Touratech-USA has been the go-to source for Garmin GPS units for motorcycles since 1996. We have experience with every motorcycle capable Garmin GPS unit that has been sold in the last two decades. We’ve been using the Zumo 590LM lately and are impressed with what it offers to motorcyclist users. In this video series we explain features of the new Garmin Zumo 590LM, show the new GPS unit in action, and pass along helpful tips to help you get the most out of your Garmin Zumo 590LM.
A commonly asked question with the Garmin Zumo 590LM is “How do you pair a phone or Bluetooth headset to the GPS unit?” To do that, go to settings and then select the Bluetooth menu.
In this menu you can enable Bluetooth on the Zumo 590 GPS and by doing so you can then search for devices. The Zumo is now asking me to set my Bluetooth devices to “discoverable.” I am using a Scala Rider Q3 Headset (link) for this demonstration. Now the Zumo 590LM is looking for the Scala Rider Headset and it has found so the connected message pops up on the screen.
On the side of this menu, the Zumo 590 GPS then validates the capabilities of the headset.
In order to connect a Bluetooth device such as an iphone or a music player to the Zumo 590 you will have to activate Bluetooth ‘discoverable mode’ on the music device. On the iPhone you go into the Bluetooth menu and it becomes discoverable automatically. On the Zumo 590LM you can search for new Bluetooth devices.
The Zumo is now prompting me to make the iPhone discoverable and you can see that the iPhone has picked up the Zumo GPS. Once the Zumo 590 GPS is displaying the iPhone we can select it and start the connecting process. The GPS and phone both display a passkey and if we accept the pairing on both devices then they are connected. The GPS will now validate the capabilities of the iPhone.
One other helpful thing that you can do in the Bluetooth menu with the Zumo 590LM is change what they call the “friendly” name. This is what the Zumo 590 LM is actually identified as on your Bluetooth devices. You can see on the iPhone that it is displaying the name as “Touratech 590.” This way I can tell exactly what GPS device I am connected to.
