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I’m looking at getting a GPS nav system that I want to use for both the bike and the car. I’m looking at the Zumo 550 and the new Tom Tom Rider. I would like to use a built in antenna on the bike but a car mounted antenna in the car (it’s already there so why not.) Does either allow the use of separate antennas? Of course it sould have mounts for both the bike and the car. I understand the Zumo has built in XM radio, does it have a hardwire jack to plug into my accessory jack in the car radio? Does it just take a call to XM to set it up? As a former professional navigator I’m interested in the mapping and planning features more than the voice prompts but even there I’m curious, do they require Bluetooth in both the car and the bike?

Being a certified cheapskate I’m want to get the maximum bang for the buck but it’s hard to evaluate the two systems using just their promotional literature.

i have a zumo, its amazing. just plug it in and your ready to go on both car and bike. i would go with the garmin

Frank

Larry: I love my zumo. it comes with mounts for car and bike and I'm pretty sure you can connect an externa antenna. I don't know spit about satellite radio so i can't help there. I'm going to email you the manual as a pdf so you can puzzle thru it yoursef.

I have the Zumo 450, because I didn't care about the XM or Bluetooth. I connect a small earbud to the headphone jack when riding the bike, and when in the car, there is a speaker built into the car mount (which is a separate accessory for the 450). There is no provision for an external antenna, but that hasn't been a problem. Mapping and planning seem to be about standard from what I've been told. I haven't personally tried a complicated mapset yet, only a few day trips, but deciphering the instructions was not encouraging. It's like any other electronic gadget with a zillion functions and limited interface--not always intuitive, especially if you want to do anything the least bit complicated. All in all, I'm satisfied, but I can't compare it to the TomTom since I've not owned one. It sure beats trying to follow a map, especially on the bike.
Gary

Hey Larry - I have the Zumo 550 and as stated above, don't have a need for the external antenna, and I don't think it has a port for one. The XM IS built in but requires a $200 antenna which does have a port built in.

The bluetooth is totally optional and you can run wired sound for both the car and bike. The car does have a speaker in the mount which is fine for voice prompts, but you can do the cheapo cassette adapter if you want stereo thru the car speakers, or get a wireless FM adapter for an ipod and they work also.

The problem with bluetooth on the bike is they don't support stereo (yet) so I'll wait awhile on that. I use these cheapo earplug headphones and they work great for roadtrips.

Never used the TomTom, but all the reveiws at the time were going for the Zumo. It's a bit spendy, but pretty much comes with everything you need.....

Jeff

when I got my GPS last year, the shop owner said that the maps for the Garmin are better for the US than the TomTom maps... dont' know if that's changed yet or not..
I got it thru a group buy on another forum. He sells lots of GPS systems for EMS, trucks, bikes, etc...
I got the one that had the antenna with it.. XM, it's good, got another XM unit in the house, too...
I also signed up for weather and traffic reports, it will route around traffic tieups.
Saved my butt a few time trying to find places in the dark and rain...was worth every penny!
My Garmin has brackets on both my Triumph and my Harley, when I use it in the Jeep, it sits locked into it's own little beanbag and plugs into a cig lighter. Very easy.
Mary