I got the GPS blues again...

[Willie]

Well, my 4th Quest II is done for again. For some reason after about a year, this thing flakes out and I start to loose signal alot and when I have signal, I get crazy speed and odometer readings. Garmin has told me with all the units that it needs repaired and to send it in. Now they want to charge me $60 to fix it. Not alot, but how long will it last? Plus this will be the 3rd time to pay to ship it there. They said they can "probably" cover the next one for 3 to 6 months. That sounds kinda iffy to me though. The unit isn't abused. I run it between 2 bikes and it goes inside with me at home and work. I keep it updated and have tried master resets in the past. I don't know what else they want me to do as far as usage. My debacle is to pay to have this one fixed and hope for the best or jump fro the sinking ship and move on to something else. What are the reasonable priced options out there now for bikes. This is the only GPS I've ever had, so only have experience with Garmin. Who/what else is out there for me???

[johnlt]

I've had good luck with the X76 series. They are quite powerful navigationally, but sometimes can be difficult to use until you are familiar with them. I also have a Zumo that has been back once but used for several years now and even took me up to the Arctic ocean with no issues. I can recommend either of these. Unfortunately, Garmin seems to want us to think of these units as an "expendable" rather than a piece of "capital" equipment. You're not going to find anything for anywhere near $60 so probably worth having them fix it. I have had good experience with them "covering" a product after the warrantee ran out.

[elkroeger]

well that is a tough call: when to throw in the towel. Maybe you can unload it on some unsuspecting noob here?

 

If you do decide to get a new one, I'm really pleased with the nuvi 500. It does 95% of what I need (I took it 6000 miles cross country last year) and it's relatively inexpensive, so it's not as painful if it dies or some teenager yoiks it off your bike while you're in taking a leak.

[ducatiparts.110mb]

Much as I like my Garmins, they don't seem to last particularly well. I had a 2610 which developed a faulty screen at 2 years old and now a Zumo550 which has started switching itself off now and again at 18 months old.

 

I also have a Nuvi200 as a backup because it was cheap. Cheaper to buy and put it in my pocket when on my second bike (with a headphone socket to my helmet speakers) than a second cradle was for the Zumo.

 

Brilliant devices when they work but the motorcycle specific ones are very expensive. Then again once I'd tried it I couldn't travel without one......

[Ken H.]

Having had a Quest too (still in a drawer functional actually) and now with a Zumo 660, I’d say the current units are light-years ahead of the Quest. If for no other reason than screen size and speed.

 

Still, if I had it to do over again I don’t think I’d get the 660 (665 now). Too expensive when some of their mid-range products will do 90% of the things the Zumos do for 40% the cost.

 

Plus even after three updates released to the software there are still clearly identifiable bugs.