Attachment for mobile phone on NT700

charlie

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Dec 15, 2010
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Location
NSW AUSTRALIA
I don’t have a GPS. Nor do I have the urge to procure one. However as I intend to have a short trip to Melbourne soon I would like to use MAPS on my mobile phone to assist me in navigating the City.
Details as to best attachments including power source, where best to Mount etc. from anyone using their mobile phone on their NT 700 would be appreciated
 
I used a Ram ball mount on the left side of the handlebar. Power came from the auxiliary power tap. I think the auxiliary power was is on the left side and taped up along the wire harness (can’t remember for sure).

It worked fine but using it was a challenge. My phone screen wasn’t bright enough to be readable in full sunlight so turn-by-turn navigation in the cities didn’t work well for me. Audio queues weren’t an option for me because I don’t have any audio in my helmet. A sunshade helped but it was still very hard to read while riding. It was far from ideal. I mostly use paper maps on the open roads and GPS in cities now.
 
I have a dedicated GPS but I have several friends who use their phones. Most all use the Ram ball mounts as Jim suggests. Screen washout in bright sun is a problem, even with the GPS. If you get some sort of helmet comm system that you can Bluetooth to your phone, you will be much happier. Even if the screen washes out you can still follow the audio.

Mike
 
I have found that the best place for me is mounted in the center of the handlebars above the triple tree. This is a solid mount that minimizes vibration and I find it much easier to just look down and see the gps/phone. When mounted near the grips of just about any v-twin, there will be vibration.

Cliff
 
Mounted my phone holder on the dash above the instruments. In line of sight and just some reinforcement underneath to provide some stability. Fits nicely behind the screen and stays fairly dry and sits with an almost vertical screen which means the sun doesn't affect it too much but Bluetooth unit in the helmet makes a big difference to the need to watch the screen at all! On the UK site 'The Sheep' has some good pics of his mounting, rather better than my pictures (and mount!))
 
I used to put my phone in my pocket and just listen to the directions via bluetooth to my helmet intercom.

Now I have a Ramball on the left handle bar (in the redundant mirror mount hole) and take the power from the cigarette lighter socket in the left hand glove box. To tell the truth, I use it about once a year when going somewhere new in the city...
 
Just be wary that motorcycle vibration has been noted to kill the camera sensors in smart phones. A cross country trip on the NT a few years ago using a RAM mount left the rear camera on my phone intermittently working. It was mounted center of the handlebar too.

Quad Lock is a relatively new player in the game, and I've been seeing them promoted everywhere. Their system claims to fix the vibration issue. I think you'll need a dedicated phone case for it. I haven't tried any of their mounts yet.

If you don't feel like digging around in the bike's wiring harness for a power tap, something I've done is use a USB dongle that plugs into a standard battery tender lead. Just search "USB battery tender adapter", there's a ton of makes out there. Just run a long USB cable up to the bars. Can tuck along the side of the seat, or bodywork. Whatever you feel like that works.
 
NewTo700V said:
Just be wary that motorcycle vibration has been noted to kill the camera sensors in smart phones. A cross country trip on the NT a few years ago using a RAM mount left the rear camera on my phone intermittently working. It was mounted center of the handlebar too.

Quad Lock is a relatively new player in the game, and I've been seeing them promoted everywhere. Their system claims to fix the vibration issue. I think you'll need a dedicated phone case for it. I haven't tried any of their mounts yet.

If you don't feel like digging around in the bike's wiring harness for a power tap, something I've done is use a USB dongle that plugs into a standard battery tender lead. Just search "USB battery tender adapter", there's a ton of makes out there. Just run a long USB cable up to the bars. Can tuck along the side of the seat, or bodywork. Whatever you feel like that works.
Click to expand...
My guess is that some bikes are worse than others for vibration damage....I certainly wouldnt use a phone on a braket like frosty does. I simply dont need something else to fool around with
 
I'm still using the RAM mount I've had for years. I bought the one that has the quick turn clamp that lets me move it between bikes easily. I just limit the time the phone spends in it. I'll set the phone in the mount nearing the destination where I need rapid turn by turn navigation. Otherwise my phone is in my jacket pocket. I'm not a fan of audio only navigation in urban areas I'm not familiar with. There can be too many side streets, alleys or shopping center entrances all in close proximity to where I need to turn. A street sign could be missing or hard to read. Being able to see on the screen the approach distance is very helpful.
 
I hate navigating with my phone. "OK, Google" seems to appear in front of my map at precisely the wrong moment.
I have considered mounting it on the handlebar next to the Garmin, though, just to control my Cardo without fishing it out of my pocket.
 
I use a Quad Lock system with the optional vibration dampener for my iPhone. It was mounted in the not used mirror mount on my NT. The phone does wash out in bright sun even with an anti glare screen on it. I did blue tooth it to ear buds that I wear under my helmet. Still use the same system with my Yamaha.
 
I use iPhone pro ear buds in my helmet while riding. The iPhone maps gives verbal directions. They are surprisingly comfortable and I set them on noise canceling, so ear plugs aren't needed. I wiggle my head around in my helmet to loosen the buds before taking my helmet off. I purchased the Ram mount but limit time in the holder bc it's damaging the camera function on my iPhone.
 
get the vibration damper for Ram Mount OR get the quad mount with vibration damper ... quad lock highly recommended ... easier to use than the claw mount from Ram Mount ...

fixed: sue to use ..
 
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Sunny said:
get the vibration damper for Ram Mount OR get the quad mount with vibration damper ... quad lock highly recommended ... easier to sue than the claw mount from Ram Mount ...
Click to expand...

"easier to use" rather than "easier to sue"?
 
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