Homemade "Ram" mount for GPS

[Cloggy]

I like playing with my GPS, seeing where I have been, marking locations on maps, geocaching etc. Problem was, how to mount one on the bike. Sure, you can mount one using Ram Mounts. Of particular interest to me was the Ram stem mount which uses the hole down the stem tube to mount your gadgets. A most excellent product but unfortunately at a not so excellent price, around $160.00 odd dollars for the bits I needed. So I decided to make my own. Total cost? $0.00 (I am a Dutchman after all, short arms, deep pockets)
I had all the bits lying around the garage. An M6 bolt, some 2.5mm sheet metal for the mounting surface, a flanged nut, washer, a spacer and the most important bit, a little rubber cylinder. If you haven't got a suitable rubber cylinder you can get one from Mitre 10 or other hardware store. The one I used is actually a little drum sander for use in Dremel tools. It is the perfect size for the 1/2" stem hole in my Triumph Daytona. I had to drill the centre hole in the rubber out to 6mm to fit the bolt I was using. The washer used is 12mm dia. which had a 5mm hole so also got drilled out. Same with the flanged nut, as it had to fit down the 1/2" hole only an M5 nut would fit, so out with the drill and a tap and a few minutes later we had an M6 nut. (Why didn't I use and M5 bolt in the first place??, I didn't have one ). The spacer was made from a no longer needed brass pipe fitting. A few minutes in the lathe and eh presto! The accessory mounting plate in my case needed to be a circle to fit the suction cup mount for my GPS but could just as easily be a square or some other shape to suit whatever gadget you want to fit. All up, including finding all the bits in my somewhat messy garage, it took around 2 hours to make and paint. Not a bad effort me thinks.
It works by tightening the bolt which then squashes the rubber cylinder making it expand and lock inside the stem tube.
To fit, tighten the nut enough so the rubber is a light push fit into the stem tube. This so it doesn't spin when tightening the bolt as you can't get to the nut (well not easily anyway). Tighten the bolt snugly until the mount is secure. Mount your accessory and go riding. Piece of cake.

[saul]

Hey well done

Thats the same sort of concept that some bar ends use.

[p.dath]

That looks great!

[Warr]

Very well done ... got me thinking for sure

[P38]

Good work Cloggy.

Have thought about a safety lanyard, firmly attached to your GPS and secured back to the mount just in case the suction cup fails and the GPS falls onto the road.


BTW
Geocaching by motorcycle is great fun too.

[Cloggy]

Yep, don't go anywhere without it also being tied on. Just in case.....

[boman]

I did much the same over Xmas last year, except I used a piece of alloy bent at an angle. I found that mounted as you have you cannot see the screen on the GPS with the light behind you. What looks workable in the shed is no good out doors. So I bent up a piece and angled it so I could see it out side. Worked a treat.

[geoffm]

For the SV, I made a radar detector mount that fits into the hollow steering stem. It uses a M12 dynabolt and a fabricated bracket to hold the detector level and above the instruments, and offset from the keyhole so I could get the key in and out. Much the same principle as the Ram mounts.
Cost about $10 for a dynabolt and velcro, and an hour or 2 of pottering in the shed with the tig welder.

[Mystic13]

Givi have a bracket that I saw over at Cycletreads for about $40.00. Similar to the $160 jobs with two swivel joints etc.

Seemed like a fairly reasonable price for secure fixing and flexibility.

It's also on page 93 of the June 2009 Kiwirider mag.

[Zapf]

suction cups fails quite a bit. So I wont want to use that as your primary means of holding the GPS.

[kjames]

defo tie it off.

I've lost a gps that was in a ram mount.. and since starting to tie mine to the handle bars, its 'caught' it at least once in 5 rides or so.

K