Victory Motorcycle Forum banner

GPS Mounting

12K views 34 replies 17 participants last post by  BigBlue 
#1 ·
Please show us your GPS mounted to your X-Bike in your favorite location .
 
#3 ·
I would be afraid it would fall off , mine in the car seems to fall off from time to time , it could be catastrophic on the bike !
 
#4 ·
Love the center of the dash. Had the x-grip on the bars and worked fine, but this is much cleaner looking and easier to see (in sight line)
BTW it's a Zumo 665LM
 
#5 ·
I like the looks of the center mount, but I still think the left handlebar is the most PRACTICAL location to mount the GPS on the Cross Country. Here's my bike and my mount.
 

Attachments

#6 ·
I like the looks of the center mount, but I still think the left handlebar is the most PRACTICAL location to mount the GPS on the Cross Country.
I agree, plus I don't want anything in the windshield vent area.
I'll be switching out the X-grip for the Tom-Tom mount on the left bar.

 
#7 ·
Got GPS in my phone but its always turned off and in my inside vest pocket.
On the rare occasion that I'm lost I just stop and work out where Im going.
Not really into all the technology.
Actually I got a bit lost last weekend and when I turned my phone on there was no coverage anyway, so I waved down a passing car and they had a paper map!
Worked out I was actually going in the right direction anyway. :)
 
#9 ·
Actually I got a bit lost last weekend and when I turned my phone on there was no coverage anyway, so I waved down a passing car and they had a paper map!
:)
No matter what...I always have a paper maps (several actually, and even a small atlas) that fits under my trunk liner...doesn't take up any space.
 
#10 ·
My Garmin (car GPS) goes into a RAM mount/holder made for the particular Garmin model. I then use the Victory/RAM half moon mount on the clutch perch. It works great in that position and the 12VDC power supply is also right their on the left side of the fairing. I use a simple quart size Zip Lock bag held on with two rubber bands for the Garmin in the rain.

I have a second Victory/RAM mount on the brake perch. When I'm in an area that has toll roads, my I-PASS transponder (from Illinois) easily attaches on the right side of the handlebar using a RAM X-Grip holder. I have a vacuum sealer so I have my toll road transponder in a vacuum sealed bag to keep the rain and debris out of it.

Both my Victory/RAM mounts have two RAM balls on them for additional options like the RAM cup holder or even a second RAM X-Grip to hold a phone, a camera or something similar. The Victory/RAM mounts are very easy to use plus they look and work great.

I'm not sure if Victory or RAM still offers the machined aluminum half moon mount but I'm glad to have the two I have mounted on my CCT. In colder weather and with my cruise control set, I'll sometimes use the RAM ball mounts as a place to rest my hands. It keeps them out of the airstream and they work fine for steering input.
 
#11 ·
I have a Ram X-Mount on the left handlebar. As far as my favorite location, it'll take me a while to get back to Lake George :D :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chattanooga Mark
#12 ·
X2 , with my Phone (GPS on phone)

 
#15 ·
Whose/what tank bag did you find that does not interfere with steering?
 
#17 · (Edited)
I have a tank bib similar (or maybe identical -- it's hard to say, from that one pic) to MTVic's. The one I have I ordered from Sage Brush Designs right around a year ago; see 10 oz latigo leather motorcycle tank bib.

Sage Brush is the retailer, but at least the series I have are -- or were -- made by Frank's Leather, because the installation and care instructions were written by Frank. I believe this is his site: Leather Tank Bibs

I have a pic in my gallery, currently here: 2012 Victory Cross Country Tour

More to the point, I have a small sub-gallery of pics of only that tank bib here:

2012 Victory Cross Country Tour with Sage Brush Designs Tank Bib
 

Attachments

#18 ·
Four Balls, No Waiting



To refresh your memory, or if you weren't paying attention in Brattleboro:

Three RAM Balls on the Left:

I have the official Vic clutch or brake replacement bracket, in my case installed on the clutch side. This can hold up to three balls, and I have two installed (with red thread-locker).

I chose the left because that's where the dash outlet is. The center is nice for visibility, although a mount fabricated there may block air flow, and also is likely to allow for less adjustability in terms of positioning. Or not -- I suppose it's all in how you fab it up.

I also have a third mount on the left side, one I've recommended before, from Mounting Innovations: their "Chrome-B-231U-Black" mount. See RAM Bases & Balls and Chrome Handlebar Mount .

RAM Products:

To go with the three balls, I have assorted RAM products, including (but not limited to):

- Some medium socket arms (which is what RAM calls them -- I'd call them extensions): RAM Double Socket Arm for 1" Balls (Overall Length: 3.69") Unpackaged - RAM-B-201U | RAM Mounts

- A long socket arm: RAM Long Double Socket Arm for 1" Balls (Overall Length: 6") - RAM-B-201U-C | RAM Mounts

- A locking knob. This serves as a replacement to the default socket-arm twister. When I'm traveling, I use the locking knob, as it's a theft deterrent to whatever cradle you have mounted; e.g., when you're at a lunch stop, you just take your phone out of the mount, but leave the mount in place. That regular (i.e., non-locking) handle is what you might call an "attractive nuisance," it sort of invites some passing low-life to unscrew it. See KNOB W LOCK 1/4"-20 STEEL INSERT B SIZE Unpackaged - RAM-KNOB3LSU | RAM Mounts

- An X-Grip, typically for a phone (in a case, or not in a case): RAM Universal X-Grip® (Patented) Cell/iPhone Cradle Unpackaged - RAM-HOL-UN7BU | RAM Mounts . This is my newest mount, from a few months ago. RAM suggests putting some super-glue inside the rubber bumpers, and I did that.

- A base for tripod-mounts, e.g., for small video cameras. RAM makes several of these, and I think this is the one I have: RAM 2.5" Round Base with 1" Ball & 1/4-20 Threaded Male Post for Cameras Unpackaged - RAM-B-202AU | RAM Mounts

- A Tough Claw, for when you want to mount some RAM stuff temporarily someplace else (such as a crashbar): RAM Small Tough-Claw? with 1" Diameter Rubber Ball Unpackaged - RAP-B-400U | RAM Mounts

In the attached pic of RAM goodies, also present are two single-purpose RAM mounts:

- In the lower right is for the Garmin Nuvi 200-series of GPS: RAM Cradle for the Garmin nuvi 200W, 205W, 250W, 255W, 260W, 265W, 265WT, 285WT, 2455LMT, 2475LT, 2495LMT & 465T Unpackaged - RAM-HOL-GA25U | RAM Mounts . (I hardly ever use that, in the age of smart phones.)

- In the middle, second from left, is a cradel for an iPhone 4, without any case: RAM Model Specific Cradle for the Apple iPhone 4 & iPhone 4S WITHOUT CASE, SKIN OR SLEEVE Unpackaged - RAM-HOL-AP9U | RAM Mounts . (I no longer have that phone, so this cradle is no use to me.)

In the upper right are two non-RAM products. The rain case has a RAM ball on the back, and the thing next to it is a sunshade. I've never used those products, which I picked up at Americade or the NYC show last year. Go figure.

Truth be told, I hardly ever use any of this stuff. I don't mind getting lost -- exploring -- on day trips. Sometimes on a break, I'll consult my phone, if I really am lost, and am looking for suggestions or guidance in terms of how to get home.

On the superslab -- for visiting my kids, for instance (NC and TX) -- I may fire up a GPS or a GPS app on the phone, mostly so I can call ahead (a kid or a hotel), and say, "I'll be there around 6:45pm." Also, on those long trips, I like to verify the speedo and odo with a GPS.

I've lately switched from using Google maps on my phone to using Here. Also, I've taken up something like 6GB on the phone in order to have Here's maps and POIs downloaded, so I can use Here off-line, i.e., with no cellular connection.

The Right Side:

I have a smaller set-up on the non-outlet side of the handlebar. Over there, I have a Moto X Tek gripper, which holds my E-ZPass (although there are other gizmos that can use that smaller size ball, and the Gripper can hold other things, too). That's all; see the last two pics.
 

Attachments

#24 ·
To refresh your memory, or if you weren't paying attention in Brattleboro
I pay strict attention to everything you say , or have ever said my friend , but in this thread I wasn't addressing you , because I already know what you have .:grin
 
  • Like
Reactions: wspollack
#19 ·
A couple of those bikes are more like Boeing 747 cockpits than a motorcycle's. No offense Bill and MTVic, but when do you find time to see the scenery and enjoy being on a motorcycle? When people ask me what motorcycling is about, I tell them, adventure and freedom from the gadgets that seem to want to control peoples' lives. Just sayin'.
 
#20 · (Edited)
No offense, taken, Ric.

And I agree with you:

- 90+ percent of the time, what you see is what you get. That is, those balls are just sitting there, unused. I haven't ever turned on the radio during a ride, I don't have an iPod or iPhone plugged in or turned on (for tunes). And I don't have headphones, earbuds, bluetooth, etc. Like you, I just enjoy the ride.

- The only permanent device added to my cockpit is that TPMS. I click that before a ride, to make sure my tires are up to snuff (because I'm too old and too lazy to get on the floor to check that back tire). And of course it turns red (as does an added LED up by the windshield) if I ever have a problem. Once in a while -- every couple of rides -- I'll click it mid-ride, just out of curiosity (to see how much more the run-time heat increases the pressure).

- The most-used empty ball is the one on the right, when -- maybe half a dozen times a year -- I'll put my E-ZPass on. As I wrote a couple of years ago in a webBikeWorld article -- Motorcycle EZ Pass Toll Holders - webBikeWorld -- as implemented in NY state: 1) you really don't want to miss having your toll-tag read, and; 2) I've had a problem having it read in a jacket pocket. And besides NY, the E-ZPass is good throughout the eastern US, e.g., the NJ and PA turnpikes, the Chesapeake Bay bridge system, etc.

- A few times a year, I'll mount a video camera (or use a phone's camera for that purpose). I have an Ego 727, but I plan on getting a GoPro model one of these months. I'm like some other folks, e.g., when I ride Deals Gap or some other favorite twisties or scenic roads, I -- very occasionally -- like a video as a memento.

- As I mentioned, I hardly ever mount a GPS (phone app or dedicated device).

Hence, my 90+ % bare-bones figure. However, if I sometimes do mount something, I like to have flexibility in where I want to put it, what angle, what position, etc. And hence, the different balls, and the different extension sizes.

Make more sense now?
 
#21 ·
You're off my hook for now Bill. :) You and many others here know me as the old fart with old school values. Hell, I do all I can to preserve my 2007 car cuz I do not want one of those TV screens on a dash. I see too many looking and poking at that damn thing instead of paying attention to what's going on outside their windshield. My condolences for all those toll roads you have to suffer. How sad that you get double taxed for your roads.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wspollack
#22 ·
Ya know, maybe 30 years ago, the Thruway Authority -- the "Thruway" is most of I-87 and I-90 in NYS -- said that plans were afoot to deimplement tolls on the Thruway "in a few years." Since then, of course, those plans disappeared, and rates have gone up.

I hugely prefer back roads, but every once in a while I have to get someplace in a time limit -- even if it's some good but distant back roads for a day trip -- and the Thruway comes into play. Or I'm doing a 600-mile day, to get my NC daughter early the next day...

...but that only serves to remind me that there are huge swaths of Interstates without tolls, such as I-81 (which I take a few times each year) in PA, MD, WVA, VA and NC.

OTOH, sometimes I go there (Asheville) via Norfolk, and turn right the next day. And get to Norfolk via the Chesapeake system, which is an expensive toll system of bridges and tunnels, but has really scenic views near the end of the day.

I do get the newsletter of the Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates.
 
#23 ·
I get that newsletter too, Bill. Oregon's legislature is very, very lib and of course, they come up with many and various schemes to haul in more and more money for their feel good programs and placing tolls on roads comes up frequently. So far, public opinion has won out.
 
#25 ·
Oops, yea I meant Sage Brush. Was looking through my old links, couldn't remember. I think I was one of the first to get the pocket, and the pic on the site is my bike.

As for my "cockpit" I find plenty of time to enjoy the scenery. I actually like the term. I have lots of friends who fly planes. They still watch the sky and enjoy flying. Instruments help you. It's not a TV, you don't sit and watch the dials and small screens. You glance at them, or they warn you when something is about to change. True it would look better if integrated into dash like the new HDs, and that's the way Tour bike's are going, just like cars. I've used GPS almost since they came out and it let's me enjoy more not guessing when my next turn will be since it tells me. Easier when you lead a group on new roads too, don't have those "late hit" on the brakes with the guy behind you riding up your fender. Also let's me get lost more often on trips and I can easily find my way home.

The phone I added last year as I have aging parents and in-laws (plus a wife!) who I need to be available to when I shoot out for a quick ride. On the handle-bars let's me ignore solicitors.

I do stream Pandora sometimes too...
 
#26 · (Edited)
MTVic, I stand corrected. Your "cockpit" is not like that of a 747, its more a Cessna 172. Tower, I'm approaching my downwind leg, over...:)
I have flown too, but there are no chuckholes in those clouds, or driveways, or red light runners, or debris on the flight path. So when monitoring instruments and taking your eyes away from the windscreen, its unlikely you are going to get surprised by something that pops up in front of you as happens on the road. And planes are a lot more forgiving to errors than are motorcycles. Just wanted to clarify the difference between flying and riding for those who haven't had the pleasure.
As they say, Different strokes. I guess my riding style hasn't changed much since I started back in 1952. As the song goes; Stuck in the Fifties....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Motorbikerx
#29 ·
My home fabricated bracket Garmin install.
I'm betting that that's what Mags was looking for. You got some 'splainin' to do, particularly with regard to how that bolts(?) to the dash. And maybe some more close-up pics, behind the mount.
 
#30 ·
Bumper Automotive exterior Technology Vehicle Hand
Auto part Gauge Engine Tire Vehicle


Fair enough, it's just a simple bracket made with 3/16" aluminum sheet metal held on by an additional piece of contoured sheet metal with aviation nut plates (you can use fibre lock nuts!) installed behind the dash! Auto part Bumper

Auto part Engine Vehicle Electronics Car

Gauge Tachometer Speedometer Auto part Measuring instrument


Add a Victory Garmin harness from eBay and you have a GPS in the best position just above your instrument cluster!

Gauge Speedometer Tachometer Measuring instrument Auto part
 
#32 ·
Fair enough, it's just a simple bracket made with 3/16" aluminum sheet metal held on by an additional piece of contoured sheet metal with aviation nut plates (you can use fibre lock nuts!) installed behind the dash!

Add a Victory Garmin harness from eBay and you have a GPS in the best position just above your instrument cluster!
Nicely done.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top