Navigation » Garmin Zumo XT + Touratech Locking Cradle + MotoMate

I've read quite a lot of negative reviews about the BMW Navigator VI, mainly issues with ghost-touching. So even though my R1250RS came with the GPS Prep option, I decided to opt for a Garmin Zumo XT instead. Other than being more stable, the technology is newer, screen is brighter, load times quicker and the map refresh and redraw is faster. And it's also much cheaper than the BMW Navigator VI!

I also got the Touratech Locking Cradle so I could lock the GPS on the motorcycle. It's got a slick sliding mechanism that grasps the sides of the GPS so it doesn't accidentally fall out of the Garmin Zumo XT power cradle.

On top of it all, I used the Moto-Mate nav relocation bracket to bring all this up to a higher line-of-sight. This is what all the pieces look like when put together:


Windshield is in the low position, and the Touratech mount can be swiveled up and down to clear the windscreen.


View of the Moto Mate relocation bracket

The GPS is quite close to the windscreen in the lowest position. It can be swiveled down lower for clearance purposes.


Here is the Touratech Locking Cradle without the Zumo XT in it

You actually re-use the cradle that Garmin supplies with the Zumo XT and bolt it inside the Touratech cradle. The TT unit is nice because the original Garmin cradle does not feel like it clicks the GPS into place very securely. The sliding brackets of the TT mount hold the GPS much more securely, and they also lock with a key as well.



The TT locking mechanism is kinda neat. The sliding brackets have metal tabs that sandwich themselves between the original Zumo XT mount's release button and the body of the mount, so you can't press the release button to get the GPS out.


Windscreen in the tallest position


With the windscreen in the tallest position, there's lots of room for the Moto Mate mount

The only criticism I have about the Moto Mate + TT combination is that with the windscreen in the low position, the GPS has to be angled pretty much vertically to clear the windscreen, which is not the optimal viewing angle. If you run with the windscreen in the high position, the GPS can be swiveled up so it is facing the rider at a better viewing angle.

Another drawback is that you need to carry around a separate key to unlock the TT cradle, but that's a small issue.

Overall, it looks clean and provides a locking mechanism for the Zumo XT, which is a much better GPS unit than the BMW NAV VI in every way, including price.

I can post up the install with some pictures in another message if anyone is interested.

Nice write up. With the Garmin 6 and moto-mate my screen touches in the low position too.

Zitat von L2RKE im Beitrag #2

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Nice write up. With the Garmin 6 and moto-mate my screen touches in the low position too.

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The mount looks good.
If you don't use a cover on trips I would use a little cover for the mount on nights it might rain.
I see the lock if facing up.

With Nav VI and MotoMate I also had some clearance-issues, but solved it by adding two black nylon-washers on the two top fixing screws of the screen.
The two washers angles the screen enough to have good clearance.

Wenn Sie hier auf Links zu eBay klicken und einen Kauf tätigen, kann dies dazu führen, dass diese Website eine Provision erhält.

With my 1250RS and a Nav VI mounted via MotoMate I have zero problems with my Givi screen.

I cannot recall which came first MotoMate or Givi but I would be amazed if a Nav VI and BMW screen could not be used on any of the available settings on a 1250. Of course the Zumo XT as fitted here is much wider and maybe deeper and may foul at the outer edges.

Congratulations on a really decent adaption! I have no experience of the XT. It retails for maybe £50 less than a lightly used Nav VI. By the time you have paid for the locking mount I doubt there would be any difference in price but if you already have an XT it would make perfect sense. I started out with a Zumo 660 in the supplied mount which quickly got moved to a Motomate mount. I then bided my time to get a good deal for a used Nav IV on Ebay. So an XT did not really figure in my calculations. I am familiar with the operating system (But why on earth did they have to change the way you save Favourites?!!) and, of course, have the benefit of the Wonderwheel.

I have no problems with screen brightness or ghost-touching on my Nav VI and I love the giant speedo display when negotiating variable speed sections of motorway bristling with speed cameras!

However I do accept that the Nav VI is poor value for money if purchased new. Typical BMW!!!

Chris

I have a question for the OP (lightcycle) of this thread, or anyone else who can shed light.
Actually two questions.

The first, which is off topic, is how do you get the analog style rev counter display? I only seem to have the bar graph style rev counter. My bike is a 2020 R1250RS with TFT display software version 001.019.180. Same colour as the OP's bike which would make it the same 2020 model year. I do have Dynamic Pro BTW. Do I need a software upgrade to get the analog rev counter, or am I missing something obvious in the display setup?

Secondly, I have one of those el cheapo phone mounts which locks into the existing nav cradle. I would have thought that this cheap phone mount would pick up 12V from the nav mount and then supply 5V USB power to it's two USB ports. You would then need charge your phone by means of a cable. Not so it seems. I can't remember if the USB ports worked worked or not on my older R1200RS, but they don't on the R1250RS.

Thanks in advance.

Zitat von Steady Eddie im Beitrag #8

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I have a question for the OP (lightcycle) of this thread, or anyone else who can shed light.
Actually two questions.

The first, which is off topic, is how do you get the analog style rev counter display? I only seem to have the bar graph style rev counter. My bike is a 2020 R1250RS with TFT display software version 001.019.180. Same colour as the OP's bike which would make it the same 2020 model year. I do have Dynamic Pro BTW. Do I need a software upgrade to get the analog rev counter, or am I missing something obvious in the display setup?

Secondly, I have one of those el cheapo phone mounts which locks into the existing nav cradle. I would have thought that this cheap phone mount would pick up 12V from the nav mount and then supply 5V USB power to it's two USB ports. You would then need charge your phone by means of a cable. Not so it seems. I can't remember if the USB ports worked worked or not on my older R1200RS, but they don't on the R1250RS.

Thanks in advance.

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Correct, to get the Sport Screen with the analogue tacho you need an update. The update was primarily to fix some connectivity issues but included the sport screen from the R1250R. So if you tell your dealer the bike keeps forgetting your phone pairing it should be a free fix under warranty.

First, OP, nice set up--

Thanks for that, I’ll be paying my dealer a visit shortly.