- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 9,686
- Location
- Jacksonville
- Bike
- GL1800 R1200RT NC700
- 2024 Miles
- 010688
- STOC #
- 6651
The 1" ball on a 1/4-20 stud threaded into a Motorcycle Larry handlebar cover has been in use on my bike since 2006. The Garmin 2730 mounted on it was the first thing I added to my ST eight years ago. The 2730 has been replaced by a Zumo 550 and the angle of the arm to the ball is different to aim the screen where I like it. However I find that during a long ride the Zumo would gravitate lower and I'd have to push it back up into position. It never fell all the way down, it would just move down to a different angle and no matter how tight I clamped the arm the Zumo would find it's own favorite position a bit lower than I prefer. I got to looking at the ball the other day and saw years of constant pressure had permanently deformed the ball into vaguely a squashed football shape so the arm would migrate into the "old" position on it's own. These 1" balls aren't very expensive at about 8 bucks and figured on getting a new one but before doing that I considered repairing it. I heated the oven to 175 degrees and threaded the ball into a small block of wood. I put the ball in the oven for 10 minutes and it softened up and returned to a round shape. The permanent marks the clamp had made were gone. Now it works like new again.