Pro-Fit Light-Duty Mounts

[Blrfl]

After striking out with Bracketron (http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7923), I've been looking for ways to mount my Sirius receiver somewhere on the bike. I'd kind of hoped to use RAM mounts, but I couldn't find a configuration that put the radio in a location I like and didn't look kludgy.

This morning I ran across Pro.Fit's (http://www.pro-fit-intl.com) mounts. The UtiliMount and LoBoy look like they have promise. They use an adhesive pad for mounting and claim it can be removed without damaging the surface, which I'm all for. The mounting bases look like they would fit nicely in the flat parts of the two slots on either side of the instrument panel. (I have an email in asking for the diameter.) If the size is right, I think I'm going to try a UtiliMount that puts the ball just at the edge of the instrument panel. That'll put my radio in a good spot and let me remove it for use in that thing with the two extra wheels.

Has anybody tried these?

--Mark

[Snoweyowl]

I used this mount for phone in car. Mount is solid. Have not tried to remove it, will go with the car. When the cleaner was used to mount it removed the finish on the dash. Don't know if this would only apply to Nissan dash or if it could be a problem on the ST.
Les

[Blrfl]

Well, the mounts arrived today and the news is mixed.

The mounts themselves seem very well thought out. Both the UtiliMount and the LoBoy share a common base, which is a 2.5" flexible rubber pad with a harder part in the center where the mounts attach. The center part looks a bit like a gear, and the parts of the mounts that attach have teeth that interlock, keeping it from rotating. (The mounts are held in with a screw.) The center part is about 1.5" in diameter and the whole thing could probably be easily cut down to fit odd shapes like the slots in the dash or the brake reservoir. The adhesive pad comes pre-mounted to the base, so if there's any cutting to do, your tool will have to eat through the adhesive.

Both mount kits are pretty much as described on Pro.Fit's web site. I'm pleased to report that when you tighten the screw in the center of the LoBoy down, it's not going anywhere. It also comes with a nice L-bracket with the usual assortment of AMPS and non-AMPS holes in it for mounting things perpendicular to a flat surface. The UtiliMount has a bunch of mounting options that include a bent arm that flips over or can be removed entirely, making the thing look a bit like RAM's round base with ball. The clamp and ball aren't up to RAM's standards, but the quality of the parts seems very good and would have no problems surviving in the car.

The adhesive concerns me a bit, since temperatures could potentially get up to the point where it would give out. (They say to use a hair dryer to remove the mounting pads.)

Now for the bad news: The whole thing is fundamentally incompatible with my Sirius Sportster Replay. This is really all Sirius' fault, since they designed the auto docking station with the AMPS pattern rotated 90 degrees and put two of the most important jacks (power and line out) next to the rectangle. You can't mount the docking station on either mount, because the parts block at least one jack, and in some positions you can't flip the lever into the position that locks the radio in. I'm either going to have to find a way to mount with standoffs or use RAM mounts for this, which I was trying to avoid. I also intend to talk to Pro.Fit about it, since they could probably make a narrower L bracket for radios with rotated patterns.

So you may see these in the classifieds if I can't find a good use for them.

--Mark

[nm6r]

Mark, I use the suction cup mount on my tank. This works especially well for me since I usually ride without it. I realize you are after more of a permanent type of mount but this would work well in the mean time.

Ray
http://www.frontiernet.net/~st1300rider/smile04Bikerwheelie.gif