Mike's Effing Awesome DIY Garmin GPS Mount Tutorial

Ok, so you want a mount for your Garmin GPS, and you're the awesome kind of person who'd rather spend $5 and 30 minutes building it (30 minutes is to get the parts, not actually build this, which takes about 5 minutes tops), rather than spending $15 plus tax plus shipping on a pre-made one. This tutorial is for you.

Stuff you need (I got most of my loot from Jacob's Hardware 100 meters west of Queen/Spadina. They're awesome, helpful folk with excellent prices on everything except Goo Gone, which Canadian Tire somehow has cheaper, but lucky for you, you don't need Goo Gone for this project):

Loot:
Attachment 24300

1x 4" x 1/4" standard issue bolt

1x 5/8" x 1.75" hose (Why 5/8"? Because that seems to be pretty standard a diameter for steering tubes. Measure yours and ask for an appropriate hose that's just slightly smaller than your tube diameter)

2x 5/8" washers -- get more than 2, get 12-20, because not all washers are built to NASA tolerances, and some won't fit.

2x coupler nuts

1x 17 mm bead -- "But Mike," you say, "I've scoured all of the craft stores on Queen Street between Spadina and Bathurst and NONE OF THEM CARRY 17 mm beads! They only have 16 mm and 18 mm beads, as if all 17 mm beads were evil and covered with hepatitis! Should I abandon my project and commit seppuku?"

No, keep your guts inside your body, there's hope yet. Read on.

Head 5 minutes north to Kensington Market, to a shop called Courage My Love. Ask any of the lovely ladies who work there for 17 mm beads or 17 mm bead necklaces. You're going to want to buy at least 12 of these beads, too, because just like the washers, each of these beads has (vastly) differing geometries, and you're going to need trial-and-error until you find one that fits your cradle.

Assembly:

Attachment 24301

I'll omit actual assembly instructions as a test of your evolution. If you have ever played with Lego, or can count beyond 3, you should be able to pass this test. I hope you all pass. You'll notice I didn't screw on my bead completely. This is because I don't want to. You can if you wish.

Installation:

Attachment 24302

Slide the assembled unit down the steering tube, and make sure it doesn't drop into the tube, or you may never get it back. You're going to want to keep the bead off the bolt for this because you'll need to hold the bolt while you tighten the top coupler nut with a wrench. This will make the hose expand inside the tube and keep your mount super secure. Be sure to tighten the nut and squeeze that hose a LOT. The more friction, the stabler, and the merrier.

Once it's secure to your satisfaction, screw on the bead (with or without loctite/glue, I opted for no loctite/glue in case I need to later switch beads in the future for any reason. I figured I can always glue it later if necessary).

Other stuff you want to know:

1) The beads from Courage My Love will come with a bore hole that's made for fishing line thickness necklace wire, or whatever it is they use. This is far too small for the bolt, so you'll need to bore a hole into the wooden bead. I recommend a 7/32" bore, which will be "one size" smaller than the bolt itself, ensuring maximum friction. Screwing on the bead may feel laborious and difficult, but you'll be safe in knowing the friction will keep your stuff securely in place in every dimension. DO NOT bore a hole too large or the bead will simply slide freely along the bolt, which is counterproductive entirely.

2) Putting the cradle on the unit may require a bit of force that will unnerve you. This is ok. If you find it's too easy or too hard, it means you've used the wrong size bead. That's why you have 11-19 more. It should snugly "snap" into the Garmin cradle. I would advise against popping it on and off repeatedly, as it is made of wood and you will over time degrade its ability to hang onto the cradle. I normally leave my cradle on my bike anyway, with a small plastic bag over it so rain doesn't damage the connectors. Up to you what you do here.

3) I put an additional safety cable directly from my GPS to the bike's frame, "just in case" this stuff all fails. So far, it hasn't even come close to, but safety first.

4) Enjoy this Effing Awesome project!

This is an epic mount tutorial.

nicely done.

Can you put a pic with the gps on it???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rafiki911

Can you put a pic with the gps on it???

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I would love to, Raf, but I'm out of space on the forums, I can't upload any more pictures. Apparently someone thought 250 kb would be enough for everyone and mine's all used up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by viper84737

I would love to, Raf, but I'm out of space on the forums, I can't upload any more pictures. Apparently someone thought 250 kb would be enough for everyone and mine's all used up.

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upload your pictures to Imageshack.us then post them here. That way you can post pictures bigger then thumbnails.

True story: viper84737 has a wooden ball.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by viper84737

I would love to, Raf, but I'm out of space on the forums, I can't upload any more pictures. Apparently someone thought 250 kb would be enough for everyone and mine's all used up.

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Have you tried tinypic.com?

Here's what it looks like with the cradle, I don't have one with the GPS on it, but as soon as I do, I'll put it up here at the bottom. It kind of blocks out the view from most angles, though. I figure if you can see the cradle on it, you can imagine the GPS as it is mounted.

http://i54.tinypic.com/dra1xg.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/2dtouw9.jpg

Yea, I can totally see it now. Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Splash

upload your pictures to Imageshack.us then post them here. That way you can post pictures bigger then thumbnails.

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God please don't use imageshack, use imgur if need be.

good job, will look into that if I need another mount

Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by viper84737

Thanks.

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Nice job. Hope it stays in one piece for you.
I still favour RAM mounts, but that's a great idea.
BTW....in your tutorial, you mention 'be careful' not to let it fall down the steering head tube. It's ok - it's hollow, and will fall though to the ground on your bike. (been there, done that).

It lasted 21,569 km as I rode through every type of terrain in North America this summer -- deserts, mountains, freezing rainstorms. It's torture-tested now :)

It needed adjustment once, somewhere in California mid-trip. The consequences of not adjusting it were that the GPS would semi-annoyingly rotate about somewhat loosely as the cable pulled on it when you turned the handlebars. A simple 30 second re-tightening with two pliers allowed for another 12,000 km of problem-free riding until I came back home, where it needed another adjustment. I guess the service schedule is every 12k, heh! So yeah, it's tighter than being in a phone booth with Rosanne Barr.