I brought a 700i when they were first released in 2020 for use on my adventure bike. Knowing the rigours of offroad riding, I went to great lengths to resiliently mount the rugged mount to my nav tower, however within 8 or 9 months of ownership and probably less than 20 hours of actual use, the brass contacts on the device had become severely pock marked, which was making the unit constantly shut down and fail to charge.
I contacted Garmin Australia and the were very conscientious in getting my issue sorted, and was asked to send my device and rugged mount away for inspection by their techs and after a week or so, I received a new 700i and rugged mount in the mail, no questions asked. Their service was outstanding.
Sadly though, this second device, replaced under warranty has now failed as well, suffering the same issue of pock marked contacts and is now not charging from the rugged mount. Unfortunately this became apparent while on a trip across the Simpson desert in May 2024, just when I needed it the most. So I had to charge it overnight from a power bank and then use a USB cable to power it while on the bike which fortunately worked ok, but I have my doubts this will be a viable long term option to power my unit while on the bike, as it compromises the integrity of the unit with water and dust.
Obviously out of warranty, I still contacted Garmin to let them know what has happened and that this is the second device thats gone pear shaped as I felt they needed to draw there attention to the fact that there is an obvious issue with the rugged mount/ brass contact interface. Weather thats caused by the rugged mount pins not functioning correctly, the brass contacts material hardness or composition, galvanic corrosion developing between the mounts pins and the contacts who knows, but theres an issue of significance there.
I was a long time Montana 650T owner for many years prior and had zero issues with that in its rugged mount on the bike and it suffered way more punishment than my 700i's, so its infuriating that although Garmin market the 700i as 'milspec', they cant actually to a build the 700 series that matches their previous units.
I know other riders within our broader group with Montana 700i's and they have all reported the same issues, and so the only conclusion I can draw now is that the 700i is simply NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE in regards to offroad motorcycling. I would encourage anyone thinking of upgrading from a 650 or 680T, to not waste their money and keep what theyve got, as they are a far more robust unit.
I contacted Garmin on the 12th of June 2024 and spoke to one of their representatives to voice my frustration seeing my second replacement unit fail as before and supplied them with the required photos and documentation and nothing. Zip. The sounds of silence.
I understand theyre not obliged to help or support me out of warranty, but at the very least it would have been nice for them to have the common courtesy of some level of communication or feedback to my quandry and for their total absence of acknowledgement in that regard, they need a bollocking.
So where to now to achieve the same level of emergency capability ? Inreach mini, Messenger, Spot X , Zeleo or similar and back to my old 650T or an iPad mini for mapping ? I have to say Im very reluctant to reward Garmin again by buying another one of their devices. Disappointed is an understatement.
Resiliently mounted above and beyond the supplied fittings.
