My homemade GPS mount

[St0nkingByte]

I just got a new to me Garmin SPIII and was looking at mounts. The BMW Navigator II mount that puts the GPS between the handlebars appealed to me the most but $135+ for a single mount, ugh. So today I made a trip to the hardware store...

 

I started with a design sketched out on paper, $4.47 worth of parts and part of an extra Garmin mount that came with the GPS...

 

 

After a bit of hacking and bending I came up with this mount which uses two of the bolt holes from the handlebar mounts.

 

 

I had to abandon all but one of the huge washers and use some others I had lying around because I was tight on space. I didn't have the tools to make the cuts I'd wanted so I ended up just cutting a notch and bending the metal to make room for the antenna. Mounted on the bike, well its not the prettiest thing and the camera actually makes it look uglier...

 

 

However once the GPS is snapped in place, well who can tell if its a $4 mount or a $100+ one?

 

 

I've painted the exposed parts black so perhaps it won't be so hideous that I can't leave the mount on the bike all the time, however if I can't stand it on there all the time it only takes a minute or two to swap the stock bolts for the GPS mount. I also have yet to road test it, I realized I forgot that part right after I sprayed the parts. I should get that done tomorrow. The RT's handlebars don't vibrate too much and with the nylon spacers and rubber washer I've included I'm hoping the mount will be mainly vibration free.

[W8NONU]

Nothing wrong with homemade items. I get frustrated with the price of some of the items for the motorcycle. I have made my own shelf for my RT as well as a mount for my CB. I also put together a dash mounted garage door opener switch with about $5 in parts from Radio Shack. A little imagination and a dremel tool can do wonders.

[Nevets]

Nice job! When I can afford the GPS, I expect to follow your example.

[Jerry Johnston]

You beat me to it. I'm doing exactly the same except making the mount out of aluminum. Got all the bolts and parts - just need the time.

As the rest have said - good work.

[St0nkingByte]

I'm not fancy enough for aluminum

 

Well a bunch of test runs under my belt and the mount works perfectly. No noticeable vibration or movement, no apparent losening of any of the parts. The cables and antenna are fitting perfectly. The only thing I have noticed is that due to my lack of a drill press my holes didn't quite end up perfectly where they should of have been so once the GPS is on there is becomes apparent that it is shifted ever so slightly to the right of center and it is rotated counter clockwise about 1 deg. Its a very tiny thing that you probably never noticed just looking at it but now that I've noticed it of course its driving me nuts

 

I'll probably pull the mount off and widen the holes a teensy bit to allow for some adjustment once its on the bike but before I tighten it down fully. The rubber washers should keep it from shifting once its tightened down. On a side note I find the GPS crazy distracting on the bike, I'll need to teach myself to stop being so childish and looking at it so much. I'll probably take it to work with me everyday for a week or two to train myself not to stare at it.

 

Next up I need to figure out how to permanently wire the power in, I think tapping into the accessory socket's wires is the way to go judging by other posts I've seen. Another thing I'd like to do is create an iPod dock (with power) in the radio compartment and feed the GPS audio input into a shared line with my iPod. I know an Autocom would make this easy but if the GPS and iPod can provide something near a steady line out signal (they should) it's an easy job to wire up a shared output with a few resistors.

[Mainuh]

I'm guessing you don't use a tank bag? I just went out into the garage and sat on mine with a high seat in the high position and I can just see the top of trip meter reset button (I'm just over 6'). I would think someone with a low seat with a tankbag would have even less visibility down there?

 

In your picture the top of your gps is at just about that level. (not trying to be critical or anything... just asking in case there's someone who has a tank bag and hadn't thought about that.) The mount looks great and it's nice to see a functional item that didn't melt the plastic on a visa card!

[MysticRed]

The only thing I have noticed is that due to my lack of a drill press my holes didn't quite end up perfectly where they should of have been so once the GPS is on there is becomes apparent that it is shifted ever so slightly to the right of center and it is rotated counter clockwise about 1 deg. Its a very tiny thing that you probably never noticed just looking at it but now that I've noticed it of course its driving me nuts

Harbor Freight had them on sale for $39.95, same one Sears was selling for $99.99. I bought one and it's been great!

[Gregori]

I wouldn't hard mount the iPod. The hard drive doesn't like shock and vibration, and you'll seriously shorten the life of it. If it's in the glove compartment, it's not as though you need to be able to read the display at a glance!

 

Best of luck!

G.

[Jerry Johnston]

I'm guessing you don't use a tank bag? I just went out into the garage and sat on mine with a high seat in the high position and I can just see the top of trip meter reset button (I'm just over 6'). I would think someone with a low seat with a tankbag would have even less visibility down there?

 

In your picture the top of your gps is at just about that level. (not trying to be critical or anything... just asking in case there's someone who has a tank bag and hadn't thought about that.) The mount looks great and it's nice to see a functional item that didn't melt the plastic on a visa card!

Don, I now have my 2610 mounted in the same location and while I seldom use my BMW tank bag I checked and found that as long as I don't extend the bag I can just see the full screen. I'm 5'10" and always ride with the seat in the highest position.