Ram-Mount Advice please

[Dr. Strangelove]

I am going to mount my camera and attempt some shots on the road.

I am looking at two Ram Mounts --the one that mounts on the mirror stem and the reservoir mount. They will be temporary, only when traveling, so easy on/off is a consideration.

anyone have experience with either one? vibration issues? It would seem the res mount, being more substantial might be more stable?
Also, would the mirror stem take the mount with the 11mm hole or the 9 mm one?

Tia

John

[towerworker]

John

I have a Ram mount I used on my 03. I saw the reservoir mount and thought about it but decided to mount to the bars themselves. As it turns out I should have gone to the clutch reservoir. What I have works fine and I got a 9' arm as I needed to be able to move the camera to the side of the touring shield. You don't want to be looking thru the shield. The reservoir mount would have been much shorter than the big thing I had on the bars.
But it did what I wanted so all is good. Vibration can be an issue and mirror stems may make it worse ( a guess). I mounted a video camera on mine and ran Deal's Gap a couple of times.

Wayne

[Dr. Strangelove]

Hi, Wayne,

I have some unused ram mount pieces from my zumo--used a Tech Mount instead. So all I need to complete the setup is the "bottom" ball mount. I am leaning to the res mnt because it might be slightly better vibe-wise. The arm I will use is short--maybe 3" so that will help too. With its wider base to dampen I'd think the res mount will be superior.
Looking for reassurance on that though.
John

[stilldking]

Not sure if it was here or ADVRider, but someone suggested to make sure the Res mount didn't put excess strain on the Res since that's an expensive part to replace versus a handlebar mount (Especially if the bike tips over, there's a lot more leverage to break stuff).

That's something I agree with besides, I use handlebar mounts on both bikes. Makes change-out a lot easier.

JC

[taosports]

Good point JC! I certainly would not want that cover torn off. Spilled brake fluid is not a good thing.

John - What size camera are you planning to attach to the mount? I wouldn't use anything heavier than a point-n-shoot. This is my setup with the attachment point on my left handguard and a slight modification to the shutter button to make it more glove-friendly.

[Dr. Strangelove]

thanks for the input.

JC--are you talking about the possibility of the Res mount hitting the ground first (or somehow) and damaging the clutch res assmbly?
If that is the case it would seem that a lot of other damage would be happening also. I have a handlebar mount, but I have no realestate left on my bars, though.

And Michael--it is a panasonic point and shoot--DMC LZ8K--maybe a little smaller than your Canon. I looked at mounting the handlebar mount on the grip, but it looked like it would get in the way.

So, maybe I ought to reconsider the mirror mount, but the way my mirrors vibrate/buzz it seems a setup for fuzzy pics, unless I stop and turn the engine off, but that defeats the idea.

No free lunch I guess
John

[rdsmith3]

I have an unused reservoir mount (clutch side, I believe) that I would be willing to sell for a very reasonable price. I used it for my XM radio but now I have a Zumo.

[taosports]

So, maybe I ought to reconsider the mirror mount, but the way my mirrors vibrate/buzz it seems a setup for fuzzy pics, unless I stop and turn the engine off, but that defeats the idea.

John,

Just make sure you shoot at a fast shutter speed - 1/1,000 of a second - and you won't have to worry about any of that. My biggest concern would be not what the vibrations do to the picture quality but rather what it does to all the little screws holding your camera together.

[maduko]

I recently added the RAM mount on the clutch cylinder cover of my 1150R and love it. Thanks to GypsyRR for the recommendation!

I've mounted digital SLRs and camcorders on a 3" arm with no problem at all. Although the vibration is too great for any quality video unless your camera has very good anti-shake.

I don't really consider a permanent mount. If you wanted to pull it off once in a while it's quite easy. I would be a little nervous about swapping it around out in the field- but in the garage it might take 10 minutes. HTH.