GPS Mount for the R1200GS

To mount the Garmin 276C GPS on my R1200GS, I used one of the several high-tech mounts available from Touratech USA. I also used their GPS mount adapter for R1200GS (part 040-0664), though I mounted it a little differently than their directions show.

My first cut at a GPS was to put my old StreetPilot III on a different Touratech mount (one designed for cross-bar mounting). I stole the crossbar from my wife's dirtbike, and mounted it to the GS' handlebars with 1" wire-bundle clamps. It worked okay, but it put the GPS where it blocked the instruments for me (I'm 5'8"). And the clamps fractured after 6-8,000 miles.

I then put the SP III in my wife's car, and bought myself a 276C -- with a much, much improved display and much, much faster processor.

Prototype #1 was the simple aluminum plate shown above, with some 8x45mm bolts and some spacers I cut from 1" bronze bushings. The stock handlebar clamp bolts take a Torx E-10 socket, but my socket wouldn't fit due to clearance issues. Fortunately, a standard 8mm socket also works.

Prototype #2 was similar, but with an raised extension on the left side to hold a small "project box" with two Heat-Troller controller knobs, a toggle switch, and a green LED. One Heat-Troller runs an aux power outlet where I plug in my Gerbings heated jacket liner. The other one is for a future project where I plan to use the Heat-Troller to control the heated grips (giving me infinitely variable heat control, instead of just two settings).

The Touratech GPS adapter consists of two small triangular pieces (see red arrow in above photo) and a small crossbar. It's designed to screw on top of the replacment handlebar clamp bolts which are machined with a spacer and a flat top with 5mm screw hole. The spacing for the mount holes, BTW, is 80x40mm.

However, if I mounted my GPS there, it blocked the instruments. So my plate allowed me to move the GPS back and a bit to the right. I don't use a tankbag, so interference there wasn't an issue. A beneficial side-benefit of no tankbag is that refuelling is easy! I do use a large tailbag instead.

The power cord that comes with the 276C isn't as long as I'd have liked, but it worked okay when run along the right side of the gastank, under the covers.

A neat feature of this GPS mount is a keyed lock on the top to keep the GPS from "walking off" while I'm in the restaurant. And the clamp on the mini-crossbar provides some angle adjustment to the GPS screen.

WARNING: I learned the hard way that with this mount setup, you have to make sure the top part of the TT mount is firmly clamped to the little cross-bar. I had mine tight, but not tight enough. On a gravel road, the weight of the GPS pivoted the top mount on the cross-bar and let the top part contact the gastank. As I was making a sharp turn, I felt some resistance in the steering and looked down. The mount had gouged the paint. Damn!

Another Garmin 276C mounted on the R1200GS belonging to my friend Steve Powers. Steve is almost a foot taller than me, and therefore doesn't have the problem of the GPS obscuring the gauges that I have. Steve's mount uses a custom stainless steel bracket mounted above the handlebar mounts using some neat stainless steel replacement handlebar bolts from The Gadget Guy.

Steve's setup is much simpler as it does away with the lower bracket of the Touratech mount (same mount as I used above) and bolts directly to the stainess steel mount he made.

Other ideas...

There are lots of other ways to mount a GPS on the R1200GS. CycoActive (same parent company as Touratech-USA) sells the very popular RAM mounts which come in a wide variety of styles, shapes and sizes. [CycoActive also sells GPS'es at good prices] You can also get a real handlebar crossbar from Touratech and mount your GPS there, though there will be some problem with obscuring the gauges. There are also mounts that position the GPS above the instruments, right next to the windscreen.

Rethinking the Idea

I have since retired this mounting system in favor of another home-built mount which places the GPS above the instruments and closer to my line-of-sight. I believe it is much safer, and I find that when glancing at the GPS I can still maintain situational awareness of the road ahead.

I couldn't do that with the mounting scheme described here.

Whatever scheme you use, I urge you to train yourself to glance at the GPS only briefly. It is all to easy to focus on the GPS and end up riding off the road. It's happened to several folks I know. Don't let it happen to you!

Tick — Tock

The technique I invented to insure that I don't look at the GPS for too long and thereby lose awareness of the environment is to repeat to myself "tick, tock, tick, tock" like the ticking of a clock. On TICK I look at the road ahead, on TOCK I look at the GPS, then back to the road for TICK, and so on. It works for me...