The new King of bike sat-navs? Garmin Zumo XT2 review, pros and cons
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- Опубліковано 20 лют 2024
- I've been using a Garmin Zumo XT2 for almost a year now, so it's time to gather my thoughts like a horde of drunk cattle and share them on UA-cam. Join me as I show you the new Tread app, the new features in the XT2, compare it to my old XT and also share a fairly significant problem I experienced with it.
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You nailed it in the first 2 minutes. A satnav for navigaton, and keep your phone in your pocket.
Always preferred my phone, but seeing as you punched Harry I’m gonna buy an XT2… No, gonna buy 2 XT2s, get my whole family to buy em, and buy you a pint! Hero!! 😬
On a serious note.. Great review.
That's a good point about crashing and being separated from the phone. My phone fell off my quadlock when I crashed and was quite a long way from where I ended up.
RAM- never Quad
“I used to be one of them, but now I’m happy!” 😂😂😢
Cool, thank you for the review, laughing every time a train flies by.
I used my phone when touring in Europe in 2019, google maps froze as my phone overheated in the summer weather.. Best bit was when I took the phone off to take a photo, couldn't get Google to continue from where I stopped to where I wanted to go.
Yeah, much rather a dedicated satnav, as stopping and whipping out the phone my pocket is getting a bit jaded.
+1
Thanks for reviewing this sat naw unit.
Brilliant video. My XT1 crapped out and now I'm waiting for my second XT2 replacement. The problem was the same as yours, my screen would freeze. So its good to hear Garmin have solved the problem, and they couldn't do enough to help me which I thought was really good support.
I just purchased one of these over the holidays, i'm looking forward to trying it out this year....
The best sat nav is the one your mate has got - follow him.
modern problems require modern solutions
What if you don’t have any mates? Asking for a friend, no wait, what?
@@iainamurray Haha 😛
I like this approach and it's what I did until me and all my mates had kids and they were all told to give their motorbikes up... suddenly I had no biking mates!
the follow solution only works if you follow.
i had a mate who on several occassions thought the pace had dropped off and shoot to the front and tear off into the distance.
he never did remember that the pace might have slowed because a Turn was coming up.
Very comprehensive! Many thanks. G.
I do what I can, but I'm by no ways a power user of these things, I'll let the comments fill with the real experts hopefully!
£400+ for that, or less than £200 for a ruggedised CarPlay screen for your bike which allows you to keep your 'phone in your pocket and use the 'phone mapping/routing app of your choice (Apple Maps, google maps, Waze, Calimoto etc. etc.). Most mapping apps allow the download of maps to the phone too, so you don't have the issue of riding blind with lack of 'phone signal. I had the BMW expensiv-ised version of an old Garmin unit, which our Bavarian buddies charged £699 for, and I've just ditched it for a Carpuride CarPlay screen for £180 and it's way more usable than the old BMW/Garmin Navigator VI. Better yet, if somebody wrestles the CarPlay screen from my bike, there is no data on it, since that all lives on my iPhone in my pocket.
I'm glad I found your comment, I'll be having a look at these units.
Thanks for giving me an idea. I didn't know they even existed.
Excellent review.
I’ve got the xt2 and it’s my first sat Nav for a bike, not used it in anger yet, but I’ve found it easy to plan my routes for my upcoming ride in France.
Your vid has given me a couple of more tricks to try, so thank you
how did you find wiring it up ?
Very helpful review thanks. Had mine a few months so not yet fully Intune with it
Great video I've come from a TomTom 550 to the XT just found then bigger screen easier to read. No problems at all with the old XT just ordered a lock so I can leave it when filling up or the bike is in site.
Tim , super - accurate comments. Not a single error. Not verbose.
I admire your channel.
Thanks! I’m normally very verbose though 😂
I personally used on my last trip both. I used phone and Calimoto to plan my route (including stops/waypoints). So you can do that easily on the laptop in your internet browser. All what you save are automatically on your phone. So, once morning comes, you can just put your phone and navigate. Meanwhile Garmin software is so bad that it's simply not possible to do from Laptop. So, for Garmin I would put only my final destination spot. Garmin was great also because it shows speed limits. But the only way I could use Garmin dedicated GPS if I can very easily set up routes from my laptop. Phone is a toy, pointless a bit to use to send it later to Garmin, I need an ability to use laptop and straight from laptop it should sync to Garmin (i don't care if it's bluetooth, wifi, whatever. But no cables)
Great review, I like the phone download option. I’m sold
The XT1 has this as well. U just have to use a different app to make the GPX file.
After watching a few vids on creating routes on desktop and transferring them to the zumo, I think I'm going with a paper map taped to my gas tank.
Great video, thank you. All the stuff I needed to know. I got mine from SBS for £425 with a Valentine's day 20% off
Ah brilliant bargain! Thanks for the kind words, hope it leads you on some fun adventures
I replaced my XT with an XT2 and hated it! It was unreliable with a boatload of error codes. I contacted Garmin and was told to reset it to factory settings. Then they told me to update the software. It got a little better but still not as good as the XT. Finally in desperation I replaced the XT power cord with the XT2 cord. A miracle happened! It has been perfect ever since!
Good review. I have the XT. Been using it for 1.5 years. Great device. Only issue, it mysteriously shuts down and reboots.😮 always connected to power while on the bike. So, haven’t figured that wee wrinkle. In a hard rain…same thing….shuts down continually rebooting. Thanks for the overview.
just had exactly the same issue in the heavy rain with the zumo xt turned it off & on seamed to work then
You can use a second robust phone for satnav. And it will not need cell service for the GPS unit to work.
I prefer the sat nav option, I currently have the BMW Navigator VI and although many people have reported problems. I’ve had this five or six years and never gone wrong. I see the problem described as moisture under the outer screen that seems to lead to the unit switching between different views and becoming unusable. I’ve not encountered that but to help keep it away from continual changes in temperature and moisture especially during winter I don’t leave it on the bike, keep it charged and in the house. That might have helped or could be mine doesn’t have the usual reported problem. I have dropped it on the driveway or rather didn’t attach it properly and it fell off but besides a few little marks on the screen it was relatively unscathed.
Basecamp absolutely sucks balls. It’s about time Garmin jumped into the present and use a phone app for planning. I mean, if you’re mid trip and decide to plan a different route, I’m not particularly interested in taking my bloody laptop with me😂
That’s NOT what base camp is for !
🤦♂️
The clue is in the fucking name.
Tread? Did that used to be called Tyre Tread?
I used that to plan routes around Wales back in 2010! An evening on the laptop and exported to my TomTom.
Epic times!
I bought my XT1 with 280 euros two years ago and I am very happy with it. If XT2 is better it is cool.
Great review Tim thank you.One question I have on this satnav,if I ride with a set of ordinary bluetooth in ear headphones will I be able to hear the xt 2 directions through them if I choose-thanks
I got the XT2 from Revzilla when it was on sale for $499. I loved it so much that I got a second one at full price so my wife can have her own on her bike. Why?
1. You can lock the touchscreen so rain doesn’t mess with it.
2. It doesn’t go into screen dimming mode like a phone does.
3. Tread app is actually pretty easy to use.
4. All wired connections are waterproof. When it’s raining, my phone would recognize the moisture and stop charging. Not a good thing at all. USB outlets would fry and quit working in the rain. This won’t do that.
5. You can easily convert tracks to TBT directions on the device. Also, syncing from Tread App to the device is automatic.
Thanks.
Thank you! am getting ready to buy one because I am so tired of using moto gloves on my phone. That plus using a wet phone with gloves is a DISMAL experience. As the owner of multiple quad lock setups on my two bikes. This also looks like a decent replacement for a few different apps on my phone, plus not having signal in my area on my phone at times is one of my biggest issues.
Great video Tim! I may grab the older version (hoping Zuma II will come down in price) to see if GPS nav is worth the investment...
3/2024 United States prices just came down over $100 for this
Firm believer in stand alone sat navs …just imagine the crap you would encounter if your phone died in a similar fashion ..we rely on so much now on a phone that exposing it on your handlebars is just too risky ..I’ve got the XT it’s brilliant ..the £800 BMW wanted for their own sat nav was a joke ..
Hi Tim
I’ve just bought the XT2 having decided to move on from using a phone and breaking the camera through vibration!! I’ve not decided yet whether to wire into my Harley or not. If I choose not to can I use the existing mount and how easy is it to remove the wiring, or do i buy another mount? Very helpful video thank you
Hi Tim. Off topic again, but what screen have you got on the MT, and do you rate it for less buffeting on longer rides?
Thank you, very helpful!
I’m a bit surprised that the interface is so herky-jerky (and ugly) for a 2024 piece of electronics, but it seems to be the best available GPS navigator in 2024 and can help me and save me out in the blank spots on the map, such as the Great Basin and the Sonora Desert.
I’ve been waiting for *any* price drop or discount since I missed the hundred dollars off in April…but I need it nowww…it’s time to ride! ☀️
Hi Tim, I probably missed it in your video, but how does the XT2 get updates on weather etc? Is it through connectivity to your phone, or can you/do you put a SIM card in the device itself?
Can you use it for bicycling too? For example the round trip function.
Hi there. Havent found the fuel price option yet, can you eloborate where and how to find in xt2? Thanks from NL!
Hi! What’s it like when you really don’t have a planned route but just want to know where you are? And have an overview of where you can go next?
Hi Tim, great video. I know it is unrelated, but I was wondering what make of jean you are wearing?
Thanks! They're Rokker ones… Rokkertech I think?
I’ve recently ‘paid’ for one of these but unfortunately I’m currently waiting for a replacement. The one I purchased from the retailer (Fowlers of Bristol) would not connect via Wi-Fi, which is important for me as I don’t have a PC. When I took it back to the retailer it took around an hour to complete an update using their PC and it couldn’t connect with their Wi-Fi either. A replacement was ordered in, however I’ve now been told that the new unit wouldn’t even power up! According to the retailer’s returns department they’ve had a number of similar issues and their supplier has put it down to a bad batch in the supply chain. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it will be third time lucky when the next unit arrives in store.
Dang. I just received my quadlock vibration damper. Great review on the XT2. How easy , difficult, frustrating, limiting is it to use the Tread app? Base Camp was frustrating to use and it worked for general routes it was good at best.
My XT2 also suffered the screen fail last week and Garmin are sending me another. I bought it last March (23). I don't think it had anything to do with vibration - I was using it in my car at the time.
Interesting! Another early unit then I guess. Hope your replacement works ok.
my Garmin 390 has a nice big red X on the screen to allow cancellation of a current waypoint - whilst riding .
does the XT or XT2 have the same function ??
When someone shares a gmap location, how do you open it on the XT?
I am thinking of one instead of using my phone. Cheers
Have had an XT 1 for about a year. Best Garmin I have owned so far. The BMW Nav VI was a $900 disaster (probably will never buy another BMW branded Nav product ever again). My original Zumo 450 was middling but adequate.
On my XT 1 I sometimes plan rides in other apps and just export the gpx file to the Garmin Drive app which then downloads the track to my XT. The downside of that is that one often seems to get only a track but no waypoints (or shaping points) on the XT. You can convert the downloaded track to a route on the XT itself after downloading but, the route has only start and end points and the unit warns you the any attempt to edit the route will cause the route to be modified according to the currently chosen routing algorithm (meaning that the route path will likely change from the that which was originally downloaded as a track).
Perhaps Tread does a better job in this respect meaning that shaping points and waypoints in the original planning done on the app get preserved when the route is downloaded to the XT2.
I have found that route planning on other iphone motorcycle nav apps and exporting them to the Garmin Drive app for use on the XT 1 is not unreasonable. It is however less polished than native planning and subsequent navigation on some of the phone based nav apps.
Its also perhaps worth noting that almost all of the phone based motorcycle centric nav apps allow offline maps. (Even Apple Maps now has offline maps - finally.) I agree that it seems safer to use a Sat Nav mounted on the bike and keep the phone on your body just in case the bike goes one way and the rider another.
Pretty expensive for pretty much a lot of gimmicks. I just use the GPS for takeing me to a destination and that's it.
I use a Garmin 396 LMTS and I have to ride from points to points because it tends to stick me on all sorts of bad od "shorter" roads.
So I get the GPS coordonates from google maps and the use "Go To" from coordonate to coordonate and still have to check the route on the screen before going.
One time, while in northern Greece, it wanted to get to Romania through Turkye 'cause "it forgoted" about the Makaza coustoms passing. There was no country of Bulgaria for Garmin in that day :)
I think I'm gonna buy a TomTom as the Garmin only has Europe maps and I don't want to pay extra for a map that I'll only unse once. Plus now I know how good Garmins are.
Maybe gonna buy a somewhat cheap smartphone and stick to phone navigation. Wanna plan a trip to Marroco soon!
Tim, love your content. I have a friend with a yammy MT-09. It is a 2024 and he struggling to find luggage system. I think your MT-10 is similar - what did you do for the rear rack system i see on your bike?? - PS - youve convinced me to get a Garmin XT2...
Hey, thanks for the kind words! Yamaha does an official accessory top box carrier for the MT10, which is what I've got. Looks like there's a similar thing for the 2024 MT09 too on Yamaha's configurator
It does look really cool for the bike. I'm curious what it would be like for use on snowmobile where there are no roads.
That actually a Smart question
new rider here. I want to get this sat nav and put on my bike (2020 BMW 850gs). How is it running off the USB? still waterproof and enough power? Not sure how to wire it up to the battery
Portrait is so much better for motorcycle navigation.
I have something that came e bike used. Took off camera was looking at and wasnt working properly.
Nice video Tim
On the BMW, did the satnav integrate with the Wonder wheel thingy?
No it didn't - but I didn't really connect it to the bike. Sorry!
No, only BMW devices work with it.
Warmly meant, but with both Apple maps and Google Maps, you can download the maps and use them off-line without a mobile phone signal. They kill use, like the Garmin, the GPS satellites to know where you are and your progress and someone. I was going to wonder why people use Such devices rather than their phones, I’m still not sure why people do.
I have the XT (Original) and it is "OK." However, a paper map works just as well, even if all of your batteries on your devices run flat! 😁😁.
Dedicated satnav all the way. TomTom for me.. live traffic and cameras although the Rider is desperate for an upgrade, still works well though.
Can you still build you maps in basecamp and send o the XT2?
I've tried and tried and cell phones absolutely do not work for motorcycle navigation. Specific reasons include but are not limited to: vibration, heat and wet kill cell phones, screen goes dim when you least want it to, maps don't track with location (screen view is F'd off when you least want it to be), navigation apps (tried many) are glitched AF. If the XT2 can over come all this (sounds like it can/does) than it is worth every penny (think about it, it's cheaper than the latest Iphone).
Can it overlay rain radar?
Did u buy a separate non garmin mount to the handlebar? Or is some kind of mounting device included?
I used the included RAM bit that goes into the back of the sat-nav, then I had a RAM handlebar clamp that I bought for my GoPros. Just took the GoPro bit off, put the sat-nav ball-end on, if that makes sense.
@@timrodierides 👌thanks and ur videos are top!
A question for you Not regarding the satnav.
Motorcycles for Touring.
I owned a Tracer 9GT 2022 for a year and traded it the same day I got my licence at 52 yrs of age. Yeah spring chicken and all of that 😁. Why did I trade it? Because I bought the Tracer because if it’s looks, price and that I needed bike to learn how to ride. And it did that very well, but I never liked riding it. Many people call me mad, but to me the bike was bland. Might be it was Too good and their for became “beige”.
However, even though I Love my Speed Twin 1200 to bits it isn’t a tourer (yeah, what’s a touring bike? The bike in ones garage). It is however a hoot and a brute.
Stop it Tom, get on with the question:
Is the MT10 good for touring with a pillion rider? Or should I look at an ADV or Sports tourer like the GSX S1000 GT? I’m more into the low slung bikes and my wife does No want to sit high up.
Yes I will try the MT10 when our roads up here 125 miles north from Stockholm agrees with two wheels vehicles.
Cheers/Tom in Sweden
I have also been a dedicated satnav guy never used phone,,,,,,,on the xt2, I have the xt is it worth the upgrade to the xt2???
Probably not unless your XT ever needs replacing to be honest...
Too expensive in my opinion. I always carry my mobile phone in my pocket, and I carry another rugged mobile phone on the motorcycle with a 6.5-inch screen, with an excellent and fast operating system, total connectivity, and a reasonable price (between 100 and 200 euros), even if I want to, I can carry another SIM card (although I don't do it) in which I can carry any app to use as a GPS navigator, and store maps, music, photos, files, etc...
That being said, congratulations on the honest review and enjoyable video. Greetings
Mind sharing which phone that is?
@@MrNick99 Anyone rugged, Blackview for example has a good number of models at different prices. It is the gear that I use and I am delighted with it.
@@alejandronavgar8798 thanks! 👊
Most map apps on the phone allows you to download the map for offline use.
I prefer an Apple Auto device, so i can use different apps on the phone and better control calls and music with ease.
Now I feel like I need a straight piped R1, not sure why...
interestingly they cost 529 euro over here on the other side of the pond...
how big of a jump in quality of life let's say is this compared to a 396 ?
Galaxy Active 4 or 5 tablet and then load apps.
I don't understand why Garmin chose to go full in the phone app route. Planning routes on a phone is incredibly tedious, it might work for 1 route but definetly not for planning entire vacations. Using a PC is so much easier simply because u have way larger screen to work with.
I also really do not want my phone connected to my Zumo, with the Zumo XT1 it brings WAY more problems then benefits. Its traffic is absolutely horrendous, just doesnt work and breaks routes. It also wants to take over music play which i do not want trough the Zumo but trough the bike.
Another huge issue with the Zumo XT2 is that they dropped the option to share routes over bluetooth to another Zumo unit. This is a function me and my friends use very often.
I absolutely see the Zumo XT2 as a big downgrade to the Zumo XT1. And dont understand any of the choises Garmin made here.
I want this unit for my car 😂 (idea for an app developer to work with Android auto/Apple car play)
Does it have speed cameras loaded, like Tomtom?
It does in the UK! Obviously you have to turn that off in France for legal reasons, ahem
@@timrodierides Does it not cover any European speed cameras? In France my Tomtom seems to refer to them as areas of danger for a couple of Kms rather than specific speed cameras.
I have been a Garmin user for several years BUT i do now think that the future is a Car Play / Android Auto compatible device. Thats where my money os going next.
I'd love to see that on a bike (not built in... I can't get my head around Honda's integration)
@@timrodierides check out the reviews of the Chigee: All-in-One Motorcycle Smart Riding System. Not saying this is the finished article but it shows where the market should be going.
That’s a really interesting thought
The first Zumo wasn’t Micro USB. It was even worse, it was Mini USB. 15 years out of date! *Edited because autocorrect changed Mini to Micro which makes no sense)
Wasn't Micro USB it was Micro USB? I'm confused! It was definitely Dead Sea Scrolls USB. Old!
@@timrodierides- I believe he meant to type Mini-USB....which is the one used on the Garmins before XT-2. I was surprised by that when I got my auto sat-nav, and my XT
@@DDay9000 I did indeed mean that! It's Mini USB. The only things I have that use that connection are 2 Garmin devices and a 15 year old DSLR camera!
I want one, but way too expensive.
USB-C? you gotta show a closeup of that in the video before I believe it! I thought it was a rule at Garmin to NEVER use tech that isn't at least 15 years old. Most disappointing is their crappy software, still have that same cage-oriented routing engine that only understands a destination, and if you're lucky a waypoint or two. As a biker I'm not particularly interested in destinations - just the roads I painstakingly selected for my route, so if I miss a turn I want it to route me back to that road, not some other undesirable road to the next distant waypoint. There were some computer programs that could "export" to Garmin by peppering it with hundreds of waypoints, but failed because Garmin can't handle a lot of waypoints.
The best of this video is prince Harry getting punched 🤣
9:31😂
...hmmmm, sounds like a ceramic capacitor issue.... they REALLY dont like vibration
Your review of the XT2 is flattering. I don't think so. I am used to creating my routes on PC and sending them to my GPS which was easily done with my Zumo 660 with MapSource and now with BaseCamp.
There are no Garmin programs that are compatible with the XT2. The Tread application is unusable because it is so complicated and limited.
When you export a route in gpx, the XT2 systematically transforms your initial route in its own way. During recalculations, waypoints are deleted.
Guidance is hazardous. It is capable of taking you off a highway to take you around an interchange to get you back on the same highway and continue your route.
The Garmin database is full of errors and very incomplete. The only good thing about this gps is its screen.
I regret my (expensive) purchase
Interesting - I've just got back from a 1,600-mile tour and I planned the route each day on my phone using the Tread app. We didn't have too many weird route choices, and the roads were mostly good. It sent us down some boring roads when it should've been doing twisties, but that's about it
Where does that data come from with the radar and gas prices and podcasts? I hope it's not your phone. Because Wtf?
Seriously considered changing from the XT1 to the XT2 until I found out that Garmin had removed the ability to send files Garmin to Garmin via bluetooth. Use this a lot so a deal breaker for me. Why do I need to use a phone to transfer files when it can be done via bluetooth?? I think Garmin removed it as it will be a reason to go XT3 in the future. Not pleased and they lost an upsale from me.
iPhones look good as fashion accessories in the back pocket of denim jeans; less so on motorbike handlebars. Garmins look terrible on denims but purposeful on motorbikes. That's because they are built for navigation purposes on bikes. Bikes are hostile environments for tech. Garmin know this. Garmin kit 5 yrs ago used hardware more suited to running a kitchen microwave. I tried to move away from the kitchen appliance level of performance but an overheating iPhone shaking itself to bits anchored to a unconvincing mount charged by a USB cable designed for the home environment didn't work for me. If the XT2 price is deemed fruity, consider the savings in fuel and time when attempting a group ride to a hotel destination which can descend into a herding sheep fiasco. The interoperability with a phone for tracking miscreants and weather fronts coupled with the Tread planner seems compelling. As ever an informative and entertaining video Tim.
Too much of a price difference to the old XT, now being under £280 new, that outweighs the benefits.
Yeah there is a hefty price difference now the Zumo XT has come down in price.
I’ve got a phone, that’s perfectly capable, but I’m going to spend nearly £500 on an overpriced duplicated device 🤷🏻♀️. And a signal is not required if you download maps. Or…buy a much cheaper refurbished second phone and use that instead. As for punching Harry, did he turn down your come on 🤔😱
I mean that comment was going so well…
Quad lock is a POS get a ram mount that quad is a total gimmick. It doesn’t take a physics engineer to understand that it can’t work, right
£530 for the man with way too much disposable income. This is for the Andrew Tate's of this world, although I suspect even he would baulk at the price for something a mobile can do every bit as well.
As for being concerned about crashing with a mounted phone, simply buy a spare budget, but still capable, smartphone for less than £200.
Game, set, and match mobile and Google maps.
over priced garmin crap that costs 30 bucks to make--- these bike gps are a joke, a cra one costs 100 bucks and a bike one 10 times that as its got 3 cents worth of water proofing, i threw my garmin shit out years ago and use cheapo chinese ones--- they work as good and after 3 years i chuck in bin and buy a newer one
All you need to know is that it’s overpriced and overhyped with crap slow technology , real adventure riders don’t need
Thanks for the warning, I’ll stick with my tried, trusted and reliable old TomTom!!