Were you able to use your existing XM antenna, or did you need to buy a new one?

G-

 

I could've sworn the 550 had at least one feature that I use, that the 665 didn't have. Can't remember now. XM? I can't remember.

A friend of mine went from 550 to 665 and said though the bigger screen was good, the buttons were smaller than the 550's and there was a glare problem. I have a glare problem with my 550 so that's a wash.

Anyway, my 550's doing a great job for me. Somehow I ended up with two units. If/when one breaks I'll not be in a hurry to upgrade, rather just use the other.

Hope you find what's perfect for you!!

 

One feature you get with the 665 that you don't get with a 550 is Nexrad radar. The 550 weather screeen is more of a cartoon like illustration. The 665 shows an actual map that lets you know what you are riding into. When I went to Sturgis this year I met some guys at a gas station that had one and it saved a bunch of us from riding into a really nasty storm. I have the 550 and subscribe to the weather and my screen looked like a cartoon drawing that showed little lightening bolts. No help at all.

 

Looks like the 660 is for me. I like being able to ditch the iPod. Does the Garmin touch screen work with gloves? I ride old school leather work gloves and using the iPod is a pain. My gloves in Alaska will be even thicker.

How is Garmin for map updates?

 

I've not had any problems with my light and midweight gloves with the touch screen on my 665. With really thick electric gloves, it might be a challenge to find the sweet spot on the screen. It is triggered from both the warmth and pressure of your fingers.

The weather NAV on the unit is a great tool to have on a long trip. Mine let me avoid a couple of really heavy storms. It also lets me know when to shut up, and suit up ahead of the mess.

Kevin

 

My 550 has been tried and true for 3+ years. I initially had the XM piece for the weather, total waste of money in my opinion. The bluetooth I don't use at all. The last thing I want is to be tied to a cell phone when I'm riding. kinda defeats the whole purpose!

As far as map-updates, create an account on mygarmin.com, (i paid for lifetime updates) and it notifies me each time an update is available. The included MAPSOURCE software is tremendous as well and far better than any other GPS mapping software I've seen with other units.

In my opinion as well, TomTom is one of the worst I've seen as far as giving accurate directions. I bought one, kept it on the bike for about 6 months, finally paid the price for the Garmin 550, stuck the TomTom in a closet. 2 weeks ago, I gave it to my 8 year old, along with a 3lb sledge and told him to take it to the driveway and have fun with it. He had an AWESOME time beating that crap out of that TomTom device. :-)

 

If XM and Bluetooth aren't priorities you might try to find a Zumo 450. It is the same as the 550 except no XM or BT capability and the voice doesn't announce the street name. IOW, the 550 might say "In 100 ft. turn right on Main St.," while the 450 would say "In 100 ft. turn right," although it shows the street name on the display. I don't use the voice warnings, so that doesn't affect me at all, and I have no interest in linking my cell phone or paying for music when I have thousands of MP3's already. I do use the Zumo as my primary music-playing device.

I would recommend the 450 if these features aren't important and you can find one at a good price. Just checking Ebay I find that the 450 and 550 are still high, and much higher used than I bought my 450 for 2½ years ago new. Back then I paid $350, which was a bargain then and apparently an even bigger bargain considering the prices I'm seeing today.

As for gloves, I've had no trouble with light- and medium-weight gloves, but my heated Gerbing gloves (the old bulky "Classic" model) have a harder time with the on-screen interaction. I suspect the newer models might not be much better, though.

 

I've been using a 550 for about a year, and used it nearly every time I've taken the bike out (23,000 miles and counting).

Pros:

- To my eyes, the screen is visible even in bright sunlight.
- XM integration is well done with one exception.
- It has never gotten me lost, and has guided me where I need to go quite well.
- It's survived through temperatures from 16-110 degrees, through snow, hail, and rain.
- It's intuitive. There's no real learning curve.

Cons:

- Keyboard is alpha, not QWERTY.
- You have to hit three buttons to go from map view to change the XM station.
- Mapsource software doesn't work with Macs.
- XM reception is spotty....Tree-lined roads play hell with it.
- Weather and traffic don't offer much detail and require too much attention to be paid to the screen.
- You cannot search "liquor store", and have it find the closest.
- The entire North America map doesn't fit on the device, so kiss Canuckistan and Alaska goodbye.

The 665 came out less than a month after I bought the 550. Had I had the choice between the two, I would have spent the extra money on the 665. I don't know if that would have solved all the issues, but it would have addressed several of them, and given me lane notification in the process.