GPS - Mounting and Powering

GARMIN ETREX LEGEND C

Mirror Hole Mount:

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:

 I used Powerlet's new Right Angle Plug to MiniUSB Long, PPC-015 with inline Voltage converter. It's a real neat unit.

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:

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.

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 a Powerbar Plus which is on the left side of the bars.

Below is the Nuvi 550 on my Africa Twin. On this bike I have a Powerbar Plus just off center on the handlebar.

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.