New Garmin Zumo... 590LM

This looks like I might finally have a GPS to replace my trusty old Zumo 550.

We'll see.... I hope so.

https://www.cycleworld.com/2014/04/02/garmin-zumo-590-motorcycle-navigation-system-gps-video/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=garmin-zumo-590-motorcycle-navigation-system-gps-video

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-road/motorcycles/zumo-590lm/prod145273.html

$799.00 eh?

I broke down 3yrs ago and got the Zumo 660. I'm keeping that thing until it breaks & doesn't work anymore because of what I paid for it. But if/when I ever need to replace it this one looks pretty cool. Hopefully they'll be a bit cheaper by the time I might need another one...but I doubt it. I know a lot of guys use non-waterproof GPS with baggies or use their cell phones GPS all because the Zumo's cost an arm & a leg. But they are nice to have and you don't have to worry about rain, moisture, fog and if you ride alot, plan custom routes and travel on the bike there really worth it to invest in. I've used mine innumerable times over the past 3+ years on the bike. Plus I use it in the car for trips as well.

GeorgiaRoller said:

$799.00 eh?

I broke down 3yrs ago and got the Zumo 660. I'm keeping that thing until it breaks & doesn't work anymore because of what I paid for it. But if/when I ever need to replace it this one looks pretty cool. Hopefully they'll be a bit cheaper by the time I might need another one...but I doubt it. I know a lot of guys use non-waterproof GPS with baggies or use their cell phones GPS all because the Zumo's cost an arm & a leg. But they are nice to have and you don't have to worry about rain, moisture, fog and if you ride alot, plan custom routes and travel on the bike there really worth it to invest in. I've used mine innumerable times over the past 3+ years on the bike. Plus I use it in the car for trips as well.

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I'm with you on this one Roller. That is too much money.

It does have some nice features and like you say in a couple of years the price will surely come down a bit.

Not really. That is approximately the same msrp that each of the new zumos have cost when first introduced. And it comes with lifetime map upgrades which is an extra $100 spent on earlier zumo models. And it has built in TPMS too? I know the sensors will be expensive ($70 per wheel I hear) but still... I'm sure that the street prices will be a bit lower. It will probably sell for around $650-$700 on the street in about a year or so.

But more importantly, this looks like it may actually be a replacement for my zumo 550, which is the best MC specific GPS they've made to date, IMO. Need to review the features list a bit more thoroughly before I get too excited.

About a year and a half ago I sent an email recommendation to Garmin about having the zumos software configurable to portrait or landscape formats. For a lot of uses (like off road adventures) the extra width of the GPS screen doesn't accomplish much. Much better to have the wider direction be ahead on the track. Looks like someone may have actually been listening.

I disagree with Fred to the extent that I got rid of the Zumo 550 in favor of the Streetpilot 2820, but I agree, as soon as the street price drops to a discount, I'll get one of these. The XM is now replaced with entertainment options off the iPhone, an app gives you weather and traffic through the smartphone interface. Add in curvy roads, lane guideance, landmark navigation and other modern GPS features, and it all connects into the helmet. $800 is steep, but lots of features in this one, while the Zumo 665 seemed like a ruggedized Nuvi.

Like Fred, I still love my Zumo 550!

It has been a great GPS for the bikes as well as my snowmobile. It has been through hell and back and the only thing I've replaced since 2006 is the screen, just one time about 3 years ago.

That was an easy fix with help from this forum and a very reasonably priced digitizer from China.

I'm with you Tom, I think this may be the one to replace it, even though it does not have XM, which I can cancel and use Pandora from my IPhone.

I will definitely be keeping an eye on this one as people start using and reporting on it.

No wired interface. No place to plug in a traffic receiver and, of course if you are out of range of a cell tower, no weather or any other connected services.

But is has an MP3 player, the curvy roads function and the TPMS plus it'll work with your iPod and iPhone for Pandora and Android phones as well - and it can control Garmin's action cam, too bad they can't stream video from it . . . .

Hopefully the BT interface is better than their other products, because this thing relies heavily on the technology.

The web site says it does have an audio jack, and if you look at the motorcycle mount, it looks like the same dealio as the zumo 66X with the octopus cable for audio and accessories coming to and from the mount, which means you aren't restricted to just using BT.

One of my best buddies is the Garmin distributor for Canada and he is a rider as well (sort of, when he isn't running around in one of his exotic cars). His sample 590 arrived today and he was going to take it home tonight, though I'm not going to drive the 25 miles to his place to check it out.

I have the option to upgrade my 660 to the 590 - I am concerned about losing my traffic receiver capability - it serves me well when touring to keep me from blindly getting caught up in a lot of rush hour stuff . . . . . . . the rest is no problem, and having the TPMS is a major plus. if there is a proper remote controllable stereo input in the harness I am happy - I use a Sena system (with the SM10 and SR10) so the mic input and speaker output aren't a necessity for me.

There are more connectors in that picture than the 660/665 has, so I still want to read the manual before making up my mind.

Yeah, I noticed that about the connectors too. Don't quite know what the extra audio (looking) connector would be for.

My experience with FM traffic has not been as good as yours. Around the metro Boston area the traffic info is wrong more often than it is right. The GPS will show a slow down and when I get there, nothing! Or else I'll be driving along and hit a big tie up and the GPS shows nothing. I'm sure that this all varies by the locality updating the information.

Fred W said:

My experience with FM traffic has not been as good as yours. Around the metro Boston area the traffic info is wrong more often than it is right. The GPS will show a slow down and when I get there, nothing! Or else I'll be driving along and hit a big tie up and the GPS shows nothing. I'm sure that this all varies by the locality updating the information.

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Agreed. My wife's Nuvi has the traffic update thing...it's never accurate. Even the actual GA511 Atlanta traffic supposedly "real time" website is crap most of the time. I've gone through ATL after checking it several times with green clear roads on the website only to find it's a freaking parking lot.

One thing I like about this new Zumo is the "Curvy Road" option. Mine would be set on that 100% of the time. The previous motorcycle specific Zumo's (550, 660, 665) should have come with this feature in the first place. That being said...I'm not confident in Garmin's software that it wouldn't put me on a winding, gravel, goat trail in the mountains. The avoid "dirt roads" function is hit or miss as it is.

I would miss the mic input as I use an Autocom system. I am yet to see a BT system that does all the functions I have with the Autocom (RD, bike to bike GMRS, phone, XM, Aux audio). If the GPS means I lose audio on the radar detector and bike to bike radio, that lowers the enthusiasm level quite a bit. Not all of us are dedicated to the wireless BT interface until it becomes more capable of handling multiple prioritized sources.

Maybe this will drop the prices of the 660 665 enough to make that worthwhile.

Very enticing and well equipped upgrade.

My 550 has been very durable through a few bounces, hope they maintain that quality build.

I am fine with the 550, except the phone connectivity music control via Bluetooth.

Other than that, it works flawlessly with answering calls and such.

I too will be in crouch-mode waiting for this new 590 down the road.

TomInCA said:

I would miss the mic input as I use an Autocom system. I am yet to see a BT system that does all the functions I have with the Autocom (RD, bike to bike GMRS, phone, XM, Aux audio). If the GPS means I lose audio on the radar detector and bike to bike radio, that lowers the enthusiasm level quite a bit. Not all of us are dedicated to the wireless BT interface until it becomes more capable of handling multiple prioritized sources.
Maybe this will drop the prices of the 660 665 enough to make that worthwhile.

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Looking at the cable to the motorcycle mount, it sure looks like it will have both an audio out and mic input connector (see my photo above). They do not say as much on the web site, but that may just be because old fashioned cable connections aren't as in demand as BT these days.

I'm sure someone will have this in hand soon and can give a good review from a motorcyclist perspective.

I tentatively look forward to it, but won't be first in line.

I wouldn't spend that kind of $$$$$ on Garmin. I didn't have a good experience with the software support side of the business on a previous purchase. I could hire a guide for that kind of money to tell me how to get somewhere.

7 years ago I paid $700 for a 550 when the list prices were $1k....... I know lots who have bought several so-so cheapies that prolly totalled $700 in that time...... I'd wait a bit on this one. Hard to pry me off a 550, would never go for a 660/665, but this one has some features I'll check out down the road one day........

That is a great point and follow up question: How much would you be willing to spend on GPS hardware?

I bought my first zumo 550 new for ~$700. I forget what the US msrp was at the time. I then spent an additional $70 for the lifetime maps upgrade (msrp was $100). I've been running that unit for 5 years and ~100k miles combined (on several bikes). Yes, I had to replace the touch screen once (so far) and that cost me < $20 including shipping of the digitizer from China. And I have had to seal all of the rubber buttons (with RTV from the inside) which is a common failure point of old zumos. I feel like I have got my money's worth from that unit.

I later bought a zumo 660 and was not impressed. Did a full comparison here. Sold off the 660 within a few months and bought a second zumo 550 (for my son's bike) and that one has always run fine too.

But, my zumo 550 's are getting long in the tooth. The old 550 doesn't have A2DP blue tooth, which would be nice feature to have. It doesn't have the "curvy roads" feature, though I have learned how to make that happen by pre-planning routes on Mapsource. It can't be used as a TPMS, won't interface with my iPhone to do weather and traffic. Although I have learned how to load and use the 24k topo maps on the 550, having the ability to rotate the screen to vertical portrait format will be a huge benefit to me when running topo maps while dual sporting. And the new GPS comes with the lifetime maps feature already, 5 years later, at the same price I paid for my $550.

If it works as well as my old 550's have, with all of the added new features, I would say this could be well worth the price even at the full msrp.

Fred W said:

That is a great point and follow up question: How much would you be willing to spend on GPS hardware?
I bought my first zumo 550 new for ~$700. I forget what the US msrp was at the time. I then spent an additional $70 for the lifetime maps upgrade (msrp was $100). I've been running that unit for 5 years and ~100k miles combined (on several bikes). Yes, I had to replace the touch screen once (so far) and that cost me < $20 including shipping of the digitizer from China. And I have had to seal all of the rubber buttons (with RTV from the inside) which is a common failure point of old zumos. I feel like I have got my money's worth from that unit.

I later bought a zumo 660 and was not impressed. Did a full comparison here. Sold off the 660 within a few months and bought a second zumo 550 (for my son's bike) and that one has always run fine too.

But, my zumo 550 's are getting long in the tooth. The old 550 doesn't have A2DP blue tooth, which would be nice feature to have. It doesn't have the "curvy roads" feature, though I have learned how to make that happen by pre-planning routes on Mapsource. It can't be used as a TPMS, won't interface with my iPhone to do weather and traffic. Although I have learned how to load and use the 24k topo maps on the 550, having the ability to rotate the screen to vertical portrait format will be a huge benefit to me when running topo maps while dual sporting. And the new GPS comes with the lifetime maps feature already, 5 years later, at the same price I paid for my $550.

If it works as well as my old 550's have, with all of the added new features, I would say this could be well worth the price even at the full msrp.

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All great points Fred.
I'll definitely be following all the bander on this GPS for the season and maybe get one in the not-to-distant future.