I have a 2024/2025 V85tt Travel to which I have fitted a Garmin Zumo XT satnav to a bracket on the handlebar mounting bracket. The satnav worked fine on my previous bike and in my car, but repeatedly loses satellite connection and hence forgets my location. After suspecting the power source and a number of other things I discovered that the signal strength drops when I turn the ignition on but if I move the satnav about a foot away from the dashboard the signal strength returns. It improves if I cover the bikes dashboard with aluminium foil. Has anyone else experienced issues like this ? (may also affect V100 Mandello’s which have the same dashboard)
This might not be related but I have an older Zumo on my Mandello and I couldn’t have it connected to my headset if the MIA was connected it just kept dropping the connection. I have also noticed on a few occasions that the GPS does seem to lag usually just when you really need it it has never done this on my other bikes so there may be some interference. Need to disconnect the MIA and see if it still does it.
Paul
Thanks Paul, I was wondering if the MIA was the cause, not sure if I can just disconnect it as it is not used by me. My Zumo XT lags a lot and shows random speeds for some time after stopping and also occasionally spins the map left or right. I discovered the Signal strength graph by pressing and holding the green signal strength at top left of the screen.
Yes I get the spinning maps situation as well. I will try the green bar trick the next time it does it, mine is the Zumo 346 I did try the inbuilt MIA and found it rather lacking so went back to separate units that handle my navigation and music so much better.
Paul
Looking at the signal strength graph mine shows about 16 satellites mostly green between 35 and 45 on the scale, but when I turn the ignition on they all drop to the bottom (15) and go red. If I move the Satnav away they start going back up but I have to move it to the left mirror before the signals return to where they where before I turned the ignition on.
is it the dash or is it the unit under the seat? I take it its the Bluetooth interfering with the GPS signal or just general noise if its not suppressed very well.
It’s the Dash interfering, putting aluminium foil over the dashboard fixes it but obviously not ideal.
yes the aliens are coming! That’s a shame, can you get a high mount like a MotoMate of the like that sits above the dash maybe a better solution for signal. I have mine mounted on the bar stem and prefer it there as it doesn’t interfere with the main dash and is natural to look at.
I tried holding it above the dash in the hope that it would be ok there but the signal strength graph still showed all red, so I don’t think that’s the answer, I don’t really want to put it on a ram mount right over by the mirror because it will hit the screen when the bars are turned. I will ask my brother if he has issues, he has a Mandello but uses a ram mount placing it over to the left. He won’t have tried the MIA even though it’s fitted.
Thanks for your help, it indicates that it isn’t a fault with my Garmin, I suspect it is the screen driver circuit in the dash, but will look into disconnecting the MIA unit, just hope disconnecting it doesn’t affect anything else, it is possible the MIA unit uses antenna in the dashboard.
Mine does work mounted under the dash (Mandello). The MIA wont affect anything else you will lose the three irritating screens that are added to the dash but that’s all. I hope that sorts it out for you.
Thanks, the MIA unit is a half baked attempt by Piaggio to provide tech for the sake of having it and it still relies on a smart phone, if Enfield can provide a satnav on the Himalaya I don’t understand why Piaggio can’t.
Totally agree with you they would have been better off going down the Android Auto or Apple car play route, and to think you have to pay for it after three years
I didn’t realise there was a subscription as well !
Wonder if someone wants mine ?
I also have a Beeline which works using my phone and the interface (App) is far easier than the Garmin, just doesn’t show a map.
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you only have to pay for the navigation, everything else is free
doesn’t the enfield use google maps, linked to the phone?
Can the Garmin run on an internal battery, in other words can you disconnect its supply from the bike? And if so, does that make any difference?
Yes the Garmin can run from its internal battery, I tried that first presuming that the power feed was at fault, it makes no difference. The issue is RF or Magnetic interference. Thanks for the thought though.
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why not shield the rear of the satnav holder instead ?
I will try that next, but presume its own aerial is in the back of the device.
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