Lockable Mounts.. ??

rocks

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A quick question on the practicalities of riding with a GPS.

I am looking at the 2610, and see TT do a locking mount. I tend to stop on my rides for coffee breaks etc.. do you guys leave your GPS on the bike, for "short" stops, or do you always remove it?

I want a nice Migsel Mount, but this can be simply undone, by a thumb screw.. so the unit wouldnt be secure..so looking at the TT lockable one. I dont intend to leave it on in rough looking places, or town centres,, but the odd north wales cafe..

Views comments appreciated.. cheers..

PS anyone know why they the 2610 is suddenly a lot cheaper?
 
Rocks:

I own a 2650, and use a Garmin mount, which has the little locking screw that requires a special tool to remove the GPSR. I have used it for over a year now.

If I park the bike in places where my security concerns are low - by this I mean anywhere in Switzerland, or in a small town in other countries, or in a place where the motorcycle is under observation (e.g. attended parking lots), then I don't bother removing the GPSR if I go into a restaurant for a coffee or a meal, or if I am at a service station. I don't even bother removing the GPSR when I park overnight at hotels here in Switzerland. My security evaluation criteria is pretty simple - I figure that if I can leave my gloves stuffed under the windscreen and reasonably expect they will still be there when I get back, then I can also leave my GPSR installed in its (locked) mount.

If my security concerns are a little higher than normal - say, the bike is parked in an unlit lot, or in a bad country (e.g. Italy), or in a bad town, then NO locking mount is going to be sufficient to protect the GPSR. The weakest link is not the locking mount itself, it is what attaches the locking mount to the motorcycle. Any apprentice thief at a gas station on an Italian motorway can rip a Touratech lockable mount, complete with GPSR, off a motorcycle in far less time than it takes you to go into the restroom or around the back of the building to hang a rat.

What I like most about the Garmin mount is that it is small and inconspicuous. It doesn't even have the word "Garmin" on it anywhere. The Touratech mount is pretty large and conspicious, it almost draws excessive attention to the GPSR. Concerning the MiGSel mount, I'm not sure what you mean by "it can be undone with a thumbscrew" - but perhaps you could replace the thumbscrew with a fastener that has a Torx or hex-head drive on it, and that might solve that problem?

PanEuropean
 
Thumb screws..

Hi Pan,
I didnt realise the garmin mount had a locking device on it.. i thought they were all merely clip in types.. Hmm will read up on that.. cheers.

Nothing wrong with Migsels, mount.. but from what i can tell the extender bars on the ball mounts have thumbscews to allow adjustment. Undo it, and you can pop the whole mount + Extender bar off.. unless i am mistaken that is.

I like the position that migsels mount put the GPSR.. I am 6'3" so i when sat on the bike i look over the screen not through it..
Migsels mount would put it just below my standard vision height, but above the clocks for easy reading.

I know there is no stopping a determined thief. Am just interested in howpeople felt about their mounts.

I do see your point about the TT mounts, now thinking on it. I like the look a lot, mainly coz i love engineering gadgets,, but i guess it does draw a lot of attention to the GPS.

Thanks..

PS amy ideas on the sudden drop in 2610 prices..?
 
Yeah, this emerged as an issue for me over our summer trip to France with the SP111 and Migsel's (excellent) mount. Its the coffee break stop problem - leaving the unlocked SP111 seemed just too much of a risk, but taking it off each time was a pain.

There are three problems I think:

1. The ball for the mount just screws in and can equally just be screwed out. I guess this could be solved if a screw or pin was inserted through the ball mount and the mount itself before it was fitted to the bike.

2. The RAM arm itself can just be screwed off as it does not lock. (or can it?).

3. The SP111 is retained in its cradle by a small screw that again does not lock.

Are there ways round problems 2 and 3?

Suggestions welcomed for a nice wee winter project.

Norman
 
Rocks:

Yes, the Garmin Mounting Bracket for the SP 26xx Series includes a security screw feature. There are additional comments, pictures, discussions concerning this bracket at these links, here on this BB:

SP 26xx Motorcycle Mounts

Garmin 2610 Motorcycle Mount Photos

You could, I suppose, remove the thumb-turn device from the RAM extension arm, and replace it with a straightforward, ordinary nut. This would make it pretty difficult for a 'casual' thief to remove the GPSR and bracket assembly by loosening the thumb-turn on the extension arm. I have not bothered to do that, though, because I think that the whole idea of the security screw in the Garmin mount is to "keep honest people honest", not to defend against the determined thief. If I have any doubts about the wisdom of leaving the GPSR in place, I just remove it and put it in a pannier. What the locking device on the Garmin bracket does for me is that it enables me to leave the GPSR in place on the moto in locations that have reasonably good security to begin with, for example, at get-togethers, rallies, restaurants and coffee shops, etc.

Norman:

There is no equivilent security fastener for the SP III bracket. You are correct, it is just a thumb-screw. If you are the creative type, I suppose you coudl replace the Garmin supplied thumb-screw with an equal size bolt that has an allen head fastener or similar - that would give you roughly the same amount of security as the mount for the SP 26xx. Again, enough to keep honest people honest, not anywhere near enough to deter a determined thief.

PanEuropean
 
Alright, here we go again :rolleyes:

I'm using the RAM cradle, which makes it very easy to remove and insert the unit. Any so-called secure or lockable mount is a laugh to a determined thief anyway, so as soon as I can't see my bike, I put the 2610 in my pocket or in a locked pannier. It takes 5 seconds and I have nothing to be worry about.

prod1941.jpg
04aRAMcradle.jpg



The "locking device" on the Garmin cradle is just a torx screw. Anybody looking to steal a 2610 is bound to have the key for that in his pocket. And if you apply some force, I'm sure you'll rip the unit out of the mount quite easily. The thief migt break a tiny bit of plastic on the back of the unit in the proces, but your 2610 will be gone. The screw prevents this lip from going up, so the matching piece of plastic on the back of your unit is the same size.

attachment.php


The Touratech mount is much more solid, but BIG and conspicuous. If you're into heavy duty off-roading, I would recommend it, but not on my mount. The unit+mount assembly is too heavy and too big to put on the speedo mount. Put it on the handlebars if you want that mount.

01-065-0066-01.jpg


I'm using the short RAM arm on my mount, with an allen bolt instead of the thumb screw. That will prevent the (empty) mount from being stolen. And nobody's gonna be able to unscrew the ball from the base plate, with all that in position. Even without anything mounted it will be quite hard to get the ball off.

Also, take a look at this thread with loads of info about the mounts.

Cheers,
Michel
 
Just keep in mind that whoever's lockable bracket you get, all it will do is keep honest people honest. None of them will fend off a determined thief or a vandal.

The usefulness of a lockable mount depends entirely on the general level of honesty and overall security in the area you are riding. If you're in a rough area, common sense says you should remove the GPSR and stash it, lockable mount or not.

Like I said earlier, I use the "gloves test" - if I feel comfortable leaving my gloves stuffed under the windshield, then I feel comfortable leaving the GPSR in the lockable mount. If I have doubts about leaving the gloves on the bike, the GPSR comes off and goes into the pannier.

PanEuropean
 
Rocks I would advise you to remove it. It only takes a few seconds to unscrew and unplug.

However when I leave mine on the bike I use it as a helmet holder. That way the thieving scum get the lid and the GPS. Or alternativly the lid hides the GPS.


attachment.php
 
replying to NCoutts questions..

1. The ball for the mount just screws in and can equally just be screwed out. I guess this could be solved if a screw or pin was inserted through the ball mount and the mount itself before it was fitted to the bike.
>> I have heard of bikers in the USA removing the screw knob from the arm and replacing it with a round cap screw (needs Alan key to lock) and on the other end is a dome head nut. I have a sample, but its not sold in UK as its not a security device and should not be offerd as such, even if seen on some US sites.

>> Other locking tricks, I've heard of.. are a security wire and on plastic cradles where there's a raised lip at the top, then two drill holes and a pad lock to hold the gps.


2. The RAM arm itself can just be screwed off as it does not lock. (or can it?).
>> see above reply. I have had same converstaion with colleagues in Seattle. A determined 'thief' with a hacksaw can cut thru the cast aluminium. I never suggest leaving the equipment alone. I know the temptation is to leave it & bike for a minute but ....


3. The SP111 is retained in its cradle by a small screw that again does not lock.
>> To lock the SPIII the only cradle system I can think of is Touratech which can be attached to the RAM U-Bolt mount (RAM-B-149 and there's three choices) .

Hope some of this helps,

RAM-man
 
Migsel

do you have a reference number for the 2610 ram mount - I guess you sourced it from gpsw? I have the short arm, just need the holder ball/diamond mount.

bob
 
I take it off whenever it's going to be out of my sight and there may be people around. Not a big problem if you have a nice shoulder bag like this lowepro one to carry it around.
 

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Spanish Bob said:
Migsel
do you have a reference number for the 2610 ram mount - I guess you sourced it from gpsw? I have the short arm, just need the holder ball/diamond mount.

The holder is RAM-HOL-GA9 (£8.98 inc vat at gpsw)

prod1941.jpg



And on the back of that you need:
RAM-B-238 Diamond base with ball 1" (£6.97)

prod493a.jpg


Cheers,
Michel
 
atheft-large.jpg



... adding to yesterday's message here's what I meant. The bits can make the arm 'tamperproof' or at least you cannot undue the arm and get at the cradle, but the GPS is still vulnerable.

Something for Migsel to think on ..

RAM-man
 
I did that about a year ago Steve :)

as you can (hardly) see in this pic:

10250587-M.jpg


I thought about getting a really tamperproof bolt for it, but who's gonna steal an empty £9 mount, right? Maybe somebody who thinks it's valuable, and then you're stuck with a GPS and no mount of course :rolleyes:

I always put the 2610 in my pocket when I leave the bike out of my sight, and the mount stays on with the allen bolt.

Cheers,
Michel
 
The old adage...out of sight out of mind works best.
For a minute effort, you don't lose your GPS
...lead us not into temptation...said a light fingered so & so....
 
RAM-man said:
atheft-large.jpg



... adding to yesterday's message here's what I meant. The bits can make the arm 'tamperproof' or at least you cannot undue the arm and get at the cradle, but the GPS is still vulnerable.

Something for Migsel to think on ..

RAM-man

Sorry, RAM-man I did not see this until now - thanks for the suggestion. Can you say where I can get one of these?

Norman
 
To convert your existing RAM arm, the image shows before and after.
I Suggest a visit to your 'local' screw & fixings company or take look at a Poole based supplier, ALLFIX (www.allfix.co.uk) their tel is 01202 519066

The 'techy' terms they understand;
Socket button screw (round head with hex 'allen' key needed to tighten)
Dome head nut.

As to weatherproof and tamperproof etc , here's an update.. by Spring 05; RAM shall introduce 3 sizes of weatherproof pod (pod = case) for holding electronic devices incl PDA's. No more on this subject until later , but I hear the RAM weatherproof pod will be lockable and have connector input (s) to the device and shall attach onto the diamond base plate.

RAM-man
 
Thanks RAM-Man, but you wouldn't be winding me up, right?

I am not sure I want to go into a strange shop and ask for a socket button screw and a dome headed nut. Not in Glasgow anyway. And Lord knows WHAT Google would come up with if I did a www search!

Seriously, thanks. Norman
 


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