Triumphrat

TucsonBill · 06-14-2007, 08:19 PM

I shelled out the big bucks and got a Garmin Zumo 550 and the GXM 30 antenna. I now have GPS, XM Radio, and my Bluetooth phone all hooked up! I had a bit of a problem with the antenna, I had it mounted on the top box and tried using an extension that Garmin supplied. It absolutely refused to work with the extension and since I needed to get on the road for a meeting in Salt Lake I mounted the antenna on the top of the brake resevoir and the GPS just inboard of the left mirror. I still want to move the antenna to the rear. Besides the thing being the coolest technology on a motorcycle, the buffetting on my helmet at freeway speeds is gone! It appears the culprit wind is from each side of the front fairing below the sides of the windscreen and the GPS and antenna block it. So now it's twice as cool!....No, three times as cool! I chose the British English voice prompts for the GPS navigation, so my yellow beast with the sweet British accent is now "Maggie!" Not going directly to Salt Lake, Maggie and I have done 1000 miles in the last three days through Arizona and Utah and have 300 more to go tomorrow. Then we get to plan the scenic way home!
From Beaver, Utah....Backroads Bill

Pickaxe · 06-20-2007, 04:58 AM

Why did you buy and fit a seperate antenna on your Garmin Zumo? The unit picks up a signal perfectly well, with the integral antenna. My Zumo even picks up a reasonable signal in a building sometimes.

TucsonBill · 06-20-2007, 07:55 PM

The antenna is for XM satellite radio. We have miles and miles of miles and miles in the southwestern US that you would not be able to make it across without a soundtrack. My choice is XM radio. The Zumo does an amazing job of making the radio, GPS, and cellular phone work together. As Pickaxe reports it also works pretty well indoors. It's easy to show it off to friends in a bar!