I have enjoyed using the Nuvi 760. Personally traveling the countryside I can get by fine without GPS navigation however it is useful when zig zagging on back roads that are not always clearly signposted. Also in towns I liked having the unit show me turns in advance as some of the signage can be difficult to read. Lastly the ETA to destination let me plan how long I would stop at sights along the way so to still arrive before sunset.
Depite not being a motorcycle specific model the touch screen is easy to operate even with gloves on and while I could have left it underneath the motorcycle screen should it rain it is just as easy to put it away in your pocket. I mean you have to stop to put on your rain gear anyway so that leaves no reason I can see for paying twice as much for the smaller screen motorcycle model.
Of course this is navigating using the screen only not voice prompts - I only ride with ear plugs and if you still ride with out plugs then realise the wind noise inside all helmets at highway speeds will cause permenent hearing damage without hearing protection.
I can't think of too much not to like about the unit. You need to use the Garmin Mapsource software to plot routes and it could be improved however it works well enough. The mount attaches with a powerful suction cup that you clamp down with a lever and then you can run off batteries for a claimed 5 hours however I fitted a cigarette lighter socket and this will power the unit as long as needed.
Interesting.!! I seems that you really enjoyed using the Garmin Nuvi 760 GPS navigator. I too got a similar one from Best Buy.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog.
ReplyDeleteI own both the Nuvi 660 and the 760, I'm writing this review for people having trouble deciding between the two as the price difference between the two products at the time of this review is about 100 dollars. I'm not going to focus on the feature differences, as that information can be easily obtained from specifications and online reviews. The 660 was a fine product back in 2005-2006, but the new 760 outdoes the 660 in practically everything, but there are some key usability fixes that make the 760 a better buy for the frequent user.
http://tinyurl.com/gnuvi760
1. 760 has much better fonts for street names than the 660. This may seem like a trivial update to some, but the 760's fonts greatly improve visibility. The 660 uses all capitalized text for street names on the map, and the font is incredibly cartoonish and unaligned, something like the scribbling Comic Sans font on the PC. The 760 uses your standard Verdana-like font with street names in capitalized and lowercase letters. The fonts on the 760 are smaller, cleaner and surprisingly much easier to read while driving. The maps end up looking professional, and not some cartoony children's video game.
2. 760 has better rendering in 3D map mode than the 660. In the 660 when you are zoomed in under 3D map mode, the roads close to your car are displayed incredibly large, so large that they run into other roads, making the zoom function essentially kind of useless for dense roads. The 760 does not oversize your roads just because you zoomed in to view smaller roads in detail. This fix is very nice for those who drive in places with dense roadways, like New York City.
3. No antenna on the 760 makes hooking up your Nuvi to the cradle one step easier. On the 660 you need to flip up the antenna before attaching the cradle. For people who park their cars on the street overnight, removing the GPS from the cradle for storage in the console or glove compartment is a must, and it's a lot easier hooking up the 760 to the cradle than the 660. It's hard to aim the 660 to its cradle in the dark as you have to align both the bottom edge and the charge port under the antenna. In the 760, the charge port is directly on the bottom of the unit; you can attach it to the cradle with one hand in the dark easily on the 760.
4. It takes the 660 a good 45 seconds on average (sometimes longer than 2 minutes) after boot up to locate the satellite on a cold start. If you have firmware 2.6 installed on the 760, the satellite acquisition time after boot up is between 10-20 seconds. After the firmware update, my 760 also holds a stronger lock to the satellites than my 660, I can get satellite lock inside my house with the 760, whereas I can't get a lock with my 660 (adjusting the antenna does very little).
5. The ability to set multiple ad hoc viapoints on the 760 means it's a lot easier creating alternate routes (very handy to avoid a specific interstate or a high traffic road). Whereas the 660 gives you just one viapoint.
UPDATE: This GPS is currently on sale at Amazon… now is your chance to buy one, if you haven’t already. You can find the product page here:
http://tinyurl.com/gnuvi760
How did you mount the GPS unit to your motorcycle? I see all these mounting kits, but you didn't mention using one. Also, did you hook it up to your bike battery or are you using it without external power? How did that work for you?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experiences!
Sorry, just noticed that you mentioned you did hook it up to the cigarett lighter. Please disregard that question. Am still curious how you mounted itm, though.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Hi Jay,
ReplyDeleteI mounted it by using the suction cup to the face of my gauge pod which obscured some of the tacho however I rarely look at my revs so this was of no concern to me. Then wired a cig lighter socket back to battery, plugged in under the fairing out of the weather. Nothing moved over some very bumpy at times roads.
Regards IC.
Does the 760 also have the similar similar user interface items that the 660 has for motorcycles? (speaking mainly about fuel remaining/etc)
ReplyDeleteIt seems like I saw some video footage from a trade show someplace showing that you can select the "MODE" that Nuvi GPS's are in (walking, auto, boat, motorcycle).
No it doesn't have the fuel display, however I would not want to rely on that feature since it is not actually measuring the fuel in your tank but going on what you tell it.
ReplyDeleteTo tell you the truth now I have had it awhile I find a gps more of a hassle than of any assistance, plain map or google map on iphone works better for me.