GPS - Mounting and Powering

This is a page of my GPS experiences with pics, some tips, and tricks that I learned along the way. I love having a GPS onboard my bike. It allows me to find alternate routes, interesting backroads, and record my journey in Mapquest on the computer. You will see some trip screenshots on my Ride Report Pages.

Nuvi Charging Fix Data Sheet by Powerlet (JPG)

jump to my GARMIN Nuvi 550

jump to my GARMIN ETREX VISTA HCX

my GARMIN ETREX LEGEND C:

This little GPS was my first and served me well starting on my K100RS, and later on the VStrom. I upgraded to a Vista HCX in 2008 and enjoyed that little unit. I bought a Nuvi 550 in June 2010 and I can highly recommend this unit. It has no traffic or bluetooth but it doesn't cost so much and serves the purpose of a GPS on a motorcycle nearly perfectly.

This webpage will show the various mounting and powering methods that I've used over the years on these devices and different bikes. Although I am convinced the TomTom Rider is a better GPS than the Garmins, my need to have an English map of Japan means I have to have a Garmin. I have friends with TomToms that swear by them. On the other hand I've never had a problem with my Garmins and believe they make a good robust unit that tracks satellites every well, even in the mountains and valleys that I like to ride.

Story of the Legend C: The K100RS was a difficult bike to find a mounting method. After looking around at mounting options, the Ram system seemed the best bet. I puzzled over where to mount on the K100RS, because the centre of the instruments and fairing is already rather busy, but I did want the GPS to be at least a bit protected from direct sunlight and I didn't want it way out on the handlebars either.

I decided the only place to easily mount it was from the unused mirror mount hole on the left switch housing. Here you can see that I used a standard Ram Diamond Base. Only one hole on the base is used, but hey, this is a really light GPS. I needed a very long bolt to get through both the base and the housing, and I wanted to stack some washers under the base to raise it up enough to clear the choke lever.

As luck would have it I had a bolt, nut and washers in my collection that worked perfectly. I had to drill out the Diamond base to accept the rather thick bolt. I put a flat washer and a lock washer on the bottom to secure the mount well.

Ram does make a base with just the ball and one threaded stud, but it's not long enough for this application. I wanted to use washers to move the ball up, and use my own bolt as long as needed, and with metric threads. I think Ram's threaded stud base might also be too thick for the mirror mount hole. Plus, I think the Diamond base is cheaper.

Problem was, the GPS top hit the windshield when the bars were turned fully to the right. Something had to be done. I tried all different angles of mounting, but other than tilting the GPS down so far I couldn't really see it when riding, nothing worked well. So I ordered a long 5 inch Ram arm and tried that. Still no luck with positioning the GPS where I really wanted it. Either arm could only be moved down until it was almost contacting the choke lever. I wanted to keep it from touching that lever.

So here is what I did. I ground out a notch in the end of the Ram arm so the GPS could be tilted up more. This gained me just enough so that the GPS would clear the windshield with the bars fully right, and still be tilted up enough to be facing me when riding. The 3 inch Ram arm still turned out to be the best choice for this application.

To the right is a photo of the notch I ground in the GPS end of the 3 inch Ram arm.

Below is a photo of the GPS ball mount in the notch.

And below is a photo of the cockpit view after the modifications. The GPS is tucked down low and facing me where I want it. It just barely clears the windshield when the bars are turned fully right. I may grind off the 'ears' on the top of the Ram cradle to get more clearance. The 'ears' help when spreading the cradle to insert or remove the GPS, but I think I can do that easily enough without the 'ears'.

Power Cord:

As you can see above, I started out with a MiniUSB cord with automotive style plug and socket. This turned out to be a mistake as the Euro style socket is larger and could not maintain power contact.

 Then, when it became available, I used Powerlet's Right Angle Plug to MiniUSB Long, PPC-015 with inline Voltage converter. It's a real neat unit and I installed two Powerlet Sockets on the K100RS. One for the GPS, and one for heated gear.

A simple Ram Ball with U clamp on the bars and the medium Ram arm now give me an ideal positioning of the Legend C. However, this was not possible before due to the low RS bars. Now with the Cbars installed, I have actual bar space available to clamp onto, giving the Legend C a much better central location.

Legend C Ride Report: (my first GPS experience)

After taking my first long ride with the Legend C, I am happy to report that it works great. It is everything I need in a GPS on a bike. I love having the colour display, and the update is quite fast. I was able to verify my speedo is accurate, which direction I was heading, and in particular the tracks function is great for seeing where you have been, during and after the trip.

When it starts getting dark out, the Legend C reverts to night time mode with a dark blue background, which is a nice feature. I had no problems working the buttons with my gloves on, while the Legend C was in the Ram cradle on the bike. I haven't fully utilized all the features yet, but it was great to have on board when riding unfamiliar territory. I could even see the curves up ahead, see when a river was coming up, know how close I was to the coast, and even see points of interest on the map.

Some of the nicest things about this particular GPS is its small size. This means it's easy to remove to put in your pocket when you go away from the bike, say for lunch. And when you stop for a hike, the GPS will be great for finding your way back to the bike and generally not getting lost.

If you have plotted waypoints for your route, you will get prompt messages that you are approaching your turn off and waypoint. You can see the distance to your next waypoint, or lots of other choices of information. Garmin has really put a lot of thought into this little unit, and has made it a very useful GPS for many types of uses.

When we took some sideroads not in our plan, it was great to be able to find our way back to the main road after getting a bit lost. Without having to stop and consult a paper map, I could see the main road on the GPS and head towards it following the roads as displayed.

I'm very glad I bought the Legend C, it's a great little unit. The new Legend CX is even better with the ability to use a memory card for more map memory.

Yes the screen is small but the display is high resolution and easy to see with full back-lighting. I don't think it's a good idea to look at a GPS too much when riding, but I have been able to carefully check it to see roads and of course I do pull over and examine roads around me. I've discovered many great little roads I otherwise would not have taken.

GARMIN ETREX VISTA HCX

As GPS prices came down I grabbed a Vista HCX. This is a great little unit, with a real compass, more memory, and accepts a MicroSD card. However, it's a pretty small screen and I always wanted to see more of the roads ahead and to the sides. Scrolling the map on the Vista is a slow process. Will add some shots of my Vista recording nearly 2500 meters elevation on one mountain pass. Ok, here's a vista for now.

So in May of 2010 I bought a

GARMIN Nuvi 550

I've now upgraded to a Nuvi 550 and I love it. Below you can see it on my VStrom. It's mounted on my good old Powerbar Plus which is on the left side of the bars on the VStrom. There wasn't clearance for center mounting a Powerbar Plus on this bike.

Below is the Nuvi 550 on my Africa Twin. On this bike I have a Powerbar Plus just left of centre on the handlebar. The Nuvi 550 does wash out a bit in direct sun. It could use a top shade. I'll see how it goes on some longer rides soon!

This entire unit, GPS, cradle with Ram mount, Ram arm medium, and Powerlet MiniUSB Short, all are easy to move from bike to bike, and easy to remove when I come home.

I was attracted like many to a wide screen automotive GPS, but I wanted a waterproof unit. When it starts to rain I don't have to worry about the GPS. Sure you can get sealed boxes for these units, but that's getting pretty big and obtrusive for my style. I like the clean look to this unit.

Zumos

I should add that I considered a Zumo, but wouldn't likely use all the extra features it has like Bluetooth, MP3 Playing, and Traffic. Not only is the Zumo quite a bit more expensive, but it's rather a larger housing in my view. The Nuvi 550 is a perfect size for me. The size difference means the Nuvi 550 will tuck into a pocket and go hiking or into a restaurant much easier. It really is a pocket GPS when needed. The Zumo also requires a rather special cradle, cord, and mount. The power cords are secured to the cradle by screws and the GPS then gets contacts built into the bottom of the cradle. This design is prone to corrosion and poor contact in future. I much prefer the MiniUSB power cord, even if I do have to use the RA Adapter, I can live with that one fault.

The Zumo is a fine unit though, I just didn't want to spend double the money for features I wouldn't use. One day Garmin will release a better Zumo and I'll grab one. Or maybe the Nuvi 550 will be all I'll ever need. The Nuvi's menus are quite simple and brief. I like that. I can know all the choices easily on the menu screens, it's not intimidating or hard to get used to.

Powerlet's MiniUSB Short Power Cord

I took this photo to give you a better idea of exactly what this power cord looks like and what the RA Adapter is.

Here's the MiniUSB Short Power Cord laid out with Right Angle Adapter plugged in. Total length is 19 1/2" (49 cm).

The RA Adapter works with any device. It does not interfere with devices which don't actually require it.

Garmin Nuvis need the RA Adapter in order to put the GPS into charge mode.

NOTE: In the Nuvi 550 photos above I am using both the MiniUSB Short Cord and the RA Adapter. As you can see I simply wrap the wire around the base of the unit. Mounting to a Powerbar Plus only requires a very short cord. However the RA Adapter was necessary to put my Nuvi 550 into charging mode.

MORE: I have removed the RA Adapter and I'm now using the 'Fool the Nuvi' method of powering. I turn it on, on battery mode. Then at the main screen I hold my finger on the battery icon. When the power info screen comes up I plug in the power cord and it works fine as long as the unit remains powered. I prefer this bit of hassle to having the extra cord wrapped around my Nuvi.