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Using Scenic routes with Garmin Zumo XT

KiowaEagle

KiowaEagle

Geezer but not on a wheezer
Member
Carl, a friend of mine who rides with our Meetup group Montco Riders is a programmer for Comcast and was as perplexed as I was at how bad the Zumo XT routing is for motorcycling even though it's "made" for just that. There are gps apps like Scenic that do a stellar job at finding twisties but you can't just export the gpz file and expect it to work in Zumo, it will just create it's own route from the waypoints given. So Carl figured out how to export the gpz files that will keep the original route. One thing he forgets to mention in the video is that you need to have the Garmin Drive app installed on your phone. It's free in the app store.

I've been using this method the past couple of months and it works well. Added bonus is that although you can do this with all Zumo's, the XT uses bluetooth communication with the phone so it can be done on the fly. You can create a route in Scenic and send it to the XT while on the road (hopefully pulled over).

 
KiowaEagle said:
Carl, a friend of mine who rides with our Meetup group Montco Riders is a programmer for Comcast and was as perplexed as I was at how bad the Zumo XT routing is for motorcycling even though it's "made" for just that. There are gps apps like Scenic that do a stellar job at finding twisties but you can't just export the gpz file and expect it to work in Zumo, it will just create it's own route from the waypoints given. So Carl figured out how to export the gpz files that will keep the original route. One thing he forgets to mention in the video is that you need to have the Garmin Drive app installed on your phone. It's free in the app store.

I've been using this method the past couple of months and it works well. Added bonus is that although you can do this with all Zumo's, the XT uses bluetooth communication with the phone so it can be done on the fly. You can create a route in Scenic and send it to the XT while on the road (hopefully pulled over).

Click to expand...
Thank You for sharing.

I do most my route planning with my phone or laptop and then enter directly onto the GPS which can at times be very slow. I have had similar issues discussed with uploading a GPX file to my Garmin, I’ll try this.
 
This is great information. Steve Smith and I are discussing hosting a series of GPS seminars (Zoom sessions) beginning mid-January 2022. Stay tuned for details as we put this plan together. It will be titled: Essential Skills Using Garmin GPS and Basecamp. Our goal is to not overwhelm, but rather start with basics including what to buy, how to mount, how to update maps and GPS firmware, and how to load and navigate a route for a COG ride. For simplicity, we will focus on the Garmin devices and Basecamp but realize there are other devices and mapping software. As the classes advance, we will cover creating and modifying custom routes. We hope to answer any questions, and have others just like the folks contributing to this thread help us all learn tricks and best practices. We have no idea how many will sign up once we advertise the events. Is anybody interested based on what I just mentioned?
 
I am currently shopping for a GPS. The price for the XT is a hard pill to swallow. I was thinking of getting the Garmin Drive, its $99 renewed on Amazon. Has anyone used a car based GPS on their bike? Any issues? I feel like I could just throw a clear shower cap on it if it started pouring on me. What makes the motorcycle GPS 5 times more expensive?
 
4bikes said:
This is great information. Steve Smith and I are discussing hosting a series of GPS seminars (Zoom sessions) beginning mid-January 2022. Stay tuned for details as we put this plan together. It will be titled: Essential Skills Using Garmin GPS and Basecamp. Our goal is to not overwhelm, but rather start with basics including what to buy, how to mount, how to update maps and GPS firmware, and how to load and navigate a route for a COG ride. For simplicity, we will focus on the Garmin devices and Basecamp but realize there are other devices and mapping software. As the classes advance, we will cover creating and modifying custom routes. We hope to answer any questions, and have others just like the folks contributing to this thread help us all learn tricks and best practices. We have no idea how many will sign up once we advertise the events. Is anybody interested based on what I just mentioned?
Click to expand...
Absolutely interested !
 
briev802740 said:
I am currently shopping for a GPS. The price for the XT is a hard pill to swallow. I was thinking of getting the Garmin Drive, its $99 renewed on Amazon. Has anyone used a car based GPS on their bike? Any issues? I feel like I could just throw a clear shower cap on it if it started pouring on me. What makes the motorcycle GPS 5 times more expensive?
Click to expand...
We have been using Garmin car GPS units (4 or 5 of them) for +/- 15 years - first on the KZ750, then C10 then C14.

Overall a car GPS on a MC is a viable solution with some caveats - see below some thoughts, note there are a few pros and cons that are on both sides of the fence.
  • Pros
    • Portable
    • Significantly less costl
    • DC plug no wiring needed (not that it’s difficult but do believe most / if not all MC Garmin units are hardwired
    • Dedicated GPS Function / don’t wreck a mobile phone camera
    • Automotive units these days seem to have no internal issues with vibration - early units I killed 2 in less than a year and believe this was the cause.
    • Later models lots of Bluetooth connectivity to input devices, Apps and voice commands
    • Lots of options for mounting - RAM, ROCK, Other..
  • Cons
    • Shared Device, swap back ‘n’ forth and if like me easy to forget - then if in car and decide to go ‘off the grid’. Switch to mobile phone use but prefer 5.5” screen on Garmin.
    • By far biggest challenge is wet weather - a sammich baggie or mounted dry case is required. Not a BIG deal however is a pain to stop your ride to baggie up which means half the time you’ll try to outlast the possibility of rain then you’re getting wet bagging up the GPS. Visibility is also hindered with a wet baggie and at a minimum the whole inclimate weather and auto GPS is a distraction. Note: If touchscreen or device gets too wet you are immediately up the creek, touchscreen goes haywire and becomes for all intents and purposes unusable until fully dried out - usually hour plus in front of a fan…
    • Most car touchscreens require skin touch only thinnest leather seems to work, if insulated glove need to remove glove to use touchscreen.
    • The freedom of a DC cable for me ends up being an issue whereas female power connection on GPS unit gets worn out and unit starts losing power, turning off automatically or battery dying.


 
briev802740 said:
I am currently shopping for a GPS. The price for the XT is a hard pill to swallow. I was thinking of getting the Garmin Drive, its $99 renewed on Amazon. Has anyone used a car based GPS on their bike? Any issues? I feel like I could just throw a clear shower cap on it if it started pouring on me. What makes the motorcycle GPS 5 times more expensive?
Click to expand...

IIRC this is a planned topic for the webinars. a few XT pros are:
  • waterproof IPX rating
  • larger, sunlight readable screen
  • touchscreen works with gloved/in gloved touch
  • curvy road feature
  • typically capable of holding more routes, waypoints, vias
 
Is there an Android app that is very much like the iPhone Scenic app that will do roughly the same transfer function?
 
4bikes said:
This is great information. Steve Smith and I are discussing hosting a series of GPS seminars (Zoom sessions) beginning mid-January 2022. Stay tuned for details as we put this plan together. It will be titled: Essential Skills Using Garmin GPS and Basecamp. Our goal is to not overwhelm, but rather start with basics including what to buy, how to mount, how to update maps and GPS firmware, and how to load and navigate a route for a COG ride. For simplicity, we will focus on the Garmin devices and Basecamp but realize there are other devices and mapping software. As the classes advance, we will cover creating and modifying custom routes. We hope to answer any questions, and have others just like the folks contributing to this thread help us all learn tricks and best practices. We have no idea how many will sign up once we advertise the events. Is anybody interested based on what I just mentioned?
Click to expand...
Interested
 
Steve,

Are you going to do a video of your seminars? I would like to participate, but I will be driving to work at the scheduled time. I know that it would add a lot of work on your part. Do you plan to do a live seminar every week from January to April?

Jeff
 
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