New toy

[Kryton 2]

Upgraded to a Garmin Zumo XT, liking it so far as very easy to read due to the large screen

[TYKE]

I've been considering updating to a Zumo XT as my 590 LM is now a bit 'long in the tooth'....having said that it's still doing its job

The XT seems to be the obvious upgrade     

Cool Keyfob BTW 

[Rockdoc]

I use a Zumo 660 and, like Tyke's 590, it's getting slow and Garmin Express now works badly with it. I've looked at the XT but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I'll be interested to read your reaction after a few rides, Kryton 2. There's nothing like an amateur real-life review to give the right impression.

Keith

[Vern]

I needed to update my fab 660 and I bought the XT model.

I use a bike Sat Nav for pre-planned routes that I create on MyRoute app and transfer to the Zumo.
These are either for my own use or when I lead organised tours.

The 660 unit was brilliant and always corrected my route where I came across a road closure or other issue where a detour was required.
The 660 lost minimal destination arrival time and never recalculated the route that then routed me along an unnecessary long detour, before rejoining the original planned route.

There are many aspects that make the XT leap-years ahead of the 660, except one!

The XT default programming for Fastest route is not the fastest route as we would expect.
Fastest route is via the nearest major road when a detour is requested.
So rather than taking an obvious and quicker minor route any detour can at times take you an awful long way to find a major road to detour along before dropping you back on to your original planned route.
I recommend researching this aspect before buying one so you are aware of the different needs of route planning with the XT.

I am now okay with the XT's mannerisms, but it took a while using test routes created to come to terms with the XT and recognise the importance of ensuring I set sufficient Waypoints along my pre-planned route, and not Shaping points as the XT is allowed to ignore Shaping points but must visit a Waypoint.
The 660 didn't really care and visited whatever I programmed, and any detour offered was indeed the quickest way via any usable type of road.

Vern

[Rockdoc]

Thanks for the post. It's very interesting.

I suppose they will always have foibles. I had the BMW/Garmin Navigator 3 at one time it always tried to take me several miles out of my way rather than the 1.5 mile direct route home, even though it was aware of the road and recalculated once I went onto it..... It's other annoying trick was to frequently send you onto a minor road to save 20 yards which usually cost about 20 minutes in time!

The 660 is better but invariably tries to take us off the M6 at Lymm but then wants us to go straight across the junction and back on! It also doesn't like circular routes. It the start and finish are the same it ignores all the waypoints in between and, in the case of our house, routes us 100 yards to the nearest island, round it and back again. That drives me up the wall.

I'll probably go for an XT in the next few months. Friends use TomToms and swear by them but I'm used to Garmin's way of doing things so I'll stick to the brand.

Keith

[Kryton 2]

The main reason i went for the XT is the size of the screen. I have an old Garmin 660 which is the same as a BMW Navigator 4, and that is brilliant still, but my mince pies are not as good as they were when i was younger, so another reason i went for the XT. It does a lot more than i really need it to do, not interested in the off road stuff for example. Will try out some of the other features of the unit when i get the time and report back.

For now i'll say it's worth it as it's making my life easier, but it's early days yet

@TYKE

The keyfob is from fleabay, think i paid £5 for it with quick postage time. Seller is UK based

[TYKE]

Excellent feedback thank you, I'm fascinated to read these reports......let me explain,  I have,  for the past 13 months, been enjoying the outstanding capabilities of my BMW Navigator  V1, this is a brilliant device..

I'm in the process of changing my BMW GS 1250 for something easier and lighter ( more about this later), so I  reckon I  can justify an upgrade to my 590

[Vern]

I took a organised tour to Luxembourg recently and as I was in the 'learning' stage with the XT I had both sat nav's programmed and available.

Like Kryton I am supa impressed by the screen, larger, clearer, very informative options and with plenty of map viewing options.

I wanted to compare the two and so during one Rideout I had them both running.
OMG the 660 screen is 'old'  how did I cope



Vern

[TYKE]

Yes Vern, that perfectly demonstrates the difference between the older and newer screens

Here's the Navigator V1 on my GS--- the definition is awesome