Best Motorcycle Sat Nav 2021 – UK Buyer’s Guide (Updated January)

Best Motorcycle Sat Nav

It's all very well taking your motorcycle out on an afternoon ride, but you end up with a choice – Do you ride along a road that you already know or do you take on a new road that will allow you explore the great countryside but accept the risk that you might get lost? It’s a choice that you have to make as motorcycles do not come as standard with a built in Sat Nav unit and therefore this is something that you will need to buy as a separate model.

In this review, we're looking at the best motorcycle navigators on the market in 2021 and deciding which is the model you should be buying.  Buying a gps for your motorcycle should be a simple task, however you need to remember you'll be following directions on a screen that is mounted on your motorbike.  To large and it's going to look silly, to small and you'll not be able to read it.   

Best Motorcycle Sat Nav Unit 2021

If you don't want to read the whole motorcycle sat nav review, check out the Garmin Zumo 396LMT-S Motorcycle Navigator below.  It's the only complete all round package across the range and easily the best motorcycle GPS in 2021.

Garmin Zumo 396LMT-S

Garmin 396LMT-S Motorcycle Review

Our Rating -

The Garmin Zumo 396LMT-S is our favourite motorcycle gps in 2021 as it's really the only navigator that comes with the complete package. The unit is well-built, the maps are great, the directions are clear and easy to follow, and the extra features are easy to use and really add value.  We loved the range Garmin's over the last few years, however we have often thought they were too expensive to really take the top prize.  In 2019, the TomTom Rider 400 took first place in our review mainly because the Garmin was too expensive.

Whilst we thought the Garmin Zumo 590 was probably a better model, it’s very expensive which means that it’s hard to justify the price tag when you start comparing it two the TomTom Rider 400.  For 2020, both TomTom and Garmin have both brought out new models to replace the older models, however rather than having the same problem as last year where the new and improved Garmin was a better model but the price tag made it too difficult to justify.  For this year, this is not the case and the Garmin Zumo 396LMT-S is the best.

That all said, the TomTom Rider 400 is not far behind. Personally, we also feel that Garmin’s are better made and more user-friendly that their TomTom counterparts. The problem with the TomTom rider, it’s probably got a better support function with its “My Drive” that allows you build routes on your laptop and then upload these routes to your navigator.

TomTom takes this a step further with their website that contains thousands of routes across the world that all great fun to drive. While Garmin does have this function with it’s “adventurous routing”, it’s not as good as that with the TomTom. The problem with the TomTom runs deeper and while this is now the fourth generation of the TomTom rider, it’s close, but defiantly, not as good as the Garmin.

Motorcycle Navigation Units

This is where our next problem comes into focus as there is not a lot of room on your average motorcycle and therefore you need to make sure that you consider the features that you will actually need. Again, as always on this website, we highly recommend that you buy yourself a Brand name motorcycle Satellite Navigation device as whilst there are plenty of models on the market and you can get some really cheap models from China, often they don’t work or you cannot update them meaning that they will not last very long before they become out of date.

Before you choose the right motorcycle Sat Nav device for Your needs, take into account the following:

  • The Mount Design – Your Sat Nav needs to stay on your
  • MotorbikeScreen Size – To small and you will not be able to see your directions
  • Bluetooth – You need to be able to listen to your direction in your helmet
  • Screen Quality – Poor screen quality and it will not work in direct sunlight
  • Processor Speed – You need a quick device to calculate routes
  • WaterProof – It sometimes rains, so you need it be waterproof
  • Price – No one wants to spend every penny they have on a Sat Nav


Motorcycle Sat Nav Reviews 2021


Garmin Zumo 396LMT-S

Our Rating -

Garmin 396LMT-S Motorcycle Review

The Garmin Zumo 396LMT-S is part of Garmin updated 2020 range of motorcycle navigators that has been designed specifically to be used on your motorcycle. The Zumo range comes in two models, the 396LMT-S with it’s 4.3-Inch screen and its larger brother, the 595LMT with it’s 5-inch screen below. Personally, we prefer the 396-model given it’s slightly smaller screen. Generally, when you start putting a 5-Inch screen on a motorbike, you start having problems on where to put it and while it may seem like a small problem, wind resistant can start to become a real problem.

The Garmin Zumo 396LMT-S is part of Garmin updated 2020 range of motorcycle navigators that has been designed specifically to be used on your motorcycle. The Zumo range comes in two models, the 396LMT-S with it’s 4.3-Inch screen and its larger brother, the 595LMT with it’s 5-inch screen below. Personally, we prefer the 396-model given it’s slightly smaller screen. Generally, when you start putting a 5-Inch screen on a motorbike, you start having problems on where to put it and while it may seem like a small problem, wind resistant can start to become a real problem.

As a result, we prefer the 396LMT-S with its 4.3-Inch screen, glove-friendly usage and most importantly, it’s sunlight-readable and resistant to fuel vapours, UV rays and rain. This is where this new 396 has made a massive improvement over the previous model. In the past if you tried to adjust your directions using your gloves, it used to work, but often the screen did not do exactly what you want it to. With this new and improved screen, it works so well, you can adjust while you’re driving (Although I would highly recommend that you don’t).

The design is rugged and while I would probably not recommend trying it, I’m sure you could drop it while your bike is moving and it would not have a scratch on it. The unit comes preloaded with lifetime maps Europe. Directions are easy to follow and include Garmin’s “Active Lane Guidance” that provides voice prompts and brightly coloured arrows to show you the proper lane needed for your next turn or exit. As an added benefit, if you connect your unit to your smartphone, include traffic alerts to help you keep out of traffic jams.

The 396 include Bluetooth to make and receive calls, smart notifications, control your music, “Adventurous Routing” to help you avoid motorway routes and use winding roads that are lets be honest, far more enjoyable, Wifi to help you update your maps and software and helpful alerts for sharp curves ahead, speed changes, railroad and animal crossings, school zones and more. 

Check it out in action Here.


TomTom 550

Our Rating -

TomTom Rider 550 Motorcycle GPS Review

For 2019, TomTom have upgraded the 400 below and turned it into the 500 and the 550. As far as I can see, the only difference between the 500 and the 550 is that the 550 comes with worldwide maps, while the 500 only comes with European Maps.  While the 550 might look very similar to the 400 below, and technically they are both the same design, it's a significant step up and will perform much better than the 400 below.  The key difference, the 550 is now powered by all-new 2019 quad-core processor that calculates routes five times faster than before.

The TomTom rider comes with a rugged design that is both IPX7 water resistant (It's totally waterproof) and drop-resistant (Basically if you drop it on the floor, its fine, however I'm not sure what happens when you drop it at 70mph). The 4.3-Inch Screen comes as standard with TomTom's smart-screening meaning that it's both glove friendly allowing you to use your sat nav while you're wearing gloves, but it's also smart-screen which allows you to choose the sensitivity of the glove-friendly touch screen.  The idea here, in the Winter when you're likely to be wearing thick gloves because of the cold, you'll need much more sensitivity than in the summer, when you're wearing thin gloves.

The rider comes with TomTom standard maps which are fantastic and provide a lot of detail.  Once you've entered your destination, the navigator calculates your route quickly, and the directions are shown both on screen, and if you've connected the headset, you can hear the directions through this as well.

The unit is connect to both Apple's Siri or Google Now to help with reading and replying to messages, playing music and using the "Windy Road" function that chooses winding roads that are more fun to drive along rather than those boring motorways.

TomTom's "My Drive" has been drastically improved over the last couple of years.  When it was first released, it had a selection of bugs and quite frankly did not work very well.  With the latest updates this has all changed, and it works great.  Using the software, you can either choose your own road and upload this directly to the navigator, or by using TomTom's Road Trips, receive pre-chosen and reviewed routes.

Overall, it's a great motorcycle sat nav, however we just prefer the Garmin above.

Check it out in action here.

TomTom Rider 400

Our Rating -

TomTom Rider 400 Sat Nav Review

The TomTom Rider 400 Motorcycle Sat Nav is TomTom's all new and improved motorcycle sat nav unit. We loved the original version given it’s performance, the screen clarity especially in low light conditions and at night, and turn-by-turn directions that means that it’s virtually impossible to get lost whilst at the same time offering freedom and flexibility to explore the countryside around you. 

This all-new 2016 model has been improved from the ground and as a result every part of the sat nav is better.  The 3.5 inch screen is now covered with an anti-glare film that help with both colour clarity meaning that you can see the map even better, and helps in direct sunlight situations meaning that you don’t need a screen glare.

The maps are great, whilst the screen is pretty small, it’s very easy to follow the turn-by-turn directions either through on screen directions or using the Bluetooth headset to your earphones.  Other key features that we really like include speed camera alerts, a massive points of interest data base and the Bluetooth which has been made even better meaning that now Bluetooth phone calls are clearer and easier to make.

We also really like the TomTom MyDrive which whilst does come with a few bugs that need updating, allows you to create a route on your computer at home, download in onto your motorcycle sat nav and ride. The "MyDrive" feature is not perfect (Update, the latest 2019 software update has drastically improved the service and with this update that can be used with this device, My Drive is now a great feature), I am sure it will be great later in the year, but right now it does have some annoying bugs that will drive you crazy, however we love the ability to combine the software and maps to choose a route based on our own input and the sat nav unit meaning that if you’re in a hurry you can choose to drive along the motorway or if you want to explore roads, can choose from any one of 10 different settings from hills to road bends.

Overall a great model and at nearly half the price of the Garmin below, a value for money product.

Garmin Zumo 595LM

Our Rating -

Garmin Zumo 590LM Motorcycle Satellite Navigation Unit

The Garmin Zumo 595LM is Garmin’s new and improved version of the Zumo 590LM that we reviewed last year. Again, like the 590, the 595 is a fantastic motorcycle sat nav unit that comes with a 5-Inch, glove friendly, direct sun-light readable screen that means you are able to read your turn-by-turn directions whether it’s bright day-light or pitch black at night. 

The screen is crystal clear and the larger size means that it’s easy to follow even if you are not listening to the directions through the Bluetooth headset.  As with all Garmin's, the menu interface is easy to use meaning that you can easily get around your sat nav whilst the maps are brilliant and offer plenty of detail.

As an added benefit, the Garmin 595LM comes with free lifetime map updates for the UK, Ireland and all 45 European Countries meaning that you are safe even if your drive abroad. The turn-by-turn directions are fantastic, and easy to follow either through the Bluetooth headset or just using the on-screen directions.

Extra features include an SDMicro card slot meaning that you can store your music on your sat nav and unlike old sat nav models, the 595LM now comes with on-screen music control button’s meaning that you can forward your music straight from your sat nav unit, the Bluetooth can also be used for hands free calling and LiveTrack which helps your friends see where you are.

Overall we really like the Garmin 595LM, however there is a massive problem. It’s over £500 that is a hell of a lot of money for a sat nav system to use on your motorcycle. If you’re riding your motorcycle as a delivery person then maybe you can justify the price tag, but we cannot therefore the TomTom above is a better buy.

TomTom Rider 

Our Rating -

TomTom Rider MotorBike

The TomTom Rider is TomTom’s all new 2014 model that comes with a new 5-inch high resolution touchscreen with that has been designed to help with use in direct sunlight and allows you to press buttons on the touchscreen without taking your gloves off. The rider comes with a new super fast processor that helps to find satellite connections and calculated routes quickly.The interface is very easy to use and comes with a menu system that is so simply to use that you don’t even need to read the instructions to be able to understand how the unit works. 

The all new updated 2014 maps provides you with turn-by-turn directions, route re-calculations and a huge “points of interest” database that means you are never short of places to go if you want stop for a quick break.

The Rider is fully waterproof meaning that you can use your Sat Nav whilst its raining without any fear its going to stop working due to the rain and while both on-screen text and voice activated directions help you with you directions, Bluetooth comes in handy to help connect to your smartphone allowing you to take hands-free calls whilst your riding at the click of a button.

Past problems especially with Motorcycle Sat Nav systems has been their battery life giving the power needed to run the high resolution screen and the inbuilt computer, however with this model the battery life is superb and allows you to ride your motorcycle Sat Nav for over 5 hours without needing to charge your Sat Nav unit.

One slightly annoying problem with the the TomTom ride is that you will need separate TomTom accounts for your car and motorcycle as you cannot updated multiple products through one TomTom online account.

Garmin Zumo 660LM

Our Rating -

The Garmin Zumo Motorcycle Sat Nav series has six models within it offering a range of prices and navigation units to suit all users. The range start off with the Zumo 220 which is a basic model offering no other features other than turn-by-turn directions and rises up to the Zumo 590LM which is a fantastic model and comes with many useful features that you can see here, however it also comes with a huge price tag that really takes some justification on whether its really worth it.

Our favourite Garmin motorcycle sat nav device, is the Garmin 660LM which comes with a super wide 4.3 inch touchscreen, water resistant meaning that you use can use your device in the rain and a super fast processor speed to allow for calculations and re-calculations without you having to wait for hour while the machine tries to catch up with your movements.

The touchscreen that handles viewing in direct sunlight very well allow Garmin fantastic maps to be used allowing for turn by turn directions to be shown on your screen and uses 3D landmarks to help direct you to your destination. When you approach a difficult junction, the unit uses Garmin PhotoReal which shows you an image of the junction and brightly coloured arrows to help you move into the correct lane that you need.

The Zumo 660LM features Bluetooth technology which allows you to connect your smartphone to the Sat Nav unit and therefore make and receive hands free phone calls through a speaker system in-built in your helmet.

This Bluetooth technology also means that your direction that would normally just be shown on the screen are now spoken to you through the same speaker system in your helmet. As an added benefit, the in-built computer not only handles directions, but can also give you real time information such as speed limits to include both your current speed and the speed limit on the road, and can even hold music meaning that you can use your Sat Nav system to play your favourite music through the speaker system in your helmet.

Motorcycle Navigation Units

This is where our next problem comes into focus as there is not a lot of room on your average motorcycle and therefore you need to make sure that you consider the features that you will actually need. Again, as always on this website, we highly recommend that you buy yourself a Brand name motorcycle Satellite Navigation device as whilst there are plenty of models on the market and you can get some really cheap models from China, often they don’t work or you cannot update them meaning that they will not last very long before they become out of date.

Before you choose the right motorcycle Sat Nav device for Your needs, take into account the following:


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