Zumo User Forums

I've used garmin for the last 15 years. I currently have a Zumo 590. I plan all my trips using basecamp (pc). Each day of a multi day trip is a separate route with a start point, an end point with shaping points to fix it to the roads I want to ride. This works for me using the 590, but the unit is long in the tooth, the screen is too small and also needs to be brighter. I did think the XT2 would be an easy upgrade but after reading the posts in this section it sounds like I'd be entering a world of pain!!
Can the XT2 accurately follow a route created in basecamp on a PC? Or are there better motorcycle sat navs out there?

Simple answer is the xt2 can do it no problem at all.
But it doesn’t connect directly to basecamp. So you have to mess around to transfer.
Get an XT if you want to continue using the method you’re used to.

Multirider wrote: Sat Aug 30, 2025 9:00 pm Simple answer is the xt2 can do it no problem at all.
But it doesn’t connect directly to basecamp. So you have to mess around to transfer.
Get an XT if you want to continue using the method you’re used to.

My XT2 does accept routes and waypoints from Basecamp, though Basecamp does state on each connection that it's not compatible (or something like that).

But, the routing algorithm in the 590 which seems to be the same as in Basecamp is afflicted by the faster roads problem where selecting fastest doesn't always equate to the shortest time as it wants to go along faster roads.

Plus imported routes suffer from the repeated u-turns problem.

Both problems are annoying but there are work around. I have a 590, 595, XT and keep the XT2 on the bike.

Something that concerns me about the XT2 with Basecamp is whether you can install maps to the computer from the XT2. My last understanding was that you couldn't (you can with the XT). I suppose you could continue to use your 590 to keep maps current on the PC.

oldwobbler wrote: Sat Aug 30, 2025 8:54 pm Can the XT2 accurately follow a route created in basecamp on a PC?

This is the "gotcha" for both the XT and the XT2. Yes, they can accurately follow a route however all bets are off once either one does a recalculation of the route (there are mitigation and recovery techniques). I will be curious to see the opinions regarding whether one is better that the other in this regard.

I do all my route planning at my pc. I didn’t realise that the XT2 doesn't work with a map on a pc, or allow you to update the stored map on it. What is the Garmin thinking behind that?
I've always found this forum to be very informative, it looks like its saved me a few ££ too.

oldwobbler wrote: Sun Aug 31, 2025 6:56 am I didn’t realise that the XT2 doesn't work with a map on a pc, or allow you to update the stored map on it.

We need someone with an XT2 to confirm this. There was a post early in the life of the XT2 about Garmin Express not containing the option to install a map to the PC when an XT2 was connected. This made sense based on Garmin's claim of the XT2 being incompatible with Basecamp. Garmin Express has been updated at least twice since then so maybe Garmin changed its mind and added the function back. ???

It absolutely IS possible to install maps to the pc from XT2. (It is done with Garmin Express desktop app on the PC. There was one particular version of that Express which broke the map install, but that was quickly fixed.)

Basecamp does work fine with the XT2. Basecamp will warn you that it is not fully compatible only because the XT2 has some newer features that Basecamp does not support.

I regularly plan my routes in Basecamp and transfer them to my XT2 via USB cable. That can be done within Basecamp, or using Windows file Explorer, or using the Trip Manager app created by @FrankB. You can find it here viewtopic.php?t=3150.

The Tread phone App, which Garmin advocates as a companion to the XT2 and Basecamp replacement, is, in my opinion, worse than useless. I have removed it entirely from my world. Others on here do use it however. You can find lots of posts about it in this forum.

As a motorcycle navigation device, I think the XT2 is great. Route planning with Basecamp, or similar applications works fine.
I believe Garmin goes bad when they put too much effort into additional features and lose focus on their core feature - navigation.

Being a normal oldish biker who is skeptical of flash in the pan, buy this, rubbish schemes I can only add my comments.
I have been an avid Garmin user for many years and currently have several hundred routes saved on basecamp covering a large potion of Europe and all of the UK. I dropped my Zumo XT and killed it. Garmin no longer do repairs/ replacement on this model. ( their statement) so after a lot of pain I brought a new XT2. BIG MISTAKE
Yes there are clever people who can overcome Garmin's deliberate attempts to gouge money out of me. Yes they can get base camp to divulge information under torture. Yes to all sorts of things. BUT. It tells me I have to use Tread on my phone, HOW. I cant even read the waffle that they expect me to understand. It also tells me Basecamp wont work. It also is unreadable by the roadside when there is no coverage. I like many others spend hours designing routes that I WANT TO DRIVE. I don't want some idiot in pigs knuckle Arkensaw, or where ever telling me how it has to be done. And I don't want to have to buy a new Andriod whatever to get it to work.
So I sent it back for a full refund and got another Zumo XT.
If the unit tells you it wont work, then believe it. It will get you. Garmin evidently have their head up their asshole so don't follow them up there.
Tomorrow off on a 4 day trip covering all the awkward roads in the south west, on an OLD SAT NAV.

Have a great trip. I hope the sat nav works perfectly.
The fact you've written a reply, with such obvious frustration, is something Garmin should be taking very seriously. But, we've all been saying that for years. I was an early adopter of the zumo 600. It was so buggy, after trying to get it to do anything in the first 2 weeks of ownership, all I wanted to do was set it on fire. And then I found this forum, or at least its predecessor and it was like an epiphany. There are some very clever people on here, who seem to dedicate their entire lives to fixing Garmin's problems. And I will be eternally grateful to them. But, they should not need to.

hi @oldwobbler

unfortunately you won't be able to get a real answer here.
There are too many pros and cons and unfortunately you will have to find out for yourself, sometimes painfully, which one wins.

Pros:
The XT2 can also do everything you have asked (import gpx, follow, load XT2 maps on the PC and plan with them) and much more.
The hardware is currently one of the best you can get for the money. (Display top, battery top, case top, robustness top, holder top, ...)
You can connect the XT2 very easily directly to 12 volts, without another black box (voltage converter is in the device).
It is probably the Garmis technology basis for the future, old XT is virtually no longer supported.
The Tread app is a good idea with potential, even if you should avoid it at the moment.
You can also purchase a (very expensive) handlebar controller for the XT2.
You will find a lot of help here in the forum
The hardware support (mostly replacement) is very good, sometimes even after the warranty has expired.
...


Cons (only a few but significant)
You will experience pain as soon as the routes become more complex.
You will invest a lot of time at first (too much for a device whose purpose is to help you)
The XT2 has its own way of calculating or executing routes.
The Tread app is such a pain for many users that they don't use it (or only use a small part of the functions).
The zumo xt2 can essentially prefer motorbike profile. Not really good for cars and no bicycle or anything like that.


You have experience with Garmin and once you have overcome all the (new and unnecessary) pain, you will certainly have fun with it.


But also take a look at the alternatives:
DMD-T665
Carpuride
Chigee
Also the Garmin Tread 2 (can do a lot better but without speed control warning (Cyclops), suggested beautiful motorbike routes, own map view configurations)


PS
I myself switched to the zumo XT2 and now Tread 2 about 2 years ago.
I have experienced a lot of pain and spent far more, and again much more, time experimenting than navigating.
But I have fun understanding Garmin and I don't want to give it away anymore.
The devices can do more than you need, but unfortunately there are too many obstacles because Garmin has often failed to prioritise the development of customer-friendly software.

PPS
There are also many Garmin XT2 users who don't want to plan at all and then let the Zumo do everything.
Then it is also popular with many such users, as long as they don't question why some routes were the way they were.