wspollack
Well-known member
I know this is a remote possibility, but on the off-chance that anyone else is interested in this stuff, I just finished replacing my suction-cup mounting system for my GoPro with an all-metal system.
I have been using this Panavise-based system on my C 400 GTs ('22 and then '23) for four years now, and it's been pretty good:
And I used a similar system on a Burgman 650 for some years before that, too.
My only gripes -- and they're certainly pretty minor, in the grand scheme of things, but I also have some OCD-like tendencies -- are that: 1) I have to remember every couple of weeks to release and then re-press the air-retention system, i.e., make sure the suction-osity is at full strength, and; 2) on very rough roads, if the bouncing around is severe, there's some slight rotational movement (even with max suctionosity) by a few degrees (which messes with my recording lean angles, for instance).
So I decided to replace the system with all metal components.
I've seen some metal (aluminum, I think) across-the-windscreen mounts just for this purpose, but for RTs, or GSes, those sort of common, and commonly farkled, bikes. Of course, nothing for our lowly scooters. (See, for instance, if the next time a BMW tractor-trailer comes to your town with a demo fleet if a C 400 GT is among the bikes. Or look in vain at Wunderlich for a custom seat for a C 400, as opposed to half a dozen other Beemer models.)
So, I came up with this system:
This may not look as elegant as a purpose-built aftermarket mount for an RT, but on the plus side I used all off-the-shelf components, and there is no modification to the scooter -- no cutting, drilling, that sort of thing -- for those who are concerned about such things. And there is no modification to those off-the-shelf parts themselves, either, except that I had to enlarge some of the M6-sized holes in the corner brackets to allow 1/4" bolts to pass through (which is a pretty trivial mod).
(This may not be evident in the photo, but the two-brackets-per-side system is needed because those windscreen holding bolts do not come straight forward, but instead point outward, i.e., toward the sides of the bike. And I didn't want to have to bend or otherwise mess with the 90° nature of the brackets.)
Here's the new mount with my GoPro affixed:
The main ingredient is a 6" x 15mm (diameter) rod. That diameter rod is very big in photographic circles, for attaching gadgets to cameras, and tripod legs, and a host of other camera-related items. So there are a lot of these rods available, and a lot of clamps available for them, and the rods come with various end-cap options.
Similarly, 1/4"-20 bolts and threads are also very popular in that world. That's the standard thread pitch for tripod-mount receptacles, for instance. And luckily, I have a serious handyman type of collection of 1/4"-20 bolts and locknuts.
For a complete parts list, see the caption for this particular image in my C 400 GT gallery: https://billanddot.com/C400GT/#S-245 . And for why I prefer cameras in front of a windscreen instead of behind one, see the caption for the subsequent gallery image.
That's all I got. I hope I didn't waste too much of anyone's time, as I realize this topic is of limited interest.
I have been using this Panavise-based system on my C 400 GTs ('22 and then '23) for four years now, and it's been pretty good:
And I used a similar system on a Burgman 650 for some years before that, too.
My only gripes -- and they're certainly pretty minor, in the grand scheme of things, but I also have some OCD-like tendencies -- are that: 1) I have to remember every couple of weeks to release and then re-press the air-retention system, i.e., make sure the suction-osity is at full strength, and; 2) on very rough roads, if the bouncing around is severe, there's some slight rotational movement (even with max suctionosity) by a few degrees (which messes with my recording lean angles, for instance).
So I decided to replace the system with all metal components.
I've seen some metal (aluminum, I think) across-the-windscreen mounts just for this purpose, but for RTs, or GSes, those sort of common, and commonly farkled, bikes. Of course, nothing for our lowly scooters. (See, for instance, if the next time a BMW tractor-trailer comes to your town with a demo fleet if a C 400 GT is among the bikes. Or look in vain at Wunderlich for a custom seat for a C 400, as opposed to half a dozen other Beemer models.)
So, I came up with this system:
This may not look as elegant as a purpose-built aftermarket mount for an RT, but on the plus side I used all off-the-shelf components, and there is no modification to the scooter -- no cutting, drilling, that sort of thing -- for those who are concerned about such things. And there is no modification to those off-the-shelf parts themselves, either, except that I had to enlarge some of the M6-sized holes in the corner brackets to allow 1/4" bolts to pass through (which is a pretty trivial mod).
(This may not be evident in the photo, but the two-brackets-per-side system is needed because those windscreen holding bolts do not come straight forward, but instead point outward, i.e., toward the sides of the bike. And I didn't want to have to bend or otherwise mess with the 90° nature of the brackets.)
Here's the new mount with my GoPro affixed:
The main ingredient is a 6" x 15mm (diameter) rod. That diameter rod is very big in photographic circles, for attaching gadgets to cameras, and tripod legs, and a host of other camera-related items. So there are a lot of these rods available, and a lot of clamps available for them, and the rods come with various end-cap options.
Similarly, 1/4"-20 bolts and threads are also very popular in that world. That's the standard thread pitch for tripod-mount receptacles, for instance. And luckily, I have a serious handyman type of collection of 1/4"-20 bolts and locknuts.
For a complete parts list, see the caption for this particular image in my C 400 GT gallery: https://billanddot.com/C400GT/#S-245 . And for why I prefer cameras in front of a windscreen instead of behind one, see the caption for the subsequent gallery image.
That's all I got. I hope I didn't waste too much of anyone's time, as I realize this topic is of limited interest.