The bike has now arrived and has been hooked up to an Optimate charger for a couple of days. All seems OK - the Optimate is reporting that the battery is very healthy, while the bike starts immediately. So far, so good. The screen is scratched to blazes ( a taller replacement is on its way ) so as it was going to be removed anyway I thought I'd do something constructive in regard to mounting a GPS.

Although the RAM mount people do a range of handlebar /master cylinder mounts, being an LT, the bike has the auxiliary instrument console fitted. This places everything nicely in the rider's line of sight so it would seem logical to mount a GPS up there as well. To my way of thinking the area housing the maplight was ideal. For once looking before I leaped, I consulted my BMW guru who advised that although the console was made of tough plastic, and the maplight area had the additional bracing, any RAM mount would probably need re-inforcing.

Over the years I have accumalated all sorts of RAM mounts - and this one :



fondly known as RAM-B-367 seemed the best. Being M8-threaded it was comparitively easy to locate this :



an M8 threaded 40*40mm block aluminium spacer pad on eBay. Add some washers and an M8 locknut, you end up with



Remove the windscreen and then the console. Mine was held in place by 4 self-tappers. The maplight was removed ( its easier to push it through rather than to pry it out - don't ask me how I know ) and a hole was -carefully!- drilled in the console. Once everything was all bolted in place and the console was refitted, it looks quite neat and tidy even if I say so myself :



The threaded spacer block and the washers spread the mounting load, the M8 locknut secures it in place and when the new windscreen is refitted the console is/will be firmly back in place as well. Although the maplight can't be refitted as the threaded spacer block is in the way, the maplight wiring can be used to power the GPS or tidied out of the way "as and when". If I hook up the GPS to an Autocom then the maplight aperture can be used to feed all the cables through. Just a thought...



My first tech.project post. Hope you find it helpful/useful/interesting !

great work chris ...

Very Neat Chris. If space is the issue you could replace the back of the maplight with a bright LED strip just behind the glass.

88

Great job mate very professional!!! I wish I had the options but RS's have very little acreage to play with so I also chose the RAM option but in a slightly different location.





All I needed was an Iphone ( oldest cheapest of course as they have been known fall off bikes)



which means GPS,music and phone all in one running off the battery through a fused waterproof connection....had no room for anything else so rationalised.

...Nice work Chris!
Pretty straightforward mounting of the GPS.

Klompy, others,
Will an unsubscribed iphone still provide music and gps guidance?

JimK

JimK wrote:...Nice work Chris!
Pretty straightforward mounting of the GPS.

Klompy, others,
Will an unsubscribed iphone still provide music and gps guidance?

JimK

Yep for music, and phone nothing as long as you are receiving...with the GPS there are a number of different methods such as TOM TOM which you will need to pay to download then there is "MAPS" and "location"which comes installed and I believe there is a very small cost in regards to updating where you are every now and then, Google Maps yet again some transfer costs but very small...

personally I am on a 20 buck a month plan, supplied my own phone and I have never even come close to exceeding allocation.

(iPhone 3GS with iOS 4)
When you receive a call the Phone app asks if you want to accept or decline. When you accept the call the Phone app is brought to the foreground. The TomTom app then asks if you want to continue navigating in the background. Once you end the call the TomTom app is brought to the foreground again.

During the call the TomTom app mutes voice instructions. You can manually bring the app to the foreground to see visual route instructions by pressing the Home button and then tapping the TomTom app.

If you decline the call, the TomTom app continues.

Personally it gives me a good excuse to pull over if I want to talk to that person otherwise on I go...

To use real-time TomTom services (Traffic, Weather) or extra downloads, you can use your mobile phone. Mobile operators generally charge you for data you download via 3G,GPRS, EDGE, or UMTS. To avoid additional costs via your mobile operator we recommend downloading large files via TomTom HOME and not via your mobile phone. For example, download a map from our portal before you go on a trip.
Check with your mobile operator for details of data charges. Many operators offer data bundles at cheaper rates. The information that is exchanged between the Traffic Server and your device is minimized through compression and smart filtering algorithms so that communication costs are minimal.

Think I need to buy a tom tom gps with audio storage.
Thanks Chris and Klomply for 'spaining it.