How do you mount & power your phone on the C400GT?

FoodDelivery

New member
I am planning on doing food deliveries on a BMW C400GT. I have already sat on one at a dealership and I have read a lot about it. I am always open to suggestions or information. I am currently doing deliveries on a motorcycle. I want the BMW C400GT because it looks to be a relatively vibration free ride for commuting into the Los Angeles City areas to do food deliveries, and then commuting back home on the freeway after the food shops close. My plan was to have the mobile phone mounted on the left hand side using the quad lock mirror mount. Will I have to drill holes in the plastic panels to run usb power cables? I know on the right hand side in the front box there is power. I need to have the phone available for my left hand so that when a food delivery offer comes up I can hit accept.
 

wspollack

Active member
I am planning on doing food deliveries on a BMW C400GT. I have already sat on one at a dealership and I have read a lot about it. I am always open to suggestions or information. I am currently doing deliveries on a motorcycle. I want the BMW C400GT because it looks to be a relatively vibration free ride for commuting into the Los Angeles City areas to do food deliveries, and then commuting back home on the freeway after the food shops close. My plan was to have the mobile phone mounted on the left hand side using the quad lock mirror mount. Will I have to drill holes in the plastic panels to run usb power cables? I know on the right hand side in the front box there is power. I need to have the phone available for my left hand so that when a food delivery offer comes up I can hit accept.
1) I'm glad that you're using a Quad Lock. It is one of four motorcycle phone mounts that I'm aware of that has an optional vibration-dampening option (and I can direct your attention to an Apple warning about this, if you like -- and this may affect Android phones, too, for all I know). The other three are Hondo Garage, Peak Designs, and SP Connect.

2) For mounting, you can go with the Ram 11mm Bolt Head Adapter Ball Base, part # RAM-B-252U:


I went this route on my '22 C 400 GT, with the left bar end. See two pics and captions in my GT gallery, starting with this one:


This is a trivial mod, and I think would meet your requirements.

A second option could be the Ram Torque Small Rail Base, part # RAM-B-408-37-62U:


(The mirror stalk is just under 0.5 inch, so that should work.)

Of course, with either of them, you'll need a double-socket arm. I think the 3" model is the most useful (and shorter than that, they don't include an internal spring).

3) For power, well, that's a more complex deal.

I rode a C 400 X for two weeks in Europe last year, and I used the right cubby for power (for a GoPro). I just sort of mushed the cable coming out of the door, alongside the door, in an area near the top left of the door.

That's not an elegant solution, and I think the doors on the C 400 GT may be a tighter fit. So, you might be able to get away with this, or you might not. Make sure that you have enough cable slack so that it doesn't interfere with the handlebars, if it drapes over them.

A much better solution is to do something like I did with my GT, a couple of weeks after getting it. I installed an external, rainproof, USB port. I did this over on the right (again, for a GoPro), but you can almost as easily put the port over on the left.

I tapped power from the feed to the internal USB ports in the right cubby. You can read the details -- pics, instructions, links -- of how I did this work in my gallery, for a dozen or so images, starting with this one:


This was not a major undertaking, but did involve taking a bunch of the bodywork off and some wiring experience. I think this is the way to go for you, but I don't know how comfortable you are with such work (tupperware removal, wiring, and drilling a hole in a brand new bike, none of which bothered me, as I've done that sort of thing on a lot of bikes).

Edit Addition:

Or, you could use the sat nav power plug, the way I did for my recently added Skene Photon Boosters up front. See this pic/caption/link in my gallery, and the next dozen or so:


You could then run a wire alongside or within the handlebar covers, over to the left mirror stalk. You would then need a USB port that takes 12V input for its power, and has a stalk mount (or something similar) itself.

Or, you could just use your phone on its internal battery, and try to keep it reasonably charged inside of the right cubby, with the stock internal USB ports, when you have some downtime.

I hope you find some of this useful. In any event, good luck. Oh, and yep, I am extremely pleased with how smooth and peppy the GT is, even if it's just a 350cc thumper.
 
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FoodDelivery

New member
Thank you for your informative response. The problem with keeping the phone charging in the right cubby is that I will not be able to click on the phones screen to accept an incoming delivery. I doubt if the map service from within the food delivery apps will work with the bmw navigation software. I think an external rainproof usb port is the best solution so far after reading your post.
 

wspollack

Active member
Thank you for your informative response. The problem with keeping the phone charging in the right cubby is that I will not be able to click on the phones screen to accept an incoming delivery. I doubt if the map service from within the food delivery apps will work with the bmw navigation software. I think an external rainproof usb port is the best solution so far after reading your post.
I just added another power thought -- d'oh! -- because I was just reminded of some work I did a couple of weeks ago!
 

wspollack

Active member
Maybe you can use the sat nav power (get that plug I cited in my gallery), along with the Quad Lock USB gizmo ...


... and use the Ram products to hold up the Quad Lock. I'm pretty sure Quad Lock has a Ram-compatible option, i.e., some 1" ball sticking out the back somehow.
 

wspollack

Active member
Oops: or just the Quad Lock mirror mount, i.e., no Ram products, all QL products, plus the one connector to the unused sat nav 12V source, and you should be all set, with a power wire alongside or underneath the handlebar cover.

If you want to save a few dollars, you could tap into the leads of the sat nav plug, but it's easier if you get that extra plug for that (and makes the whole thing "non-destructive," easy to return to stock.
 

mzflorida

Active member
1) I'm glad that you're using a Quad Lock. It is one of four motorcycle phone mounts that I'm aware of that has an optional vibration-dampening option (and I can direct your attention to an Apple warning about this, if you like -- and this may affect Android phones, too, for all I know). The other three are Hondo Garage, Peak Designs, and SP Connect.

2) For mounting, you can go with the Ram 11mm Bolt Head Adapter Ball Base, part # RAM-B-252U:


I went this route on my '22 C 400 GT, with the left bar end. See two pics and captions in my GT gallery, starting with this one:


This is a trivial mod, and I think would meet your requirements.

A second option could be the Ram Torque Small Rail Base, part # RAM-B-408-37-62U:


(The mirror stalk is just under 0.5 inch, so that should work.)

Of course, with either of them, you'll need a double-socket arm. I think the 3" model is the most useful (and shorter than that, they don't include an internal spring).

3) For power, well, that's a more complex deal.

I rode a C 400 X for two weeks in Europe last year, and I used the right cubby for power (for a GoPro). I just sort of mushed the cable coming out of the door, alongside the door, in an area near the top left of the door.

That's not an elegant solution, and I think the doors on the C 400 GT may be a tighter fit. So, you might be able to get away with this, or you might not. Make sure that you have enough cable slack so that it doesn't interfere with the handlebars, if it drapes over them.

A much better solution is to do something like I did with my GT, a couple of weeks after getting it. I installed an external, rainproof, USB port. I did this over on the right (again, for a GoPro), but you can almost as easily put the port over on the left.

I tapped power from the feed to the internal USB ports in the right cubby. You can read the details -- pics, instructions, links -- of how I did this work in my gallery, for a dozen or so images, starting with this one:


This was not a major undertaking, but did involve taking a bunch of the bodywork off and some wiring experience. I think this is the way to go for you, but I don't know how comfortable you are with such work (tupperware removal, wiring, and drilling a hole in a brand new bike, none of which bothered me, as I've done that sort of thing on a lot of bikes).

Edit Addition:

Or, you could use the sat nav power plug, the way I did for my recently added Skene Photon Boosters up front. See this pic/caption/link in my gallery, and the next dozen or so:


You could then run a wire alongside or within the handlebar covers, over to the left mirror stalk. You would then need a USB port that takes 12V input for its power, and has a stalk mount (or something similar) itself.

Or, you could just use your phone on its internal battery, and try to keep it reasonably charged inside of the right cubby, with the stock internal USB ports, when you have some downtime.

I hope you find some of this useful. In any event, good luck. Oh, and yep, I am extremely pleased with how smooth and peppy the GT is, even if it's just a 350cc thumper.
Rokform also has anti vibration mounts and it is really well designed.

Some owners of another bike I own are using this product. It does not solve the mounting issue necessarily but might be something for you to consider.


 
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