Garmin has been making GPS devices for over 30 years. They serve multiple markets, including aviation, automotive, and, relevant for us, motorcycles. For several years, the top-end model for motorcyclists they offered was the Garmin Zumo XT.
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Long term review
I’ve had my Garmin Zumo XT for 3 full seasons now, so this is enough time to see the good, the bad and the ugly on any device. I’ve used this GPS for a variety of trips ranging from local to long distance, and with on road and off-pavement. The GPS was my visual GPS for the Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route earlier this summer following the BMW MOA rally in Virginia.
Advantages
All Garmin Zumo devices are designed and built for motorcycles, which means they have water resistance that works while moving at highway speeds, dust resistance (for all those off-pavement runs), and shock resistance (to protect against the engine's vibrations and bumps on your path). This robust construction is one critical advantage over using something like your smartphone mounted on your handlebar. Looking at a Garmin Zumo vs. a typical smartphone makes it clear that it is built far more robustly.
The significant improvement of the Garmin Zumo XT versus earlier Garmin units was in 2 main areas. The first was a sharper screen, making text easier to read while traveling quickly. The second was a routing engine called Adventurous routing. This engine picks twistier routes than the "fastest" routes and may also have significant elevation changes. In some ways, this is similar to the "Twisty Roads" option from Rever.
Creating a route
When creating a route, you will see an icon with a couple of mountains and a path. Clicking this enables you to choose how "adventurous" your route is. This modifier is in addition to the primary Automobile or Motorcycle settings. Generally speaking, the more adventurous the route, the longer it will be in distance and more duration, as the roads will have slower speed limits. For example, a sample route I played with for a destination about 100 miles away varied from ~102 miles and 2hr 5 minutes for Automobile least adventurous (or click Go) to about 100 miles and 2hr 37 minutes on the most adventurous.
If you click Go, it will be about the same as the least adventurous setting. You can also click the icon with two arrows diverging; this will calculate two routes to compare them, but they will not necessarily be that adventurous.
Bluetooth connects to my phone and my Cardo Packtalk Bold headset. The Cardo gives me the audio directions in my helmet, while my phone has additional data to the GPS—more on this in the extra features below.
Accessory apps
Two apps work with the Garmin Zumo XT that I find helpful. The first is the Drive App, which you should install no matter what. You don't use this app directly on your phone; it's a data conduit to your Garmin Zumo XT. It will provide real-time traffic to your Garmin Zumo XT and enable the GPS to route around traffic delays, provide weather and fuel price data. I recommend using it all the time.
The second app is Garmin Explore. This online service manages waypoints, tracks & routes and can sync onto the GPS. The app on your phone allows you to edit your settings on your account quickly.
I want to go for a ride for an hour or 2
Round trip is another great option on the Garmin Zumo XT. You can create a round trip & it will use the mode you have selected (like an adventure motorcycle). I always use this at home and only have an hour or two available for a quick ride. Click Apps on the main screen and select Round Trip. I choose my start location as "Where I am now" and select trip attributes for time, distance, or an intermediate destination. I can also add a direction I prefer (this is good to ensure you are heading away from a major city). So, I may have a 2-hour duration, heading North (to avoid NYC). Clicking Calculate will now show me the route. I can adjust the adventurous slider as before. Round trip is also helpful when you are on a trip and want a fun ride from your "base" there. The feature can create a 6-hour round trip back to your hotel or campsite.
You can adjust a route with the + over a line icon to select a specific route you'd like to take for the on-device navigation, but the defaults are a good option most of the time. I'd do this off-device if you want to choose specific roads.
Planning a route
Garmin Zumo XT works excellent if you've preplanned a route as well. While you can use the Explore or Basecamp apps to plan a route, the learning curve for each is relatively high, and better planning tools exist. My favorite is Rever, so we'll use that to get a route onto our Garmin Zumo XT.
Loading routes created with Rever to the Garmin Zumo XT with a Rever Pro or Riders Plus Membership
If you are a Rever Pro or Riders Plus member, you can export a GPX file from Rever. We will create a route using the Twisty Roads option that is also part of Rever Pro. If we start at our usual coffee ride location in Cross River, NY, and head to Phoenicia, NY, in the Catskills, Rever automatically creates a twisty route to get us there. We can save that with the name Phoenicia NY twisty routing and set a ride date of 1/1/24.
Once you save, the screen will show details of your route, including an indication of the elevation changes and the map showing the route. At the top right is a menu item with three dots arranged vertically. Clicking on that shows a submenu where we can choose to Export GPX.
This option will pop up a new dialog offering options on the kind of GPX to export. The best results are by choosing the track for Garmin in the top left, which will create and download a file with the name you created for the route on your computer. In this example, it was 'Phoenicia, NY twisty routing.gpx'.
Now we are done with Rever and can switch to the Garmin setup. The Garmin Zumo XT uses the Explore app and website. We log in to the Explore website and click the Map option at the top. On the right are two icons for import and export. We will choose the import one.
We cam import as tracks or as routes. We'll select the track option to match what we exported from Rever. You can choose to add to an existing collection or a new one.
Now, navigate to where you downloaded the GPX file from Rever & drag & drop it onto the new dialog box. It will prepare to upload the file and give an option to "Import." After a few seconds, the route and the two waypoints (begin & end) are in your Explore app.
Next is what is remarkable about the Garmin Zumo XT versus earlier units. If you've already set up your Garmin Zumo XT with the WiFi you have at home, the next time you turn it on at home, it will connect to the internet & download the new track automatically.
You can also force it by going into the Track menu on the Garmin Zumo XT which opens the “Track Recorder”. Click the track icon in the upper left & it will show a list of all tracks on your device. If you click the wrench icon in the upper left you’ll see an option where you can force a “Sync Explore Data in case your Garmin Zumo XT hasn’t synced yet.
On the Garmin Zumo XT, you'll find the track in your track menu. Select it & you see a preview of the track on the map. If you click the wrench icon, you can adjust several items, such as the name, change the color or even the width of the track displayed on the map. If you use the arrows, you can see additional items such as Collections and can even “Convert to Trip”, giving you turn-by-turn directions. I like to maintain the track and the turn-by-turn. This approach ensures that if my Garmin Zumo XT’s routing is out of sync with the actual track, I can ignore it & follow the track line, and then regroup with the turn-by-turn later.
Bonus tip: Create an "Active collection". Over time, you will have a lot of waypoints, tracks & routes, and not all of them are needed all the time. I move the evergreen waypoints (home, common locations like dealerships, and favorite destinations) and the tracks & routes I'm using for this trip into this collection. On the Garmin Zumo XT, I can set the Active collection to be visible on the map, so only my current track and waypoints show and hide all the others from display on the map. They are still in my Garmin Zumo XT, so I can always access them quickly. To set this up, go into “Settings->Map & Vehicle” and select Map Layers.
Now click on Collections and you can choose which collections to have visible on the map. I select Active collection & now only tracks & waypoints in that collection show on the map.
Off-pavement use
In addition to displaying a base map of roads you can navigate along, the Garmin Zumo XT can also display other maps like USGS for off-pavement use. The additional maps are great for trail use or even for unpaved roads like you'd find with a Backcountry Discovery Route. Many resources are available for finding tracks to load onto your GPS. With the Garmin Zumo XT, you can load these tracks onto the device & see a map like a USGS or a usual paved route with contour lines displayed so you can know what to expect. The large screen makes it easy to follow along. I used this for the Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route in the summer of 2023.
How I have my Garmin Zumo XT setup
Settings
From the main page, click on the Settings icon at the bottom right of the screen. Now select "Map & Vehicle."
Map & Vehicle
The first few options are how you prefer the icon for display. I use 3D for the Driving Map View, More for Map Detail, and Garmin for the Map Theme.
Map Layers starts to give some helpful options. Here, I have "Topographic," "3D Terrain", and "Traffic" checked, and under "Collections on Map" - "Active Collection" is the only one selected. The advantage of the Active Collection is explained later in the article.
I have Auto Zoom enabled and Skip Next Stop Confirmation.
Under My Maps, I have TopoActive US, CN North America NT, CN North America NT Foursquare, National Parks, and North America DEM. The Topo gives me a view of the terrain for off-road use, but also to determine the fun "canyon" roads. CN North America NT is your typical road map & should be enabled by default. The other ones are optional, but I like having them available.
Navigation
These settings change based on which "mode" your Garmin Zumo XT is in Auto or Motorcycle.
Automobile
"Automobile" is my get-somewhere-quick setting. Once I have selected this on the main screen, in the Navigation settings, I have the following:
Calculation mode: Faster Time
Off-Route Calculation: Automatic
Avoidances: U-Turns (and unpaved roads when not on my adventure bike)
Toll Roads: Allow
Environmental Zones: Allow
Sometimes, after a long day, you want to get to a new destination quickly, or you need a "Google Maps" like routing to get you somewhere quickly. It will often use highways as they can be the fastest way there, so don't expect a fun route. One quick tap on an icon at the top of the screen lets me swap modes.
Motorcycle
"Motorcycle" is my regular use on my bikes. It mostly gets me on the fun roads and avoids highways. Most of the Navigation settings are identical to Automobile, with two critical exceptions:
Avoidances: U-Turns, Highways (and unpaved roads when not on my adventure bike)
Toll Roads: Always Ask
First, we want to avoid highways and keep on the fun roads. The second reinforces the first, where Garmin Zumo XT will ask about toll roads. I do this because sometimes, to get across a river, for example, you must do a toll road to get over the bridge, so have it ask. In Automobile mode, I'm hoping for the fastest, so I'm OK with a toll road.
Additional features
All of the above has focused on the primary navigation capabilities. The Garmin Zumo XT also has some features that can augment your ride experience.
Environmental awareness
Traffic
Using the Garmin Drive app, your GPS has a view of real-time traffic and can route you around delays. You can view the alerts as you ride toward your destination and select to view traffic independently.
Weather
Knowing if you are heading into a storm is helpful information. One of my favorite features is to display the weather on the right side of the screen via the popup. This feature shows predicted weather over the next few hours along your path. Knowing when you want to plan that pit stop is excellent.
Fuel gauge
It doesn't connect to the tank on your bike, but the fuel gauge feature reminds you to get gas. The gauge only works in motorcycle mode, but you can set a distance per tank and a remaining fuel warning distance. When the Garmin Zumo XT is in the motorcycle mount, it can keep track of the distance traveled since you last "Reset fuel tank" and pop up an alert reminding you to get fuel with a helpful list of nearby gas stations—a great feature for long trips.
Discover places to go
Fuel Prices
Don't you hate filling up and then realizing the gas was $0.50/gallon cheaper another mile down the road? Click Where To from the main screen and then select Fuel Prices. You can adjust the selected fuel type through the hamburger menu. A list of stations and the price for your selected fuel show on the screen, along with a distance and rough direction to them from your current location. The Garmin Drive app drives this, so be sure you have it connected and running. Tip: Look for those colored green as they are some of the lowest prices in the area.
Foursquare, History & Trip Advisor
Each of these lets you find some interesting places near your location. Whether finding a great restaurant or stopping at that historical location just up the road, these are another great resource.
Entertainment & Communication
Music
You can see your music library on your phone and play songs, artists, or playlists through your Bluetooth headset. Pick your favorite playlist of motorcycle music and go!
Phone
With a headset, you can listen to GPS directions and music and take phone calls hands-free on your bike. The GPS will show who is calling from your phone, and you can make an outgoing call through the phone menu or voice prompts.
Downsides
A large screen on your handlebar is acceptable on a full-fairing cruiser or touring bike & will look in the right place on an adventure bike. But a large screen on a naked bike can look ungainly. Installing it requires running power to the GPS from the battery or some circuit. The mount for the GPS is relatively large by itself to support the weight. If you have multiple motorcycles, you need various mounts (and power hookups) to move the device between bikes. Each mount adds more expense to setup & if you aren’t handy, labor costs for your dealer to install it. Current pricing on the Garmin Zumo XT is ~$500, so it is a significant investment, but most Garmin GPSs have a lifespan of close to a decade, so that you can amortize the cost over that timeframe.
Alternatives
Smartphones
This area has seen a lot of growth in the past decade. Many riders felt they wanted to spend less than $500 or more on a dedicated GPS when they already had a smartphone that could run a navigation app like Google Maps. Motorcycle-specific apps like Rever offered features and routing that would appeal to motorcyclists. While smartphones are powerful and using them as nav in a car isn't as big a deal, there are downsides to use on a motorcycle that we’ll cover in another article. There isn't an additional cost for hardware as you already have it, but you may need to buy some mounts for your bike, so this is often the cheapest way to get navigation on your bike, adding to its appeal.
Beeline
The Beeline Moto is a hybrid approach. It's not a standalone device like a Garmin Zumo XT, nor is it only your smartphone. The best way to think of it is as a remote screen for your smartphone, like CarPlay. However, because of the simplified interface, it can be packaged in a two-inch diameter, so it takes no space on your bike. You can discreetly mount the Beeline on any bike. Because the Beeline weighs nearly nothing, the mount is tiny and quickly moved to another bike in a minute. The battery of the original Beeline Moto lasts about 30 hours, so there is no need to worry about a power source on the bike. These run about $200-260, depending on whether you get the plastic or metal model. It's much cheaper than the Garmin Zumo XT, but there's no moving map. Mounts come with it and are quick to move between bikes. It doesn’t risk your smartphone out on your handlebar either, so there are advantages to it. See our guide on using the compass mode to explore new roads.
The new Beeline Moto 2 is an even more compelling alternative. It has a mini moving map that shows the junctions around you and the curve of the road, while maintaining most of the size benefits of the original Beeline Moto. Our review covers all the changes and why it has become our favorite motorcycle GPS.
Garmin Zumo XT 2
Time never stands still, and in 2023, Garmin introduced the newer version of my Garmin Zumo XT, the Garmin Zumo XT 2, with a slightly larger screen (6" vs. 5.5" diagonal). Creating a route on the device is even easier with a visual route planner. Alternatively, you can use the Tread app on your smartphone to plan the route. If you ride with friends, the group ride feature lets you see the position of your friends on the map and an optional display of their distance from you & if they are moving or standing still. You'll never lose a riding buddy again! Finally, it has some features that could provide some competition for Rever. One is you get a ride summary and record your track. The second is to see popular paths. At about $600, this is a more expensive option, but you are getting the latest from Garmin.
Conclusion
The Garmin Zumo XT is an excellent option if you have the space to support a mapping GPS on your bike. It has an easy way to find the "adventurous" roads to your destination. Finding destinations near you, like gas stations, restaurants, and more, plus seeing traffic, weather, and fuel prices, makes the Garmin Zumo XT a critical information tool while riding.
