Handlebar clamp spacing

Post by **deilenberger** » Thu May 03, 2007 9:39 pm

Folks..

Hopefully Saturday I'll be the new owner of a brandy new R1200R.. first new bike I've bought since my 1975 Norton Commando Mk-III..

A friend who owned a GS had a spare GPS mount for the Navigator-II - and offered it to me when I admired the one currently on his bike. It appears to be an exact duplicate of the one BMW sells for the R.. but it comes up in RealOEM with a different PN.

Figured it may just be a matter of the color - this one is painted black... but to determine if it will work, I need to know the spacing between the 4 bolts that go through the handlebar clamps.

The spacing clamp to clamp appears to be 80mm, the space between bolts on each clamp appears to be 40mm. In English - this is ~3 1/8" and 1 5/8".

If someone has their bike handy and a ruler - it would be an awfully nice thing if you could measure it for me..

Oh - I was the intentional victim of the R1200R test ride (I pretty much thought I'd probably be buying it)... DeSimone BMW in Cherry Hill NJ had an open house last weekend - and gave a 65 mile test ride. NICE back roads.. as all of you know - you return from these rides with a poo-eating grin and do NOT want to get off the bike. It happened to me - so all that was left was working out the details. It was so much nicer to ride than my current R1150RS that it would make riding FUN AGAIN for me instead of something to endure (the 1150 vibrations are not for me..)

Wonderful bike, brilliant actually - but you ALL know that already.

Mine will be Granite-Gray.. same bike I rode actually, it bonded to me instantly. I even liked the seat - a first in 15 years of riding BMWs.

Getting all excited now - kinda like a kid on Christmas eve..

bajones238 · Post by **bajones238** » Fri May 04, 2007 4:51 pm

On my R1200R, I measure center-to-center on the clamp bolts as 3 1/8" x 1 1/4". Clear space between the handlebar clamps is 2 1/4".

Hope this helps.

Post by **deilenberger** » Sat May 05, 2007 12:18 am

bajones238 wrote:On my R1200R, I measure center-to-center on the clamp bolts as 3 1/8" x 1 1/4". Clear space between the handlebar clamps is 2 1/4".

Hope this helps.

It did - thanks. The direction that it's off is an easy one to change on the GPS mount so it sure looks useable. Will find out tomorrow when I pick up the bike and bring it home. Can't leave home without my GPS..

Post by **deilenberger** » Sat May 05, 2007 10:50 pm

I mounted the GS mounting on the Roadster. Had to file the holes on one end into slots so the rubber mounts will line up with the handbar clamp mounts. I'm using a Garmin 2720..

Problem with it is - if I put it facing one direction, it's far enough forward, but blocks my view of the instrument cluster - about 1" along the bottom edge. Not satisfactory. If I put it the other way - it removes the visual obstruction, but it then moves it back a lot, so I had to move my tankbag further back on the tank (I found the R1150RS bag fits the Roadster like it was made for it.. which is cool since my 1150 bag was brand new a month or two ago..)

Anyone else have any thoughts on mounting a 26xx/27xx series? I much prefer it to be centered, and where I can quickly drop an eye to get a view at the screen without being distracted too much.

Post by **ka5ysy** » Sun May 06, 2007 8:06 am

Don: Try a RAM mount setup for the Garmin. I have the 376C Garmin with the ram mount using a U bolt ball mount on the handlbar, and it works great, plus I can move the GPS position around to fit whatever I am doing, and not block the instrument cluster on the bike.

Doug

wkincaid · Post by **wkincaid** » Sun May 06, 2007 9:16 am

Don,
I, too, have a RAM mount for my older Garmin V. It has the U bolt ball mount on the handle bar. With this configuration I have a lot a options as to where I would like to position the Garmin. Works very well.
Bill

Post by **deilenberger** » Mon May 07, 2007 10:19 pm

I'll agree the RAM mount offers a lot of flexibility.. but IMHO - it has the fllowing flaws..

It isn't elegant. The design, while very functional, has a rather crude appearance that doesn't go with the very elegant design of the Roadster

It has very limited security. If someone wants the GPS - all they have to do is unscrew one of the RAM mounts and off it comes... especially in the case of the universal joint sort of thing RAM uses with the big plastic wing-nuts on it. I'd prefer to make it at least a tiny bit of a chore for someone to walk off with my GPS (and a 2720 is a bit bulky to keep removing and pocketing when away from the bike.. a Quest - is a different case - it is made to fit in a shirt pocket, and security isn't a problem.. just take it with you..)

As functional as RAM mounts are - they just don't appeal to me. I'll probably make something that uses parts from the BMW mount, with a bit lower GPS height built into it. When I get done - I'll post photos.

Thanks much for the suggestions.. I was just hoping someone had gone where I'm probably going to end up going already - which is a custom mount..