Aussie Annie Posted May 4, 2011 #1 Posted May 4, 2011 As Alan has never used a GPS, or bothers with the computer at home, he has decided he would feel more comfortable if I had a unit on my bike as well as the one being loaned to us for our touring in the U.S. Better that I have a back up., as I'm towing the trailer, and when he gets in the "riding zone" can forget I'm back there waiting for him to tell me when to turn off! SO......Amazon has the Zumo 660 for $US649.99--is that the best I'll do????????? I can then purchase the aussie maps later.
Condor Posted May 4, 2011 #3 Posted May 4, 2011 As Alan has never used a GPS, or bothers with the computer at home, he has decided he would feel more comfortable if I had a unit on my bike as well as the one being loaned to us for our touring in the U.S. Better that I have a back up., as I'm towing the trailer, and when he gets in the "riding zone" can forget I'm back there waiting for him to tell me when to turn off! SO......Amazon has the Zumo 660 for $US649.99--is that the best I'll do????????? I can then purchase the aussie maps later. I bet Freebird can chime in here with some good advice.....
RedRider Posted May 4, 2011 #4 Posted May 4, 2011 If your going to spring for the big unit, go with the newer 665. Has some additional features you may like. Check out zumoforums.com for full reviews. RR
Aussie Annie Posted May 4, 2011 Author #5 Posted May 4, 2011 I don't want all the bells and whistles...certainly don't want phone !! Not something I like while riding, only getting the 660 so I can get map updates
twigg Posted May 4, 2011 #6 Posted May 4, 2011 I don't want all the bells and whistles...certainly don't want phone !! Not something I like while riding, only getting the 660 so I can get map updates Garmin sells a bunch of models with Lifetime Maps ... At least they do in the US.
Aussie Annie Posted May 4, 2011 Author #7 Posted May 4, 2011 Just want GPS and possibly music. GPS novice here....which models do I start to look at that will give me map updates?
twigg Posted May 4, 2011 #8 Posted May 4, 2011 Just want GPS and possibly music. GPS novice here....which models do I start to look at that will give me map updates? Start here: http://www.garmin.com/us/maps/numaps_lifetime
Wizard765 Posted May 4, 2011 #9 Posted May 4, 2011 Annie: I think you are on the right track. The 660 is an excellent unit. Unless you want XM radio it would be the way to go in my opinion. The screen is bright so you can read it in sunlight. It plays MP3s and does routes as well as having room for future map updates etc. I love the one I have and I think you would be very happy with that unit. It also comes with the cradle for the bike AND the cage.
Aussie Annie Posted May 4, 2011 Author #10 Posted May 4, 2011 Thanks fella's Any idea of where I'd get the best price??
twigg Posted May 4, 2011 #11 Posted May 4, 2011 Thanks fella's Any idea of where I'd get the best price?? I got my 1490T Refurbished for US$132 from Amazon.
a1bummer Posted May 4, 2011 #12 Posted May 4, 2011 I got a refurbished Garmin Nuvi 765T fr om Best Buy online and so far, I love it. It has a lot of "bells & whistles", but no lifetime updates. But it was a bargain at $149.99. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=AD9AE0C4C4C77E6FD30315546CA3BBF7.bbolsp-app01-49?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=-2300525025167616767&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=Garmin+765T&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960 Bill
twigg Posted May 4, 2011 #13 Posted May 4, 2011 I got a refurbished Garmin Nuvi 765T fr om Best Buy online and so far, I love it. It has a lot of "bells & whistles", but no lifetime updates. But it was a bargain at $149.99. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=AD9AE0C4C4C77E6FD30315546CA3BBF7.bbolsp-app01-49?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=-2300525025167616767&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=Garmin+765T&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960 Bill You can buy Lifetime Updates" from that link I posted. Price isn't bad.
Wizard765 Posted May 4, 2011 #14 Posted May 4, 2011 Annie: the best price I found is here http://www.need4digital.com/product.asp?itemid=garzumo660 I just don't know this vendor. It is cheaper and has free shipping (to USA). Has anyone dealt with them before? On another note if you are planning on getting Aussie maps later and continuing to use the unit you can't go wrong with a 660. If it is just for this trip then it is way more money than you need to spend. (my opinion) I've had a few units now including a 785 and a 765. They did everything but were a little harder to get mounted on the bike. Had to go to GPS City and get ram mounts and stuff. Then had to jury rig to get it to play music through the system. Then they were not water proof and I couldn't read them in sunlight. They DID have all the features I wanted though. Now I have the 660 and could not be happier. I believe B2MOM has had a similar experience.. maybe she will chime in here.
a1bummer Posted May 4, 2011 #15 Posted May 4, 2011 They did everything but were a little harder to get mounted on the bike. Had to go to GPS City and get ram mounts and stuff. Then had to jury rig to get it to play music through the system. I went to ram-mount.com for my mounting system and it holds it very securely. The 765T also has a FM transmitter that will allow it to play through the stock stereo system via a station that isn't being used by another radio station. It also has a headphone jack so I don't even need to play my tunes through the stereo. I just put my ear buds on under my helmet. I've never used any other GPS, so I don't really know what others have to offer. Another thought. A lot of phones these days have a built in GPS. Have you given that a thought? But then the smaller screen could make it less useful while riding down the road. Bill
noahzark Posted May 4, 2011 #16 Posted May 4, 2011 How important is reading the display? I've had 3 GPSs and never looked at them--listened only. Made it home every time. (OK, I did look to set up the destination, but never when in motion.) As far as water-proof, a sandwich baggie works fine. (Yes, I'm cheap.)
b2dad Posted May 4, 2011 #17 Posted May 4, 2011 The reason being is that we have had problem after problem with the Zumo 660. don has had several other Garmin units and a Tom Tom. He actually liked the Tom Tom best out of those units. When his last Garmin died, (it was still under warranty with Best Buy) they gave him credit towards a new GPS. I convinced him to buy the 660. We are not interested in XM radio (bad experience with them) so he just purchased the 660. It certainly has alot of bells and whistles...and if you are not "savvy" with this stuff, you may not like it. I have decided this unit is NOT friendly to ME. I have tried to download music to it and messed it up. It quit working. so then I figured out it needed a "chip" (which is not included). Already had one in his MP3 player, so we put that in, but it only reads a couple of songs, not the 200 that is on the chip. so haven't figured that one out yet. Another member here has graciously offered to download some music to a chip for us. So I am waiting on that to see if that feature will work. Meanwhile, the unit has quit working and Garmin has offered to send us a battery, saying they have had problems with some of the batteries. We are currently waiting on the new battery which is supposed to arrive today. The short time that the unit did work, Don got to use it on one ride and he LOVED the fact that he could see it in the daylight. He likes that he can hook up his phone to it. He got a cable from Buddy Rich and got that hooked up (we think it's ok...LOL). He also loved the fact that a motorcycle mount came with it. IF we can just get it up and running we will be ok with it. He really misses having it on the bike. But I am like the rest here...if you are only using it here, there are cheaper models that work really well. If you want to invest in something that you are going to use for a long time, Zumo is the way to go I think. I have to say, in all our trials and tribulations here, that Garmin has been wonderful working with us on getting this unit up and running. Could be user error..not sure. We are a couple of oldies here and just not mechanically inclined or tech savvy. I sort of miss the old finger dial telephones, ya know? Sorry to have rambled on. I am sure whatever you get will be fine. It really depends on how much money you want to spend. Patti
Aussie Annie Posted May 4, 2011 Author #18 Posted May 4, 2011 Thanks everyone...we do want to be able to use it back here as well. So, looking for the best price for a 660
Aussie Annie Posted May 5, 2011 Author #19 Posted May 5, 2011 .....and assistance to find that best price
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