Garmin Zumo 665 or 590

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cyclemed

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Hello All:

It appears the time has come to upgrade my two Zumo 550's to either the 665 or the 590. My 550's have the GXM30 and I use the XM Radio every time I ride. Traffic and weather are nice but not necessary. Here is my question for those of you who have had to make this same choice.

1. The 665 has Radar Weather vs Cartoon Weather of the 550 so I suppose it is more useful than the 550 weather. Is it worth retaining and getting the 665?

2. The 665 has XM which I use almost exclusively when I ride and in my cars that don't have XM. I could leave the 550's in the cars but I still think I want XM on the bikes. The 590 has Pandora capability and would involve streaming but data plans do not support all day streaming.

3. The 590 uses the newer operating system and supposedly is better at routing and such.

4. The GXM40 antenna is now discontinued meaning I can buy new but will be hard to find as a replacement if something happens to it. This was done as of June 2015. By comparison the GXM30 went obsolete January 2015. Apparently Garmin is getting out of the XM business and developing their own technology for music interface such as Pandora with your smart phone.

Overall the 665 with GXM40 is $699 MSRP and available cheaper while the 590 is $899 also available cheaper. Torn between getting the 665 as an upgrade to the 550 and retaining XM, traffic and weather or the 590. Let me know your thoughts as I am sure many of you had the same thinking.

Thanks,

 
Get the 590 and a separate XM radio if you must XM. I think you'll find the 590 traffic and weather pretty good if you have data access. The radar is not "cartoon"-like and can help you make real time decisions regarding severe weather. The traffic is outstanding. The whole upgrade in screen visibility, speed and features is no contest.

What kind of headset setup are you using?

 
I'm not familiar with the other models but pulled the plug on the 590.

I really like the unit, pretty easy to operate and VISABLE in the sunlight. It does help to tilt it back just slightly to keep white t-shirt reflection nill.

I loaded approx 15 full albums on the unit without an additional SD card (I do have a 32MB ordered). If you get lost using this unit, you shouldn't be driving. It'll tell you several times before hand when to turn, etc.

The stereo quality is excellent and easy to change songs easily while underway. I have Open Scorpions on my FZ and can still hear the stereo up to approx 65-70 MPH (with a 3/4 Helmet), then the mufflers (high/tail exit) drown out the stereo. The windscreen is nill on the FZ so it shouldn't be a problem on the FJR.

If you have a discontinued unit, tell them when ordering (direct from Garmin) and you should see 20% off. If you have SPIII and send it in, 40% off.

The Octopus line for the MC mount does take some creative routing to hid it but its doable.

Harness tucked up inside the fairing;



Bracket with luggage lock to prevent un-authorized removal;



Installed;



 
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Thanks for the info. I am currently running my Zumo 550 through my J&M CB2003 head unit. I agree the newer tech and current unit is probably the way to go, but my concern is the loss of XM. I have used that since 2002 and not sure I want to deal with the data issues on the smart phones. I could also do like some LD riders and have two GPS on the bike, the 590 and keep my 550 for backup, XM, etc.

And yes, Garmin offered me the 20% on two units since I have two 550's.

Thanks,

 
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Do you have to pay for a satellite subscription with the Zumo? If so, how about picking up a used Skyfi or something on eBay for minimal cost and transferring the sub over to that? I have my Skyfi2 car cradle mounted to a Ram ball on the center nut and, along with a m/c specific antenna, have rarely had a reception problem. The 590 sits on the left side bar. I would second everything Tom and Scott wrote above about the unit.

As a long-time XM listener I didn't want lose that on the bike but I have found myself listening to Pandora more and more instead. Just too easy with the 590 and even though you can run the XM unit through the GPS, you can't control the channels or volume through it. Granted, I do have an unlimited data plan which helps tremendously.

 
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My first GPS was a Magellan 2200 (ipx4 rated). And since that was strictly a gps I bought a pioneer inno for xm. Great little unit, no external antenna, and about $100 if I remember. No bluetooth, but you could port it directly to ear buds or wire it into your bluetooth gps.

Pocket-sized xm receiver, wasn't a bad option at the time.

PS: XM still offers 5 months for $25. You gotta ask for it and fight with them everytime it renews, but where else you gonna find satellite radio for around $70 a year?

 
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The 590 will be faster processing and a lot better daytime visibility than a 665, and user interface is better....... I wouldn't pay for XM personally, the stations are too repetitive for my liking, but to each his own. I have a 550 and nothing wrong with staying with that either.

 
Hi All:

Quick follow up. Thanks for the info. I have 5 XM subscriptions on my account so in the event I replace, I can just replace my current GXM30 Radio Code with the GXM40 Radio Code and the XM will be a wash. The Traffic and Weather will be different as the 40 required Nav Weather but the 30 does not. Cartoon Weather gets its info from traffic.

I used to have the Sky Fi / Garmin SP 2610 set up on my Gold Wing and I don't want to have multiple gadgets mounted anymore. Plus the Sky Fi is not water proof so I need to deal with a cover or baggie when it rains and I travel quite a bit.

With that being said, I may just keep my two 550's for now as they do what I need them to do and I have Lifetime Maps. I think we are starting to see cell carriers moving back to unlimited data so that could change my decision and forgo the need for XM.

Thanks again,

 
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