Madstad support bracing

coastie

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So, I know a few of us have had trouble with the Madstad and how much it vibrates, especially in my case with the Garmin mounted on it. I was just horrible and only on the smoothest roads with no wind would it sit still. Another forum member gave me the idea, but I changed it up a bit. This does involve drilling into plastic, so it might make some of you cringe, I know I did while I was drilling it, but it works fantastic. And big THANKS to Combo for the supplies and helping me out.
 

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coastie

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iridemotorbikes said:
Looks simple and easy...
Haha yea nothing exciting, just wanted to post something that might be helpful to somebody in the future. Not sure how it will work longterm. Hopefully it does not crack the plastic. We will find out.
 

William42

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Nice job.

I might have to try this. I too worry about the plastic cracking.
 

coastie

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Re: Re: Madstad support bracing

William42 said:
Nice job.

I might have to try this. I too worry about the plastic cracking.
Used aluminum stock for the bracing.

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immigrant

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i was wondering what the bracket will do when a gps is mounted to it. it vibrates quite a bit with my tall givi shield. my montana is on its way - looks like i will have to settle for the handlebar mount.
 

coastie

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Re: Re: Madstad support bracing

immigrant said:
i was wondering what the bracket will do when a gps is mounted to it. it vibrates quite a bit with my tall givi shield. my montana is on its way - looks like i will have to settle for the handlebar mount.
Yea, I can't stand crap on my handlebars. I was thinking about doing that.

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immigrant

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Me too, I hate clutter in my cockpit. I did not realize the montana is that big, and big = heavy. I hope the unit arrives so i have time to do some mods before leaving on my trip, and then i still have to figure out how to transfer my routes from google to the gps
 

howier

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By the pics it looks like you used the holes for the cross bar and moved the cross bar up the the adjustment slots. Any reason for this. Was looking at mine and was thinking to use the bolts for the cross bar. They might need to be longer. Do you know of a problem with this idea.
 

howier

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By the pics it looks like you used the holes for the cross bar and moved the cross bar up the the adjustment slots. Any reason for this. Was looking at mine and was thinking to use the bolts for the cross bar. They might need to be longer. Do you know of a problem with this idea.
 

coastie

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howier said:
By the pics it looks like you used the holes for the cross bar and moved the cross bar up the the adjustment slots. Any reason for this. Was looking at mine and was thinking to use the bolts for the cross bar. They might need to be longer. Do you know of a problem with this idea.
I had to mount the crossbar up high because when I originally mounted the montana on the crossbar with the touratech mount it covered the display. It does not sit high enough. It is working good so far, I dont have to adjust my windscreen so that is not a concern for me.
 

coastie

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immigrant said:
Me too, I hate clutter in my cockpit. I did not realize the montana is that big, and big = heavy. I hope the unit arrives so i have time to do some mods before leaving on my trip, and then i still have to figure out how to transfer my routes from google to the gps
Yea let me know if you figure it out, its not easy, well at least for me. Base camp is absolute trash, and route planning is a huge pain in the ass.
 

RsZk

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This could not have come at a better time. I just finished hard-wiring and mounting the Garmin Montana on a RAM mounting system with rugged mount unit.
I noticed that the GPS and Madstad bracket system would vibrate quite a bit. I am using the stock shield as well. I tried smooth pavement and gravel and found that if I mounted the Montana in vertical position and closer to the shield it would vibrate less, but then you would have to reach farther to adjust the GPS. I will look into fashioning a similar brace, or try mounting on my handlebar.
 

immigrant

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Made these at work today. There are two holes at the bottom of the bracket holding the instrument cluster where i put the bolts through with spacers. The photo is a bit warped, so it makes the spacer looks out of whack but it will give you guys a good idea. It is pretty stable now. I cant move the screen now but it is set up perfect for me that way in any case.




Also added this grommet at the bottom of the givi shield to stabilize it even more




Will mount the montana and let you know how it works out
 

immigrant

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I mounted the Montana to the Madstad, but there is no way that will last. The whole headpiece of the S10 is shaking. One good pothole or rut at moderate speed and i am sure either the madstad or the headpiece will break. Maybe Tabasco can machine a proper bracket somehow. And when mounted on the Madstad you have to reach pretty far to press buttons etc, so i just mounted it the old tried and tested way

 

MojoToot

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I always mount my gps just inboard of left mirror.
*It is within sight, easier to glance at than the mirror.
*It is much easier to reach with left hand, creates less off-balance than reaching to center.
*I don't like distractions when I'm concentrated on the road in front of me.
 

CowboyJim

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coastie said:
So, I know a few of us have had trouble with the Madstad and how much it vibrates, especially in my case with the Garmin mounted on it. I was just horrible and only on the smoothest roads with no wind would it sit still. Another forum member gave me the idea, but I changed it up a bit. This does involve drilling into plastic, so it might make some of you cringe, I know I did while I was drilling it, but it works fantastic. And big THANKS to Combo for the supplies and helping me out.
As a new Tenere owner with a Madstad bracket, I too suffer from the vibration issue. The engineer in me can't let this one go. I want to mount my radar detector on the cross member. No big deal I thought, but when I did, it flopped around so much that I couldn't stand it. After studying the problem I see two issues with simply moving your handlebar RAM mounted accessories to the cross bar. 1) the Madstad bracket mounts in the stock well nuts which are designed to dampen vibrations from the windscreen. Then, the bracket includes another set of well nuts that mount the windscreen. Given this, we have now have two sets of dampening devices where there was once one hence the vibration. I plan to try to replace the stock well nuts with rigid bolts/nuts so that the mounted accessories are no longer "dampened" by the stock well nuts. However, I don't think this will solve all the vibration issues because the second problem is this 2) the RAM accessories can create a moment arm (i.e. a torque force) on the cross member that will amplify vibrations. If you hang your accessory too far away from the center of mass of the bar, you will add additional forces (and vibration) to the bracket. The best solution here is to mount your device close to the center of mass of the bar as possible or add a stabilizer bar as others have done.

The additional support bars I have read about might ultimately be required and I expect it will. For what it is worth, I rode a buddies 12GS with a large Garmin GPS mounted on that stout frame BMW provides for mounting accessories. His GPS vibrated too even with the engineered frame! I think we are destined to suffer a bit of vibration. For those worried about breaking the plastic when support members are used, maybe it would help if we add a bit of dampening with rubber grommets. Just though. I hope these thoughts help someone else think through the problem like others have helped me think about it. I will report back if I solve my problem.
 

Bappo

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I've already broken off one and cracked the other plastic windshield support thingies. Go go Gorilla Glue!!!! So far the glue and some zip ties are holding everything solid but there is no way I'm adding any more weight up there. A Parabellum windshield on a Madstad bracket is enough.

GPS on handlebar for me.
 
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