GoPro placement

[Havard]

Looking for ideas of where to mount a Go Pro Hero 4 silver to my FJR. I have a Ram mount for up front but wanted to know other locations and what you used to mount it. I have all winter to look for spots to hook it up...

 

[Ignacio]

I've always thought the three most compelling places to tell a video story are either about the area of a slider that gets the front wheel and down low perspective, Chesty mount (although has to contend with the windshied that becomes crustier the more you ride), or eye level on the side of the helmet.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Fairlaner gave me a good tip on camera location. On top of left side fairing, with the camera to the left of that (camera filming upside down).

It produces a very nice perspective I think. Fairlaner edited some raw video I shot chasing him around in Kali back in 2011...it is located here...



Or here...

https://vimeo.com/29633498

 

[DesignFlaw06]

I bought the suction cup mount for mine.

I've been really happy with it. I place it on the nose of the bike, just under the windscreen over the Yamaha badge. It works pretty well there. I've also done some shots from the top case back when riding in a group. I've tried a few times along the side, but just didn't care for that angle as much. It flew off once, this last trip. But in fairness, I wasn't the one who put it on and shame on me for not double checking the mount. Case got damaged, but the camera works fine after a fall around 90 MPH.

I like still picture mode more than video in most cases. Here's a shot from the front of the bike.

 

[Fred W]

^^^ This is the best use of a digi-cam I have seen to date. Nice work.

I'd much rather flip through a bunch of nicely selected stills than suffer through endless minutes of tedious ride video accompanied by music that I probably do not even care for. But I'm just weird that way. :lol:

 

[Havard]

Are you using the remote or phone or just using the camera by itself.

 

[csi]

I mounted one with a sticky mount just to the right of the "tunnel" on the front fairing....it worked okay, but there is just enough flex in that plastic that you can pick up the camera movement........not a terribly big deal, but I find it irritating.

I have also mounted on on a sticky mount on the bottom of the rear fender....not a good spot. It gives a low perspective when looking to the rear, but again....that fender flexes enough that you can see it in the video.

The BEST spot I have found so far is on my OEM frame slider....although I would prefer to come up with something that gets the camera about 3 inches further out to the side.

Front view: Previously mentioned location on fairing

Rear view: Sticky mount just below tail-light....no wobble, but camera is a bit tough to get to given design of bike

 

[SacramentoMike]

I like the variety of "looks" you get with a helmet mount. I used their curved, adhesive-backed mount and it works fine. It was mounted far enough back on my Multitec that the raised chin bar didn't disturb the cam. The camera looks where you look.

OTOH, if you glance to the side to check a side road or something, you can get kind of a lurching effect that can be a little distracting when you watch the playback.

 

[Tiger_993]

My favorite camera positions are those that offer context of the rider, motorcycle, and road in the same shot. Some locations I have played with:

1. Helmet mounted on chin. View of top of tank, gauges, both handlebars, and looks out above the top of the windshield (stock shield). My default location.
2. Suction cup mount, stuck to the mid-lower fairing with a view of the front tire in the side of the frame with the roadway ahead. Play around with height to make sure you're not going to scrape the camera during turns - you just want to get it up high enough to avoid it dragging in an aggressive turn while still giving the front wheel and horizon perspective.
3. Suction cup mount to the windshield mounted high, looking back at rider. With Superview, you can almost see both hands on handlebars along with the rider and background (using stock windshield in lowered position). I do get some bounce in videos in this position resulting from the windshield vibrating. Works fine for stills though.
4. Suction cup mount, lefthand side case, looking down the side of the bike at the rider's leg and the roadway ahead.

For suction cup mounted positions, it's advisable to also use a tether to the bike as a backup.

 

[DesignFlaw06]

^^^ This is the best use of a digi-cam I have seen to date. Nice work.

I'd much rather flip through a bunch of nicely selected stills than suffer through endless minutes of tedious ride video accompanied by music that I probably do not even care for. But I'm just weird that way.

Same reason for me.

Are you using the remote or phone or just using the camera by itself.

I use the remote. I attached the clip to my keychain and the remote fits right between the handlebars on the stem nut. I do have risers, so it was a tight fit, but it worked. The only problem is the display on the remote is upside down. But if you get a feel for the menu options, it works well enough.

The last trip, I 3D printed a holder for the remote that attached to the clutch lever. It worked pretty well, but I need to make some adjustments so the viewing angle is better. The other thing I did was bought 2 spare batteries. I don't bother turning the GoPro off anymore, I just use the remote to hit record. I get probably 3 hours from each battery, which is plenty for the day.