Poor Man's' Watch Forum

Way, way but an nonetheless. ('cycle content)

Posted By: Ricky Lee McBroom
Date: Tuesday, 18 July 2006, at 12:09 p.m.

I've recently become unhappy with the mounting of the Roady2 XM Radio unit on the bike. Well.. never was really happy with it, as 'twas just velcroed to the top of the clutch master cylinder. It was only marginally stable and, worse, the angle meant I had to crane my neck to read the display. And as the Artist / Title display is one of my favorite XM features, I was doing so constantly.

The last straw, though, was when I ran into a gent who had a RAM Mount system on his BMW. I was aware of the company, but didn't realize how well-built their product 'tis, nor how slick they work. This is Top Gear! This is what my XM looks like now:

And you'll note that I couldn't resist the spiffy gimbal-mounted cupholder..

It flat works, too, keeping the drink absolutely perpindicular to the vector of the G-force, whether you're accelerating, braking, or banking. Slick!

And the XM mount is light-years ahead of my previous ghetto mount. The display is easy to read at a glance, and the controls are actually accessible now. Mind you, 'tis best to keep the fiddling with the menus to a minimum while you're underway.. for obvious reasons.

Of course, since my motto is "If a thing is worth doing, it's worth overdoing", I didn't stop there:

Yup, that's a Mini-DV camcorder. I kinda think of it as my 'gunsight camera'.. Here's a better view:

And you'll note that there's no interference when the bars are moved lock-to-lock. I was initially a bit worried 'bout that...

Now, the camcorder is not something I'll mount every day. Only once in a blue moon, actually. Still a nice thing to have, though!

The astute reader will note that I have an unused mount-point on the right side. That's the future home of a GPS navigation unit. Gots to decide which one to get, though. Any recommendations? Right now I'm leaning towards the Garmin Quest. It's waterproof, compact, and seems to get the job done. And RAM makes a model-specific mount for it. The only drawback I can see is the memory capacity. It'd be OK for a day's ride, probably two. But after that, you'd have to download a new map segment, which means carrying a laptop. Perhaps not a deal-breaker, as I generally travel with a laptop anyway. But I hate to feel I have to...

In any case, I can't recommend RAM Mounts strongly enough. It's not everyday that I'm bowled over by a consumer product.. but that's pretty much the case here. If you can't figure out a way to mount it with a RAM Mount, it probably can't be done in the first place!

Later, gents!

-Ricky

Messages In This Thread

Way, way but an nonetheless. ('cycle content) (views: 78)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Tuesday, 18 July 2006, at 12:09 p.m.

Cool gear for the bike. Try and get some cool video of twisties. (views: 2)
chrise2469 -- Tuesday, 18 July 2006, at 3:20 p.m.

Very COOL Ricky! (views: 1)
Chris Moy -- Tuesday, 18 July 2006, at 1:28 p.m.

Ricky, that is damned cool! Definitely a comfy road-trip cruiser! (views: 1)
Stef G -- Tuesday, 18 July 2006, at 12:36 p.m.

I think you need a Gold Wing so you have more room for toys. BTW ...... (views: 11)
Robmks -- Tuesday, 18 July 2006, at 12:36 p.m.

I had a CB radio, Walkman radio and a friction cruise control so I hand held a camcorder. -Bob

Naw. Mind you, Goldwings are great bikes. But.. >> (views: 21)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Wednesday, 19 July 2006, at 11:00 p.m.

..I traded a Goldwing in on the ST1100. Well.. actually not the ST I currently ride. That's my second - I traded the 'oldwing in when I bought ol' Blackie.

I moved on to the ST precisely because I wanted something a bit smaller and sportier than a 'wing, yet still capable of going the distance.. And the ST fills the bill perfectly! The fact that I replaced the '91 ST with an '00 ST should tell you how much I love 'em. If there's a better all-around motorcycle made, I'd like to know what it is! Maybe the ST1300.. but it's still borderline unproven, in my book. When I see the first '03 ST1300 with 200,000 miles on it (and you needn't look far to find such high-miles ST1100's!), I'll be a believer...

And, anyway, there's a simple solution to expanding the ST's envelope.. but that deserves another post, I think.

-Ricky

Very cool Ricky! And at ..... (views: 6)
Eric O -- Tuesday, 18 July 2006, at 12:23 p.m.

"ghetto mount"

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