Dutchblog

Previous experience with Garmin satellite navigation products made my choice of satnav for the new bike extremely easy.

The Garmin Zumo 550, with City Navigator NT 2008 (also known as Version 10) is fitted to the bike using a custom designed mount on the dash panel in an easily visible position above the bikes instrument panel.

The mount is beautifully designed & manufactured by GPS-Mount.be in Belgium & is extremely easy to fit, especially with the bike screen temporarily removed.

Principal features of the Garmin Zumo 550 include:

• Glove-friendly touchscreen with left-handed controls makes it easy to operate
• High brightness, sunlight-readable, UV-resistant display makes it easy to view your screen
• Motorcycle console for trip information, including fuel gauge to warn you when it’s time to fill up
• Motorcycle mount with universal mounting hardware so you can mount it anywhere
• Included motorcycle and automotive mount (with integrated speaker) for riding or driving
• Custom caps available in a variety of colors to reflect your style
• Vibration-tested, waterproof and built with fuel-resistant plastics to withstand the elements

Full specifications may be found here.

Also incorporated into my navigation system is the Garmin GTM 12 FM Traffic Management Channel (TMC) receiver which, when coupled with the Zumo, warns of traffic hold-ups ahead on your chosen route.

In my particular application the metre long FM antenna has been taped to the back of the plastic instrument panel surround so it’s completely out of sight but still able to receive the FM signal on which the TMC is broadcast.

Full details of the Garmin GTM 12 may be found here.

Full details of TMC in the UK may be found here.

The Garmin PDF user manual for the Zumo 550 is here.

A very useful independent Zumo resource are the Zumo Forums.

Images of my Garmin Zumo 550 installation may be found here.

Audio navigation commands given by the Zumo 550 are provided to both rider & pillion via the Baehr Ultima XL motorcycle communications system, written about separately here.