View Full Version : GPS Mount for Use with Sport Touring Windshield


camaroz1985
March 18th, 2009, 07:40 AM
So I bought a used Garmin 2720 last week and installed the auxiliary fuse block on my bike so I can power it. The last thing to do was to make a mount.

I installed the sport touring windshield a while ago for the added wind protection, but as a nice side effect have noticed how much room is up under there, perfect for mounting a GPS.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh87/camaroz1985/Ninja/PB240966.jpg

I wanted something that put the GPS not too far out of sight (like I feel the handle bar mounting options are). My first choice would have been for the upper windshield mounting bolts, but on further thought they are only through the fairing and I was worried about the added weight/vibration cracking the fairing.

The bolts that bolt the gauge cluster surround to the cowling stay though are more ideal as they are bolt into something solid. The only problem there is you are close to the dash and close to the windshield.

My solution.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh87/camaroz1985/Ninja/P3171086.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh87/camaroz1985/Ninja/P3171087.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh87/camaroz1985/Ninja/P3171084.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh87/camaroz1985/Ninja/P3171085.jpg

I still have some fine tuning to do, but am generally very pleased with it. I need to angle the GPS down a bit to make more room to release it from the mount. You can do it the way it sits now but I think over time I would end up scratching the windshield in this area. A few degrees should do it, then paint.

Ken
March 18th, 2009, 07:45 AM
Very creative!

I was thinking about rigging up a camera mount and looks like I'll go through your route.

CaliGirl
March 18th, 2009, 10:39 AM
That looks really good Ryan. How's the visibility in the sun?

camaroz1985
March 18th, 2009, 11:16 AM
Thanks.

I don't know about sun visibility yet. I still haven't wired it up (there is no on-board battery). Hopefully by the weekend. From what I have read though this model is supposed to be pretty good.

Viper-Byte
March 18th, 2009, 12:40 PM
Nice, that will look really good once painted and all completed :thumbup:

g21-30
March 18th, 2009, 02:52 PM
Ryan,

That looks good! Can't wait to see the finished product. Are you considering powder coat?

camaroz1985
March 19th, 2009, 07:16 AM
I thought about it, and maybe I will if I make it again, but this was just a piece of scrap steel that I had laying around. I'll probably just spray bomb it.

islanderman7
March 19th, 2009, 09:33 AM
That looks good, I wish I had some scrap steal lying around that was and was the perfect dimension.

camaroz1985
March 19th, 2009, 10:29 AM
That looks good, I wish I had some scrap steal lying around that was and was the perfect dimension.

And just happend to be cut, drilled, and bent the exact way you needed it.

If you are going to dream go all the way :D

headshrink
March 23rd, 2009, 07:57 PM
Me likes - thanks for the idea!

camaroz1985
March 24th, 2009, 07:19 AM
Got to do about 200 miles on Sunday with this and it worked great. The display is never more than a quick glance away, and never in your line of sight, even when in a tuck. There is a photosensor on the GPS unit that adjusts the backlight automatically. It was easy to see the display in direct sunlight and automatically dimmed itself when it got darker. The screen was easily within reach and could be operated with gloves on.

I guess now I am hooked on having a GPS. Even if it is somewhere that I know how to get there, it is still nice to be able to tell where you are.

Another nice thing is the accurate speedometer and a clock.

headshrink
March 27th, 2009, 02:07 AM
What do you use (tools) to cut and bend it? Sorry if that sounds stupid, but I've got to start planing mine! I've got many BASIC tools, but want to know if I have to buy more...

camaroz1985
March 27th, 2009, 06:17 AM
I used a band saw to cut it, but you can do it with a hacksaw, dremel, or cut-off wheel. You might have to do a little more finishing to make it look nice then.

To bend it I used a hammer and a vice.

Buffalony
March 27th, 2009, 06:34 AM
The Ninja 250 owner is ingenuitive.

headshrink
March 27th, 2009, 10:50 AM
I just sold my band saw (it was a POS Ryobi), but am fine in the hack and Dremil departments. I'm glad to hear you only used a hammer and vise to bend, I was afraid you were going to say you used a sheet metal brake. Looks like it can be done in my garage :D
Thanks

camaroz1985
March 27th, 2009, 11:01 AM
Most of the stuff I make now doesn't need to be made in a shop.

It was nice in college having access to a full machine shop. I had an internship one time and they ran out of work for me to do the one week (we were waiting on another car to be delivered to start prototyping parts for), so they told me to just start making parts for my car. I never really minded going into work at that job :D

Buffalony
March 27th, 2009, 05:21 PM
Most of the stuff I make now doesn't need to be made in a shop.

It was nice in college having access to a full machine shop. I had an internship one time and they ran out of work for me to do the one week (we were waiting on another car to be delivered to start prototyping parts for), so they told me to just start making parts for my car. I never really minded going into work at that job :D

+1 I used to work as a machinist. Having unlimited access to machine tools you can't afford is the best. I used to make parts for my car too.:D

camaroz1985
March 28th, 2009, 09:56 AM
It was probably the best internship ever. First week there I was tearing apart a brand new Z06 to start designing parts for it. After that it was the Porsche Cayman, delivered right from the dealership.

headshrink
March 29th, 2009, 12:39 AM
I just picked up a Nuvi 265wt..... now I have to figure out the mounting too.

Buffalony
March 30th, 2009, 05:16 PM
I just picked up a Nuvi 265wt..... now I have to figure out the mounting too.

I would do the same thing camaroz1985 did. looks excellent, and shouldnt be that hard.

headshrink
March 30th, 2009, 05:21 PM
I will likely do that.... will only have to get a new "cradle" designed more for bikes (cradles the entire unit, rather than only at top and bottom middle), and the ball it connects to.

Buffalony
March 30th, 2009, 05:25 PM
I will likely do that.... will only have to get a new "cradle" designed more for bikes (cradles the entire unit, rather than only at top and bottom middle), and the ball it connects to.

I hear thats a problem a few people have. I'm sure a search would come up with some alternatives.

camaroz1985
March 31st, 2009, 06:15 AM
Look here for a mount.

http://www.mountguys.com/category_s/2292.htm

I think you want to get just the cradle that would mount to a RAM mount. You should be able to use that to bolt to a plate.

(I think one of the bicycle mounts will get you the cradle cheaply and you can just throw away the cheap handle bar mount. This will give you the cradle that has the standard RAM bolt pattern and could be bolted to anything.)

They also have the hardwire kit if you are interested in doing that.

http://www.mountguys.com/product_p/mfx5v-b-garnuvi2b.htm

g21-30
March 31st, 2009, 11:07 AM
I got my ram mount at www.cycoactive.com

Buffalony
April 1st, 2009, 05:29 AM
Great Links guys. I purchased a few needs.

zeroth
April 3rd, 2009, 01:04 PM
Great info! Is there a GPS thread on here somewhere? I searched for "GPS" and got zip. (Would rather not start a new repeat thread...)

camaroz1985
April 3rd, 2009, 01:13 PM
Here you go. GPS is too short for the search.

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11228

g21-30
April 3rd, 2009, 02:39 PM
Also, check in this list:

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=15110

headshrink
April 29th, 2009, 10:12 PM
What if I mounted this RAM ball

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=14&pictureid=1220
to the same bolt you mounted your bracket onto (on one side), and used RAM parts to position and hold a cradle.... think that will work?

camaroz1985
April 30th, 2009, 05:28 AM
That would probably work. Don't know about how stiff of a mount it would be though.

headshrink
May 2nd, 2009, 04:33 PM
You wouldn't happen to have a flattened paper or cardboard template lying around, would you? I am trying to work out the angles for a Nuvi mount at the moment.

BlueRaven
May 2nd, 2009, 05:30 PM
do you need to buy a gps especially designed for bike or can you use any gps on a bike. i have 3 garmin i3, c530 and the nuvi 250w. thought maybe the vibration of the bike might be harmful but then again i used to have in the big rig and no damage.

Alex
May 2nd, 2009, 05:52 PM
You don't have to buy one specifically for a bike, but there are things that make certain GPS's more bike-friendly. Check out this thread (http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11228) for some ideas.

One thing I'd check with the units you own are if they use flash memory or a hard drive. I know the nuvi is just flash, but I'm not sure if the i3 or c530 use flash or a physical drive. The vibration on a bike will kill a hard drive dead over time; flash memory is much more resilient.

EDIT: looking at garmin's site, it appears that all 3 use just flash memory, and none of them have hard drives. :thumbup:

You should be able to find a motorcycle mount for any of them at http://www.cycoactive.com/ .

BlueRaven
May 2nd, 2009, 06:05 PM
much appreciated alex

headshrink
May 3rd, 2009, 01:01 PM
I just got the power unit delivered. There is a green LED on the transformer, should I be concerned at all about draining my battery when not in use? My prefrence is to go directly into the battery rather than switched hot because it is an easier install and I don't have to splice into anything.

camaroz1985
May 4th, 2009, 06:42 AM
It will obviously drain the battery a little bit. How much I'm not sure.

And Blue, one of the reason's I used this particular model is that it is waterproof which most units are not.

camaroz1985
May 4th, 2009, 07:12 AM
Here is the template I used. You may have to slot the holes a bit to make it work, and you will have to figure out the bend angles, but this will give you a good start.

Just scale it so that when you print it, the dimension is correct (1.50 inches).

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh87/camaroz1985/Ninja/GPS_Mount_Template.jpg

Direct Link
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh87/camaroz1985/Ninja/GPS_Mount_Template.jpg

Buffalony
May 5th, 2009, 12:43 PM
This is almost an official DIY

NJD022588
May 5th, 2009, 02:34 PM
I just got the power unit delivered. There is a green LED on the transformer, should I be concerned at all about draining my battery when not in use? My prefrence is to go directly into the battery rather than switched hot because it is an easier install and I don't have to splice into anything.

You wont need to worry about the LED since LED's use very little power (unless you will be letting it sit for years without turning on the bike, but then your battery will be dead for other reasons :D ). However, power regulators can use power while not in use but I'm not sure how much.

headshrink
May 5th, 2009, 04:48 PM
Cameroz1985: Thank you much! I'll tinker with the template..... working on those angles.

NJD022588: Thanks for the assurance... the only reason I doubted it may be an issue was because I saw the question somewhere else (can't find), and it didn't seem clear.... although as my commuter, I would be surprised if it became an issue.

CZroe
August 2nd, 2009, 09:40 AM
Hmm... I've got no tools but I'm tempted to buy some sheet metal and a Dremel to make this. Thanks!

headshrink
August 2nd, 2009, 11:45 AM
It would be cheaper to by a production unit if you have to buy a dremel..... although a dremel would be handy to have around.

CZroe
August 2nd, 2009, 02:10 PM
It would be cheaper to by a production unit if you have to buy a dremel..... although a dremel would be handy to have around.

But, who is making & selling them?

headshrink
August 2nd, 2009, 09:30 PM
I'm sorry, I was talking about a RAM mount.... I was reading that thread at the same time and didn't think it would sound like I was talking about the unit described here.

CZroe
August 3rd, 2009, 07:34 AM
I've already used all my handlebar space for other mounts. :D

setasai
June 16th, 2010, 01:19 AM
Has anyone tried acrylic or plexiglass and just heat bending it to shape? Would there be too much vibration in that?