GPS Mount - using the Touring screen mounting bracket..

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deilenberger
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GPS Mount - using the Touring screen mounting bracket..

Post by deilenberger »

More details will probably appear on my website when I get around to it.. got the idea from a friends R1200GS Adventure GPS mount.

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It requires a slight modification of the touring shield bracket.. basically twisting off the pointed plastic caps and drilling and tapping the plastic that remains in the tubing making up the mount.

The cross-tube was made from 1/2" aluminum tubing, bought at Home Depot. I used my bench-vice with smooth jaws in it to shmoosh(tech-term) the ends of the tubing flat. I then drilled holes in the tubing ends, rounded and finished them off a bit.

The GPS mount is a Garmin mount, mounted to the clamp block that BMW uses on their mounts. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=65&fg=13 shows the mount - the square block in the center splits into two pieces and clamps on a piece of rod very slightly less than 1/2" diameter. As an alternative to this - what I've used on other bikes is some 1/2" electrical cable clamps - the ones shaped like a "P"..

http://www.newark.com/jsp/Interconnect+ ... ku=34C1958 (they are available from othe vendors in less than 100 quantities..) - These work well with the standard Garmin GPS mounts.

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Tried it on the road - for the first 20 seconds it was so in my face as to be distracting.. then I started the bike :wink: Works great. Good position, not distracting, and very easy to glance at while keeping an eye on the road at the same time - photo below is roughly what it looks like from the riders eyeball position.

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More prolly on my webpage. I may remake the cross-piece out of some stainless thin-wall tubing, which will polish up nicely. Or not.. the black part on it is some shrink wrap - just put it on to cover the bare aluminum.

Oh - the impetus for doing this.. the stock BMW mount plops the GPS right over the front of the tank. It makes using any but the smallest tankbag (which is the RKA 7-Liter I show a bit of in the photos) impossible. I just picked up the official BMW tankbag for the R1200R - and no way it would work with the official BMW GPS mount for the R1200R (guess those departments aren't talking to each other a lot.) Moving it up allows me to use whatever tank bag I like.

BTW - the tie-wrap on the fork leg in the center photo isn't holding wires in place (duh..) It's there 'cause I wanted to see what the max compression I'm getting with the Hyperpro shocks is. If anyone would like to help me a bit in a project/article - a measurement of a stock setup would be useful. I think BMW lies on the actual travel (based on some rather simple math and measurements of the suspension and their shocks. A tie wrap on the fork tube will get pushed up to your max-compression point after riding a bit - then a measurement from the bottom of it - to the top of the rubber fork boot would give me the actual travel of a stock suspension. TIA if you decide to help out!
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
mikem47
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Post by mikem47 »

Nice looking GPS mount. I noticed that you have the hand guards from the 1200GS. Did you have any trouble putting them on?
deilenberger
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Post by deilenberger »

mikem47 wrote:Nice looking GPS mount. I noticed that you have the hand guards from the 1200GS. Did you have any trouble putting them on?
Thanks! :lol:

The handguards required nothing extraordinary. Needed a few different bolts and some washers (Harry Costello also has done this and used the end retainers that came with the guard kit - with some modifications. I've been waiting for my boss to leave town so I can hit the machine shop and make the same modifications.)

There are details on most of my modifications on my website: http://www.eilenberger.net - look under the R1200R tab. Some are links to additional info pages (like the handguards.)
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
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celticus
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Post by celticus »

Good looking job Don.
Mark
Rog(UK) - Yorkshire Dales
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Post by Rog(UK) - Yorkshire Dales »

Nice job Don - and I like your avatar!

Rog
2004 R1150R Rockster
1978 Moto Guzzi V1000 Convert
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