Zumo 550 lacks basic functions

I purchased a Zumo 550 to go along with the many motorcycles I own. I thought it would be a nice tool to help navigate on my trips. It is a GPS and should be able to provide basic navigational information, right. Wrong! While Garmin added a lot of nice bells and whistles with Bluetooth and MP3 capability, it failed to include such basic functions as altitude and a compass that functions while the unit is navigating to a waypoint. It also fails to provide a heading indicator or any reference of direction on the route page. You can toggle to the trip information page and get a basic heading readout (N,S,W,E) but not a true compass heading. Give me a break.

Garmin needs to provide the following fixes to this product.

1. Provide altimeter readout. (this is a GPS isn't it?) It would be nice to know if you were operating at 500 feet or 15,000 feet.
2. Provide a compass that is accessible not only while off road but while navigating a route.
3. Provide a bearing indicator on the route page so that you can determine direction of travel while viewing this page. Again, it would be nice to look at the route page and be able to determine direction of travel. I know the Garmin 360 has a bearing pointer on the route page.

Garmin dropped the ball on this one. The information I have outlined above is critical to a motorcyclist. I paid close to $1,000.00 for this product and it has in some instances less capability than a basic model. It also requires a $250 antenna to receive XM radio. What gives?

Garmin’s marketing campaign sums it up best, "designed by bikers...motorcycle-friendly...high end navigation features ". I think not. Someone should have included a motorcyclist on their design team.