A true GPS for Motorcycle
the Zumo 550 will
get your attention

As a GPS for motorcycle, the Zumo 550 was built exclusively as a Garmin motorcycle GPS.

Special features for bikers along with motorcycle navigation and trip logs make this a great system.

Although designed for the motorcycle enthusiast, the Zumo 550 will work just as well in your car. Some of the outstanding features include:

• Glove-friendly touchscreen with left handed controls
• Sunlight viewable, UV resistant display
• Universal motorcycle mounting hardware
• Vibration-tested, waterproof and fuel-resistant plastic

The 550 has a glove friendly, bright 3.5" color screen and is pre-reloaded with maps of North America or Europe. The Zumo 550 comes with text to speech and this GPS for motorcycle and car will get you where you want to go. The pre-loaded maps can be viewed in 2D or 3D. The unit is equipped with a removable Lithium Ion battery providing up to 4 hours of battery life between charges. Creating a route is as easy as entering the address of your desired destination or just select one of the thousands of Points of Interest that come pre-loaded with the unit. You can even create multiple destination routes that will be sorted for the most efficient course to take. The 550 will allow you to specify how the route is set up such as, faster time, shortest distance, etc. You may also avoid certain highways, tolls and more. If you make a wrong turn or miss a turn the 550 will recalculate your course and get you back on track.

With the included Bluetooth technology you can make "hands free" phone calls through your compatible cell phone and hear the GPS voice through your bluetooth compatible helmet head set. To check if your cell phone is compatible with the Garmin system click here. The Zumo 550 GPS for motorcycle and car is also compatible with FM Traffic alert and Xm Navtraffic & radio for the United States. For coverage areas for the above traffic alert system, just click on the appropriate coverage map. XM coverage map; FM Clear channel coverage. A subscription to the service and appropriate receiver must be purchased separately as they are not included in the purchase price of the GPS. Another unique feature is the trip monitor which will show your speed, fuel, direction and time in route.

In addition to navigation, the 550 comes with a picture viewer, MP3 player and Audio Book player. A SD card slot is built into the unit, however the SD card is not included. Also included is Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature and Garmin Garage which allows you to choose the type of vehicle displayed on the map. For some fun you can download funny and famous voices for your Zumo 550.

Specifications - Garmin Zumo 550 GPS for motorcycle

Introduced: July 2006
Unit dimensions, WxHxD: 4.8"W x 3.9"H x 1.6"D (12.2 x 9.9 x 4.1 cm)
Display size, WxH: 2.8"W x 2.1"H (7.2 x 5.4 cm); 3.5 diag (8.9 cm)
Display resolution, WxH: 320 x 240 pixels
Display type: QVGA color TFT with white backlight
Weight: 10.6 ounces (300.5 g)
Battery: removable, rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life: up to 4 hours
Waterproof: yes (IPX7)
High-sensitivity receiver: yes
RoHS version available: yes

What's in the Box:

Garmin zumo 550 GPS for motorcycle
Preloaded City Navigator® NT for North America or Europe (full coverage)
MapSource® City Navigator North America NT DVD or City Navigator Europe NT DVD (full unlock)*
Motorcycle mount with mounting hardware
Automotive suction cup mount with integrated speaker
Dashboard disk
Carrying case
AC charger
Automotive power cable
Motorcycle power cable
USB cable
Security screwdriver
Custom caps (silver and black)
Garmin stickers
Owner's manual on disk
Quick reference guide

*City Navigator North America NT DVD included in North American Version; City Navigator Europe NT DVD included in European version.

Owner Reviews Zumo 550 GPS for motorcycle

Amazon

By BikerDude "BikerPilgrim", May 22, 2009
GPS for motorcycle

Picked this puppy up on anticipation of a bike ride from Washington State to New Mexico, into California and back. Features I like include: Inputting miles/tankful - about 20 miles before this "endpoint", warning comes up, also a gas pump icon. Hit this icon and you can find the closest gas station(s) with turn by turn directions, odometer reading (though I still use my bike reading), portablility (program rides or desinations in my motel room, rehook up the Zumo to my bike in the morning and I'm ready for a new day) and ease of use and viewing while riding. Can remove your digital camera memory and insert into the Garmin to look at or share photos.

Disappointments: The Garmin cradle attached to my bike looks inviting to someone who might want to rip it off. Why not have an easy electical disconnect from the bike to take the cradle and unit off when not in use? Also, the security screw driver doesn't work on your key chain. The screw driver should be unscrewed from the piece attached to the key ring (I've seen this complaint before).

Don't haves: I don't have BlueTooth or speakers in my helmet so not sure how this feature worked.
GPS for motorcycle

All in all, as my 1st GPS, I am pleasantly surprised how easy it was to travel into my brother's house near downtown LA, directions given when visiting someone else in Santa Monica, and the directions getting back to my bro. Very easy to see.

By Earl D. West "V11 fanatic", April 23, 2009

The 550 is a marked improvement over the other Garmin GPS's I have owned.I have found only one glitch in the program; it doesn't know where home is. The only other complaint I will make is on the Motorcycle Mount. There is no way to disconnect the power supply from the mount so as to take both the unit and mount off for safekeeping at night or while in suspect areas. Garmin wants to sell you a 30.00 dollar lock to secure the mount onto the motorcycle but is not aware that a few minutes work with a wrench will remove the mount and RAM Ball. Way to go Garmin. As for the rest. I will say, so far so good.

GPS City
GPS for motorcycle

By roadking, May 23, 2009

Pros: ease of use, long battery life (off charger)
Cons: doesn't always find the shortest route.

Bought this to replace a Garmin Quest. I've had this for three months, so far this unit is far better than the Quest. The screen is very clear even in bright sunlight. Easy to use while riding and the touch screen works well while wearing light gloves. Two things that are a draw back: 1. When wearing heavier gloves (colder weather) sometimes the wrong button gets recognized when pushed on the touch screen. 2.This might be related to the software (2009 map), this unit doesn't always find the shortest route. I was riding in Utah, and the 550 had me go 2 miles out of the way. All I needed to do was stay on the road straight and would have reached the hotel in less than a mile, but the 550 had me make a series of turns that added 2 miles to the journey. Over all, I like this GPS and recommend it. It's easy to customize and is the same unit that Harley-Davidson sells, but a lot less $$. I've pre-loaded all US Harley dealers into the custom POIs. Makes it nice when traveling and wanting to check out the local dealers (google: harley dealer POI 550). Another nice thing, this has a long battery life when using off the charger, makes it nice for GEO caching.

GPS for motorcycle
By BMW Rider, April 17, 2009
GPS for motorcycle
Pros: intuitive usage, portability, quality product.
Cons: the non-user friendly mapsource software.

Installed this on my BMW R1150RT with an Autocom Intercom and Bluetooth adapter. The interface went very well and functions great. The Zumo unit itself is very user friendly and intuitive and I would highly recommend the unit. The complete kit has most everything that you need and the flexibility to tranfer it from the motorcycle to a car is very nice. Good quality workmanship on the mounts and all components. The Mapsource software is very non-user friendly and combursome to use. I created routes faster in the unit than with the software. I recommend Mapsource switch over to a Microsoft Streets and Trips format.

By Chuck Pyle, January 2, 2009

Garmin's "biker advisors" failed Garmin miserably. MP3, Satellite Radio, photo features??? What the heck is that all about? I've used the Quest for several years and only considered another unit because I thought a larger screen would be useful when my faithful old Quest began losing satellite coverage for no reason. I thought staying with the Garmin family, as I have since the old GPS 3-Plus, I'd be getting similar GPS logic -- WRONG!! The Quest features much more closely met the needs of real bikers. Why would Garmin include the capability to add photos???!! to the GPS and not have the ability to see "distance to destination"? As Road Captain, I've led countless rides for our HOG chapter. I have yet to have anyone ask, "How many more miles to the next turn?" The question is always (appropriately so), "How many miles to the destination?". The map is difficult to maneuver with its touch screen compared to the Quest's infinately more useful and practical scrolling feature. The 550 has a satellite radio feature (why???) but doesn't give altitude - which besides being interesting to the rider, can actually be helpful to those riding normally aspirated fuel systems. As far as operating the unit even with gloves on, the 550's touch screen is far less "glove friendly" than the older "button technology" of the Quest. I'll be returning the Zumo 550 and wait until Garmin gets some genuine bikers for advisors. Hopefully they'll bring the Quest back with a larger screen.

January 16, 2009 REVISED REVIEW
GPS for motorcycle

I'll have to apologize to Garmin for my earlier negative review. Although I still feel navigating through the various features is a bit cumbersome, most of the complaints I previously addressed have been resolved through continued research and user forums.

Owner Ratings Zumo 550 GPS for motorcycle

Amazon:

163 Reviews
5 star = (105)
4 star = (36)
3 star = (8)
2 star = (8)
1 star = (6)

Test Freaks: 122 reviews: 7.8 out a possible 10

GPS City:

33 Reviews
5 star = (22)
4 star = (10)
3 star = (0)
2 star = (1)
1 star = (0)

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