iPod bike mount that reduces vibration?

[drzep]

I've been tinkering with places to mount my 60G but it seems that anywhere I put it, the harddrive eventually freezes because of the vibration - small buffer I suppose. I run the audio out to my Autocom unit.

 

First tried an Aquabox on the bars with ram ball mounts - no go. Then the Aquabox on top of the air filter box with 1" of foam pad underneath - no go. Then the topcase, which works but I dont want to drill a hole for the wire. So far, only solution has been to keep it in my jacket pocket...just another wire hangin' off myself when I ride.

 

Any ideas on how I could mount this using some sort of dampening system so that it would NOT have all of the bikes vibrations transmitted right to the harddrive?

 

Thanks

[smiller]

I have a Creative Vision:M player that utilizes the same Toshiba 60gb drive as the iPod. I place it in my RT glovebox with no more vibration isolation than a padded camera case and I've noticed that if I orient the player vertically I will almost always have the unit hang within a short number of miles, but if oriented horizontally it works fine, in fact zero failures thus far. A very dramatic difference in performance and it would seem that the drive is much more resistant to vibration in one plane than another. Since the hard drives are identical in these two units maybe this tip will help in your situation as well...

[Emoto]

Mine sits on top of a piece of foam rubber that is on top of a folded piece of cloth inside a tupperware container in my tank bag. Its output goes to a MixIt2 along with the audio from my radar detector and soon my GPS. From there, the audio goes to my helmet, albeit through a Chatterbox radio/intercom unit.

 

I control the iPod with a wireless remote on the mirror stem called an AirClick by Griffin technologies.

 

[TonyS]

Mine goes in the inside jacket pocket, well protected from vibration and the elements. An added bonus is I don't have to remember to unplug anything when I stop and get off the bike. A wireless remote controls the unit.

[Silver Surfer/AKAButters]

Mine does fine in the map pocket on my tank bag. Of course now that I have the Zumo anfd the Autocom tuned up, I won't be needing the iPod on board anymore.

[Vrex]

You've got what you've got, but I feel pleasantly validated in my decision to get the "Nano" Ipod, partly because of this: it has a flash memory instead of a hard drive -- no moving parts. I usually just rubber-band it to the right-hand switch housing, where it seems quite happy. It seems ideal for motorcycle use. The tradeoff is the mere 8GB capacity -- only a couple of thousand songs worth . . .

 

Lee

2002 R1150RT

[drzep]

You said it man! I wasn't thinking 'bike' when I made this purchase.

 

I don't mind keeping it warmly nestled in my jacket pocket, but I surely hate having an extra cord connecting me to the bike. Heated vest, autocom to helmet, now this from the autocom to my pocket?

 

Yesterday I tried mounting it above the airbox both vertically and horizontally - both froze up on me, at pretty much the same clip. Then I made a tupparware box with the softest foam I could find and slid the device inside. This was notably better, but it still froze after 25 miles.

 

I may try a couple more things and if they fail, there's going to be an inexpensive 60Gb iPod on Ebay soon. Thanks for all your input so far and if any one else has any suggestions, I'd like to hear em'.

[Emoto]

Yesterday I tried mounting it above the airbox both vertically and horizontally - both froze up on me, at pretty much the same clip. Then I made a tupparware box with the softest foam I could find and slid the device inside. This was notably better, but it still froze after 25 miles.

 

I may try a couple more things and if they fail, there's going to be an inexpensive 60Gb iPod on Ebay soon. Thanks for all your input so far and if any one else has any suggestions, I'd like to hear em'.

 

Mine is the 60GB and I have yet to cause it to have a problem. You could try what I did, as long as you have gone this far. The tupperware rests inside a tank bag which must provide some additional damping. Also, under the foam rubber, I have a folder up cloth. Also, I cut slits in the foam and stapled strips of the male and female velcro sides into a single strip and use them to hold the iPod into place.

 

Not the clearest picture, but you can kind of get the idea:

 

[drzep]

Thanks Emoto. I was trying to avoiding having to use a tank bag but I think your option may be the best for the harddrive - lots of mechanical isolation from the bike.

[Emoto]

Thanks Emoto. I was trying to avoiding having to use a tank bag but I think your option may be the best for the harddrive - lots of mechanical isolation from the bike.

 

Well, TonyS does simply slip his into a jacket pocket. That is certainly a good and simple solution that may be worth a try for you. I use a tank bag 99.9% of the time, so for me it is no big deal.

[markgoodrich]

I've got three ipods, a first generation, a third generation (I think) and a nano. The third gen unit will freeze up if i just look at it funny. the first gen's battery life is very short, but it rarely freezes up. The nano has not been put to use on the bike. I just slapped some velcro on the inside of the glove/radio pocket, and attach the ipods to it. Neither has had a problem yet.

 

I bought the Nano because the other two would freeze up when I'd go for a run on the jogging trails. The 3rd gen unit would be so bad I'd have to do a "hard reset" on it to get it to come back to life.

 

My conclusion: some drives in some units are more sensitive than the same drive in another unit.