Garmin Zumo 660LM on my Triumph Street Triple

After a couple hours of wrangling with various Ram Mounts, I finally mounted my new Garmin Zumo 660LM on my 2012 Triumph Street Triple R. 

First, I bought the Zumo on sale from Amazon. 50% off, no tax and free shipping (with my Prime membership). Then I ordered the Ram Mounts Fork Stem Kit.

Everything else you need to mount and power the Zumo comes in the box. I decided to use the Power Cable that comes in the box and mount it on the Fork Stem Kit. Although I could use a USB cable instead, I went with the Power Cable. I didn't think that I could power the Zumo via USB but by the time I realized my mistake I already ran the Power Cable along my bike under the tank to the battery.

Unfortunately the cable doesn't come ready for you to install directly to your battery. My husband had to solder connectors to the positive and negative, so for now it's directly wired to my battery. I don't think this will be permanent, as I'd rather have it connected to my ignition wiring but I need to figure out the proper way to do that first. For now, I will have to be extra careful so as to not leave the Zumo on the bike if it's not running.

I like how it turned out and the Fork Stem Mount is a much better alternative to mounting it to the handlebar. Now I'm ready to navigate!

I know what you're thinking, why not just use your iPhone to do the navigating? I've tried. Believe me, I've tried. The one hurdle with using your iPhone as a navigator is how Difficult it is to create a route, input it into an app on the phone and THEN have it give you Turn by Turn directions! It seems to easy, but this last part is the MOST difficult aspect of the process.

I found an incredible tool not long ago called Furkot.com, to help me plan out my itinerary including gas stops and meals based on mileage range and travel times. It's awesome. I also figured out how to export that map into my iPhone using an app called Osmand and it even shows me my route. I did find some complicated methods of exporting files, downloading apps (PCs ONLY, I'm a mac girl) and converting things to use on my iPhone but I'm never going to buy a PC just to do that. So for me, spending $379 on a Garmin is well worth it. Inputting maps is easy with the Basecamp Software (although I prefer to keep navigating in Furkot).

My husband and I will be heading north up to Hancock, NY to spend next weekend riding. Can't wait to input some routes and ride the twisties!

Went out for a quick 150 mile ride yesterday

Went for a quick 150 mile ride to Northern PA the other day for ice cream!

We used this ride route that I put together, but only did half of it since we didn't leave early enough. So we made it to just below Bangor, PA and then headed East towards the Delaware River heading south on 32.

On the way we stopped for ice cream at Homestead Coffee Roasters. Yum! They also have a small lunch menu, ice cream and misc snacks. There's also a nice patio out back to sit and enjoy your scoops. Oh yes, we're also both testing out new helmets! He got this special edition Bell Star Carbon and I picked up a Shoei RF-1200 'Graffiti' (LOVE this helmet).

I don't know why the man looks unhappy posing in front (it's also called the General Store), but he puts up a good front because we had a great time that afternoon.

And along the way down 32, we found this cute bridge to take a couple pics on.

The weather was perfect, high 70s for the most part. Not hot, not cold, just right. I'm testing the Scorpion Zion jacket for WRN and it worked well that day. A full review will be coming soon, so stay tuned.

Sena SMH10R Review

 

Yay! It's review time. I finally upgraded my bluetooth head set to the Sena SMH10R. Oooooooo. Aaaaaaaaah. Ohhhhhh. Read my review here. Did I also mention that I upgraded my helmet to a Shoei RF-1200? :D

Since my Qwest fit me so well, why not go for a lighter, quieter version of it? I'm an XS, and this helmet only weighs 3lbs 5oz! So light. The shell is also really compact, so when I turn my head I don't hit my backpack or my shoulder. It's quieter, less resistant in the wind at high speed, stable and ridiculously comfortable. It comes with a Pinlock faceshield and insert, bonus!

I just picked up this helmet yesterday and have only ridden 10 miles in it so far. I will report back in a month or so. In the meantime, a couple pics of the Graffiti graphic. 

I found calculus equations underneath the graffiti:

I guess it's fitting since I was an Econ major in college, I did take 2 quarters of Calculus....... :D

Sena vs Cardo

Another reader question! What is a better communicator, the sena smh10r or cardo scala g9x?

Thx for your help, Patrick

So if I had to answer this question in a quick minute, I have to say the G9X. However, that answer is based solely on features and functionality when you compare the two side by side.  But that is simply because the G9X is designed as the master of Group Riding, assuming all of the riders are using Cardo units. It's a robust bluetooth intercom to ride with a ton of people. Whereas the SMH10R is really a low profile unit designed to interact with maybe 3 riding friends, not all of the members of your local riding club.

sena smh10R shoei qwest

I whipped up this chart to compare what features each unit has in common, and then who wins in certain categories so you can see how different these units are. In the first section "Shared Features", you can see they do have similar functionalities. In the "Cardo Wins" category, there are a few cool features that the SMH10R doesn't have.  And then in the "Sena Wins" category, it has a few features that the G9X doesn't have.

SHARED FEATURES:

CARDO G9X

SENA SMH10R

4-Way Intercom Conferencing

yes

yes

A2DP Stereo

yes

yes

Answer Intercom Calls via VOX

yes

yes

Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

yes

yes

GPS Connectivity

yes

yes

Hot Dial

yes

yes

Make and Receive Mobile Calls via VOX

yes

yes

Mobile Phone Connectivity

yes

yes

MP3 Connectivity

yes

yes

Music-Sharing™(between Rider-Passenger)

yes

yes

Plug-In Speakers (3.5mm)

yes

yes (optional)

Replaceable Mics

yes

yes

Software Updates

yes

yes

Spoken Status Announcements

yes

yes

Voice Commands

yes

yes

 CARDO WINS:

Web platform to change settings

yes

no

FM Radio with RDS

yes

no

Automatic Volume Adjustment (AGC)

yes

no

Click-to-Link®

yes

no

Flash Pairing®

yes

no

Group Signal

yes

no

Intercom Bike-to-Bike

Up to 1mile

Up to 0.55 mile

Intercom Toggling

between 9 bikers

between 4 bikers

Talk Time

13 hours

8 hours

Standby

7 days

7 days

SENA WINS:

Universal Intercom

no

yes

Ultralight Profile

no

yes

Cardo Scala G9

I would say that if you're looking for the Cardo version of the SMH10R, look at the Q3. Lower profile than the G9 and offers practically the same features as the SMH10R, with the exception of it's low profile, thin unit. For ME, this trumps everything else. It's aesthetics, and purely superficial. But it totally depends on what your priorities are as a rider. Having ridden with the SMH5 for so long, I really like the low profile look of the SMH10R and am getting comfortable with the controls each time I ride.