Don't Buy The Garmin Zumo 595LM Review Until You Watch This! | Cruiseman's Review 

Thanks for the review! I have been using a zumo 390LM for about 4 years. When it's time to upgrade, I'll give this serious consideration. Much appreciated!

I watched this for the second time now that I have had over a week to play around with mine. What a nice review Cruiserman!

Excellent review, touches in all the areas of importance to help make a buy/no buy derision. Thank you.

Just bought one of these GPS models and came across your review, great info, thanks.

Good Morning Cruiseman! I just watched your video on the Zumo 595 LM; very informative and impressive! I have plans to purchase one for my 2018 GL1800 DCT Tour in the near future. Your video helped me decide on this unit for myself! Thanks so much, Loyal.

I've had this unit for about four or five years and I really love it.

Great video Cruiseman, and some good comments here about the more budget friendly 396 model.

Thanks for your review very helpful.

Nice and detailed review. Thanks. I have the 550 and it was 850 odd dollhairs, some 10 years ago. All the rubber buttons have fallen off some years ago. I can still operate it with a ball pen, but, it's no longer waterproof. Sad...

I got the 595 when it came our and I still love it.

I just bought the same unit thanks for the video. I am going to mount this on my 2012 Harley Electraglide classic I am very excited now that I have seen your video.

Great job 👍. Good overall explanation and base comparison to lesser model.

Thank you for your review. I'll refer to it as a guide. I've just had mine installed on my Suzuki Vstrom 650xt. Cheers from Italy

Thanks Cruiseman! I own this unit, it's installed on my F6B and it works well *except* for some persistent Bluetooth issues when trying to link it to both my phone (for Spotify/text/voice) and my Sena headset with the handlebar controller. Somewhere in all that it just gets confused often and drops one or the other. Disappointing, but not surprising honestly. Not much in this world "just works."

I used a Zumo 595lm last year to get me to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Tail of the Dragon. Super equipment! Listened to Pandora, warned me of weather along route, offered alternate route when GPS detected stopped traffic on highway etc. I plan to use this for every long journey.

thank you for the review

There are aftermarket sunscreen attachments that make the screens easier to see - I have them on my 2012 built in GPS and also on my Garmin 665. Doesn’t help if the sun comes over your shoulder direct to the screen but otherwise big difference

Brilliant video thanks very helpful 👍

Lack of "skip pre-programmed way-point" function in most navigations, it the most frustrating thing on GPS ever! This feature alone is enough to convince me :)

Great review. Thanks!

Thanks man, great review.

Very helpful review

Great video !! Watching from Bangladesh!!

Yes, you did a nice job showing us the unit. I was watching to understand power cable type, and installation mounts, and how your unit was installed. Unfortunately I'm not ready to spend $500+ on this unit. I'll either continue to use my cell phone or upgrade my 2013 vintage auto Garmin GPS with a new version and just use the new car version on my bike. I don't like riding in the rain anyway, so don't need the water rated MC unit. Anyway, to my view, this Garmin is not ready for prime time and I will await a future upgraded unit that is.

Great review, I have a zumo 665LM love it cause my 2012 wing is a level 1 and I cant travel with out XM radio, And that's the only reason I have not looked to update it but the 595, I seen at one screen has spotify looks to be about the same as xm so hum got me thinking now, As they do not make the cradle for the 665lm now to move to my Valkyrie. Thanks CruiseMan once again Big help here.

I have a 660 and last year bought a 595LM. The main reason I upgraded was to get the weather reports and radar on the route. One minor complaint, unless I am doing something wrong, is I can’t forward the songs on my Sena. I can only control the volume. All else works fine with my IPhone. With four bikes, I still use my 660 on two bikes and 595 on the other two bikes.

I only wish you could calculate the gas mileage and then have a warning, that you are 60km from empty. Excellent tutorial video great step by step. I have had Garmin for over 20 years personal and professional and swear by them.

Apple and Siri are best for directions, messaging and phone calls so like many others, I mounted my phone on handlebars. For a moving map, the Garmin 61 is much bigger and much cheaper especially if “factory reconditioned.” Run it on included 12V adapter it runs at 100% brightness all day. I dont need all the ruggedness the Zumo offers, I wont be using it for a football. When raining I stow it but I would do same with Zumo.

Excellent. I needed that. Thanks

Thank you for the ZUMO 595 overview. The result being it's now on the "Purchase" list. I'm with you all the way when it comes to expensive vehicles manufacturers of both 2 and 4 wheeled that charge like a wounded bull for lock-in substandard systems/devices! .. I expect that Honda would be charging >$2000 for their rubbish GPS. Well; .. Thanks to you forewarning, I have just called and canceled a test ride on a new Honda. (I would have been very angry had I purchased then discovered the failing!) As you stated: "Honda won't be fixing it anytime soon" I mentioned this to the sales fellow during the call. Firstly he said he knew nothing about the issue, However, he said Honda was looking into it! Three more bikes to test over the next week, .... Which one will have the Garmin fitted?

My (new to me as of this past Friday) 08 GL1800 has one of these included. The built in NAV on the bike is somewhat lacking. I had problems with the built in NAV when riding the bike home from purchase, but used both NAV devices while riding and it got a little confusing to be honest. I’m playing around in more detail with the Zumo now. I would recommend using one or the other but not both at the same time. I need to see if I can get a secondary mount and install that on my Harley Electra Glide. It would be great to be able to use this on both motorcycles

Great video Cruiseman's garage, quick question will this Garmin will pair with the Sena 20s?

I have the same issue with the Harley GPS and installed this same GPS with the same out come as you.

I’d be worried about that cradle getting wet in a pop up storm if I was in a restaurant or something. Is it supposed to be waterproof or at least water resistant?

I have a Zumo 590 LM and it's on my GL1800 2012. The only problem I found is that if I loose my road, I cannot start from my actual spot. I also changed my vehicule from motorcycle to car since many times my GPS has taken me through vtt trails and unpaved roads.

Thanks again...... After all this time, it's still a piece of crap everytime I use it...... Battery connector pins are junk which should have been a recall. I tried some solutions from other owner's but, still can't use the GPS unless wired. Even the USB port is poorly made. Screws up every planned route I create. Also, not Mac friendly. I will never purchase another Garmin. I always look forward to your videos and appreciate them immensely. Thanks again! 👍😊

Does it have a "find your friend" function whereby 2 riding mates have the same gadget and you can locate each other if you get split up?

I watched your other video on how you mounted the Garmin. Having cut all but the power lines, didn't you loose a lot or all of those com. features?

Hi,marc from France...I have change mine because of the "poor" contrast of the screem.

Pretty good review very informative i wish you would cover a bit more in depth some of the features. I have the 595 for almoat a year now and still finding some of the features very impressive.

Hi cruisman. Did you manage to do the follow up video on how to connect it all up. I am particularly interested on how to connect power on it, as I have the airbag dct model. If you can assist me on this, it will be greatly appreciated. I was also wondering if it might be better to just use my Samsung S8 Google maps to do a similar job, and place tge phone in tge same position? Your thoughts please.

Getting ready to buy a gps, enjoyed your 595 review. Now the XT is out, will you be comparing them soon?

Cruiseman, how does the Zumo 595lm compare to the Zumo XT?

Can you lock the unit down like the old Garmin 550 unit?

Is there a unit with all these features and benefits with a brighter screen?

Great review. Garmin has some ‘issues’ and shortcomings too, but overall, I agree it’s a lot better than the Honda GPS. What we need is for somebody to figure out a way to replace the Honda unit with this unit to eliminate the bulk on the handlebars. I have my phone mounted on the left grip, leaving the right for a GPS. The combination would be too much clutter, hence the need to have it replace the built in. After all these years, and all the recorded complaints, it’s shameful that Honda has not updated their (crappy) GPS. They really have abandoned us. Soichiro is probably flipping over.

if connected to your phone and bluetooth headphones, will this announce turns coming up and so fourth? turn right in 200 ft etc...

On previous comments I should have written 595LM instead of 395LM. I am sorry.

Just for your info, car play will read your text message on a I-Phone.

How good would this be for following bike infrastructure?

Thanks for the insightful and detailed review! I know you mentioned you have an Android phone, but have you or anyone out there tried it with an iPhone? just curious on the differences. Still going to order one, so thank you for sharing.

It would be nice to compare Garmin Zumo595LM to TomTom550....

Cruiseman, I have a question. I have a 2013 Navi Goldwing. I have made custom routes with Google maps, and then I use a converter program to convert them to a gpx format. What I have found is, I can make a custom turn by turn route, and if you defer from it, like make a wrong turn, it will blow out your whole custom route and redesign your route to your destination to the fastest route, rather then getting you back on the route you planned. This really sucks as I want to stay on highways, and it will reroute you via interstates and such. With the zumo, when you planned your route with basecamp, if you took a wrong turn, will it blow out your whole custom route? I know when I would put in many way-points, if you missed a way-point, it would keep trying to route you back to that way-point. The only way to continue on your route was to stop and delete that way-point. I'm trying to decide if the zumo is the way to go. I love planning out custom routes, but if it's gong to blow them out like the factory gps, then it's not worth it. I will just write down the directions of the route and follow that. Thanks, for your help in this.

Honda Trip planner / Apple Car Play / Android Auto / Waze...All equal a big NO need for an extra GPS system...But that's just me .... Thanks 4 Ta Vids CM !! Lol

Thanks for the review , could the screen be seen clearly in bright sunshine ?

Thx for the review Cruiseman... For Garmin company : XM option built-in version should be offer for canadian buyer ( xm is not available on GL ) Have Zumo 550 for last 10 years... and want to upgrade ... no options . grrr...

Wish it had a traffic light avoid for when I drive through Denton on 380. LOL. :-)

What’s wrong with the one that comes with the bike?

Have been very disappointed in Honda's navigation system. On part of a 6,000 mile trip last summer we compared a Harley, Indian, Honda navigation system as well as Google Maps. Google Maps won hands down. Then it was Harley, Indian then Honda. Agree that no nav system is perfect and all have some "issues" including Garmin but the Garmin is still the best. Had one on my Harley Ultra and was able to do a lot with it. My 2018 Goldwing nav system is a huge step back. Ha Ha... don't even get me started about what I can't do with it unless I'm stopped. Anywhooo... I wanted to wait till 10,000 miles before deciding what I wanted to improve. Now that I'm over that distance the Garmin is going on the left side of my handle bar and my phone will be mounted on the right.

I have an older Garmin and I have two problems with it: First, it does not display the route numbers - it gives you the road name. For example, it says to turn on "Greenville Highway" instead of turn on "Route 21". And when you are on "Route 21" it shows that you are on "Greenville Highway." Second, when you set up destinations you have to give each one a name - like "Littleton Holiday Inn." However, when you select your destinations it does not say "Littleton Holiday Inn" it gives you the address. These issues are really stupid. Does the Zumo 595 do the same thing? Thanks

As the 395LM does not have speakers, I don’t understand how you can hear the sound of your Garmin without connecting it to your bike audio system after having cut the 3 wires for audio in, audio out, and microphone. I just bought two days ago a 395LM and I installed it today on my Goldwing 2005. I had to connect the audio out coming from my bike to the audio out on the harness and the microphone wire of the Goldwing to the one on the harness. Now I can receive the GPS driving instructions, hear my music and I can have conversations with the phone. Is there a different way to do that on a 2018 Goldwing without connecting these wires?

I have the Zumo 396 I can confirm that it DOES have Livetrack. I bought it to replace a Zumo 350 specifically because it has it. From watching this video, there's not much of a difference between the 595 and the 396 other than the size and price. At (only?) $400, I think it's a better deal than the 595, but YMMV.

Hi, can i know if this gps is better than Google Maps?

Had this sent it back..Bluetooth issues failing to take calls or texts...kept resetting for no reason intermittently. Adventurous routes were good...but software issues ruined it.

will it handle a 02 Road King, I'm on my second nuvi 550 on it now the first one works for a little while then just lockups, touch screen stops working. the vibration is just too much for it

Do you have any connection with Poland? saw the polish flag on your wall.

My last nav6 Garmin failed after 2 years! BMW did accept to repair It in contact with garmin. Avoid bad aftermarket to repair!!!

Does it alert you about a accident were traffic is backed up then give you a alternate route to avoid it.

Do your have any information on the installation and operation of a Sirius XM unit?

Please clarify.....I’m checking online to buy this Garmin. You indicated it “comes with” cradle and wiring harness. From what I’m able to determine, it does not come with on the sites I’m checking. They want an additional $60 for the cradle and harness and Also extra for tire pressure sensors. Also seems the handlebar ball mount seems to be an extra charge and needs to be ordered separately also. Please clarify.

Would this be useful for adventure touring when off paved roads?

Do you have a part number for the ball mount that is needed for the DCT model bike? That is to mount on left handle bar.

I just wonder why, on a $30,000 motorcycle (I'm in Canada), they can't have a decent GPS that motorcycle centric! I expect a LOT more than a GPS that is only good at point to point routing. The Garmin SP2610 I had in the late 90s was superior to the current Wing version.

I have a question. Will it work without the mobile phone? I mean if I install it directly onto the handlebar of my bike, will it help me to navigate? I will not use smartphone at all.

I can’t believe your rating is so high when you consider the lack of brightness on the 595. You mention “my only slight criticism is the lack of brightness “. Well, this little detail made it very much unusable on my trip around Lake Michigan. I simply could not read the display. It was awful. 13:43

Have you had a chance to compare it with the Zumo XT?

Dose the gps have a out put jack to go true the bike

Thanks for your review of the Zumo 595lm. I've had one for nearly two years and have had nothing but problems trying to keep the Bluetooth connected to my Nolan B5 headset and my Moto Z Play android phone. There are some days it performs flawlessly but most days I fiddle with Bluetooth connection issues. May I ask what phone/headset combinations most of you use that don't have connection problems? I noticed from the videos you are using a Samsung galaxy S6. I'm thinking of upgrading my phone to see if it helps, but I hate throwing money at something without some time of research first. My phone and my headset have zero connection issues, its only when I put the Zumo in the mix I start having issues. Some days its so frustrating I just take it off the mount and put it in the trunk and wonder why I spent so much on something that wont do as much as my phone will.

Someboday asked "what's wrong with the Honda GPS?" I'd like to answer that. Let’s see. • Crappy trip planning. And, the Honda site for doing it is barely, if at all, functional. • Try stopping a route. • The routes it selects are rarely optimal. I frequently go different ways only to see the ETA go down. • Can’t change anything if you’re moving. Won’t even display the map if you fail to hit “Enter”. • Too many roads not in the database. • Some roads only appear when zoomed in too much. • Naming imported routes is crappy. • No ability to repeat directions if you missed it. • Menu is slow and difficult to navigate. • If you intentionally miss a waypoint, it’ll keep directing you back - regardless of distance. • Still uses the archaic “rerouting”, interrupting music. It should STFU. • Limited number of waypoints. • Updating is WAY overpriced. • And the list really does go on. I just don’t have the time. This isn’t nitpicking. These are complaints that Honda has heard about for years and has failed to correct. To introduce a ‘new’ Goldwing, with the same old crappy GPS is inexcusable. I’m sorry, there is no excuse at this point.

Just took a 4000 mile trip on my 18. What exactly is wrong with the GPS? I used it the whole trip and other then an address not being in the list, it did a fantastic job of getting me through the mountains and down the coast! It made an error once telling me to turn left showing me to turn right. That's the only error I found. Worked great otherwise, not sure what you're talking about when saying it's bad.

I junked my Garmin Zumo 350LM... and got a TomTom Rider 550. The TT is a way better machine for a lot less money. My old Garmin had me going down gravel roads, even though I told it not to do that... and then it would re-calculate for the next twenty miles telling me to go down every gravel road I passed by. Number one thing I hated about my Garmin... is that it didn't realize I live in Canada... and the city I am searching for is in Canada, near me... and not in Texas or Florida somewhere. First choices that always came up are cities and town (and golf courses) 5000 miles away from me. Hello, you're a GPS unit, show me the cities and towns that are closest to me and go out from there. BaseCamp is crap too. Good riddance to my Garmin.

All this for only 700 bucks, just consider it an add-on accessory for your 2018 Goldwing

Can we use this gps in malaysia ?

is there any issues with the Garmin unit draining the Goldwing battery when the bike is shut off? Thanks!

I have had the Zumo 595lm for something like 4 years it is a disaster the trouble this has gotten me into is unbelievable it won't import GPX files as planned you need to put waypoints at every turn or it will take on a detour or bring you back to where it started the detour I am well traveled on a bike I now use my phone and another thing it takes forever to tap in an address I upgraded to 595lm thinking it would solve the problems. very very disappointed biker friends say the same,

How do you pair both the 2018 GL1800 and the Zumo 595lm

Good review ... thx, question ... Is moving a route from your desktop (windows) PC to the Garmin unit accomplished by saving the route to a sim card, then plugging that card physically into the garmin unit? Anything else you can tell us if we want to use basecamp to define the route WE WANT?

The Garmin 595 LM would be a fantastic GPS unit of it weren't for one 'little' thing. The screen absolutely sucks in any kind of direct (sun)light, it is utterly unreadable. I also have the 395 LM, same thing, the screen is atrocious. Great at night, garbage when it is sunny or even overcast.

What a shame we have to travel back in time to before the pandemic to get reliable goods and try to find second hand ones for sale, since all the new stuff is shockingly bad and hugely overpriced garbage.

Do you not know you can link your Apple phone and then you have Google maps right on your screen? Come on it's called "Apple carplay"

Really wish Garmin would get the fact we don't need tons of useless features and apps

Another reason not to purchase a Honda Goldwinglette, what a joke. It’s a brand new bike design, I mean seriously.

i would like to buy a dedicated gps with a big and bright screen good maps and navigation but unfortunately it does not exist so i have to stick with my android phone

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I'm beginning to think you've got issues. On one other vid I watched you criticized the top compartment door because you had to push on one side of the button more then the other. Are you too lazy to squirt a little lube on the release inside? Mine works fine! I haven't found the faults you complain about, I think you're endorsed by companies that provide these products so you push them.

Overpriced chinese made cra.... the price tag is $600 it's crazy!!! I can use my phone for a gps. Actually I find the Google navigation much better than garmin. I wouldn't pay for it more than $150

First!