Ride Report: 9700 mile Tour on my FJ

[redfjniner]

(Part 3) 
.......... The only problem I started having with the GPS came near the end of the trip. For some reason the GPS would start recalculating and then say something like "Unable to Calculate Route: No roads near destination" and would just go to a map showing my current location. This would happen even while I was on the designated route I had created in Basecamp and not near a turning point. It was frustrating when this would happen multiple times along a route. I would have to re-initialize my desired route and it would carry on nicely until the next time it happened. I turned off Auto-Recaculate but it still happened. Not sure if the final destination waypoint not being on an actual road (just off the side of the road) made the difference, but I'm looking to figure it out. I definitely need to learn more about how it works before I make a judgement as to what's happening. Any input from experienced Garmin users is welcome. (*Note: I just found an internet post that claims this is a compatibility problem between Basecamp and several of the Zumo models. Need to check this out more)
 
I'll be uploading a few pictures from the trip in future posts.
 
 

I too have been having trouble with my 660, similar to your problem.  First I dropped the unit, but it was stopped at the fork tubes, so nothing to be concerned about.  Upon reconnection, which I was trying to do when I dropped it, the unit didn't come up with detail maps.  I had to remove the battery and reinsert the 32GB mico SD card.  I also find it doesn't reroute very fast and it doesn't tell me that it is recalculating, so I don't know what it is doing and generally, my Garmin 780's work better.  So far the only big advantage to the 660 is that it takes fewer input key strokes to find a Rest Area.  I do like that it is waterproof.  I carry a 780 in the tank bag for emergency assistance if I need it.

[redfjniner]

Thanks for such a good write up of your trip and the FJ. I managed to be on your route or close to it this year, once in MT near Redlodge and once in the NE corner of Washington near Ione. Both of those locations had big surprises for me. Two deer strikes. Not complaining as I am very happy to have walked away without injury, even though the one deer totaled or almost totaled my FJ. Nice ride report, keep it up.

[bobaintstoppin]

Great to read ride reports!  I may be able to help a bit with the Garmin 660 issues.  I have dealt with the 'no roads at destination' issue over last winter.  It is true that Garmin has stated that the 660 is not compatible with Base Camp.  It is really amazing to me that they have been working on Base Camp for about 5 years now and still can't make it work as well as the previous windows only program (which worked well, but only if you were a windoz guy).  But it is what it is, and we have to deal with all this on our own, while Garmin buries their collective head in the sand.
 
So here are suggestions for fixing the problem.  I did these things and haven't had the issue again, but I really don't know exactly which thing did the fixing.
- You need to do a master reset of your 660.  This will erase all your data, so be prepared for that.
- Be sure you have the latest software for both then gps and for BaseCamp.
- Use the exact same map version on both the gps and the computer.
- Now for the thing that may be the actual fix.  Don't use Base Camp to transfer a route to the gps directly.  There is apparently a problem in that command, though I really don't understand it.  Rather, you export the route as a gpx file (I put it on the desk top).  Then, use the finder to copy that gpx file to the sd card on your 660.  Then with the 660 you import the route and it should work ok.  A note about sd cards.  It is my understanding that the 660 can only reliably handle a 4 gig card.  That may not be accurate, but you might have problems if you have a bigger card in there.
 
After doing all of this above stuff, I have not had any problems this season.  This includes several day routes locally, plus one 28 day "trip" made with the trip program of Base Camp.  This trip feature actually creates a separate gpx file for each "day" of your trip.  I used about 500 miles as my definition of a 'day' since I didn't know where I would end up at each calendar day.
 
Anyway,  Good luck getting your gps working again.  By the way, my 660 is about 4 years old and I have the 2017 maps installed this year. 

[wessie]

Great to read ride reports!  I may be able to help a bit with the Garmin 660 issues.  I have dealt with the 'no roads at destination' issue over last winter.  It is true that Garmin has stated that the 660 is not compatible with Base Camp.  It is really amazing to me that they have been working on Base Camp for about 5 years now and still can't make it work as well as the previous windows only program (which worked well, but only if you were a windoz guy).  But it is what it is, and we have to deal with all this on our own, while Garmin buries their collective head in the sand. 
So here are suggestions for fixing the problem.  I did these things and haven't had the issue again, but I really don't know exactly which thing did the fixing.
- You need to do a master reset of your 660.  This will erase all your data, so be prepared for that.
- Be sure you have the latest software for both then gps and for BaseCamp.
- Use the exact same map version on both the gps and the computer.
- Now for the thing that may be the actual fix.  Don't use Base Camp to transfer a route to the gps directly.  There is apparently a problem in that command, though I really don't understand it.  Rather, you export the route as a gpx file (I put it on the desk top).  Then, use the finder to copy that gpx file to the sd card on your 660.  Then with the 660 you import the route and it should work ok.  A note about sd cards.  It is my understanding that the 660 can only reliably handle a 4 gig card.  That may not be accurate, but you might have problems if you have a bigger card in there.
 
After doing all of this above stuff, I have not had any problems this season.  This includes several day routes locally, plus one 28 day "trip" made with the trip program of Base Camp.  This trip feature actually creates a separate gpx file for each "day" of your trip.  I used about 500 miles as my definition of a 'day' since I didn't know where I would end up at each calendar day.
 
Anyway,  Good luck getting your gps working again.  By the way, my 660 is about 4 years old and I have the 2017 maps installed this year. 

 
This thread is drifting off topic, but I think the crucial factor you have described is using the GPX file format, a generic format that works across most satnav applications. Garmin is notorious for different versions of their proprietary file formats (GDB files) not working between devices. I share routes with friends for the trips I organise across Europe. I always share in the gpx format so there is no compatibility problems as people are using Zumo 660, 390, 590 & even an old 550. I also store my routes on the SD card of the device. This way, if you find a route gets corrupted during a trip, you can quickly recover your waypoints & routes from the SD card.

[steveb]

Thanks for such a good write up of your trip and the FJ. I managed to be on your route or close to it this year, once in MT near Redlodge and once in the NE corner of Washington near Ione. Both of those locations had big surprises for me. Two deer strikes. Not complaining as I am very happy to have walked away without injury, even though the one deer totaled or almost totaled my FJ. Nice ride report, keep it up.

Thanks!  I have to say that your deer experiences (and a couple of others by some friends of mine) were definitely on my mind during this trip.  I was very aware of the animal danger and was on high alert especially in those areas where there were obviously more than the usual number.  There were some very "nice" roads where, because of the time of day, I was less "enthusiastic" in my pace than I might have been because of worrying about deer. 
Lots of animal sightings right next to the road in many areas of the trip.  I had seen a couple of flocks of wild turkeys before arriving at the border (Port of Metaline Falls, WA) when re-entering the USA.  The border agent warned me of more turkeys ahead, stating that they were quite solid if you hit them.  I did see a large flock crossing the road on the way south, but had plenty of time to react.  By the way, the road south of that border port is quite nice.
 
A few (out of many more) examples are -
 
Mountain Goats in Jasper Nat'l Park, Alberta Canada
 

 
Other goats (it was never just one goat)
 

 

 
Had to move a couple of deer (and a rabbit) out of the way to park at a Bed & Breakfast in Cody, WY.
 

 
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Fortunately I didn't have any problems other than killing what must have been tens of thousands of insects.  Definitely, for me, a reason to look over your windshield rather than through it. 
 

 
Every time I stopped, yellow jackets would start gathering around my bike feasting on all of the bug bodies I'd gathered. It didn't take them even a minute to show up. I've considered getting a personalized plate for the FJ "NSCTVR" (Insectivore). Not convinced yet but it did seem appropriate. :^)
 
 
 

[steveb]

Great to read ride reports!  I may be able to help a bit with the Garmin 660 issues.  I have dealt with the 'no roads at destination' issue over last winter.  It is true that Garmin has stated that the 660 is not compatible with Base Camp.  It is really amazing to me that they have been working on Base Camp for about 5 years now and still can't make it work as well as the previous windows only program (which worked well, but only if you were a windoz guy).  But it is what it is, and we have to deal with all this on our own, while Garmin buries their collective head in the sand. 
So here are suggestions for fixing the problem.  I did these things and haven't had the issue again, but I really don't know exactly which thing did the fixing.
- You need to do a master reset of your 660.  This will erase all your data, so be prepared for that.
- Be sure you have the latest software for both then gps and for BaseCamp.
- Use the exact same map version on both the gps and the computer.
- Now for the thing that may be the actual fix.  Don't use Base Camp to transfer a route to the gps directly.  There is apparently a problem in that command, though I really don't understand it.  Rather, you export the route as a gpx file (I put it on the desk top).  Then, use the finder to copy that gpx file to the sd card on your 660.  Then with the 660 you import the route and it should work ok.  A note about sd cards.  It is my understanding that the 660 can only reliably handle a 4 gig card.  That may not be accurate, but you might have problems if you have a bigger card in there.
 
After doing all of this above stuff, I have not had any problems this season.  This includes several day routes locally, plus one 28 day "trip" made with the trip program of Base Camp.  This trip feature actually creates a separate gpx file for each "day" of your trip.  I used about 500 miles as my definition of a 'day' since I didn't know where I would end up at each calendar day.
 
Anyway,  Good luck getting your gps working again.  By the way, my 660 is about 4 years old and I have the 2017 maps installed this year. 

I bought my Garmin immediately before the trip (and it upgraded itself when I first initialized it with my computer), so I'm sure I was working with the latest version of the map (though I just did an even newer map upgrade this week).  When I made the routes, BaseCamp was using the Zumo map as I had it connected during the route making process.  I'll double check everything again.  I do think the last suggestion may have the answer though.  For the SCMA 3FC tour section of the ride (the first week basically) I imported the GPX file they provided.  Never had a problem.  I didn't know about the "trip" program in BaseCamp, and created my own separate daily routes.  Initially I imported them after sending them to the SDCard.  However, later in the trip I started just sending them directly to the 660 (which interestingly put the files on the SDCard as well as within the 660 menu itself).  It didn't go through the "import" process, which may have been a factor.  I'll try the GPX creation/import procedure (and maybe also a send to the SDCard and import) and see if there's a difference.  I still need to take a long weekend and ride through the Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Mojave, and Manzanar National Parks (optionally also Devil's Postpile if it's not too late to do it) to complete my challenge ride.  This will be a good opportunity to test out the new procedure.  I'll most likely be doing this in early November.  I'll make another ride report for that trip and let everyone know if it solves my problem. 
Regarding the SDCard, I have a 32GB card in the 660 and it's working fine.  I've found reviews of other users stating that they have been using up to the 32GB sized SDCard in the 660 without issues. 
 
 

[steveb]

Fantastic ride. I'm jealous. I got a nice one in in august and am already planning another adventure for next summer. Maybe we'll cross paths.I finally wore out my Alpinestars roam boots about halfway through my trip. They were several years old though so I'm not complaining. A little gorilla tape and some shoe goo got me home.

I never go anywhere without Duct Tape!  It's a lifesaver!  :^)  

[steveb]

I replaced the chain and rear tire just before the trip. The OEM chain had unevenly stretched and I replaced it at 11000 miles with a higher quality EK chain. I also installed a Tutoro chain oiler on the first day of the trip. After some adjustment tweaks the oiler has worked very well. The chain is wearing very evenly and, in fact, was not adjusted during the entire trip. It is still within reasonable adjustment (a little loose but not bad), and will be adjusted again when I [span style=font-size:12pt]replace[/span][span style=font-size:12pt] [/span][span style=font-size:12pt]he rear tire. [/span]

That is quite an endorsement for a chain oiler. The OEM chain wore out in 11K miles, but the replacement went 9700 miles with the oiler and didn't even need an adjustment. 

Yeah, I'm pleased!  I'm putting on a new rear tire this coming week and the chain will get adjusted then.  It will be very interesting to see how long it goes (especially compared to the OEM).  Definitely a higher quality chain, which certainly helps, but I do see the oiler making a big difference.  Just need to clean up the appearance of the hose coming down from the oiler (only held in place by a couple of zipties at the moment).  Function is just fine. 
 

[steveb]

Fortunately I didn't have any problems other than killing what must have been tens of thousands of insects.  Definitely, for me, a reason to look over your windshield rather than through it. 
 

 
Every time I stopped, yellow jackets would start gathering around my bike feasting on all of the bug bodies I'd gathered. It didn't take them even a minute to show up. I've considered getting a personalized plate for the FJ "NSCTVR" (Insectivore). Not convinced yet but it did seem appropriate. :^)

*** Additional note: I'm at the dealer getting a new rear tire and having the bike serviced. Needed a new air filter as it was completely covered with all sorts of insects! Tech said he'd never seen so many (on a California bike I'm sure). Maybe I should go for that personalized plate. :^)
 

[kimmie]

Thanks for the pics Steve.
 
Have the same with goats here in Oz...it's never just one but several or an entire herd. They best thing is, they have the sense to move away from you unlike the kangaroos and emu which like to get a close up of you at times (not always ending well).
 
Never seen a deer here though, but bugs are plentiful   
 
 
 

[koth442]

Great trip and write up! Lots of beautiful scenery everywhere. And plenty of quality road to enjoy