Garmin zumo 390LM (010-01186-04)

Really happy with the GPS. I would buy it again.

I found the 390 very good to see in daylight on my motorcycle. The volume is not loud enough on full when connected to the helmet via speaker jack. I had to incorporate an amplifier into the line to get enough volume to be heard while travelling.

Ease of connecting to my motorcycle. Ease of connection in my (any) car.

I came to the 390LM in desperation as a firmware update killed my 5yr old Zumo 660 and at the time Zumo 590LM stock wasn't yet in store. To be honest I did prefer my 660, but that may well be due to familiarity - you like what you know. Having the GPS kit come with everything you need is handy even if this isn't your first Motorcycle GPS. Design wise the 390LM seems quite robust, however the rubber weather covers for the USB, headphones, and SD Card appear flimsy. Time will tell how they handle the use. However the easier access to plug in the USB to the laptop to load maps, routes, and firmware is a win. I certainly preferred the 660 car and motorcycle mounts, especially on the bike as it had a very schmick dust cover for when I didn't use the GPS, and the 660 car mount didn't require plugging stuff in to the GPS like the 390LM car mount. The dust cover for the bike mount is a small rubber cap which, while workable, is a little fiddly. Glove use on the 390LM is better than the 660 so that is a plus. Another huge plus is that the bluetooth connectivity and range is much MUCH better to my Scala Rider Q3 helmet set than the 660. Word of advice, turn off the various speed/stop light camera audio alerts - the "bing" through the headset is quite annoying. The battery life on the zumo also seems better, and the battery can only be accessed with a screwdriver - this is actually piece of mind when riding through a rain storm. I never had to replace the 660 battery, so my expectation for the 390 is the same. But given that I had to remove the battery cover on the old 660 every time I loaded routes from Basecamp I was always worried about that rubber seal perishing - not a worry on the 390LM! Garmin need to work on their off-GPS PC software. Basecamp is a bit unfriendly - you can make it work, but expect to give it some of your time to get up to speed. The forums are full of suggestions to export Google map routes and import to Basecamp. I don't do that, I get an idea of a route via Google and then mimic that route in Basecamp as it knows my routing preference. The 390LM's feature to monitor tyre pressure is an interesting idea, but the sensors are sold separately and are not a cheap item. So I haven't gone that direction. Yet. I dislike the T&Cs you have to click through (ON THE GPS) each time an firmware update is applied. That should be done in Garmin Express in my opinion. Two things I do like about the 390 GPS software: * Volume slider. It's simple and works. * Able to change 'dashboards'. You can almost completely un-clutter the screen! A hint on the motorcycle install (DIY or otherwise). Use 2-way connectors (like SCA) on the GPS to Motorcycle power wiring. You will either change bikes or GPSs, it makes it easier to migrate from one or the other. In the days where iPhones and Android phones can do everything a GPS can do, I still like the Zumo - I'm yet to see 3G/4G coverage on all roads I traverse and I haven't yet seen a phone mount on a motorcycle that I personally would trust - and I've seen a guy loose their new Samsung phones on a bumpy road. To sum everything up, the Zumo 390LM is a good motorcycle GPS. It works, and does everything it is supposed to do. Arguably the 590LM is the 'step up' from the 390 which addresses some of the issues I raised here, but it's also a higher price point!

Easy to use and has all the features I needed without going overboard with what was required of the unit fitting was easy and using unit is a breeze even with gloves on.