The Triumph Bonneville motorcycle was first made in 1959. Triumph is now making its third generation of the Bonneville. Today we review some smartphone, GPS and camera mount options for a Triumph Bonneville motorcycle.
I recently ran into a few Triumph Bonneville owners at a local motorcycle rally in New Jersey. A photo of one of the bikes accompanies this article. The easiest place to mount anything is going to be the handlebar.
The most popular device to mount on a motorcycle is a smartphone with a lot of new interest for action cameras such as a GoPro. GPS units are still very popular. I used to see a lot of satellite radios but it’s declining probably due to the fact that smartphones have taken the place for entertainment purposes.
I receive a few questions each year regarding the potential use of a suction cup on a motorcycle which I do not recommend as the vibrations can easily compromise the effectiveness of the hold of a suction cup. We’re going to concentrate on handlebar mounts for the Triumph Bonneville.
The standard handlebar diameter is one inch although some custom handlebars can make it 1.25 inches. The handlebar mounts that are discussed fit up to 1.25 inch diameter.
For a GPS or smartphone, consider the Techmount TechGripper Handlebar Mount Kit. The mount is made of metal, coated in black and the cradle opens to 4 inches. It fits handlebar diameters from 7/8 to 1.25 inches so it will fit a Triumph Bonneville. The mount takes up .75 inches of handlebar real estate and the phone sits somewhat close to the handlebar. Installation of the mount is completed with a small hex wrench which is provided. This is a nice feature that helps prevent theft of the mount since most thieves aren’t walking around with a set of hex wrenches. Installation is easy and you should be able to do this yourself.
The Techmount entry features a 17mm ball and the cradle has a 17mm socket. Coincidentally, most Garmin vehicular GPS models have a cradle that has a 17mm socket. Remove the Techgripper cradle and you have a GPS mount to fit the cradle from a Garmin GPS.
There are a lot of camera mounts available for a handlebar but they aren’t all well suited for motorcycle use. Select a well made mount. A camera has the unique requirement to minimize vibration. Some higher end cameras have technology embedded into the software to minimize this affect. Many do not. Buying a plastic mount with a tripod screw embedded is likely to yield a very shaky video. Get a mount that has vibration dampening technology.
We recommend the RAM Handlebar Rail Mount for Cameras. This mount has been around for a long time. I think it’s one of the best out there for this purpose. The mount features vibration dampening technology to help get a steady video. It fits up to 1.25 inch diameter and has a small support platform built into the adapter head. The mount pivots and swivels. You will likely need to mount a camera fairly high up on the handlebar to get an unobstructed view. Like almost all RAM components, these have a lifetime warranty.
Lastly, we always recommend that your smartphone have a good case to prevent any residual damage from small stones popping up off the roadway. It’s a small investment to protect your expensive phone. We also recommend that you tether your device whenever possible for added safety. We also like to recommend using a tether on your device for added safety.