Ghetto Digital Dashboard / GPS Project

[patw]

I just finished this one off tonight, so I'm posting the results.

First, I'll apologize if this thread title got you excited about an integrated digital cluster -- as this is not it (but yes I really want one too!). Basically I'm mounting an existing GPS on top of the speedometer, as inspired by the duct tape / Velcro windshield camera mount that another poster created. Also, I doubt this is legal, as it covers up the neutral indicator and the bikes existing speedometer, so keep this in mind

Pros:

- Very quick and cheap to make, minus the price of the GPS of course.
- Easy to secure. Just pull it off the dash and pocket it when you need to walk away from the bike.
- Probably more accurate than the existing speedo. I think I read somewhere that ours is nearly 10% off in some cases.
- You can always flip back to GPS mode and find your way home!

Cons:

- Probably illegal, as it covers up the proper speedometer.
- GPS speed tracking has a slight delay, which may factor into the above point.
- If you mess up the velcro contact, you could drop your GPS unit.
- No Tach or Gear indicators, just speed, trip distance, average speed, etc.
- Not a clue if this would work on the pre-08 models.
- Not nearly as secure as a Ram mount, but considerably less expensive.

Components:

- 1x Package of Industrial strength Velcro (Black)
- 1x Garmin Nuvi GPS (Mine is a Nuvi 250, the cheapest Nuvi unit Garmin sells)

Time required: 15 minutes

First, grab some Industrial strength Velcro from the local hardware store. I got mine at Lowes. The store had it in white or black, so make sure you grab black, as white will not match the bike dashboard.



Cut and stick the fuzzy side onto the back of your GPS unit. I know next to nothing about GPS systems, but I'm using the Garmin Nuvi for the digital dashboard features, I'm sure TomTom has something similar.



Cut and stick the prickly side of the Velcro to the instrument panel as shown in the picture below. Stick to the left hand side of the speedo so you end up covering the Neutral indicator and not the turn signal indicator.



Position the GPS so you get the maximum amount of contact between the dashboard Velcro and the backing Velcro on the unit. The picture is a bit misleading here, I have no part of the tach covered up and I can easily see if I'm in redline

Just a note: The reason you want industrial strength Velcro is that you only have a smallish amount of contact between the two strips, so you want to make sure it grabs and holds as much as possible. If you get a bit "spirited" in your ride, you want to know that the expensive GPS unit will not fall off. Do not use cheap fabric Velcro, like you'd get at a craft store.



That's pretty much the whole project. When you turn the Garmin unit on, just tap the lower right hand corner to bring up the digital speedo display and enjoy.

Here's a pic of the display in dashboard mode:



And here's my custom boot up screen:

[Alex]

Neat! I didn't velcro it right over the speedo, but one of my GPS units and an iPod completely block my view of my speedo on my BMW, and it's never been a concern as both GPS units are plainly telling me my speed no matter what screen they are on. I just need a clear view through the gadgets to see the tach as necessary.

[Snake]

Great instalation Patw and I love the bootup screen.

[patw]

I did my regular commute today of 87km and the unit held fine. It bounced a tiny bit while going over some torn up pavement in a construction zone, but otherwise the Velcro was solid.

[NJD022588]

Alex, when are you going to put on the flux capacitor?

[Alex]

It's in the box, just haven't found the right connector yet.

[patw]

I expanded on this project tonight. With a bit more Velcro I managed to create a secure mount for my Flip Video. Velcro wins again as a cheap and secure mount and, as a bonus, it seems to help reduce the vibration in the shots.

I added two strips of Velcro to the camera, one along the bottom and one on the top.



After that, I just re-used the velcro from the GPS mount and added a small, thin strip to windshield to support the top of the camera.



I got the top strip positioned completely wrong, and it ended up taking videos at a low angle. This stuff is surprisingly difficult to remove Even with a second application, it's still holding very well.

I'll post some of the videos tomorrow that show a night ride testing the setup. My windshield has some odd swirl pattern in the plastic giving the lights a really neat bloom effect.

[andrewwoo]

wow man! straight up ghetto!

[demp]

curious, do we really *need* a speedo, legally?

[patw]

I took some footage last night while it was positioned wrong. It still gives an idea of the stability you get when mounting with velcro:

Link to original page on YouTube.

[demp]

anyone know what a replacement gauge cluster costs?, like the plastic?

[addy126]

I wonder how that would hold up in the southern most states where it is now 100+ degrees and super humid! Certainly gives me an idea for my tomtom.. thanx Pat!

[wayanlam]

the camera mount with Velcro definitely seems to help reduce vibrations a lot! i just made a fixed mount last night, and the vibrations from the engine and rough road goes straight to the camera, lol

i posted my lil DYI project, and 1st video on: http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22332

im still in the process of modifying the mount with plans to eventually make a new one once i figure out how to make the prototype work.

on a side note, i have seen a digital cluster gauge here for the 250r (only in a picture) i might have to investigate a little more, and come back to show&tell about it. it looked sweet on the picture, but id want to see it first hand to check out the quality.

[patw]

Originally Posted by wayanlam

the camera mount with Velcro definitely seems to help reduce vibrations a lot! i just made a fixed mount last night, and the vibrations from the engine and rough road goes straight to the camera, lol

I started the exact same way! I tried a bunch of methods for doing hard-mounts and the vibration problem was terrible. It seems the handlebars vibrate more than anything else, so all my handlebar mounts tended to produce videos that were unwatchable. I also tried the gas tank, and the rear passenger peg and they both turned out pretty badly (rear peg wasn't bad but I could never aim it right... Leg Cam (tm) all the time).

I took some additional footage last night and cut/uploaded it. In this one you can see the full potential of the ghetto mount. It's mostly smooth, until the road gets really bad, or the speed gets high on somewhat cracked pavement.

As for the heat/humidity problem... do the properties of velcro change in that environment? I'm from Central Ontario, the worst we get up here is around 36 deg C in the summer

Link to original page on YouTube.

[addy126]

The heat/humidity makes the glue rather unstable on these products. Don't know if the Industrial Grade glue would breakdown in this 80+% humidity and 100+ degree weather... I can see it now... my Tom Tom flying thru the air @ 70 mph down Central (75) when the glue becomes unstable.. argggh! The digital content in your vid is great and the shaking from vibration has really been curtailed.. Great Job!

[binlagin]

I used 3m adheisive tape for my iPhone mount... in 35c degree weather it still holds tight.... until the plastic mount from crappy tire breaks! *doh*

Mind you.. we are canadian (judging by barrie) so it doesn't get as hot up here as in some other parts.

[Sailariel]

I used the 3M industrial Velcro to mount the switch for my fog lights (we need them in Maine) and my garage door opener. Had a two week stretch of very hot and humid weather. The Velcro held fine. I think that should I go for a Garmin GPS, I would mount it on the left side of the tach on the flat spot below the windshield. I would mount the bracket (which I would have to fabricate) on rubber mounts and through bolt them. Loctite Red would be my choice of a thread sealer.

[patw]

Originally Posted by binlagin

I used 3m adheisive tape for my iPhone mount... in 35c degree weather it still holds tight.... until the plastic mount from crappy tire breaks! *doh*

Mind you.. we are canadian (judging by barrie) so it doesn't get as hot up here as in some other parts.

Yep, as a follow up to this one, the GPS and the camera mounts are still working fine. I've even washed the bike a few times and the velcro holds to the windshield and instrumentation cluster fine.

I'll see how it holds up through storage in winter... if it looks bad in spring, I may very well have to drop another $5 or so on Velcro

[adri99an]

I never tried Vecro but did pick up a mount for about 10 bux on EBAY......works pretty good and mounts to the frame.....since the FLIP is light---not much wiggling.....

[patw]

Originally Posted by adri99an

I never tried Vecro but did pick up a mount for about 10 bux on EBAY......works pretty good and mounts to the frame.....since the FLIP is light---not much wiggling.....

How much vibration are you seeing in the final videos? Do you have any posted on youtube?


To update this project, I'd like to say there has been no update The same Velcro I installed last year is still working. The female side of the velcro is getting a bit worn however and will probably need to be replaced soon.

[adri99an]

Here's a vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-xMUwMlvvI

I like where mine is....outta the way....behind the screen.....easy to get to....let me know what you think....

[patw]

Originally Posted by adri99an

Here's a vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-xMUwMlvvI

I like where mine is....outta the way....behind the screen.....easy to get to....let me know what you think....

It looks really good, I'm surprised there's so little vibration. The audio quality on the new Flip sounds even better than the old one, very nice

[adri99an]

Thanks-I'm happy with it...I got mine at Costco for 130 bux....60 min of near HD record time...the mount was about 10 bux---in the end it's a sweet thing to have on a bike....especially when you run into something like this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snCqc-rh8mI

[patw]

Originally Posted by adri99an

Thanks-I'm happy with it...I got mine at Costco for 130 bux....60 min of near HD record time...the mount was about 10 bux---in the end it's a sweet thing to have on a bike....especially when you run into something like this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snCqc-rh8mI

Absolutely, I had my own close-call video I posted up about a year ago. Not quite as dramatic as yours, just the usual cager left turn nonsense.

Also, you don't need to link youtube vids by URL on this forum you can use the youtube tag and put the video ID in it. Like this:

[youtubehd} snCqc-rh8mI {/youtubehd]

Just change the curly brace for a square one.