[B_Baker]

I'm having a hard time deciding between the $800 Nav IV and the $650 Zumo 660. My 12 1200RT bike already has the factory XM so I don't need anything like the 665 either. The Nav IV will cost more and I don't know if the added cost will yield me any more benefits over the 660, especially since the screen size is the same. Plus, I don't see me wanting to worry about pairing with a cell phone as I'm not that important that I need to be in constant contact with anyone. Does anybody have experience with either or both of them? Thanks.

 

[johnbaker15]

The Nav IV is a rebranded 660 with slightly different software and a BMW specific mount.

 

[B_Baker]

So ... What are the real advantages of buying the NAV 4 over the Zumo 660? Ease of connection to existing wiring, easier button access, etc.?

 

[johnbaker15]

So ... What are the real advantages of buying the NAV 4 over the Zumo 660? Ease of connection to existing wiring, easier button access, etc.?

Yes

 

[B_Baker]

Ok, but is that enough to overcome the ability of the 660 to be used in my truck since it includes all the stuff needed for automotive use? That is, I assume the NAV 4 does not come with the cables and mount for automotive use.

 

[UltraLT]

Nav IV has a 3 year warranty. Zumo 660 - 1 year. Nav IV has a function for BMW motorcycle dealerships. I do not know how updated the dealerships and addresses are. I always call to see if they are still there and verify the address. The Zumo comes with a windshield mount for using in your car. The Nav IV does not. The harness for the Nav IV is an easy plug in. The Zumo is not as easy to plug in, but very doable.

As far as I know, all the other functions are the same. I had both for awhile as the new to me RT I bought had the Zumo and I already had a Nav IV. Sold the Zumo.

Ultra LT

 

[hschisler]

The cradle for the Nav IV has physical buttons on the left side which I think would be very useful.
It's not cosmic, however, as the Zumo 660/665 has the same functions on the touch screen. Personally, I'd prefer to have the actual buttons - it's faster, and more "certain"; that is, the buttons can be more definitely engaged as compared to a spot on the screen.

If I had a K1600GT/GTL I'd def. go with the Nav IV, as it integrates nicely with the multicontroller on the left handlebar of those bikes.

For my LT I chose the Zumo 665 because for just a few more dollars than the Zumo 660 the 665 includes the GPS antenna, which gives me the option of XM radio and satellite weather if I ever want to pay for those extra services. And, I chose the 665 over the Nav IV because the Nav IV cradle blocks the two ports on the left side of the Nav IV. These ports are for audio out and GPS antenna in. This means you cannot use the optional XM nav traffic or XM nav weather services when the Nav IV is on a motorcycle. (this was confirmed by the BMW owner's manual) I have no idea why they would do that. ???

The Zumo 660/665 include a motorcycle mount and a car mount.

 

[Sleuth]

Other differences, are;
In Europe you get a two year warranty with the Nav IV, and only 1 year with the 660.

With the Nav IV you only have bluetooth audio when it is mounted in the Motorcycle mount. You do not get the 3.5 mm socket. As a result if you have any form of non bluetooth intercom, you will need to add a bluetooth dongle to it.

 

[12R12RT]

I have the 660. My bike also has the full radio package. As has been noted by hschisler and Sleuth, the Nav IV has no stereo audio out except via BlueTooth. If you wish to use the Nav IV mp3 player, that can be a problem if you are already using the A2DP connection in your headset to pair to the bike's radio.

With the 660, though it requires a bit of work and a $25 power connector to install, it's very easy to run the audio out cable into the AUX port and listen to the mp3 player. This is a nice feature given that, over BlueTooth, the FM/AM and XM audio quality is poor. The USB and AUX audio quality, mystifyingly, is very good.

If you want to have the BMW Motorrad Dealership POIs on the 660/665, you can download an executable file from Garmin that will install them on either unit very easily.

The Nav IV is a rebranded 660 and the firmware is probably the same. There is another, secret, bit of firmware that allows the unit to be controlled by the four buttons in the cradle. I traded an extra car cradle for a Nav IV cradle and if I ever get my paws on that bit of software I'm going to risk bricking my 660 to see if I can run it with the cradle. Then I am going to hack the cradle to get audio out. The chances of me getting a hold of that firmware, though, are Slim and None and Slim just left town...

Tom

 

[Dav3061]

Have had the Nav IV since April 2013. Now on the second unit as the first one failed due to heat. On a Ride from LA to Vegas in July, the Nav IV worked fine until 94 Deg F then the music cut out. At 96 Deg F the voice commands cut out. Maps continue to work.

Wrote to Garmin about issue and was directed to send the unit back as this is a known issue with some of the units.

Replacement arrived and I have had no issues as of today. However, the temps have never been above 89 Deg F.

The unit also does not have the HD storage space for a full load of North America. Why they offer the full map as an option when the unit can only hold lower 49 (Hawaii) is a mystery to me. They suggest you add a SD card to the unit to complete the upload. However, if you want to have music, this is not an option.

I have the Nav IV linked with the Cardo G9 system so I have hands free phone and 5+ hours of music. The Bluetooth between the systems works great.

Sturgis this weekend so back to Vegas and 100+ Deg F heat. Will let you know what happens

 

[Urbanhermit]

How about the screen brightness of the 660 / Nav IV in direct sunlight? I had two successive Nav IIs on my 05 K1200LT that I could see only at night. I threw the second, a NOS unit away.

I also had a dealer tell me the 660 is not as bright as the Zumo 550, which he uses, and he could afford his own satellite if he wanted. I use a Zumo 550 that has absolutely no visibility issues, but it's getting ragged. Worse, it won't support Garmin's new-and-awful Basecame software and MapSource, which is standard for the 550, hasn't been updated since the Ark ran aground.

 

[LeftCoastMan]

How about the screen brightness of the 660 / Nav IV in direct sunlight? I had two successive Nav IIs on my 05 K1200LT that I could see only at night. I threw the second, a NOS unit away.

I also had a dealer tell me the 660 is not as bright as the Zumo 550, which he uses, and he could afford his own satellite if he wanted. I use a Zumo 550 that has absolutely no visibility issues, but it's getting ragged. Worse, it won't support Garmin's new-and-awful Basecame software and MapSource, which is standard for the 550, hasn't been updated since the Ark ran aground.

The screen brightness of the Zumo 550 far exceeded the Zumo 665 that I used to own, and the Navigator IV. I do not know what the engineers at Garmin were thinking, but in bright sunshine, the 665/660/Navigator IV is pretty close to impossible to read. The 550, even though it's big and kludgy, it was readable almost always.

The Navigator IV does work with Basecamp. So that's good.

 

[dancogan]

...

The Navigator IV does work with Basecamp. So that's good.

Would you mind explaining this a bit further? I have been using my Nav IV with Basecamp, although sometimes encountering difficulty downloading to the Nav IV. What should I be using?

 

[JimE]

Would you mind explaining this a bit further? I have been using my Nav IV with Basecamp, although sometimes encountering difficulty downloading to the Nav IV. What should I be using?

Dan,
Take a look at this as a start, then follow up if you have more specific questions or issues. You might want to start a new thread.

You probably want to start with the stuff referenced toward the bottom of the page (the BaseCamp Wiki and the Zumo FAQ).
Thanks,
Jim

 

[katnapinn]

Dan,
Take a look at this as a start, then follow up if you have more specific questions or issues. You might want to start a new thread.

You probably want to start with the stuff referenced toward the bottom of the page (the BaseCamp Wiki and the Zumo FAQ).
Thanks,
Jim

Plus 1
I was having mucho trouble with Basecamp till Jim came over & gave me a 1 on 1 class. Now I love it & it is very easy to use (after learning most of the tricks). Now if Garmin will make an App to work with my New Windows RT computer.

 

[LeftCoastMan]

Would you mind explaining this a bit further? I have been using my Nav IV with Basecamp, although sometimes encountering difficulty downloading to the Nav IV. What should I be using?

I will agree, it is not easy. I'm using Mac OSX with Garmin's most recent version of Base Camp. what I found is that the USB cable cannot go through any external bus, it must be directly connected to the USB port on your computer. Occasionally, I have to restart my computer and the Garmin to get it functioning right.

Once I see that the Nav IV is attached to my computer as an external hard drive, I can move stuff between Base Camp and the Nav IV, including routes that I plan out.

But I really dislike Base Camp. I wanted to set up a more scenic route between two places (probably tripling the mileage). And no matter what I did, Base Camp had me exiting highways, then getting back on at the same exit. If the dots are placed perfectly, it just plain sucks.

I have found that the best resource for ironing out problems with Garmins is at zumoforums.com. Lots of smart people there.

 

[dancogan]

Dan,
Take a look at this as a start, then follow up if you have more specific questions or issues. You might want to start a new thread.

You probably want to start with the stuff referenced toward the bottom of the page (the BaseCamp Wiki and the Zumo FAQ).
Thanks,
Jim

Thank you. I'll spend some time there. And thanks, also, to LCMan!

 

[wmac]

With the 660, though it requires a bit of work and a $25 power connector to install, it's very easy to run the audio out cable into the AUX port and listen to the mp3 player. This is a nice feature given that, over BlueTooth, the FM/AM and XM audio quality is poor. The USB and AUX audio quality, mystifyingly, is very good.
Tom

Please tell us what the "$25 power connector" is. I have a 2003 K1200 LT with the Nav II GPS. There are 3 connectors on my unit.
1. Audio out -- Female on the NAV II, Male on the harness
2. Antenna
3. Power (plus ???) -- 4-prong keyed socket -- Male on the NAV II, Female on the harness

What would be great is if there were a MALE socket that I could buy (that worked exactly like the Power side for the NAV II) and wire into the 660 harness so that I could just plug the 660 mount into my existing harness.

Bottom line is that I would like to NOT have to take the fairing apart and wire the 660 mount directly into the bike. Also, would like to keep the option of using the NAV II as an emergency backup if the 660 were to fail.

Thank you so much for any advice you might be able to provide.

 

[Dav3061]

All,

Just returned from Sturgis. After 2900.0 miles I can attest to the Nav IV failings.

1. The system will cut off the music at 94+ deg F

2. The system will cut off the voice commands at 96+ deg F

3. The system will cut off both music and voice commands regardless of ambient
temp after 2.5 hours of continuous use. Take the unit off and power down during fuel stops is the only way I found to solve this issue.

4. As for these issues, all of these are known to Garmin. All of these problem happened on both my new out of the box and the replacement unit (the first one failed after 90 days of use). Bought it in April and it failed due to temps in Summer here in So Cal. So for $800.00 I now have a refurbished unit that I will be sending back in for another refurbished unit.

5. Now for the maps. The maps will continue to work regardless of the temps. However, the maps and the fuel stops are not current. Uploaded the "Life time maps". The maps do not send you to on the fastest route but on the most direct. Therefore, if a freeway onramp is twenty feet away, but the system has to "Back Track" 1 foot, it will not send you in the most logical direction.

6. I also have this system linked to the Cardo Scala Rider G9 unit. If you set it up to send and receive phone calls, the system will answer, cancel at end of the call but will not restart the music unless you reboot the Nav IV and in some cases both the Scala and Nav IV.

7. In conclusion, when the systems are working, they work OK. However, I now have come to grips with the failings of both systems. The costs for both are now sunk costs and I have what I have going forward.

 

[jzeiler]

All,

Just returned from Sturgis. After 2900.0 miles I can attest to the Nav IV failings.

1. The system will cut off the music at 94+ deg F

2. The system will cut off the voice commands at 96+ deg F

3. The system will cut off both music and voice commands regardless of ambient
temp after 2.5 hours of continuous use. Take the unit off and power down during fuel stops is the only way I found to solve this issue.

4. As for these issues, all of these are known to Garmin. All of these problem happened on both my new out of the box and the replacement unit (the first one failed after 90 days of use). Bought it in April and it failed due to temps in Summer here in So Cal. So for $800.00 I now have a refurbished unit that I will be sending back in for another refurbished unit.

5. Now for the maps. The maps will continue to work regardless of the temps. However, the maps and the fuel stops are not current. Uploaded the "Life time maps". The maps do not send you to on the fastest route but on the most direct. Therefore, if a freeway onramp is twenty feet away, but the system has to "Back Track" 1 foot, it will not send you in the most logical direction.

6. I also have this system linked to the Cardo Scala Rider G9 unit. If you set it up to send and receive phone calls, the system will answer, cancel at end of the call but will not restart the music unless you reboot the Nav IV and in some cases both the Scala and Nav IV.

7. In conclusion, when the systems are working, they work OK. However, I now have come to grips with the failings of both systems. The costs for both are now sunk costs and I have what I have going forward.

WOW I have never had an issue with my 660 even at 106 F. But then I never play music through it I use my Droid. I don't let the GPS set up my routes but I do down load them in to it. It has always announced turns even at 106 F. The maps don't set the route they are just a tool to use, The preferences are something you have to set up, i.e. fastest or shortest and then your "avoids" table for skipping interstates and toll roads and so on. Do a little more exploring and down load Garmin Base Camp to set up you routes. You will find plenty of help here with that. You may get more use out of your GPS unit if you do. I am glad I don't use the BT functions as I have heard they are flaky. But I do have it hard wired in to the intercom.