About 7 years ago or so I bought a GPS unit for my cars and really liked not having to use paper maps any more. I didn't like the surprise that I had to pay on a regular basis to get road map updates, so when I eventually figured out that I could get free GPS on a smart phone I decided to move to using those.
I have used my GPS for many road trips with my family over the years. It has allowed me to just pick a destination and go with out much planning. It has also allowed me to just up and go, discovering new places and not worrying about finding my way home.
I wanted this freedom on my bike too. When I first got my bike, Carrie and I wanted to take off somewhere but on the trip I took a wrong turn. I pulled out my phone GPS and placed it on my leg while I got back on track.
I needed something to hold my smart phone so I could use the GPS. I bought a Cell Buckle because it was cheep. Unfortunately there were three issues that I really didn't like about the Cell Buckle while riding. The first was that the phone would shake a lot while the bike is running making it hard to see what I needed to see. The second problem is that it has no way of keeping the phone charged. GPS tends to use a bit of power so long trips would kill the battery. The third problem isn't really a Cell Buckle problem, but the phone is not visible in direct sun. I would have to cup my hand over the phone to see it.
So now I have the criteria for my new mount. It has to be able to hold the phone firmly enough to be able to read it, be able to charge it and to shade it from the sun.
My last project was relocating my headlight housing. This gave me the perfect place to start. I could use the headlight housing to shade the phone. Now I just needed a mount and charging system.
I found an Echo Plug & Go unit on sale at Stan's Harley Davidson to start with. This unit has a nice mounting system that mounts to the handle bars but that was not good enough for me.
I cut out a piece of card board as my template.
I did not use the template pictured. I ended up modifying it before cutting out the aluminum plate. I thought I took more pictures of the making of this but unfortunately I did not.
I cut the aluminum with my saw and had to file the edges smooth. I rounded the edges and the bent the plate. To bend it I clamped wood on each side and then bent it by hand. I used a hammer with plastic ends to form tighter ends. The Echo had to be taken apart so that I could mount it to the aluminum. I seperated the power box and the actual mechanical mount. This let me put the power box on the back of the plate and the mechanical mount on the front. Using the existing screws, it is firmly a part of my aluminum mount now.
I then tried it. When I was happy with it I primed and painted it. Here are a few pictures of the finished project.
I have used this since making it and I am very happy with it. Normally the screen is visible. There are a few times that the sun has been behind me and caused glare but nowhere near what it would if it were mounted to the handle bars.
The Echo system is nice because I can change the plugs easily for different phone or GPS types. The Echo has two wires that connect to the battery. To place the phone into the Echo mount there is thick foam padding that will lock down on your phone. To remove the phone you press a button and it opens up spring loaded.
I thought this mount would shake a lot because it is only mounted at one end but it only moves when I go over bumps. I could have used a thicker gauge aluminum or steel to reduce this if it were a problem.
Over the past year I have done quite a bit of custom work on my head light/ handle bar area and I really like the transformation. I hope you do too.
No comments:
Post a Comment