Garmin zumo 660 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Motorcycle Navigator

Reviews

1. Misses the basics

   by Pgh, PA

   The Garmin 660 will either go down in history as either the begining of end for Garmin motorcycle GPS units or, hopefully, a lowlight in a product line that will improve with time. The 660 is really a mess at it’s most basic function, navigation. It’s passable in a car, but really difficult to use efficiently on a bike.

   This review is based on FW3.5 and 3.8. I’ve used the 660 for about 3000 total car/bike miles so far.

   Biggest issues:
   
   1. Poor screen. The unit is not visible in direct sunlight and even slightly non-direct sunlight. Any GPS designed for a bike should have a built in shade. Even the small shade on the TomTom rider does wonders at improving visibility. Fingerprints make the problem much worse.

   2. Processor is too slow for the maps. Even set on medium detail, the screen can take several seconds to redraw after a recalculation. It’s especially bad when map is set to “track up” and you take more than a 45 degree turn. It’s a problem when you take a wrong turn, look to the unit for help, and see a blank or partially drawn screen. The problem is even worse in cities where the unit tries to draw buildings in 3D.

   3. The fonts (sooo small) and colors used mean more than a quick glance is required to get information from the screen. Lots of guys ride without the sound hooked up, so good presentation of visual information is especially important for motorcycle riders.

   4. Going with #3, the maps themselves are very poorly designed. The maps are way too crowded with the result being that the route being followed can be difficult to find among all the colors and symbols. Routes are pink, but highways are red. That’s a tough thing to resolve when riding at speed, and pretty much impossible if there is some sun.

   5. Make no mistake, this is a Nuvi and there is very little customization available to the user. Users of the units like the 60csx and Street Pilot will wonder where all of the options have gone.

   6. Routing is poor and maps are either out of date or just poorly done. For instance, a (the?) major intersection in Minneapolis is Lake and Hennepin. However, if you approach this intersection on Lake, it will tell you that you are approaching CR20 with no mention of Hennepin. There is not even a CR20 sign at this very urban intersection. In other instances, I’ve found the unit to not know about the existence of major metropolitan roads resulting in odd routing that can cost you a lot of time by not taking direct routes through cities.

   7. Autozoom makes absolutely no sense. The zoom levels chosen almost seem random. There is no documentation about this feature or if you can customize the zoom levels. A good autozoom could make crowded maps less of an issue.

   8. Undocumented features and buggy firmware releases. Garmin will update firmware, but you are on your own if want to know what is included in the new releases. Also, the 3.5 to 3.8 update was a disaster. It is as if Garmin didn’t test this software at all before release. Spend some time at Zumo Forums if you want the dirty details.

   Hopefully Garmin will get their act together and really design a SatNav system for bikes that is not merely a water proofed Nuvi. The Nuvi line is made for cars and people that have completely different expectations for a SatNav system. Bikers needs are completely different. We’ll know in two or three years how serious Garmin is about this segment of their market.

2. Overpriced.

   by Dmitry Nikiforov

   This GPS is as good as any, however I don’t think that ~$600 price tag is justified. For a $600 piece of hardware it’s very slow and basic – you could buy an iPhone, iPad or any Android phone, buy a navigation app for it (android has one built right in, and it’s even better than Garmin GPS) and you’ll get a much more capable device for a lesser price. The only benefit Garmin Zumo has is an ability to use touch scree with your gloves on, but that hardly justifies such a price tag.

   Also, if you mount the cradle for this GPS on your bike, you’ll have to use a so-called weather cap to cover the contact pins on the cradle from rain and other debris. This cap is easy to lose, or it will very likely be stolen eventually: it’s priced at $5-$6 with about $8 delivery charge in the Garmin store, so there is a lot of incentives for others to steal it. I’ve had two caps stolen in just one month (I park my bike on the street in Manhattan midtown).

   Also, i don’t know about Windows users, bit on a Mac Garmin offers ridiculously stupid and convoluted software which is nearly impossible to use. It’s the perfect example of how software should NOT be made. The whole system is exceptionally user unfriendly.

   The best price tag for is GPS would have been half of what it is now at most.

3. Wish I would’ve bought the Zumo 550

   by R. Bliss

   This is the THIRD Garmin Zumo 660 I have owned. I returned the first two (see below). The first unit wouldn’t allow me to extract the micro SD Card due to a defective extractor spring. The second unit had two flaws:

   1. While in the middle of a 2,000 mile motorcycle trip, I kept getting a full-screen message “OUT OF MEMORY” with a big “OK” button to acknowledge. I would hit the OK button and between 15 seconds and three minutes later the same message would reappear. The unit would show streaming mapping info (in-between the annoying messages) but it would not allow me to plot any more waypoints. I cleared the first half of my trip to free-up space (which really put me off), but that didn’t help.

   2. Since the GPS was malfunctioning, I decided to use my $800 (retail) unit as a very big and expensive MP3 player. This was fine for approximately a day until the unit just shut off and wouldn’t come back on. I thought I had a problem with the wiring harness that recharged the unit, so I attempted to charge the battery with my AC charger (sold separately). The unit still didn’t power-up.

   I called Garmin Technical Support. After a 40-minute wait, I finally spoke with a technician. He attempted to walk me through a reset, but the unit wouldn’t allow me to do that. The technician advised that I had two problems: A bad battery and some kind of program problem with which he was unfamiliar. I asked for his advice. He advised I exchange the unit for a new one since it was still under warranty.

   I would like to add that I own a Garmin Nuvi 650 and it has performed beautifully for the past two years. That is one of the reasons I stuck with Garmin. I would also like to add that Amazon.com immediately replaced both defective units within two days (both times) and it didn’t cost me a dime to return the defective units. Garmin advised they could do the exchange, but it would take a minimum of 15 days.

   I would have to say that after spending all this money – I’m VERY disappointed with Garmin’s products AND customer service. Five stars to Amazon.com for THEIR customer service. I haven’t tried-out the THIRD unit, yet. Stand-by for another scathing rating on this product that promises a lot of features but delivers little.

4. Does it all for me!

   by kznny

   I cannot speak to the shortcomings in other units, because I just bought mine last month. I purchased a 99 Kawasaki Concours in Indiana (I live in New York) and wanted the GPS so that I could have it on the drive back. I purchased the Zumo so I could wander off the beaten path and still make it home while playing my favorite tunes and allowing my wife to call me and check up on my progress. I paired it with the BlueAnt Interphone F4 installed in my helmet. I am not in the mood for a long review, so I will just say that the setup worked almost flawlessly. Twelve hours of straight steady rain had no effect. I have not been able to pair it with my Nokia phone, but other than that I have been satisfied. I use it for routing for work, and combined with the Mapsource software it has greatly increased my efficiency. I like the different modes (motorcycle and automobile) as well. This is my fourth Garmin, I have two Nuvis – an 850 something for my wife, 760 for my car, and older Streetpilot 550 for the old pickup, and this is the best yet. Using the Mapsource DVD makes complex custom routing very easy – as well as synchronizing favorites and routes between units. I saw some negative reviews, but I am happy I did not let them deter me – although the fact that I have more recent version/ firmware than early adopters could explain some of the performance differences. Highly recommended.

5. Great motorcycle GPS

   by MattyJ

   Most of my opinions have been posted as a reply to another review ([...]) but I wanted to actually give this GPS a star rating so I’ll summarize some thoughts here.

   First, this GPS was not replacing another GPS. I’ve never owned another motorcycle GPS and the only other device I can compare it to is what’s built in to my Civic. But this won’t be a comparison review, this will be a straight review of the Zumo 660. This also won’t be a review about how it performs in a car, because this is a motorcycle GPS and that’s what I use it for.

   Overall I love this GPS. The first thing I notice about it is the wide screen. I have looked at other GPS’s in the store and a lot of them have nearly square screens with not a lot of information on them. I’m an HDTV kind of guy and I appreciate the wide aspect ratio and larger view of the map when driving. I have a modestly sized bike (BMW F800ST) and it fits nicely on the left part of the handlebars without hitting the windscreen or otherwise getting in the way. In my case, though, I had to face the main clamp of the mount straight forward so the cradle didn’t sit to high. Still, there is plenty of space for it.

   Outside my house the unit syncs up to satellites pretty quickly, usually in less than a minute. It actually can sync inside my garage with the overhead door open so it’s always ready to go before I am.

   The buttons on the main screen are minimal in number but large in size so it’s easy to hit them with gloves on. Navigating to a location starts with an easy press of the ‘Where to?’ icon. Once there you have the standard ways to find a location: address, pre-programmed ‘home’, points of interest, recent destinations, favorites, intersection, cities, custom routes or longitute/lattitude coordinates.

   One big thing I like about the GPS is that when you ride it poops out a virtual popcorn track which you can then use to re-trace your route later. Like finding your way home when you’re last in a forest. Ha ha. You can also ‘record’ trips/routes and compare them later for distance and time. Say, for instance, you want to find the fastest way to get to and from work. You can basically turn the GPS on when you drive to work for a week or two, load the routes into some software on your computer, and compare them to find the best way to get to that destination. You can also save the popcorn track for use as a custom route later.

   The map display has a few modes, the best of which is the 3-D mode. The wide screen gives you a good perspective of the roads ahead which my brain has an easier time wrapping its head around. You can also turn on 3-D buildings that show more of your physical environment when you’re in certain areas. This is more convenient that you might think until you experience it. You can also manually zoom the view in and out.

   You can do many things from the main screen, too. You can hit the top bar and get a listing of the turns you have ahead. Tap one (not while you are driving) and you will see a smaller overhead view of the turn, so you can get a feel of how the route looks prior to driving it.

   The lower left and right corners have programmable information areas where you can choose to display any number of things, such as the time to the next waypoint, the distance to the next waypoint, the estimated time of arrival at your destination, elevation, etc. You can also hit the menu button and cancel the route, request a detour or otherwise monkey with the settings.

   One great feature is that the display has an icon that indicates the current speed limit. I paid attention to it one time and it seems to update that display within about 30 feet of a posted speed limit sign. This is hella convenient when you are driving an unfamiliar highway. It’s one of my favorite features that I never knew I wanted until I had it.

   The menu has a ‘Where am I’ button that will tell you where you are, including the city, street, address and nearest intersection. There are also buttons to find the nearest police stations, hospitals and gas stations. That last one saved my butt at least two times on a long trip I recently took. You can also hit ‘Save Location’ on this screen, which was convenient one time when I was in a big city I was unfamiliar with and had to park the bike and walk several blocks to another location. It was cake navigating back to the bike on foot!

   The unit has many built-in languages, and you can download more. I currently have it set to the Australian English female voice. Very classy, and I feel like Naomi Watts is giving me directions. Awesome. I don’t have a headset and I can’t really hear it on the freeway but it’s plenty loud when you’re driving on city streets. Although I haven’t tried it yet, you can download an application and record your own voice and use it for navigation. It kind of sounds creepy but it might be fun.

   This unit comes with some Garmin software to make custom routes, but frankly, I don’t use it much. It’s okay, but I’m a nerd and use a different method (mentioned below.) The software, as mentioned in other reviews, is kind of weird. You basically make a series of waypoints and the software will map out the shortest distance between each pair of them. Although on the PC this doesn’t always happen correctly and the unit might make slight adjustments to your route. Even weirder, there is a ‘recalculate route’ button on the PC software that will do this re-routing for you, then it will match what the GPS thinks the route should be when you load it. Why it can’t just do it right in the first place is beyond me. So it takes a little while to get used to the software but it works good enough for simple routes.

   I think I’ve figured out why it re-routes, in general. Basically, as I mentioned, the routing tries to guide you to the next waypoint using the shortest route. I planned out and rode a long trip (San Francisco to San Diego and back) and decided to take a couple detours. The GPS re-routed my course when I originally turned off of it, but it continued to try to get me to the waypoint, not on my original path. This turned out to be very convenient and in one instance allowed me to easily take a short cut. It continually routed me forward instead of trying to make me turn back and get to the original route. In one instance I decided to skip one waypoint altogether. If you do this, it will pick up your original route once you pass through any of the other following waypoints. This was pretty convenient and really lent itself well to someone like me who plans a route and changes it on-the-fly as I travel.

   I’m a Linux nerd so the Windows software is not entirely easy to run in my environment (using wine.) Plus, something feels dirty about running Windows software on a Linux laptop anyway. So I poked around the Internet and found an alternative way to build routes to load into this device. Here’s a quick primer since I want to get this information out but have nowhere else to put it:

   1. Use Google Maps to map out a route. Google Maps is awesome and I love the way you can just drag a route around and it will snap into the nearest road(s).

   2. Download the route by going to the ‘link’ link in the upper right, copy and paste the URL into a new Web browser window then append “&output=kml” to the end.

   3. Use GPS-Babel to convert it to a GPX file.

   4. OPTIONAL: Load route in Viking (or other Linux-based GPS mapping software) to verify the route.

   5. Load the GPS to the unit and let it do the import.

   Using this method it actually loads a ‘track’ rather than a ‘route’, so it traces the route you planned out exactly, no re-combobulating of the path.

   Lastly, I didn’t get to monkey with the bluetooth very much. I don’t have a headset but a buddy of mine does have an iPhone it it hooked up to this thing the first time we tried. I then called him from the back seat of his car (he was in the front) and it worked flawlessly. Ha ha.

   So, enough shenanigans. This is a solidly built, quality, eternally useful GPS unit for the Motorcycle. As noted in other reviews, it has no XM, but the new 665 does if that’s important to you.

   Most of the negative reviews of this unit compare it to the more expensive 550, which I kind of think is kind of a cheap shot. Of course the units are going to be different, but different does not necessarily mean better. Both units have their merits but being a new motorcycle GPS owner with nothing to compare to, I fell in love with the Garmin Zumo 660. And after reading the actual 550 reviews, I still concluded that the 660 is better and I have not regretted this purchase for one second.

6. Super Motorcycle GPS

   by Gene

   This is my 2nd GPS I have purchased for use on my motorcycle and there is no comparison between this one and my first. The first was a Lowrance… too small, no features, no computer interface… mistake. But this one is great. Easy computer access and route / trip planning. Mounts nicely on the bike. Like others have said, I wish there were some alternatives to the lengthy wire harness, but a few tiewraps later and it is hidden well out of sight under the handlebars. I synced a bluetooth headset to it and it took with no problems. So now I can listen to some tunes and directions at the same time. Screen is a nice size and easy to see even in sunlight. I do wish they would have given you access to the USB port without having to remove the battery door. It is a bit of a pain and I can see me breaking this sooner or later. Or loosing the door, dog might eat it. Very nice unit.

7. A heck of a step up

   by Patrick St Jean

   I moved up from a GPSMap 60C to this and am extremely satisfied with it. The bluetooth integration with my phones worked flawlessly, if a little slowly for the initial pairing. I’m able to receive calls while riding, which is important for me due to the type of work I do. I simply cannot miss calls while I’m carrying the on-call phone, and short of driving during my rotation, this is the best solution.

   Mounting the GPS was easy, though they could have included a U-bolt instead of just the brake/clutch mount because my bike, a BMW, does not have screws in the right places to use it. I re-used the old GPS’s mount so it wasn’t a big deal, but including that would have been nice…

   The maps are great, and being able to update them regularly is a nice thing. They’re much more accurate and up-to-date than the previous unit’s maps, though considering the age and storage size differences, that’s not surprising.

   The Zumo also works well with my Mac. I’ve been able to do everything, including map updates, using the Mac software Garmin provides, so no worries there. The only caveat is that you really should use Garmin’s Web Updater app instead of trying to update via the website. I couldn’t get it to work period, while the update done via the Web Updater worked perfectly the first time.

   I just finished my first long-ish one day ride, using a custom route that I designed and transferred and had no problems. The voice nav prompts were extremely helpful because of all of the back roads I chose to ride over.

8. Garmin zumo 660

   by T. Starry

   First GPS navigator I have owned. Pretty simple to use. Added a memory card and loaded with music. Don’t understand why they don’t have an audio out on the vehicle mounting plate. You have to use jack on the side of the unit. Eventually, the little rubber cover for the jack will probably tear off.

9. SOOOOO much better than my Tom Tom 720

   by Jason Shapiro

   I spent the past 6 months with a Tom Tom 720. I tried to like it, I really did. The celebrity voices were cute, and the bluetooth was a nice idea, but I just got way to frustrated with the wrong directions, and huge multi-block detours instead of just making a perfectly legal U-turn in places…

   So I decided to try the Garmin. I read a review of the Zumo 660 in the Overland Journal, and was impressed. Then I read some of the reviews here and got a little worried.

   However, I can now say I LOVE IT.

   It is SO much better than the Tom Tom.

   – Fast satellite acquisition

   – If you don’t program in a destination, it automatically goes into tracking map mode silently, instead of constantly telling you to U-turn because it still thinks you want to go back to the last destination.

   – You can EASILY adjust which metrics you want displayed on the main screen (ie: distance to next turn, total time, speed, etc)

   – So far the directions have been pretty accurate, with only one impossible left-turn recommended.

   I’m not sure what version one of the other reviewers was using, but on mine, you can connect the 12v adaptor with the windshield mount, so it DOES NOT have to only run on batteries as stated in another review. (a big concern of mine upon reading that)

   It’s also pretty rugged, as proven by my accidentally dropping it across my driveway the first night I had it. oops…

   What would I change?

   – Some voice options would be nice.

   – The ability to change the order of the metrics on the compass screen would be great, so that I can customize which 4 things I want to look at, when not viewing a map.

   – Tom Tom’s ability to load sets of additional POI’s is great. Garmin probably has that too, but I haven’t found it.

   Lastly, the package includes the motorcycle mount, and the windshield mount and several different cable configurations. You choose what you want/need to use, and you don’t have to worry about ordering separate accessory kits. Nice…

   I’d buy it again, and I’d recommend it to anyone over the Tom Tom.
   
   Jay.

10. get less pay more

    by JAMES BENEDICT

    keep your old 2600 series till they die youll never get features like that again

11. Zumo 660

    by Paul

    This device is easy to use and fairly intuitive. On a couple of occasion, it appeared to have become confused and was going the wrong way. I re-entered the destination and everything straightened out. Haven’t had the opportunity to use it on a motorcycle yet. The brightness and volume resolutions are too coarse. Overall I like it.

12. Great GPS for the bike.

    by Kinabalu

    Just received a nice shiny new 660 to replace my old 550. I like the new wide screen, the lane change feature seems to work pretty good. I live in Atlanta, GA and it has kicked in several times. Most times are very appropriate although once or twice I had already made the lane change and passed the signs when it came up. Also really handy on the 6 and 8 lane interstates as it shows which lanes you should be traveling in which is a great heads up. I like the posted speed limit sign on the screen. Very handy reminder to avoid those costly speeding tickets. I like the configurable left and right positions and it is also handy to have the time on the main screen when on the bike. Not really useful in the car so it would be nice to configure it just for use with the bike and disable when in the car. I usually use my Zumo 90% in the car and 10% on the bike. I agree that the speaker is a bit soft and a little too much bass for some reason making it hard to hear in the car. This is more noticeable with the Bluetooth feature for my cell phone. On the 550 people complained that there was a lot of echo and they seem to not notice it as much with the 660. Like some other reviewers I also am not thrilled with the little door on the back to access the USB connector and the miniSD card. Although I found on the 550 that once I had things going I really did not plug it into the Mac at home very much if at all. Also I had a 2GB card in the 550 and don’t think I really ever used it. The door could use a redesign in my opinion, this is where the 550 was definitely better. I really don’t like the cheesy plastic cover for the bike mount when the Zumo is not in place. Not being tethered like the one on the 550 I can see it getting lost. Not that it will be on the bike as whenever I am driving I have the Zumo and the rest of the time it is in the garage. But those times when I am on a walkabout it would be nice to have the cover on to protect the mount. I had a hard time getting my favorites over from the 550 as I use a Mac but once I got Roadtrip loaded everything came over fine. I really like the thinner design and I like the fact that the speaker is built in and not in the mount like the 550. I also like the “Where am I?” feature as I travel all over the US and this is super handy. The maps seem a heck of a lot clearer than the 550 and I like the way it kind of zooms in and pans around on its own. I got to see the 3D building view when I was downtown the other day. Also a cool thing when I am traveling in unknown cities (pretty much every week). Overall I think this was a good upgrade from the 550.

13. Terrible, absolutely terrible software and support: DO NOT BUY

    by Joost A. De Jong

    Although a reasonably well performing GPS with decent telephony features, I strongly, stronly recommend AGAINST buying this product.

    The key reasons are:

    1) The management software / Mapsource is totally unintelligble, and is impossible to load.
    
    2) USB drivers simply do not work, and there is no way to connect the gps to a computer. (Yes, I am running an up to date computer, with Visa, release 2, etc. etc.)
    
    3) Map updates crash the computer. (Three different ones so far, so I am inclined to blame their software)
    
    4) Endless requests for codes that they supposedly e-mailed (never arrived)
    
    5) Endless requests for new payments, that don’t achieve anything
    
    6) Support which never answers
    
    7) Lifetime map downloads ($139.95) which do not download, try to download, just crash the system.
    
    No guidance at all on the Garmin webpage which explains how their software is supposed to function. (You know, map management tool, purchases, or anything like that. The only thing that works is the payment page)

    So far I have spend close to $900 on this gps. I am still riding with the original map that it came it came with, as none of the software it came with, or the first “free” update, nor the downloads, nor the “paid” updates ever did anything but cost me five days of computer frustrations. (As well as several hours being lost in the Spanish countryside as the system did not know roads opened three years previously – although the unit dates back to June 2009)

    And yes, I do know how to work a computer. 25 years in high tech, and currently manage a corporate network.

    Hence, I am resorting to this comment page to finally get some help, as Garmin has so far completely ignored all requests for support, just taking the money and providing a useless product.

    AGAIN: DO NOT BUY THIS GPS. The physical unit is decent, but the software and support is a total RIP-OFF. I can not believe that these people are actually a main line supplier.

    I invite GARMIN to contact me at [...] to make me change my mind about them, as their own avenues of communications do not provide any response.

14. Good GPS But Not Perfect

    by Book Reviewer

    I just got back from a 7 day motorcycle trip, so I have enough useage of the Zumo 660 to give a fair review.
    
    -The screen is bright enough to be read under almost all conditions, even when wearing sunglasses on a sunny day. The only time I could not see the screen properly was in direct sunlight with the sun shining straight onto the unit from over my shoulder. This was seldon an issuee. Screen=5 stars.
    
    -The MP3 player was generally good, but lacked an equalizer. This is especially an issue on a motorcycle where wind noise drowns out bass. An equalizer is surely just a software issue, so there is no excuse for it not being on an $800 unit. MP3 player=3 stars
    
    -The mapping software that comes with the unit is generally easy to use, and routes are easily loaded into the Zumo. Mapping software=4 stars
    
    -The automotive mount that comes with it works well. I have used the unit in cars almost as much as on my motorcycle. Automotive mount=5 stars
    
    -Routing, directions, etc. are good. It will occasionally direct you down a goat path, or tell you to go right, then make a u-turn a half mile later. I can only imagine the complexity of writing this software, so I won’t ding the score too hard. It is as good as any unit I have used (which isn’t that many), but not perfect when the roads are a bit tricky. Routing=4 stars
    
    -Lane assist doesn’t seem to do anything. In all the miles I have covered with this unit, it never once told me which lane to be in, and I could have used assistance on more than one occasion. Maybe it only works in certain large cities. As far as I can tell, it is a totally useless feature, if you can even call something that doesn’t exist a feature. Lane assist=1 star, zero stars if zero is a legal rating.
    
    -I really like the fact that there are two user-selectable fields that show up on the main map screen. This is one of the features that prompted me to buy this GPS. For example, when I am driving in the mountains, I like to know the elevation, so I can set one to continuously show elevation. All told, there are perhaps 20 different items to choose from, such as speed, time to next turn, arrival time, etc. User-selectable fields=5 stars
    
    -One thing that REALLY annoys me is the fact that cities do not show up on the GPS. You can be rolling down the road, and all of a sudden you are in a town, without even knowing you were approaching one. A GPS is a moving map, and when people look at maps they look for basically two things: roads and cities. How can you not have cities show up? This is truly amazing how Garmin could have made such a basic blunder. Didn’t any of the software engineers, technicians, marketing people, etc ever just get in car and try it? Heads need to roll over this. There is no excuse for this kind of defect on an $800 GPS. I have used a $100 el cheapo GPS from Nexstar that shows towns. If you touch the screen, then zoom in or out to just the right zoom level, towns will show up, so with some effort you can find the information, but you should not have to do this. Hopefully this will be corrected with a future firmware upgrade. Lack of Cities=0 stars, even if 0 stars is not allowed.
    
    -I did not use the bluetooth feature, so I cannot comment on any of those features.
    
    -I purchased this through Amazon and, as usual, they did an excellent job.

    Overall, I am quite happy with this unit, but Garmin really needs to fix that city problem.

15. AWESOME product!

    by Kim Wescott

    I LOVE this GPS! Have had a number of Garmin’s over the years, and am very happy with this one.

16. I expected not to like this. I was wrong. I love it.

    by Mister Black

    Just tested the new 660 on a 250 ride. In some ways it’s unchanged but in others it adds some really cool features. Just a few are: display of the speed limit next to the speed display. I love this. Others are a display of the driving distance remaining to your actual destination, much easier entry of information, the shape of the unit is now much improved. It looks very cool now. I also like that the main map display can be customized not only in direction, 3d 2d etc. but with the other data that displays on it (ie speed, distance remaining, arrival time, etc.). I have a hard time understanding the negative reviews. I believe if you give this unit a chance you’ll love it.

17. 10 Reasons the 660 doesn’t compare favorably to the Zumo 550

    by Daveomatic

    I have a Zumo 550 and it was with interest that I helped a friend install his Zumo 660. After taking two road trips in the car and working with the 660 I have some comparisons to make to my 550.

    Let me predicate my review as it is based on the 660 Firmware update 3.20 that came out towards the end of July of 2009.

    1. The 660 doesn’t display all street names when browsing the map. I found my friends house using where to? button and it showed the house but none of the street names (including his street name) surrounding his house. The zoom level didn’t matter.

    2. Won’t follow the route you specify in MapSource custom route download. The 660 will recalculate the route you download so there is no guarantee that the route you enter on your computer will be followed by the 660. You have to really get into the habit of using waypoints.

    3. Construction of the 660 is like a nuvi. In fact, I think it is a modified nuvi. The USB connection on the 660 can only be accessed by removing the battery cover (which then causes an annoying message to appear that the battery cover is off) There is no tether for the cover, so if you loose it, guess what? All GPS functions are disabled! The 660 only works in GPS mode with the battery cover attached. The screen feels like soft plastic when you touch it. In comparison, the USB connection on the 550 is behind a hinged door, and it doesn’t matter if the door is open or closed. So even if you break the door, the 550 still operates as a GPS. The 550’s screen feels more like glass to me. In my opinion – for fit and finish – the 550 is built like a brick house, the 660 – not so much.

    4. The 660 doesn’t come with a 120v charger adapter like the 550 does. Both the 660 and the 550 will recharge with the USB connection but if you are planning a trip with your 660, you have a limited amount of battery power because if you plug in the USB cable to recharge it – it enters the USB Mass Storage Mode. The 550 will operate as a GPS plugged into a 12v source (cradle in car or bike) or the 120v adapter (like at home or your hotel room.)

    5. The 660 utilizes a micro-sd card. Geeze! have you seen how small these are? About the size of your pinky fingernail. The 550 uses a easy-to-handle standard SD card. The SD card in the 550 can be plugged into your pc’s card slot and read like a disk drive. Easy and convenient to do. The micro-sd card is so darn small, and inconvenient to get to, (you have to remove the 660’s battery to get to it) it’s hardly worth the trouble.

    6. Never saw the lane change notice feature. Apparently none of the freeway interchanges we went through were programmed into the 660.

    7. Even at maximum volume in the car, the 660’s internal speaker was barely audible. This is a serious problem. You have to have all other music in the car off in order to hear the 660 through its internal speaker when using the car mounting. The external speaker in the 550’s auto mounting gives you plenty of volume and can be heard over other noises in the car.

    8. 660 doesn’t have the screen change/flip/page button like the 550. You can toggle between screens by hitting the box button on the side of the 550 repeatedly. I find that a very useful way to navigate around the system. I could not find an equivalent key or process on the 660 to do the same thing.

    9. On the 550 – touching the turn in xx miles portion of the nav map screen, the unit repeats the last verbal instructions again. I could not find an equivalent key or process on the 660 do do this simple task.

    10. It may not matter to you, but the 660 is not integrated to work with XM radio and weather. One of the few things it doesnt support. The 550 will support XM and Weather if you get the GPX 30 antenna receiver and pay the subscription service.

    CONCLUSION:
    
    I still feel that after handling both units, the 550 is a true motorcyclists GPS, it does everything I ask of it. The 660 can be, but as stated elsewhere, it got released before all the bugs were worked out of it. It needs work.

    It is interesting to me that Garmin is playing the field with the 660, the 550 is still a cataloged product, and is still for sale at most dealers. I don’t know if they plan to phase out the 550 if and when more 660’s are sold.

    I do know that I’m very happy with my 550 for now and will watch Garmin to see what firmware updates they provide to address the shortcomings for the 660.

    As of 07-15-2009 Amazon does not have this unit listed for sale as new. There is only one seller of this unit and it is listed as refurbished.

    As of 7-31-2009 Amazon has taken this item out of the product catalog. It is not currently available.

18. Zumo 660 (Nice)

    by Richard D. Mayatt

    This was my first GPS. MapSource was very confusing to get up and running. You receive a CD with what I assumed was Mapsource but no where on the CD did it say that. It also said that you have to enter a 6 digit code from the CD sleeve which I never found. After emailing Garmin tech support several times, I figured out you actually download the latest MapSource and map as a one time freebee and the 6 digit code is given to you at download time. It was a large 2 gigabyte file. Once downloaded, the software was very good. It updates the GPS with the latest map also. I was able to start creating routes and waypoints very quickly. I planned my entire Arkansas trip within a few hours. The GPS itself is great. Very user friendly. It installed beautifully on my ElectraGlide.

    Update- I went on my Arkansas trip and Custom Routes did not work at all. I talked with Garmin several times before they admitted there was an issue with Custom Routes. Basically, this feature was useless on my trip. I had to resort to taping direction on my windshield. As far as traveling to a city/state or address/city/state, it worked great. I cannot believe Garmin did not field test this unit before putting it on the market.

    Update 7/14/09 – Garmin released a firmware update (3.10) for the 660. It appears it fixed all the issues with routes. I don’t know of any issues I have left. It is a very good unit. One note, the USB ports on both the auto and cycle cradle is not for downloading to the unit. You can only use the USB port inside the battery compartment for interfacting with a PC and MapSource.

19. Software update makes good

    by jfee

    Garmin has released software version 2.80 for the Zumo 660. The update states the issues brought up in the previous reviews and corrects them. Kudos to Garmin for acknowledging the previous shortfalls, and concerns, then addressing them in a software update. It is always good to point out shortfalls to a company that responds, otherwise they don’t know if there is anything wrong.

    I presently own three Garmin’s, a street pilot purchased 4 years ago, a Nuvi purchased 6 months ago, and now the Zumo 660 for my motorcycle. The Zumo is obviously one of the most expensive GPS units a consumer can buy. It is by far the fastest screen updating and most accurate GPS I own. Beats the 6 month old Nuvi by a long shot. I recently drove (haven’t mounted the 660 to the bike yet, wanted to test drive the unit) from central NJ to Baltimore. If the Garmin display was the windshield, I could have used only that screen, it is that fast and accurate. The lane assist function takes all thought out of figuring which lane one should be in for the interstate lane crossover. It was as if the 660 took a snapshot of the overhead signage in front of me and had it on the screen. In checking the accuracy of the unit, I found that I was looking too much at the Garmin and not the traffic, because I was amazed at the accuracy of the river crossings, the bridge crossings, the parallel service road vs. the interstate, to see if the Garmin picked up the subtle differences, it did 100%.

    I will now use the included software to plan a route with POI and see how well it performs. With the software update, I’ll let Garmin if there is any shortfall because I know they’ll listen.

    So far, I would recommend this unit and am thinking of adding the traffic cable for the next road trip.
    

20. Released before it was 100%

    by L. Scott

    I have had the 660 for a little over a week now and found that setup and hookup of the unit is very easy and straightforward. Making routes on the unit and following them is ok except the pronunciation of some of the street names has a lot to be desired. So far, I have found 2 major (for me) problems… the unit does not label the towns and cities on the unit, and when a route is made in Mapsource and transferred to the unit, it shows as “Off Road” (straight line). You have to go into the menu and switch the route to either “faster time” or “shorter distance” to make it re-calculate. Then when it does the re-calculation it doesn’t always follow the route you had designed in Mapsource. To me, since I design most of my routes on the PC, this is a huge problem. As for the first problem I mentioned (not labeling cities/towns), it’s hard to believe other Garmin units have this capability and the 660 doesn’t. I’ve called Garmin about the routing problem and they didn’t know about it until they checked one of the units while I was on the line. They said they would be working on a fix for it, but it might be 2 or 3 months. As for the labeling problem… they were unconcerned.

    Bottom line = I shouldn’t have given away my old 2610 and waited another year or so. Probably should only get 1 star, but I’m betting on a fix for the problems.