensively over several weeks? I know when I was using the maps function to navigate around Denmark (2012 ish) when I first started working over here part time, I regularly got stung on my monthly bill for the UK mobile. Has this changes due to something in the apps or euro data cost regulations?
You can pre-load all the maps for your journey (depending on app etc). So in theory you can off set a lot of the cost.
Co Pilot Live stores all the maps in your phone and uses GPRS to navigate. I have it as a back up on my phone and is the best £30-odd I've ever spent on a Nav app, it's excellent.
Zumo 660 for the last three years. 5000 miles touring on the continent in the last 12 months. Faultless. Easy to use and great for finding nearest campsite, petrol station, hotel etc in foreign lands. I wouldn't travel without it. Mind you .......... I do like the look of the 590, so I may have to kiss the 660 goodby! Love 'em and leave 'em, that's what I say
After using my non-bluetooth car device Sunday, reading unknown tight roads at pace, monitoring the following riders and trying to navigate turns by sight, thinking I need a route planning tool I can use and load up to co pilot or other iphone mapping product. Any recommendations? The route one linked doesn't seem to work on mac
I've a smart phone (S4...I think) and a TomTom Rider (original). Unfortunately the TomTom scala headset died when I walked off with the helment still on charge. So I need a new headset....then TomTom just died...it's charged just no response or display...tried reset etc. Now I need a new Navigation solution. My gut feel is that having my phone on display (out in the rain etc) isn't a good idea. Further I don't want or need the distraction of messages, emails and calls. The latest TOMTOM doesnt seem very feature rich nor does the Garmin to be fair. HD traffic would be ideal, surely any of us that are forced to M25 or work in London need this. I hate filtering at 20Mph through traffic. Also Best Blue Tooth helmet set? Neither the Rider or the Garmin has advice nor supply headsets. ANY IDEAS?
Can easy turn off calls mate on most phones - iPhone and Android both have a do not disturb mode which will stop phone calls and text notifications (send them straight to voicemail AND you can set up exceptions so that only certain people can call you). Or you could of course buy a cheap Android phone (cheaper than most of the dedicated sat navs anyway) and use that - no calls then and chuck it in a tank bang or waterproof case with a mount - still cheaper than a decent sat nav. App wise it's got to be co-pilot in my opinion for offline (no data required - download before you leave home on your wifi) maps. Very good bit of kit for £30 I think I paid for it. Could always get something like a Sony Z1 / Z1 Compact if budget allows - waterproof/dustproof phone so no messing with a case if you prefer but they are a bit more expensive still. Headset wise can't help much as I have the Schuberth C3 pro with SRC kit (which is bloody outstanding both the lid and the headset volume/clarity), I can say avoid the cheap eBay ones - I had a Vimoto, and it worked fine just so quiet you could barely make out the voice prompts at 30mph let alone anything above that even at full volume.
Ok...you're right never thought to put turn off the calls (all except SWMBO). So I need a charger for the phone...no issue. I don't want to change my lid, so may be a new head set. The Scala was ok... I used to use Co-pilot years ago...didn't know they were still going. Can it support real time traffic?
Yes, it has something called "Active Traffic" Co-pilot. Not as good as the "Waze" system with community based traffic - but then Waze doesn't have offline maps, becomes useless out of signal or out of the country. I think the Schuberth system is made by the same people as the Scala (Cardio?) if so, been well happy with mine - though the shortcut buttons take some getting used to if you want more than just to make a call and change volume. They are probably all very similar - though the Schuberth system is mental price for what it is, still at least I don't have any extra wind noise from it hanging outside the helmet. Charger - quite easy, in fact I just did a USB modification on my MS yesterday. Using one of these and a waterproof connector - DC DC Converter Module 12V To 5V 3A 15W Dual USB Output Power Adapter OO | eBay decided to upgrade from my old system I transferred as it was only a single USB and 500mA (couldn't charge my phone when using satnav with data on etc - was using more that it was being supplied with screen on). Took the feed from the OEM satnav socket so it's switched and fused. Now I have two USB sockets for power in my "glove box", had to cut it slightly to get them inside it but the rubber lining is but a few quid from dealers if I want to put it back. One for my phone, and the other will be going on my Mobius camera mounted up front Mounts - can recommend - Ultimate-Mobiles Great Prices On Mobile Accessories, Ultimate Addons Tough Cases, Motorcycle Mounts, - though their range of proper waterproof cases only covers Iphones and Samsung mainly, they do have a generic zip up one which I have on the bike and seems to be weatherproof enough so far.
TBH most do a job these days, that said all have little things you do not like about them too. I have co pilot, on my iphone, it works quite well, but you would need to power it perma if on the bike with a water proof case, all a bit of a pain tbh, but would certainly do job. I do use 660 also, the best if you can get your head around it and base camp. I also like the 660 as it just has all the fittings with it for car etc. Just costs a lot of money.