Customer Reviews

Garmin zumo 665 Widescreen Motorcyle Navigator

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

After riding on a 1000 mile trip this week, here is my review of my first use of the 665 on a road trip. I ride about 20,000 miles per year and have used the Zumo 550 (my previous Garmin) for 45,000 miles the past 3 years, hence my comparison of the 665 to the 550.

Cons:

Major problem with the unit is the XM features shutting down unexpectedly. One of the reviews here experienced similar problems and was told by Garmin that the antennal cable is faulty and a new cable is being designed. I do not think the cable hardware is the issue. I believe it is the software. I experienced the same problem once before I left on the trip and was told by Garmin Tech to perform a hard reset of the unit by holding your index finger on the lower right corner as you turn the unit on until you see the message that "a reset will erase your data". You have to select "yes" or "no". Yes does reset the XM but erased all of my favorites, routes and settings. The unit reverts to the settings as it comes from the factory. Also, sometimes during this trip, I had to turn off the XM and then back on in order to reacquire the XM programming. I have the XM subscriptons for XM radio, NavWeather and NavTraffic. When XM stops, all of those are lost until a hard reset. I had to do hard resets at least 10 times on this trip-very, very inconvenient when riding a motorcycle down the road. I had bought the Zumo 665 to replace my Zumo 550 since the 665 has the Nexrad Radar display...very, very helpful when riding in the elements. The radar works fine when XM is working. When removing the until from the motorcycle mount, be sure it is off. Otherwise, you will have to hard reset to regain the XM features the next time you restart it in the motorcycle mount. Changing stations on the XM radio also stopped the XM features twice. I quit using the XM radio to listen to after the second time this occurred. Garmin has not offered a fix for these problems as of yesterday.

The XM local weather stations are far apart. On the 550, the stations were the closest aviation reporting stations. Example is riding through Louisiana local stations were Shreveport or Baton Rouge. I was closer to both Monroe and Alexandria at different times with no report. The 550 had a weather map so one could look ahead at stations all over the USA, touch one and get the weather and forecast. But, again, the 550 had no weather radar.

The unit shut itself down twice with no input.

Pressing hard on the lower right corner shuts down the unit. This corner needs touching to scroll through points of interest among other pieces of info. A light touch is required to avoid this.

The volume is lower for the XM radio relative to the 550. I can barely hear the radio at 70 mph. The 550 works well at 70 mph. I have the XM and the media player set at 100% along with the master volume set at 100%.

The text and display graphics are smaller than the 550 even though the total screen size is slightly bigger. Some of this is attributed to the amount of info on the screen that I select. I have not tried selecting less screen info yet to see if that helps. I like the info I have displayed now and hate to reduce it.

Pros:

Big pro is the Nexrad Radar when XM is working.

Lots more information such as showing lanes ahead so you can plan sooner where you need to be at intersections, especially on the freeway. Also, shows what the major overhead intersection signs display before you can see them-nice feature.

Lighter than the 550 and the shape makes it less likely to fall from your grasp when transferring it to another vehicle.

Bluetooth for touch free cell phone use. I use in the auto but not the motorcycle.

Conclusion:

Overall this unit, pricy compared to auto-only units, but waterproof and vibration proof will be acceptable once the software fix for XM is ready for upload to make that part of the unit reliable. At that point I will be ready to give the unit a 5.


Follow up on July 27, 2010

Here is a follow up as of July 27, 2010. I sent this 665 back to Garmin, who then returned another to me (different serial number). First problem was the off/on switch sticks, so difficult to shut it down. It would turn on fine, but the switch would stick down in the unit.

As far as the XM goes, it worked fine one day on a 200 mile ride. The next day, it quit again with the same message-check XM antenna.

As of today, I have another RMA to return this unit for another. I am still very frustrated with unit-problems still exist.


As of October 3, 2010

Garmin finally sent me an entire new until including new XM receiver and all accessories. I changed out the XM receiver and either that or the last software update seems to have cured all my previous issues. The XM subscriptions come up very quickly now, with the weather taking the longest, but never more than a couple of minutes. I'd highly recommend this motorcycle unit if you wish to have weather radar as your cruise down the road.

Purchased a 665 a month ago. Third day of use the XM tuner would not connect to the unit. Turns out the cable is faulty and is being redesigned by Garmin. After numerous phone calls and emails with Garmin product support, they can't tell me when the problem will be fixed. Currently, I have over $1000 into the unit, the XM doesn't work, and Garmin can't tell me when it will be fixed. Don't buy unless you can be assured the cabling has been fixed.

The 665 is just about perfect for its intended application, open-air motor navigation w/ XM radio.

Pros:
Fast acquisition
High sensitivity
MP3 playback
XM reception, plus traffic & weather
Bluetooth A2DP support (sort of)
Removable battery
Waterproof
Sunproof
"glove compatible" user interface

Cons:
Bluetooth A2DP support -- Will not pair with the music/audio for a smartphone (I'd like to stream radio)
Short battery life
Expensive

I can only give this 4 stars since it won't support the headphone profile for my smartphone. I like to stream radio while I'm driving long distances but I can't with this GPS. There are also some nits to pick with the user interface (such as not remembering the map zoom after a power off) but it is a superb GPS for motorcycles and open-air autos.

*Also note, until July 4, 2010 there is a mfg rebate of $100 that is *not* valid for (only) Amazon purchases. I went to a New York web supplier and saved $100!

I have been using the Garmin zümo 550 for about 2 1/2 years on my motorcycle, extremely satisfied with its performance and quality. I decided I wanted to "upgrade" to the zümo 665 for a few reasons: first, the slightly larger screen gives more detail and is easier on my eyes. Second, the motorcycle cradle on the 550 was a difficult design, requiring me to add a Touratech bracket to secure it better. And finally, the 665 has a bigger internal memory than the 550, so theoretically I can hold more tracks and waypoints.

Positives:

1. The 665 includes the GXM40 antenna, so you can receive XM Radio, Weather and Traffic (all requiring subscriptions from XM Sirius). I happen to love XM radio, and the weather and traffic reports are incredibly useful. I have XM on my 550, but the GXM30 antenna had to be purchased separately. For those of you looking at a side by side comparison of the 550 and 665, realize that if you buy the 550 and the GXM antenna, the price is not much lower than the 665 itself. If you're on a bike, if you just get the XM Weather (or even the expensive but really powerful XM weather radar reports for the 665), it will save you a lot of trouble.
2. The 665 is motorcycle friendly, apparently designed for a motorcycle first. It is waterproof at the IP7 standard, so I believe you can submerge it for 30 minutes in water. Of course, a huge rainstorm is not going to have an effect. It is rugged, meaning it's not going to breakdown after years of riding on the roads.
3. It is Mac and Windows friendly. This is a serious issue, because Garmin seems to be the ONLY manufacturer of GPS devices who values the Mac market. You can update the firmware, manage maps, create roadtrips, etc. by using Mac applications. However, they are not included with the box, but you need to download them from the Garmin website. Not a big deal, since you usually have to update software anyways.
4. The motorcycle cradle is well designed. It is a huge leap over the 550 design, which had, for me, popped open in a middle of a ride, and I had to grab it with my left hand before it flew down the freeway.
5. The box includes everything you need to get this running on your motorcycle. It has wiring, and if you have a CANBUS enabled BMW, you can order a $10 plug that connects power to the device quickly. It also includes a bunch of RAM hardware so that you can easily mount it anywhere on a bike. And if you can't find the right place, here on Amazon you can find literally dozens of different RAM components, at a low cost, to customize installation.
6. Even though this device, for me, is a motorcycle-only system, the box contains everything for a car. Moreover, it has a pretty nice speaker on it, so you don't have to connect the sound into your cars system. The automotive cradle is really nicely designed too.
7. Bluetooth. Though I'm not a fan of the technology on a motorcycle (recharging batteries, bad sound in the wind, etc.), you can connect your iPhone or other Bluetooth phones to it, and use it to make calls.
8. Got the 2011 map update for free! So, now I've got the most up-to-date maps.

Negatives:

1. This is a major one for me. The wiring, though very capable, is a lot messier than the 550. The 550 just had a power cable that you connected to the cradle. Then your headset and XM antenna just plugged into the cradle. With the 665, the XM antenna, power, audio (in and out), all go through the power cable. So there's a lot of wiring that needs to be tied down and run to the locations you want. Now, this is more of an aesthetic issue than performance, so it just takes some thinking. I'm not sure why Garmin chose to do this, but it is somewhat frustrating.
2. This is a bit of a minor issue, but to connect the 665 to your computer, you need to open the battery compartment to plug in the mini-USB. Again, minor.
3. It seems the 665 is a little less bright in the sun compared to the 550. I've noticed this about Garmin products, that they seem to be not as bright as competitors. Since this device will be in the sun a lot, I wish they had made this better. There are a couple of "shields" that block the sun, so I might acquire one.

In Summary, the 665 is a worthy next generation motorcycle GPS system. The three negatives are mostly being picky (I can see why Garmin did the change in wiring, and it does make sense), but the positives are outstanding. And although this is a motorcycle designed GPS system, it does well in a car too. Of course, if you don't need the motorcycle design, Garmin makes GPS/XM systems that are probably a lot less expensive, just for cars.

I bought my Zumo 665 when Garmin started offering the [...] Rebate. I specifically bought this unit to take advantage of all of the features and mounted it on my Honda Goldwing.

First of all this unit is WAY over priced but I managed to get a pretty good deal after I get the rebate back which will hopefully be soon.

I've been using this every day I ride which is multiple times a week and haven't had a single issue with the connections as someone else mentioned. The GPS is one of the best I've used from Garmin and I've had several of them. The Touch Screen is very responsive even with gloves on, bright and easy to read in all lighting conditions.

Everything you need to mount this one a standard bike is included in the box. I had to add a few things to get it mounted on my Goldwing but that is because of the non-standard handlebars. You can also use this in your car and it automatically detects which mount you have it on and remembers your settings for that vehicle type. I should mention that I've only really used this on my motorcycle but did try it in the car and it is just as responsive.

When you turn the bike on the unit will automatically power on and and acquires the sat signals very quickly and so far I've had very good luck with the routes and the setting (like avoid Highways and Unpaved Roads). I like how it shows a green line on routes / roads that you've taken before when not in directions mode. I also love that you can customize the data fields that are shown on in the bottom corners of the screen just buy touching them and picking the data you want it to show. Another neat future is the fuel tracking this will keep track of how many miles you've driven and lets you know when you are getting low with a warning on the screen and then gives you locations of the nearest gas stations.

What else can you say about the GPS Unit itself, it's a Garmin GPS if you like them you will love this one.

As for the other features... This is why I bought the unit, I've added on the XM Subscription for Music, Traffic and Weather. While this is an additional pay service I find it nice to have the same channels with you no matter where you go. The added bonus of being able to pair my cell phone with the unit and make calls on it is very cool.

The only reason I give these additional features only 4 Stars is due to the cost and the issues I've had dealing with XM to get them activated. Now that they have been they are really helpful like the traffic and weather alerts that tell you when things are approaching.

All all I would certainly purchase this item again but would like to see it selling for about half the price it is selling for now. I know that this is a new unit and it will eventually come down. If you are considering investing in an all weather unit I don't think you can go wrong with this Zumo.

Don't go near this thing if you have any interest in NavTraffic or NavWeather. I have now spent 5-6 hours on the phone in at least 12 different calls with XM. Bottom line is that they have told me that this XM receiver will not support NavTraffic or Navweather. The only thing that they can provide me is with basic XM Weather (3 day forcast, no satellite, no graphics, nada). Now I can't even get my XM account closed so I can return the whole mess back to Amazon. I've been on hold this last time for over an hour.

Run away! Keep your 550. It works fine.

---------------

Okay, over a week later and just a little update. In the end, I was on calls or on hold (mostly the latter) for almost 6 hours (cell phone logs) with XM over the course of those first two days. No solution in sight. I finally called Garmin International from the hotel (motorcycle trip) and they suggested that I should try a new GXM40 XM receiver with a new radio ID. They would exchange it but only if I sent in the old one first. Well, I was on a road trip so the only solution that they gave me was to buy another unit ([...]) and have it shipped to my hotel. I could return the original after the trip for a refund. Result? After many hours on the phone with XM, SAME PROBLEM!! One XM rep (I had now spoken with over a dozen different people) finally said that I must be mistaken and that my unit was an aircraft GPS and that they could sign me up for an aviation package. I was at my wits end, so, "What the heck?" [...] per month and guess what? No NavTraffic and no NavWeather on my GPS.

I got back to Garmin and they suggested to set up a teleconference with XM with both Garmin and myself on the call. That was because "I must be doing something wrong or telling them something incorrect." Result, after 1 hour of discussions and being put on hold? XM explained to Garmin that the GXM40 receiver is not compatible with NavTraffic or NavWeather. The Garmin guy was indignant and argued otherwise but to no avail. At the Garmin rep's insistence, the XM person opened a service ticket and told me to call back within 48 hours.

Well, I called back. Result? "Nothing we can do, sir." Your unit will not support the Nav features that you are requesting. "Sorry."

Okay, back to Garmin. After speaking with two more people, both told me "We've never seen this problem before." Finally today, I received an email from Garmin confirming that XM recently did a computer system upgrade which now prevents the Zumo 665 (or any auto/bike GPS with a GXM40 receiver) from being signed up for NavTraffic or NavWeather. They said that, now that XM acknowledges the problem, I should call back and ask to speak with "Dan D****" to get things straightened out. Yeah, right... But, because I enjoy the torture, I decided to try. Over 40 minutes on the phone, 3 different people (XM service is off shore), and finally they put me on hold and then drop me.

So, bottom line? I have now owned this very expensive piece of equipment for over a week and worked tirelessly to activate the satellite traffic and weather features. I wish that I could change my first review but I'd still have to say that if you want NavTraffic or NavWeather, DO NOT buy this unit until Garmin and XM get their act together, if and when that ever happens. If you don't want these features, just save [...] and buy the 660. That is really the only big difference between the two.

If by some miracle someday the issue gets worked out, I'll report back here.

INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS PRETTY EASY TO FOLLOW. I INSTALLED GPS ON AN 09 HARLEY DAVIDSON FLHTCU. MOUNTING HARDWARE FROM RAM IS INCLUDED. I OPTED TO MOUNT THE RAM UNIT ON THE CLUTCH LEVER ASSEMBLY. I HAD TO SHAVE DOWN THE SPACERS THAT GO BETWEEN THE MOUNT AND THE CLUTCH MOUNTING BRACKET. IT WOULD BE NICE IF GARMIN WOULD INCLUDE SOME ADDED INFORMATION ON INTEGRATING WITH THE HARLEY'S HARMON KARDON RADIO. THE CAR MOUNT UNIT IS JUST LIKE THE UNITS ON OTHER GPS DEVICES EXCEPT FOR THE LOCKING CONTACT ON THE MOUNT, POWER CORD AND EXTERNAL XM ANTENNA. THE XM ANTENNA WORK EXTREMELY WELL JUST SITTING ON THE CAR DASH BUT ON THE MOTORCYCLE IT IS RECOMMENDED TO PURCHASE THE RAM XM ANTENNA MOUNT. THE BLUETOOTH FEATURE IS AWESOME. WORKS GREAT IN OUR CAR BUT I DON'T RECOMMEND TALKING ON THE PHONE WHILE DRIVING ANY MOTORCYCLE. BOTTOM LINE, IT'S A PRICEY UNIT BUT PACKED WITH MORE FEATURES THAN UNITS OF LESSER PRICE. I JUST FINISHED A 2500 MILE MOTORCYCLE TRIP AND IT WORKED FLOWLESSLY. THE ARIZONA HEAT NOR THE BRIGHT SUNSHINE DEGRADED IT'S FUNCTION OR ABILITY TO SEE THE LARGE SCREEN.

My wife had high expectations for the Zumo 665. She liked the idea of a waterproof XM capable unit. Unfortunately, in practice, the 665 falls way short.
I have experienced nothing but frustration trying to get the unit to work with the Gxm-40 antenna. The Zumo constantly says "Check XM antenna" even though it is connected. I am not a GPS "Newbie". I have owned Garmin GPS's for probably close to 15 years starting with an old GPS III; which still works fine, by the way...
This unit does not work the way it should and waiting on hold for Garmin in not fun. So far, they have replaced the motorcycle mount to no effect. It still has the same antenna error.
The GPS on my bike now is a Garmin GPSMAP 478 with a GXM-30 antenna. I have had this setup for at least two years now and never had a hiccup.
Save yourself a bunch of aggravation and don't get the Zumo 665 and expect the XM to work. Buy the 660 if you must, and listen to the radio...

I lost my Zumo 550, so I thought I would replace it with this 665. I did register for the Navigation and the Weather Satellite coverage. The moving radar feature for the 665 was pretty cool. My disappointment lies in the display of the map, whcih is virtually impossible to see during bright sunlight. Also, the unit desided to "faint", or black-out during some functions, such as re-routing (full battery and plugged into external power). I needed to turn it off and then on again, and then re-enter the address being navigated. I also found that the map would remove a lot of useful information when zooming in or out. For example, when I wanted a 5 mile view out, the surrounding cities would appear, and then disappear. I read through the manual a couple of times, but never figured out how to keep the detail. Also, unlike the 550, there are only three options to choose from in map detail: Minimal; "Normal" and High. The Zumo has a better in-between selection, and keeps the detail I need. The display of the speed, fuel gauge, GPS accuracy and other data fields are, IMHO, not as good as the 550's--I can see the speed and related data clearly on the Zumo 550.

Lastly, the overall quality of the 550 is better. The case does not scratch as easilly, the silver color doesn't rub off with moderate use, and I like the physical buttons and rubber sides of the 550 better, too. The 665 is fiddly--you have to remove the battery door to attach the mini USB cable. The 550 has a sturdier feel and also, the size of the screen is easier for me to follow. The 550 is much better in bright sunlight as well.

I returned the 665 and bought the 550.

I purchased and received my Garmin Zumo 665 the last week of October 2010. I have used 4 different GPS units over the past 5 or so years, 1 Magellan and 3 Garmins, and this one is by far the best. Besides being the most feature laden model I've ever used, it finds satellites the fastest and routes the quickest and most accurately. I often use it for places I know, just to test it, and it isn't bad (Local knowledge of an area almost always trumps a GPS unit). I have not used this product on my motorcycle yet. However, I have used it for about 2,000 miles in my car including a round trip from NJ to North Carolina. Everything works flawlessly and quickly except for a few things I mention later in the review.

First of all, I highly recommend you read all the included materials and register your unit electronically via your computer. Then search for any updates. There was a free map update that took about an hour to load. From there you should print out the full manual and read it to really learn all your Zumo is capable of. There's a lot it can do and a lot you can customize to suit your own preferences.

I subscribed to the XM audio, NavTraffic and NavWeather. It's expensive, but I have used the audio before and I love it. As for the traffic and weather, I just had to try it out.

The XM audio was a god send for my trip to North Carolina since I am not a country music fan. The jury is still out on the traffic and weather.

XM issues:
The XM took 2 attempts to get the subscription loaded, but it has been fine since. Perhaps Garmin has worked out the kinks I have read in previous posts.

Sometimes the audio touchscreen seems to be a little insensitive and I need to press the buttons repeatedly.

Once in a while, when I try to arrow up or down through the channels, they won't change. It momentarily displays that I've selected channel 0, but it doesn't change the channel and the display returns from channel 0 to the current channel. I then press the browse button and I can choose whichever category I would like, such as presets, which is what I usually listen to and the problem disappears so I can channel up or down normally.

The XM NavTraffic is consistently inaccurate. It has notified me that there were traffic delays where there were none and it has failed to alert me to a legitmate traffic delay once.

The XM NAV weather has been as good as any tv or radio report, that is to say, not always accurate, but still the best source of weather information for the average consumer.

Yesterday, the cigarette charger/power plug stopped working. It was the fuse, which was easy enough to replace, but I've only had the unit for 3 weeks. We'll see. On battery power with all of the XM and Bluetooth functions running, I started receiving low battery warnings after only 90 minutes. I don't know how much longer the battery would have run because I made it home before then. You can always turn off the extra features to extend the battery life. I'm planning on purchasing a larger carrying case for all of the elements that come in the box. The included case only holds the GPS unit and none of the attachments. When staying in hotels, I wanted to keep at least the GPS unit and the XM antenna with me. Each is a pricey replacement.

I'm glad I purchased this product and have no regrets. I would recommend it to anyone, especially gadget heads. I will update if things change and/or when I have used the unit on my motorcycle (Not until Spring).

UPDATE:
January 8, 2012

Love the features, but reliability and function still have issues. I have kept up with all the software updates and have purchased the lifetime map update package. The latest software update seems to have created a new problem.

The music icon doesn't display automatically anymore, nor does the music come on without prompting, unless you were listening to an MP3 song and shutdown while a song was playing without pausing. In the past, the icon would display quickly and automatically and the music functions would be ready for use within seconds after start-up. Since the software update, I have to go through several screens to get to the media player screen to hear music. I then have to go back to the main screen, select the map screen and then the media screen if I want to view the map or want to be able to go back and forth quickly between map screen and media screen.

Every once in a while, the unit freezes up and you must soft boot it by holding the power button down for several seconds until the screen goes blank. The first time this happened (well before the latest software update, shortly after I purchased the unit) I had no idea how to fix it. I was ready to return it but found the soft boot info in the on-line, printable owner's manual. It's actually a quick and easy fix without losing any data, but it is inconvenient if you are navigating in unfamiliar territory and have some imminent turns or exits to make. I have only had one occurrence since the latest software update several months ago.

Once in a while, less since the latest software update, the XM radio channel will still display as channel 0 when I try to change channels, as described on earlier post. As for XM NavTraffic and XM NavWeather, they still work the same. I've heard, if accurate traffic info is important to you, the FM traffic antenna accessory is the way to go. Supposedly, the info imbedded in the FM radio signals is much more timely and accurate. The accessory is a separate purchase.

I've finally used the unit as it was primarily designed for, on my motorcycle. I have a 2001 Yamaha FZ-1. It was an easy install, good hardware included, took less than 30 minutes. The unit worked great, quite stable and easy to read. Touch screen actually seems to work better while wearing motorcycle gloves. I don't understand how, but too funny! On start up it prompts you to make certain preference choices as it recognizes it is now in the motorcycle mount. Smart, practical design. I highly recommend some sort of in-the-helmet earpieces if you want to hear any audio. The wind noise, even with a good full face helmet, completely drowns out the Zumo.

For some reason, whenever I want to navigate to and from the Jersey Shore and North/Northeastern NJ, it wants me to take Routes 9 and 287, which are much longer in time and distance than the Garden State Parkway, despite my preference setting being shortest time. Other GPS units, Garmin and other brands do the same thing. ???

I will submit the unit's shortcomings to Garmin, with the hopes that a new software update will improve things.