jcova58 asked in another thread about Garmin Zumo's. Instead of answering it there, I thought we should have a dedicated thread about the Zumos.

For those of you who use them, which one do you have and what do you like about it?

I have two old Zumo 550's. I like the form factor and how rugged they are, aside from the occasional button falling out and the recurring problems with the mounts shorting out. They've worked pretty well for me.

They're still available used on Ebay.

I have a Zumo 390 & 395. (I bought a backup unit, but never needed it)

I like this series as I do not do music and my bike has it's own Tire Pressure Sensors. It has bluetooth if you want to hear the instructions from the helmet speakers.

You pay up for the Zumo's, but they are waterproof and have taken all the vibration I have thrown at them. The mount for the 390's is durable and never had a problem. They also work with gloves ON.

I use the "MyRouteApp" software to build my routes. I used to use Tyre, but that is no longer supported by Google Maps. I never understood BaseCamp.

With MyRouteApp, the routes are stored in the cloud and are accessible from all my devices. So I can look at them on phone. I travel with a LapTop and can edit, revise and download the routes to my Zumo anytime.

When building Routes, I can place as many WayPoints as I wish, but usually keep it to 25. You can add stops, fuel points, points of interest etc. For my recent 13,000 mile trip, I built a route for everyday of the trip.

Zumo's used to have trouble with "Straight-Lining," that is, suggesting you travel as the crow flies. The Zumo 395 has a procedure for making the unit re-calculate (faster or curvy routes) which takes care of the problem.

I know a lot of people want to use their phones for motorcycle GPS, but for me a dedicated unit designed for what we do is the best bet. 

As with any GPS, there will be times where it wants to take you the fastest way, which can result it suggesting you take shortcuts onto undesirable roads. You can add more WayPoints to help eliminate this problem, but it will still occur. I just use common sense and have some familiarity with my route.

Hope this helps!  

I definitely agree on the dedicated devise opinion. I also ride bicycles and use a Garmin devise dedicated to bicycling. I will eventually purchase a Zumo, just got to put away a few more pennies. 

When I first started using my Zumo some years ago, it changed how I ride especially once I started uploading all my tracks here. 

It's been on my TODO list for ages but I finally got around to replacing the buttons on my aging Zumo 550 using a kit developed by a guy in the Netherlands that I came across on ADVRider. 

I wrote up the process I followed here: