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rbcyber669mc
 Starting Member
4 Posts
Buffalo, New York
USA
Honda
ST1300 ABS
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 Posted - 12/19/2014 : 10:55 AM
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Given that it is likely safest not to use a GPS at all while riding, I am interested in knowing if there is a consensus as to whether one mounting location presents more, or less, risk factors to those of us who choose to utilize a GPS (or any other gizmo gadget for that matter) while riding.
My preference is to mount my GPS in a ?heads-up? location, centered in my overall field of view, over a ?RAM? style handlebar configuration, which places the GPS off to one side.
The Farkle Mount (www.farklemount.com) is designed to provide a ?heads-up? mounting configuration, but am mainly interested in the relative safety of this design, verses other configurations.
Thanks in advance for your insights
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greywolf
Moderator
1484 Posts
[Mentor]
Evanston, IL
USA
Suzuki
DL650AL2
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Posted - 12/19/2014 : 11:21 AM
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I agree. The best place for a GPS is where it allows a view of the road at the same time. Don't give it more than a quick glance even so. The auditory feedback it gives allows less viewing time so make sure to make the audio accessible. I use custom molded earphones to attenuate wind noise while allowing GPS instructions to come through. http://www.earplugstore.com/noname11.html
Lowering wind noise is important in the prevention of hearing damage. Some ear buds attenuate ambient sounds but I find them uncomfortable after a few hours, even making my ears bleed by the second day of a long trip. This shows my GPS mount above the instruments.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/bDaxbY] [/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/bDaxbY]Glee Dash[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/13490682@N04/]Greywolf, V-Strom rider[/url], on Flickr |
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scottrnelson
Advanced Member
6921 Posts
[Mentor]
Meridian, ID
USA
Honda
XR650L, 1090 Adv R
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Posted - 12/19/2014 : 12:39 PM
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This is where Touratech believes it should be on the KTM:
I have it a bit lower and to the left side on my XR650L, because that's where I had room to put it.
I don't get any sound from mine on the motorcycles, but it gives me audible directions when I use it in my car.
All I really want most of the time from my GPS is how far it is to the next turn. In the above photo it indicates that the next turn is in 21 miles, so I can ignore it for that long.
I also occasionally find it useful to help me find my way back out of the mountains when I might otherwise get lost up there - by following my own path back. In some of those cases it doesn't provide much useful information as to where I'm at, like in the below photo where the path I'm trying to follow shows in pink on the left, the roads it thinks are there are somewhere else entirely, then there's where I'm actually at, which should have showed up as a road on the map.
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rbcyber669mc
Starting Member
4 Posts
Buffalo, New York
USA
Honda
ST1300 ABS
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Posted - 12/20/2014 : 9:58 AM
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| Thanks for the feed back, this is great. I'm wondering how you guys got your units mounted to your bikes. I looked for months before I found the Farkle Mount (www.farklemount.com) |
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scottrnelson
Advanced Member
6921 Posts
[Mentor]
Meridian, ID
USA
Honda
XR650L, 1090 Adv R
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Posted - 12/20/2014 : 12:17 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by rbcyber669mc
Thanks for the feed back, this is great. I'm wondering how you guys got your units mounted to your bikes.
The mount on my KTM came with the bike. It was some sort of promotion - that I didn't even know about until after purchasing it - to include the Garmin Zumo 550, a mount for the KTM, one to use on a car windshield, and almost enough parts to mount it on one more bike. You can buy all of the pieces that you need on amazon.com
That's where you should look for mounting hardware for whatever type of GPS unit you have. |
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greywolf
Moderator
1484 Posts
[Mentor]
Evanston, IL
USA
Suzuki
DL650AL2
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rkfire
Advanced Member
1715 Posts
Stratford, CT
USA
Suzuki
Bandit
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Posted - 12/20/2014 : 6:23 PM
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I had a gps mounted with suction cup glued to my little flyscreen, high and center. I liked that best.
Later on, I took the flyscreen off, and mounted the stalk of the mount into an unused mirror mount. It's the same height, but a little to the side. I liked the center mount better for a quick glance...distance to turn, arrow left or right, and street name.
[URL=http://s160.photobucket.com/user/rkfire/media/GPS_Bike-placement.jpg.html] [/URL] |
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rbcyber669mc
Starting Member
4 Posts
Buffalo, New York
USA
Honda
ST1300 ABS
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Posted - 12/22/2014 : 5:48 PM
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Interesting. I didn't realize some bike manufacturers were beginning to provide mount points for GPSs and such. Very Cool.
What I liked about the Farkle Mount was the way it is secured to the dash of my '98 Aspenacade. The whole thing locks onto a plate that is permanently mounted to the dash. When I don't want my GPS on the bike, for whatever reason, the Farkle Mount can be disconnected from the mounting plate and everything comes off the bike. The only thing left behind is the small oval plate, which visually blends right in.
If you need to create a mounting point for your GPS on a bike with a dash board, the Farkle Mount (www.farklemount.com) is a really slick design.
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Discussion Topic |
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GPS Mount