Garmin 660LM finally died

CDNolddude

CDNolddude

Joined
Mar 20, 2007
Messages
528
Location
Hamilton Ontario
After 6yrs my garmin 660LM died during my last ride. Not sure it can be fixed.
If not,
anyone having luck with 395 or 595.
I store music on it also. Don’t think car ones do that.
recommendations welcomed
 
I ended up with a 396 LMT-S for about $250. Another $150 will get you an XT, which is probably worth the extra $$. IMO, those are the only two worth looking at. No experience with music on a GPS as I use my phone for that.

The traffic feature (w/ rerouting) has saved my bacon a time or two during a rally and the weather (w/ radar), while a bit slow, is really handy. The up-ahead feature to find gas allows me to stretch my fuel stops as well.
 
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I saw Fergie's Zumo XT recently and I have to say that's probably the best / brightest / clearest screen I've seen on a GPS to date... so... assuming you want to throw that kind of money at one, I think it's pretty sweet. My 595lm is only 2 years old but I'm thinking I can get 80-90% of that cost back... the XT screen is actually so good it's making me consider that.
 
Garmin are pretty good at fixing them for reasonable money (or at least, they were). Worth asking?
 
There's nothing on the market like a Zumo XT. I'd take whatever money you're willing to through at a GPS that has been discontinued for years, and put it towards an XT.

Chris
 
My 660LM was not displaying on screen during a trip this spring. It would take about 30 to 60 minutes before anything was visible; sometimes longer. When I got home I started to look at new devices, but the cost seemed a bit more than necessary. I did an update through the Garmin site and have not had a problem since then.
 
The person I have used for my Zumo 550 and my 665 is The Palm DR., located in Mankato, MN.

Palm Repair | Palm Sales | Zire | Tungsten | TX Repair | LifeDrive Repair | Palm Service

PalmDr | ShortTronics, INC. provides Palm Sales, Palm Repair, and Palm Parts and Services - USA and Mankato MN Based
www.palmdr.com

If you send it to him for repair, ask for the memory upgrade to 16GB internal memory. Solves lots of problems.

If you decide to dump it, I'd be happy to carry it to the trash can for you.
 
I think he started out (just a guess because of the name) doing "palm" devices. Found out that he could do the same on GPS devices, like Garmin and the buttons on the 550 get "worn" over time and start to breakdown. The fist thing I had fixed by him, don't know when but before I got the 66
 
CDNolddude said:
...recommendations welcomed
Click to expand...
You pretty much have to stick to the Garmin "motorcycle specific" GPS navigators if you want to be able to create routes on your computer (using BaseCamp or MapSource) and load them to your GPS, and/or upload your travel history from the device to your computer. Similarly, I think only the motorcycle-specific GPS units support music.

I suggest you investigate getting your 660 repaired. Perhaps contact Garmin via email or phone (they are in Olathe, Kansas) and find out if there is a Canadian service depot. Garmin is pretty good about repairing units for a reasonable price, and a repair will undoubtedly be less than half the price of a new unit.

The new units (e.g. Zumo XT) are very impressive, with remarkable screen brightness and lots of other features, but they are not cheap. On the other hand, if you like tech features and want the latest and greatest, get an XT and enjoy it. Whatever you do, don't get a TomTom Rider - I bought one for the ST 1100 I keep in Europe, and it is a sad substitute for a Garmin device.

Michael
 
CYYJ said:
You pretty much have to stick to the Garmin "motorcycle specific" GPS navigators if you want to be able to create routes on your computer (using BaseCamp or MapSource) and load them to your GPS, and/or upload your travel history from the device to your computer. Similarly, I think only the motorcycle-specific GPS units support music.

I suggest you investigate getting your 660 repaired. Perhaps contact Garmin via email or phone (they are in Olathe, Kansas) and find out if there is a Canadian service depot. Garmin is pretty good about repairing units for a reasonable price, and a repair will undoubtedly be less than half the price of a new unit.

The new units (e.g. Zumo XT) are very impressive, with remarkable screen brightness and lots of other features, but they are not cheap. On the other hand, if you like tech features and want the latest and greatest, get an XT and enjoy it. Whatever you do, don't get a TomTom Rider - I bought one for the ST 1100 I keep in Europe, and it is a sad substitute for a Garmin device.

Michael
Click to expand...
Hi Michael, yes first choice is getting the 660 fixed. I don’t use much of the features. Do use for music. Did see 396 for $399
Tom Tom thanks for the info
Thanks
Ken
 
GryST said:
396 is on sale for $240 at gpscity. 396 share the same software with the XT plus maybe few more functions like birds view and topo view. XT has bigger and better screen
But XT is 2x more expensive ($499, read 500) and from what I see, is not going on sale yet.
They're having the same glitch: when manually converting via points to shaping points, it will move them to a different location on route.
Click to expand...
Yes USA prices always sound good for sure.
 
These guys in Calgary have some 396s and they have great service and fast shipping, I bought the TPMS for my Garmin there.

Motorcycle GPS

A listing of the GPS Receivers available for sale at GPS City Canada.
www.gpscity.ca www.gpscity.ca
 
I've seen the XT on sale from time to time maybe $399 or less? Maybe. But it bugs me a little that while the screen is big the area devoted to the map itself seems to be about 60% of the screen real estate.

zumo_xt_1.jpg


There are two other modes where a lot of the info that's not important to me is out of the way but one is a split screen view where each is 50% of the screen. I'm sure it's useful but not what I'd what as my main screen.

The other view/mode that devotes more screen to the map is the vertical mode:

zumo_xt_3.PNG


Actual percentages aside this mode seems to get a lot of stuff out of the way. This is how I use my phone but it's a lot smaller/shorter than an XT. For me this means maybe putting an XT back on the Heli riser instead of on the dash. I'd want it to clear the windshield when lowered and not block any of the meters.

Can anyone with an XT speak to using it on the dash in portrait mode? By "on the dash" that would actually be hanging off a RAM mount and arm over the edge of the dash and not standing on it. That would be nuts.

When in the landscape mode can it just be rotated to portrait and that screen is displayed?

Overall I like the idea of the XT's display. I'd just like to see less stuff and more map in the landscape mode. No doubt as is it's something I could and would have to get used to but for that money I'd rather not.
 
I always have mine in North UP 2D mode, so landscape seems to work best for most road shown most of the time.... any time you get an info box on the right side, just hit the X to close it.
You can't rotate the XT without rotating the cradle with it..... 'spose one could rig up a pivoting mount, but that would take some thinkin'.
I have mine on a dash shelf up above the instruments, I can see it without taking my eyes off the road much.
 
I felt the same way as you mention above...till I bought my Zumo XT and used it.

The 590/595 LM used less real estate for the data portion and left more for the map portion of the screen. But the 590/595 LM is also smaller. So I'm not sure you "lost" anything, but it makes it easier to see the data at a glance.

When riding and removing all the extra data windows, it doesn't seem to help me at all. I'm usually using the XT in the vertical mode and while the extra visibility might be handy at times, it really hasn't been missed.

Chris
 
Discontinued Zumo 595 mounted on the discontinued Migsel dash mount, on my discontinued ST1300. Windscreen in lowest position, but no interference at any height.
I held the camera at eye level, seated in rider position
but pointed it down to show the layout.
And yes, I know I have yet to hard wire it to the bike.20210930_141019.jpg
 
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