zumo multiple bike-mounting options?

[dean]

hi there,

i have my 550 mounted and hardwired to my fjr13 using the supplied ram mount for my daily commuting. however, i'd like to have it on my second bike when i'm out doing rallies and other more-spirited riding.

what options do i have for swapping the z from bike to bike? what have others done?

what i have on my fjr (leaving out the supplied zumo mount and hardwire that is now mounted):

1) stem mount that i was using for previous gps unit; has flat plate with velcro (not doable with the zumo due to its rounded rearside);

2) sae connector hard-wired to bike; lots of accessories from that, such as cig plug adapter, two-headed cig plug adapter, two-headed sae adapter;

3) the factory cigarette accessory plug near dash;

what i have on my fj:

1) clutch mount gps mount with flat plate and velcro (not doable with zumo due to its rounded rearside);

2) same as #2 above;

i realize the quick solution is to just buy a second zumo 500 cradle and hardwire, and do that, at the cost of, what, $80+?

i was truly hoping to have the option of just unhooking my z from the factory mount on the fjr, and throwing it on the fj using some other type of cradle, mounted to the already-mounted clutch, and plugging into the sae hardwire.

if i use the z cradle, am i limited to using their hardwire if i want to keep the z powered on the bike?

thanks,

dean

cincinnati

 

[squeezer]

Attach a plug to the zumo mount instead of hardwiring it. I don't know if I'd want to leave the mount on the bike all the time anyway. That's caused problems for some.

What kind of plug is up to you. I attached a two prong SAE plug to the mount so I could plug it into my battery tender pigtail. If you have battery tenders on each bike, that's a simple solution since that outlet tends to go unused when you're riding anyway.

Put a RAM ball on each bike and you're ready to roll.

 

[OhioFJR1300]

I went with adding a second cradle and power wire, so I just move the Zumo from bike to bike and each bike is already wires for power and audio. You could just add a connector to the power cable for the Zumo and move the cradle and all, but that was looking like a possible weak link in the system for me, having to plug and unplug the power all the time. A Ram mount would work well to allow you to move the Zumo and cradle as a unit.

 

[Foxhuntr]

I also bought extra cradles and hardwired them in so I could move the Zumo easily from bike to bike.

 

[drjfjr]

I used a ram ball mount on both bikes and a SAE 2 prong connectors. I also added a two prong SAE connector to the Garmin Zumo mount. I Don't like leaving the mount on the bike due to corrosion issues on the Zumo mount even with a non rotting cover it will still get condensation on the prongs.

 

[dean]

thanks listers for the assist and suggestions, i sincerely appreciate it. i'm sure there will be more to come re: the zumo.

dean

cincinnati

 

[HartClimbs]

Attach a plug to the zumo mount instead of hardwiring it. I don't know if I'd want to leave the mount on the bike all the time anyway. That's caused problems for some.
What kind of plug is up to you. I attached a two prong SAE plug to the mount so I could plug it into my battery tender pigtail. If you have battery tenders on each bike, that's a simple solution since that outlet tends to go unused when you're riding anyway.

Put a RAM ball on each bike and you're ready to roll.

+1. Takes 20 seconds to swap the GPS from one bike to another.