Thinking about a new GPS (although I have yet to seek budget approval )

The Zumo 220 looks to be a reasonable buy � a lot cheaper than the 660.

The only disadvantage is slightly smaller screen, lack of MP3 player and headphone socket (as far as I can see).

I downloaded and read the user manual and it seems to do everything.

Hard to tell if the bike mount is "secure" from the pictures on the web (I once lost a Quest on the M4 )

And why is the old Zumo 550 still so expensive ?

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I think they have marketed the 660 at more road bias riders (or maybe TomTom?), the 550 is a great on/off road device and is very flexible. It's a great product, it's still selling, so the price is still high.

This might be worth a consideration ->

If you can get hold of a faulty 500/550, Garmin will replace/fix it for ~�100. I did it with one, and they sent me a whole new boxed unit, complete with mounts and everything.

It's a long shot though.

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I did that with a Quest. Sent back a 4 year old unit with a faulty antenna and got back a new one with 2009 maps. The "service/replacement" cost was about the same as the map upgrade!

My "new" Quest is still working fine, but the screen is small and buttons fiddly to use with gloves on.

The ability to follow off-road routes/tracks is essential - do you think the 660 is less able than the older units in this area?

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I really don't know. The 660 certainly has more road features (lane selection etc). I've only seen one in anger once, at the Lakes meet where I was trying to figure out how to work it to set up waypoints. It's very similar to the 550 but the icons are different and some things are located in diffent places.

I'm just thinking aloud really, there must be a reason adventure bikers are sticking with the 550 over the 660. Or is it because BMW and Honda re-badge the 550/500 as thier own ?

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I bought a 550 from someone who upgraded to 665... he said he liked the 550 more... but from my point of view:

550 is more snappy

The 66x range doesn't have the buttons on the side... i like those for zooming, changing volume and such.

Battery life on 66x range is lower, i do get it of the bike for a hike when going on foot...

regarding 220 range... it does lack a lot of the features i wanted - wired audio in / out, mp3 player, buttons to avoid using touchscreen with gloves, bluetooth communication with a phone.

660 is more of a touring bike gps than 550 / 220 - easy to fit on a K / RT / GTR / etc but not so easy to mount on the handlebar or under the screen on Tenere.

Regarding other options ( TomTom etc ) - they are really not useable out of Western Europe due to lack of maps... you can get very good maps for Garmin, including topo / offroad and such but not for TomTom.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I will take another look at the 550, but I know there were a lot of issues with the cradles failing and units not charging.

I wouldn't even consider Tom Tom. I use one in the car to simply locate an address, but they are totally unsuitable for planning and sharing routes (Mapsource is a huge advantage for Garmin), no use for off-road routes, and no track-log.

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