| Author | Message | ||
     Naustin |
I mounted my Zumo to the handlebar via the supplied Ram mounts. I got the bike out for a quick ride the other day (16 degrees), and noticed much to my disappointment and concern, that the ram mounts do not isolate vibration at all, and may in fact amplify them. At certain RPMs (~2200-3100) the Zumo buzzes terribly such that you can't read the screen and the audio crackles as a result of the vibes causing an intermittent connection between the unit and the cradle. I did find the TT MvG mount, but the isolators are oriented vertically creating a sheering situation when they are obviously intended to function in compression. There have been some complaints that the Zumo will "bounce" or "flop around" up to 3/4 of an inch with the TT MvG mount. The standard TT mount has stiffer vibe dampeners, but I'm concerned they will not be effective in isolation of the bar vibration. I found a silicon gel vibration dampener on an industrial site, but you have to be an engineer to figure out which one to order - they are all categorized in industry jargon and highly specific tables relating the specific properties in figures shown out to .XXX and I'm not sure they even sell them other than in bulk. Any suggestions? (Message edited by naustin on February 18, 2008) | ||
| Iamike |
I've seen some guys put theirs in the tank bag but I don't like looking down that long to read it. That was one reason I went to the gps mounted on the handlebar was so that I wouldn't have to look down. RKA makes a neat unit that is integral to the bag www.rka-luggage.com . (Also because I couldn't read the map anyway without bifocals on) | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Vibes can be spooky. Try moving the mounting point a bit. Perhaps adding some fishing weights to the end would change matters? Your goal is to change the resonant frequency to somewhere that you don't drive at all the time. | ||
| Xl1200r |
I noticed the same thing. I have a GXM 30 i'm going to mount with it and hope that the extra weight will hamper some of the vibes. If not, I don't know what I'm gonna do. | ||
| Slaughter |
Zumo 450 and ram mount on my S3 bars, very readable, no problems (don't use audio so can't comment on it) | ||
| Naustin |
Changing the angle of the Ram arm did help somewhat, as did cranking down the clamp as hard as I possibly could. What I'm considering is something like this: http://aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/shockmou nts3.php If I sandwich four of those between to peices of aluminum and then mount a flat surface ram ball exactly in the center, I'm thinking that might do the trick. The only question then is where to mount the newly fab'ed baseplate.... | ||
| Jackbequick |
That Garmin supplied mount is not using the RAM Plastic mount part is it? All the pieces I'm using are metal until you get to the cradle. I have had no problems at all with vibrations on the StreetPilot 2610 on my FXD and that is quite a bit heavier than the zumo (14 ounces or so). Jack | ||
| Michael1 |
I am running my 276C on my Uly with the "U" bolt on the bars and the medium arm. I do get some vibes, but only at idle or under 2000 rpms. The 276C is no light weight either. I wonder if something is wrong with the mount for the Zumo? I've seen Zumo's on Uly's without any vibration at all. Just saying... | ||
| Naustin |
I might try one of these. I can mount the isolater directly to my fairing subframe, - there should be just enough room, and then add Ram Ball via a 1/4 - 20 stud to the center mounting hole... It will be critical to find the right mount designed for the same weight as the Zumo + all the Ram Hardware, and that can handle the sheering forces if the Zumo's CG is not exactly above the mount... THe wire one can actually be used vertically or horizontally, but I"m having trouble finding where I can actually buy them, but I did find a company that makes about a 1000 variations for all different loads.   | ||
| Iamike |
Nick, I have some rubber vibration dampers that look a little like the top one that our mobile computers were mounted with. I'll mail a couple up to you. | ||
| Bcordb3 |
Does American Sport Bike carry vibration dampers for handle bar ends? Fits like bar end mirrors and reduces vibration an awful lot. | ||
| Naustin |
Mike, Hey! That's awseome of you. Thanks! I'm going to order up some RAM stuff today to allow me to try various mounting locations and to also give me the option of using an isolator... Just attaching the ball to the subframe may change the resonant frequency or dampen the vibes out somewhat, but the more isolation I can get the better. Re: bar end weights - I could try that, but since I have an S3 with the nice big square tube main fairing support so handy, I'm going to concentrate on that. Thanks again Mike, Nick | ||
| Slaughter |
I tried mine on my S3 - and I just don't get the shaking that you describe. If I get off my lazy butt, I'll take a pic of the installation. | ||
| Reepicheep |
No shaking problems with my Quest on an XB9SX, and it is bolted to a mirror stalk hole (pretty far outbound). You sure the problem is not on the bike? Isolators OK? | ||
| Naustin |
It may just be the way I have the u-bolt attached to the verticle portion of the bar, combined with the length of Ram Arm, orientation etcetra. I don't think there is anything wrong with the bike. I replaced the front isolator last spring (It had not failed, but had a slight tear starting to show). I'll have to check the others. | ||
| Oldog |
I have a ram mounted quest and I am not seeing this on an X1. its part way up the handle bar left side ubolt points at me rather than UP and I tighten the shot out of it. (Message edited by ol-dog on February 20, 2008) | ||
| Tank_bueller |
I have a Zumo with the included Ram mount No problems in over a year. I mounted the u-bolt with the ball pointing toward the front, pretty much flat. The "link" part is about 45* up, and the bottom of the cradle almost touches the end of the u-bolt. No vibes whatsoever, and no problems with audio or Bluetooth. I think I have a pic here somewhere...  p.s. I ride an XB9S (Message edited by tank_bueller on February 21, 2008) | ||
| Naustin |
Maybe I just didn't have it cranked down hard enough. I'll have do some more riding with it to see... | ||
| Tank_bueller |
Your situation sounds unique. I don't think the mount is the problem. Maybe some bar-end weights might help. I sort-of agree with the whole "resonance" thing posted above, and maybe you need to either move the mount, or add weight to something? I have almost no vibes in the bar that the Zumo is mounted to, but the throttle side still gives a tingle after a while. | ||
| Naustin |
Its supposed to warm up to the 30s this weekend. If the roads are dry enough, I'll probably try to get out and test it again, with the mount adjusted at various different angles. Either way I'm going to move it off the handle bar and located the Ram Bas on the main fairing support. But, testing the mount at different angles and locations on the handlebar will help determine if the problem can be significantly reduced by simply changing the geometry. Even if it can be reduced 90%, I'm still interested in the vibration isolators. The problem of poor audio as a result of a bad connection between the Zumo and the mount is not an uncommon issue. Its actually the biggest problem discussed on the ZumoForums - so anything I can do to head that off over the long run I'm going to be proactive about.... | ||
| Iamike |
Nick- Your rubber baby buggy bumpers are on the way. Did you see this? http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/339295.html?1204053257 | ||
| Naustin |
Mike - You're the best! That tank Bag idea with the plexiglass backing is great idea too! Thanks again!! Nick | ||
| Rich |
Another option- http://www.techmounts.com/products/index.php?page_ function=browse_search&mount=stem | ||
| Midknyte |
those stem mounts are exactly what I was thinking of! didn't know that they were even available. thanks. | ||
| Naustin |
Mike - I got the isolators in the mail... They look promising! I'm going to see what I can rig up this weekend so I can test them... Thanks again! I'll keep you posted... | ||
| Borrowedbike |
Ram sells a rubber ball that will thread into the mirror threading hole for about $10. Works with the clamp supplied by Garmin with the Zumo and shown in Tank's post above. | ||
| Jackbequick |
That "rubber ball" is actually a metal part (probably cast in a mould) that has a rubber or rubbery coating on it. I'm not sure how it is applied or bonded but it is very well bonded to the metal and durable in use. That ball mount (it is made a various sizes) appears to be a key factor in how well the RAM mounts will clamp down and stay in place. And I think it provides a little vibration also. The ball size used for the zumos and most of things the size of GPS receivers is 5/8" in diameter, you'll also see it referred to as a .56" (5/8" = .5625") ball mount and occasionally as a 14mm ball mount. It is also called the size "A" mount in their part numbering scheme. The ball mount with threaded shanks can be gotten with 1/4-20, 3/8-16, and 10mm shanks. The pitch is not specified on the metric one, is probably 10mm x 1.0 or 1.5 and is the thread used for mirror mounts on many bikes. Most of the RAM mounts come with an arm (the double ball socket piece that attaches the cradle to the mount) that is 3-1/2"or 3-11/16" long. That is called a "C" sized arm. They also sell a shorter "A" arm that is 2-7/16" long and a bunch of longer arms in various lengths. I ordered the shorter "A" arm for the mount on my bike because it made for a lower, more compact, mounting. It may be that if someone is having problems with vibrations, and the arm is longer than it needs to be, that the vibration might be lessened or eliminated with a shorter arm. In the course of cobbling GPS mounts together for two motorcycles, a boat, a car, and a truck, I've learned a lot more about the RAM mounts than I ever thought I needed to know. Jack | ||
| Xl1200r |
I got the ram ball that has a 1/4-20 threaded hole in the bottom and ran a peice of threaded rod up through the steering stem and used a fender washer and a nut on the bottom end. The end result is a ram ball right in the center of of my triple tree. Our steering stem nuts have too small a hole to use the stem mounts sold by ram, so I made my own. Vibes to my Zumo when using the shortest arm they have is a little more than I'd like... | ||
| Naustin |
Isn't the standard GPS ball size the "b" size? Check that - I'm positive it is... I need to get a #8-32 to 1/4-20 thread adaptor, and a female 1/4-20 tapped RAM ball before I can test the isolators Mike sent me.... I'll be checking the Hardware stores for the thread adaptor tomorrow and ordering the Ram ball, and maybe some various other Ram hardware for versitility's sake... (EDIT) PS - Mike - I looked up the isolators on the Barry Mounts website (they're a big Milspec supplier btw) and found these isolators are rated for up to 7.5 lbs each. I'm thinking my whole mount/gps/assembly will be 2-3 Lbs, so these might just be perfect. I'm going to try one mounted to the bike, with the Ram Ball on top and see if it can support the whole setup... (Message edited by naustin on February 28, 2008) | ||
| Jackbequick |
You're right, Naustin. The 1" or "B" ball is the standard or most often used size for GPS receivers, not the "A" or 9/16" mount as I said above. In fact, I had a total brain fart on what I said there. I should have said the "A" ball was 9/16" or .5625". As we all know, 5/8" is .625". And my father just rolled over in his grave because I blew a fraction of an inch to decimal of an inch conversion. After all his hard work and good advice on drumming the need to know how to do that into my thick skull, I did not write it down and check my work twice... At any rate, you can hammer out the details of the RAM mounts from the following links: The page with all their catalogs: http://www.ram-mount.com/ramcat.htm Or the page with photos of all the pieces and link to more info on each piece: http://www.ram-mount.com/ramwebcompthumb/Page.html I liked this catalog as a starting point: http://www.ram-mount.com/pdf/universal.pdf because in the first few pages you get explanation of the sizes of the different mounts and quickly grasp the principles of how the mounts work/can be used. Jack |
