Time for a new farkle mount system

[nhdiesel]

I hope to have a second bike very soon. Correction, I WILL have a second bike very soon, I just hope it's the one I really want. I am also in the process of adjusting my farkles- adding an Adaptive radar detector, a second GPS (Garmin 2457LMT), TPMS display (haven't chosen one yet) and an X-grip phone mount. These will go with my Garmin 665, EZ Pass holder, and I may throw my old Garmin V on it just for more info during rallys. Hey, I already have it and the mount, so it's not like it would cost me anything.

I need a system that will allow me to swap these devices between bikes very quickly. The best plan I have come up with (while riding this weekend and staring at my handlebars) is to use a section of tubing- probably aluminum- about 16-18" long (just a guess for now). That will have two Ram "handlebar mounts" (U-bolt ball mounts) attached to it and would allow me to mount the bar above my two lever perch Ram balls using Ram arms.

I would then mount all of my stuff to the tube using more handlebar mounts. This would allow me to adjust, move, add/remove stuff any time. By rotating the mounts on the tube I could position items further forward or rearward. Photos would make this much more clear. This bar, and all the devices attached to it, could be transferred to a different bike by simply loosening two Ram arms and unplugging one master wiring connector.

To simplify the wiring I would have the Garmin 665 antenna mounted with the GPS (already picked up the Ram antenna shelf to do this). The rest of the wiring would be attached using a cable & waterproof connector as shown below:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/One-pair-Waterproof-Aviation-Connector-plug-and-socket-IP68-Cable-Connector-SP13-/281041853529?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416f665c59

I need to figure out how many pins I would want- for redundancy I know I would want the radar detector, main GPS and backup GPS's on their own circuits (backups can be together). That would be 4 pins counting a common ground; I'm thinking a 5 or 6 pin connector to allow for expansion. I probably wouldn't bother powering the phone, since I usually charge it in my tank bag and it would probably rarely be on the bar since I see everything I need to through the Garmin 665.

The hardest part I can think of right now would be securing all of the extra wiring neatly. The XM antenna for the 665 is several feet long and would need to be tied up. I think I can shorten the power cord of the 665 but would like to leave a little length there for future adjustment. The hardwire cord for the 2457 has a small box and a couple feet of extra wire I can't trim down. All this stuff would need to be secured neatly somewhere. I just hate the thought of having all that wiring just zip-tied to the tube.

I'll keep working on design ideas and will post photos as I start to work on it, probably this weekend.

 

[klaproth]

Jim-
I can picture this, but it sounds (at best) awkward. While I can see the need for a GPS, and the radar detector is a good idea, and I can (possibly) see the utility of a TPMS, adding a phone, extra GPS, etc, sounds like it will just add more complexity without any advantages. (Oops..forgot the satellite antenna too!)

Will the extra GPS's provide more info? Or different info? Do you really need to see your phone while riding? I would recommend LESS complexity, instead of more.

My younger brother and I were at a BMW rally in Trenton, Ontario one time, and we were looking at a BMW luxo-tourer. It had a phone, GPS, detector, and a few other devices-after looking at it a moment, my bro (mechanical engineer) looked over and said " if he wanted a car, why didn't he buy one?" (He rides a 1978 BMW R100RT, so is a bit of a luddite tho!)

I guess my point is, do you NEED all that? Will it seriously increase the utility of the bike?

 

[nhdiesel]

For rallies and long distance riding, yes. The phone may not find a place on the bar- it works fine in the tank bag connected to Bluetooth. Each of the other items does have a use.

Sent from my XT881 using Tapatalk

 

[Reginald]

Looks like Shuey's Farkles got you motivated. If you add that third GPS, I think you'll start to approach his rig.

 

[nhdiesel]

Its stuff I've been wanting to do for a couple years and can finally afford it. I had 3 GPSs on my KLR for long trips even before I knew anything about rallies

Sent from my XT881 using Tapatalk

 

[nhdiesel]

Looks like Shuey's Farkles got you motivated. If you add that third GPS, I think you'll start to approach his rig.

No competition...he has a great clean setup! And an excellent farkle master to help it all come together. The vision I have for my bar should be nice and clean when it's done, and very easy to move between bikes. Now to see if it works out that way in reality!

 

[hoowasat]

You may have seen mine when you were at my house (link to a photo album below). I originally attempted a crossbar arrangement, but found it was either too high or too close me. My final arrangement (shown in the aforementioned album) resides in a space normally unused ... that is, unused space for those who don't use a tank bag. <Ken>

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/album.php?albumid=2554

EDIT TO ADD: You can see my XM antenna is mounted very close to my Z665. This is fine if one doesn't use Bluetooth (BT) ... but if BT is in your plan, mount the puck further away from the Zumo.

 

[nhdiesel]

I had this waiting for me when I got home tonight. A nice big box of Ram stuff. Then to put it to use! I ran back to the shop and grabbed a suitable "bar" to mount it all to- a 7/8" copper pipe. I know the elements will destroy this pipe after a while but I'll use it for testing purposes for now. Once I'm happy with the setup I'll probably switch to aluminum. But the coipper is strong and light so it's doing the job for now.

Then the assembly. It's quite cold outside tonight so I threw this together on the kitchen floor. I need to mount it on the bike to set the correct locations for everything but I wanted to test how things would fit together. I can get things working better together and adjust so I can see the bike's instruments. LOTS of freedom of adjustment for this thing!

I have the wire I need to run power to it but I wasn't able to get the connectors I want in a reasonable timeframe. I think I'll wire it up direct for now then put the quick-connector in once I can locate some. I don't have a second bike yet so I just need to get everything working together on this bike for now- setting up the wiring, coming up with a neat way to stow the extra wiring (lots of it) and adjusting the angles and locations of everything.

I picked up a Ram bracket that allows me to mount the 665 antenna to the 665's mount but due to warnings about bluetooth issues (never had any yet with the antenna located right behind the GPS) I decided to put the bracket on the back of the EZ-Pass mount. Hopefully they will play nice together. I didn't want to use any of the others because the other two GPSs will be removed at times when not doing a long ride or rally.

Once big change I made from my original thought was the addition of the Garmin 2720. I discovered it in a box while I was unpacking, which was a surprise since I thought I threw it out when I moved. The screen is bad. Well I had recently discovered replacement screens on ebay so I ordered one right up! Hopefully I can revive it.

I may not always run three GPS's during rallies but I'll have to try them and see. I think two is plenty, but some trial runs will help me decide. If I get the 2720 working well I may just run that and the 665.

One thought I had while walking past my bike tonight was that I may not want this on the handlebars of the ST. I may find a way to mount a couple Ram balls up at the dash area and mount the bar to those. I'm also a little concerned that the weight of all this stuff will be too much for two Ram balls to support without loosening up. Again, a trial run will tell. I'll probably do that before wiring everything up to make sure it's going to work.

 

[SMSW]

You may have seen mine when you were at my house (link to a photo album below). I originally attempted a crossbar arrangement, but found it was either too high or too close me. My final arrangement (shown in the aforementioned album) resides in a space normally unused ... that is, unused space for those who don't use a tank bag. <Ken>

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/album.php?albumid=2554

Where did you get those Ram connectors with the big round knobs? They look like they are easy to grip and tighten down. Fantastic setup. Great work!

 

[hoowasat]

Where did you get those Ram connectors with the big round knobs? They look like they are easy to grip and tighten down.

Most any RAM parts dealer will have those. They're the lockable knobs ... insert & turn a key and they just spin. MotorcycleLarry has them HERE.

Fantastic setup. Great work!

Thanks!

 

[nhdiesel]

I had a few minutes tonight so I tried mounting the bar onto the bike to see how it would work. With just a few minutes to work with I mounted it, made a few quick adjustments to locations of farkles, and found a setup that worked. I can see every instrument/dash item I have to (only thing blocked is the speedo past 110mph- I can live with that). I know it looks like the cluster is blocked in the photos, but in person I have a clear view.

I tweaked things a bit more and was pretty happy. This is by no means my final setup- it's just a start to test the locations. That is the beauty of this- I can move things around until I find locations that work very well. That is one reason I didn't want a "shelf" type design- to start, it would be two-dimensional- I could only mount things flat on it. I wanted 3d- be able to put my GPS up where I can see it best, put the radar detector where it has a clear view ahead, and put the less important items a bit lower. I also don't have to drill holes to mount things, so they can be moved any time with the twist of a knob, and moved even further using a 7/16" wrench.

I mounted the bar using my existing clutch and brake perch Ram balls because they were already in place. If I want to move the bar I can try the reservoir cap balls, or swap the short arms to medium ones. I think by using the short arms though that the bar won't tend to twist and move from the weight of the farkles. It felt very secure when I tried pulling on the bar. In fact, the handlebars moved a lot in their mount, but the bar was solid. I'll be shortening the bar once I know I have things pretty much where I want them, but even with it left long it clears the windshield and dash when turning. I expect to trim off at least 4" from each end, but I may leave one end a little long so I can mount my cam to it.

I obviously haven't done anything for the wiring yet- that will come right after I do a little more adjusting to the devices. I wish the cords weren't so long!

I tried removing the two GPSs I won't need during daily commuting to see how things looked and I liked how much more open the center of the bar became. In 20 seconds I had two big devices detached. Once finished I'll be able to remove or install the entire bar in the same amount of time. I will most likely get one or two of the locking clamps for the bar mounting arms, and may even swap the other knobs to nuts so they won't be quite as easy to walk away with.

That will come in time. I have to move on to fabricating my aux. tank next, and my new front tire came in so I can mount that when we get a little closer to the first rally.

Edit: As usual I'm getting "upload of file has failed" error. I'll have to upload them to Photobucket and link to them, but no time tonight.