Some particular place to go...

Yeah, I know. The whole idea of riding is to just head out in one direction or another with no particular place to go (with apologies to Chuck Berry).

But sometimes I like to know where I'm going and reading a map while riding is high on the list of "don't try this on a bike," so I took the plunge recently and added the Garmin Zumo 550 GPS unit to my '08 1200 Low.

The Zumo is designed for motorcycles (they also make the Road Tech unit for Harley-Davidson). It features a bright screen, soft controls that work well with gloves and both a sturdy handlebar mount for the bike and a windshield mount for your car.  You can also add XM radio, weather and traffic alerts with an optional antenna.

 With the Zumo I can route my cell phone to my Scalia Rider wireless headset via Bluetooth and answer calls while riding. The call, complete with caller ID, comes up on the screen of the Zumo and I touch one button to answer. I can also answer the phone's directory for one-touch dailing although I prefer to be stopped to do that.

I added the XM radio antenna but can't listen to XM via Bluetooth. I solved the problem by using the ear buds from my I-Phone and plugging them directly into the Zumo. The sound is extremely clear inside my 3/4 helmet at highway speeds.