This article reviews the Garmin Zumo 550 which is a sat nav system designed for bikers. It can be used in your car too which is an added bonus
There are 3 systems in the Zumo range, the Zumo 400, 500 and 550. The Zumo 550 is the top range model and is the only one that comes with a free in car kit.
The Zumo 550 boasts an impressive spec, which includes text to speech (in other words speaking street names, for example “Turn left on Main Street in 200 yards”), Bluetooth hands free calling, XM NavTraffic for North American users, and TMC traffic alerts.
Before we delve into the review it may be helpful to cover the differences in the Zumo range to help you decide which one is right for you.
Which Zumo Is Right For Me?
If you want all the gadgets like Bluetooth, text to speech and full European mapping then the Zumo 550 is the one to go for. If you want to use the Zumo in a car as well then that is another reason to choose the Zumo 550.
If you only need UK and Ireland mapping without all the fancy features, and don’t want to use the Zumo in a car, then consider the Zumo 500 or 400.
The main differences between the 500 and 400 is that the Zumo 500 has Bluetooth hands free calling, a carry case and AC charger, whereas the Zumo 400 does not.
The following summarizes what you get in the box for each model.
Zumo 400 Specification
- Zumo 400
- Preloaded City Navigator® NT for one European region
- Motorcycle mount with mounting hardware
- Motorcycle power cable
- USB cable
- Security screwdriver
- Quick reference guide
Zumo 500 Specification
- Zumo 500
- Preloaded City Navigator® NT data for one European region
- MapSource® City Navigator NT DVD (full coverage)
- Motorcycle mount with mounting hardware
- Carry case
- AC charger
- Motorcycle power cable
- USB cable
- Security screwdriver
- Custom caps (silver and black)
- Garmin stickers
- Quick reference guide
Zumo 550 Specification
- Zumo 550
- Preloaded City Navigator® NT for North America or Europe
- MapSource® City Navigator North America NT DVD or City Navigator Europe NT DVD (full unlock)
- Motorcycle mount with mounting hardware
- Vehicle suction cup mount with integrated speaker
- Dashboard disk
- Carry case
- AC charger
- Vehicle power cable
- Motorcycle power cable
- USB cable
- Security screwdriver
- Custom caps (silver and black)
- Garmin stickers
- Quick reference guide
- CD-ROM containing full user manual
For the Zumo 500 and 400 you get one of the following European regions, depending on country of purchase:
- UK and Ireland
- Nordics
- Benelux
- France
- Italy and Greece
- Spain and Portugal
The Zumo 550 covers the whole of Europe. The following map shows the coverage. The countries shaded in dark blue contain full map coverage, the countries in light blue partial coverage and the countries in white no coverage.
Assuming the Zumo 550 is the model for you we’ll now go into more detail.
A summary of the Zumo 550 features are as follows:
- Text to speech
- TMC Traffic Module to help avoid traffic congestion and road blocks
- Bluetooth
- Speed camera warnings out-of-the-box
- European maps
- Route planner
- Trip log which records where you’ve been on the map
- MP3 player
- Vehicle Suction Cup with integrated speaker for car use
- Waterproof
Box Contents
This is what you get in the box.
Technical Specifications
- Unit dimensions: 4.8″W x 3.9″H x 1.6″D (12.2 x 9.9 x 4.1 cm)
- Display size: 2.8″W x 2.1″H (7.2 x 5.4 cm); 3.5 diag (8.9 cm)
- Display resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
- Weight: 10.6 ounces (300.5 g)
- Battery life: up to 4 hours
- USB connector
- SD Card Slot
First Looks
The Zumo 550 looks a rugged unit which is what you need for a biker sat nav, with hardened rubber on the left and right hand side. It is a bit more bulky than some slimline in-car sat nav systems but not unduly so.
On the right is the on/off switch. On the left are plus and minus buttons which will either zoom in and out of the map, increase or decrease brightness, or increase and decrease the volume. Below this is the page button which will scroll through the map, trip information, media player and phone menu pages. Finally there is a speak button which can be used to repeat voice instructions.
On the underneath of the unit is a flap, which when pulled back reveals a USB port and a SD card slot. On the back is a rubber cap which when pulled back reveals a MCX connector. This is used if you want to use an external remote antenna.
Make sure you have your own bluetooth headset since one is not supplied with the Zumo. It was disappointing not to see Garmin include this, at least on the top of the range Zumo 550.
Installation
The Zumo is supplied with all the necessary bolts, screws and mount to attach it to your bike.
Installation involves a U-bolt and handlebar base which are attached to the clutch/brake clamp bracket. The base plate and Zumo mount are then attached to the handlebar base. The bike mount includes standard jacks for a microphone (2.5mm) and audio out (3.5mm) underneath a rubber weather cap.
The Zumo then snaps onto the mount and is held firmly in place. There is an additional security screw which can be used to tighten the Zumo further if you’re worried the Zumo may pop out of the cradle whilst on the road.
The Zumo does not have any speakers built into the unit. This is for obvious reasons, it is waterproof and designed for outdoor use so the last thing you want is water getting in the speakers.
Navigation instructions can either be transmitted via Bluetooth to your motorbike headset, of if using inside a car you can use the supplied suction cup and cradle which includes a built-in speaker. The Zumo must be connected to a power source at all times for navigation instructions to be heard.
The car suction cup and cradle looks as follows.
The suction cup is very similar to those used on the Garmin Nuvi range. The cradle is well built and includes a speaker so navigation instructions can be heard. Attaching the Zumo to the cradle is straightforward once you get the hang of it. The Zumo snaps onto the cradle and then two plastic fasteners are pushed down into the top of the Zumo to hold it in position.
Setup
Within a couple of minutes of switching on the Zumo for the first time a GPS signal was established and tlocked onto our current location.
The user interface on the Zumo is pretty much like the rest of the Garmin Nuvi range. We’ve always found the Garmin user interface easy to use and the Zumo didn’t disappoint in this department.
We experienced no problems with the GPS receiver. As with other sat nav systems in the Garmin range, there is an option to switch off the GPS receiver when indoors to conserve battery power.
Navigation
All the normal features for finding a destination are supported, whether you want to enter an address or postcode, search for nearby Points of Interest (POI), browse the map or enter a set of map co-ordinates.
If you just want to navigate to a town or city without entering a specific address you can do that too. This provides a quick way to navigate to a general area, such as the outskirts of a city, without having to mess around entering a full address.
An address is entered using the on screen keyboard. There is an option in the settings screen to use large keys which makes it easier to input an address when wearing gloves. It’s good to see Garmin have thought through the user interface with bikers in mind.
There are the usual features for storing favourite destinations you travel to frequently, plus the Zumo will store a list of recently used destinations for easy access later. In addition you can save your current location as a favourite by touching the vehicle icon on the screen.
Another useful feature is the Routes option which can be used to store up to 50 routes. This enables you to store multiple routes. You can add stop (via) points to these routes and the Zumo will automatically reorder the route, based on straight line distance, to ensure you get to each point in the most optimum way.
Here is an example route consisting of two legs, from the West country down to East Sussex and then a second leg across the South coast and up to Salisbury.
The Zumo has a proper route planner so you easily edit routes or re-order different segments of each route.
Whilst following your route the Zumo will display the main map screen. At the bottom left it displays your current speed, pressing this button will show the trip information screen.
The bottom right of the screen shows the turn button which displays how far you need to travel before the next turn. Pressing this button will display the turn page which shows a split screen, on the left is a view of the map and on the right is instructions on the next turn.
The turn page looks as follows.
At the top of the map is a green text bar which provides information on the next part of your journey, pressing this bar will show the route in text only mode. This screen can be useful as it displays not only the next turn you need to make but the next two after that. You can also use the up and down arrows on this screen to scroll through to later turns in your journey.
The Zumo includes text to speech (TTS) which means it will read out the road names, such as “Turn left in 100 yards onto West Street”. Many sat nat systems will just say “Turn left in 100 yards”.
We’ve always liked TTS. It can help when you reach a complicated road junction. Sometimes “Turn left in 100 yards” is not enough, especially in an urban area with lots of junctions. That’s where TTS can come in useful. You can look out for the street names at the side of the road to figure out where to turn next.
We tested the Zumo both in rural areas in West England and urban areas along the M4, M25 and into London. It had no problem navigating us to our destination and did a good job picking the most appropriate route. If you do take a wrong turn then the Zumo will recalculate the route for you.
One of the features we liked is that the Zumo will zoom out to show more of the map whilst riding along, and then when you approach a turn it zooms in to show more detail.
The trip information screen provides a wealth of statistics for people who like to analyze their journey. It displays current speed, current direction and total miles. Pressing the More button will show average and maximum speed, total time, moving time and amount of time stopped.
WAAS/EGNOS
The Zumo supports WAAS/EGNOS which means it can pin-point your current location with greater accuracy. Typically it is accurate within 10 metres of your location, compared to 100 metres with traditional GPS systems.
In our tests we’ve normally found it doesn’t make much difference having this feature switched on, although it does tend to result in better satellite reception in areas where a view of the sky is restricted such as in a building.
Trip Log
The Zumo 550 can keep a track log which is a breadcrumb trail of where you have travelled. This can be useful for keeping track of where you’ve used the Zumo. You can use the track log to create routes.
We like this feature a lot. You could for example travel between two points and then access the trip log and save it as a route for access later, or to share with a friend via a SD card. Let’s say you find a good biking route, well now you can retrace your trip and share it with a friend, so they can transfer the route to their Zumo and try it themselves.
Safety Cameras
The Zumo includes safety camera warnings out of the box.
In our tests the Zumo did an excellent job of detecting fixed, mobile and average speed cameras. It also warns of variable speed cameras like those found on the M25.
Our only gripe was when testing on the M4. It warned us of 50mph average speed cameras on a section of motorway where there were no longer any roadworks. If you drive over the speed camera limit then the Zumo will continue to sound a warning boing about every 2 seconds. It did this for about 1 minute which became irritating after a while.
This isn’t a big issue though, a safety camera update would fix this, but we’d like to see an option whereby you only get a single warning when travelling over a speed limit.
Bluetooth
The Zumo has built-in bluetooth which is used to send navigation instructions to your headset. You can also use it to make hands free calling by pairing the Zumo with your mobile phone.
We had no problems pairing the Zumo with our Sony Ericsson phone. You just need to make sure your phone has Bluetooth enabled and is visible to other Bluetooth devices. Once paired the Zumo will automatically copy all your mobile phone contacts to the Zumo.
The Bluetooth worked well and we experienced no problems making phone calls via the Zumo. Some people have reported problems with Bluetooth freezing on the Garmin Nuvi range of sat nav systems. We haven’t run into that problem so far using the Zumo, and we hope this won’t be an issue either since it is a more expensive piece of kit, but we will report back if we run into any issues.
TMC (Traffic Management Channel)
The Zumo supports traffic alerts which means it can detect traffic problems on the route ahead, such as a blocked road, and re-route you around the problem. For North American customers it supports XM traffic.
Since TMC requires the purchase of an external antenna it is not covered in this review. We’ve found TMC to be excellent on the Garmin Nuvi range so would expect the Zumo to perform well in this department, although without testing this area we can’t be sure for certain.
MP3 Player
The Zumo includes an MP3 player so you can transfer songs from your computer to the Zumo. Using the bluetooth feature you can listen to songs through your headset.
MapSource
The Zumo 550 supports MapSource which means you can transfer maps, routes, waypoints and trip logs between the Zumo and your computer. MapSource is a free utility available from Garmin. Sometimes it can be easier to plan a route on a larger screen using a computer and then transfer the route to your Zumo later.
We found this excellent MapSource tutorial which you may find useful.
Points of Interest (POI)
The Zumo has an extensive POI database covering over 6 million places. The following POI categories are supported: food, fuel, bank/atm, lodging, shopping, parking, entertainment, recreation, attractions, community, hospitals, transit, auto services.
Many of the categories then have sub-categories to help you refine your search further. For example recreation has the following sub-categories: amusement/theme park, arena/track, bowling center, golf course, ice skating, park/garden, public sport airport, skiing centre/resort, sports/fitness center.
If the POI you need doesn’t fit any category then you can spell the name. By default the Zumo will search for POI near your current location, but you also search for POI in a different city, along your current route or near your destination.
Settings
The settings screen is accessed by pressing the spanner (wrench) on the main screen. The following options can be customised:
Map
Change the level of map detail, map view (Track Up, North Up, 3D), vehicle icon displayed on map and trip log (visible or hidden).
System
Set the GPS mode (Normal, GPS Off, WAAS/EGNOS) and Garmin Lock (on or off).
Locale
Set the language, voice (only British English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish have text to speech), time format (12hr, 24hr or UTC), and unit measurement (miles or km).
User Data
Set home location, import data (favourites, routes, trip logs), manage trip log (clear trip log, save as route), and view pictures.
Volume
Set the navigation volume and MP3/audible volume.
Bluetooth
This screen allows you to connect your phone and/or headset and enable or disable bluetooth.
Navigation
Set the route preference (faster time, shorter distance, off road), vehicle type (car/motorcycle, truck, bus, emergency, taxi), avoidances (u-turns, highways, autobahns, toll roads, traffic, ferries, carpool lanes, unpaved roads, attention tone (on/off). The attention tone sounds a short boing before each voice instruction. Recalculation mode when you take a wrong turn (auto, off, prompted).
Display
Set the colour mode (daytime, nighttime, auto), change splash screen, brightness, screen shot (enable or disable).
Keyboard
Set the keyboard layout to standard, large buttons or automatic.
Traffic
Accessible only when external receiver fitted.
Proximity Alerts
Enable or disable safety cameras.
Summary
We really like the Zumo 550. We’re struggling to find anything negative to say about it. It is easy to use, contains plenty of features and is a competent navigator.
Garmin seem to have done a good job of designing it with bikers in mind, and we like the added bonus of a suction cup and mount for use in a car. The other feature we like is how the Zumo zooms out the map view when riding along, and then zooms in for more detail when approaching a turn.
Comparing it with other sat nav systems we’ve reviewed it is certainly up there competing for top spot.
The only negative points we could find was the lack of a bluetooth headset included in the box. Also there is no way to customise the safety camera alerts. If you exceed the safety camera speed limit then it will repeatedly emit a warning sound until your speed drops back below the limit. We’d like an option whereby you get a single warning. The high price tag may put off some people too.
Overall a great system which is well worth a place on your sat nav shortlist.
Where to buy
Buy the Garmin Zumo 550 from Lemon Digital. Quote “Technical Itch” when ordering for a special price promotion discount.
Buy the Garmin Zumo 550 from Amazon.
If you need to buy a bluetooth headset then consider the
CARDO - Scala Rider Motorbike Bluetooth Kit
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1 response so far ↓
1 saher // Jul 31, 2008 at 2:54 am
I personally use a basic Garmin Sat Nav, it’s way cheaper than TomTom and has everything you need
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