Garmin Zumo
My journey from Road Glide Limited to Low Rider ST
by Axel Thill, May 2022
Let's talk Navigation
Looking at a new bike, is looking at what you win, and what you lose. Black and White, see below the cockpit of the Road Glide and the Low Rider ST.
There is little in the full cockpit of the Road Glide that I will miss, most informations are integrated in the tiny display in the middle of the handlebars of the ST. Everything else is just big and heavy. Except for the Boom! Box, which as I explained earlier on the Rockford Fosgate page, is just used as Jukebox, whose touchscreen I could not reach without standing up, compromising my line. As navigation unit I continued to use my trusted Garmin Zumo 660.
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Yes, you heard correctly, I used the Zumo 660, introduced in 2010, with a screen resolution of just 480x272 pixels. This was actually my second Zumo 660, and its maps were still from 2014. You have no idea how many changes happened in the road network since then, if you follow these old maps blindly, be prepared for many U-turns. I never updated to the Zumo 595 introduced 2017, with its higher screen resolution of 800x480 px.
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Both models are now discontinued, and it was time to invest in a new unit, the 2020 Zumo XT. Its screen resolution is 1280x720, not yet a Apple Retina display, but a visible improvement. The XT has WiFi connectivity and downloads map-updates automatically.
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ZUMO XT ZUMO 660
I told you already earlier, that since considering the FXLRST, I am following a group on Facebook called "Harley Davidson FXLRST Low Rider ST Owners". I had a idea, a vision, maybe hope, on how to attach the Zumo XT on the FXLRST, and then a user posted his setup of the Zumo XT. WOW, nicely centred above the control display, expertly executed with very robust RAM mounts, that's what I had planned, well done.
But... I added the little white circle on his photo, as he wrote that he drilled a whole into the display unit, to fix the RAM ball. Uhh, drilling holes is not what I like to do in new bikes or old ships, its hard to get rid of them later. But his usage of RAM elements was very economical and solid, see below
My idea still is to use a handlebar clamp on the riser (circle with white line) and 2 connectors instead of 1.
I hope to get 2 advantages: a) solid clamp connection to the riser, as 1 screw through 1 hole could wiggle free, and b) to obtain more flexibility in positioning the actual Zumo XT screen angle, higher or more forward, to avoid reflection of a bright sky. Just a idea...
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One more thing: did you see the red instrument unit above? Its a Koso D2, programable, speed calibration, shift light, etc:
My colour of choice: 3rd from left, amber, hopefully closest to the bronze elements of the FXLRST
Read also related posts of my journey to the Low Rider ST: