Mounting a Zumo up high

[GeoffCee]

When I took delivery of my RT I wanted to fix my trusty Zumo 550 up where I could glance at it without losing contact with what was happening ahead on the road. Finding a neat way of doing that has taken some time but at last it's done.

The double-skinned moulding above the instruments is plenty strong enough to support the weight of the Zumo, its cradle and a RAM-Ball mount and the air space between the skins is deep enough to allow the wiring for the Zumo to be run along inside there without danger of it being crushed. All that was needed was to cut a hole for the wiring to pass through into the air space.

That done, another hole was needed in the top skin for a RAM ball. The neatest option was RAM-B-260, a 1" ball on a threaded pillar which I could bolt from underneath. It was supplied from RAM Mount UK with a 10-24 thread but I didn't think this was substantial enough so I drilled it out and tapped it to take a M6 bolt. I thought it sensible to spread the weight of the Zumo with an oversized washer both under and over the plastic.

As well as providing turn-by-turn road directions the Zumo can Bluetooth to a phone and it can play mp3 music files, all of which is handled admirably by an Autocom Pro Automatic which I have found a place for under the RT's seat. It was necessary to lift the seat a wee bit for added clearance and for this I used felt washers, the kind used to stop wooden furniture legs making a din on hard floors. I had to adjust the seat locking mechanism to take care of the slight increase in height. I also took the back peg out of the over-battery tray which also added a little more headroom for the Autocom unit. It sits on a Velcro patch to keep it in position.

See also my post "Mounting a Zumo Up High - Job Done!" on this Forum for addtional photo coverage of the installation.

[NancysToy]

Nice work!

[BMF_RACING]

I like the mount location and setup. Good work and thank you for taking the time to take the pictures.

[jgwoods]

Thanks! I'm about to do a similar install and I appreciate the pix to lead the way.

[chris56]

really cool job ... hope you have no copyright s..

[MMcc]

I think you did a nice job. I tried to find a good mounting location for my Nuvi. Ended up removing the left speaker grill. Fastening the bracket to the metal brace and drilling 2 - 1/4" holes in the grill for the ram mount bolts. I did not like my wires exposed so I will follow your lead and notch the visor and run the wires there. Thanks for the excellent pictures and ideas.

[CyncySpyder]

After seeing your post a while back, I decided to do similar with Teddy's Zumo 665 & it worked out GREAT
I used a Ram-Mount to attach it to the top dash & wired it thru a whole I drilled in the lip of the 2 dash pieces & its seemless
Just came back from a 2000 mile road-trip to SITA & it worked flawlessly & proved invaluable
So again, Thanks for sharing this with all of us

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[GeoffCee]

I used a Ram-Mount to attach it to the top dash
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Your sat-nav looks so RIGHT sitting up there on top. Well done.

[BMW]

After seeing your post a while back, I decided to do similar with Teddy's Zumo 665 & it worked out GREAT
I used a Ram-Mount to attach it to the top dash & wired it thru a whole I drilled in the lip of the 2 dash pieces & its seemless
Just came back from a 2000 mile road-trip to SITA & it worked flawlessly & proved invaluable
So again, Thanks for sharing this with all of us

075.jpg16769.jpg16811.jpg16813.jpg16806.jpg

I have a zumo 660 I would like to mount as you and Goeffcee did. My ? is where did you hook the wires to, or did you install some kind of fuse block. btw nice job on both.

[ARtraveler]

Great information. Thanks for posting & pictures.

[GeoffCee]

I have a zumo 660 I would like to mount as you and Goeffcee did. My ? is where did you hook the wires to, or did you install some kind of fuse block. btw nice job on both.

I used a relay so that my Zumo 550 would only take power from the battery while the engine was running. The switched supply I used to trigger the relay I found under the left-hand passenger hand grip. It's a green/grey wire going to the heated grip control. I made a connection to this wire using a Positap and ran it to the relay's connector #86.

I then ran an earth to the relay's connector #87 to complete the trigger circuit.

The supply for the satnav came directly off the battery post, through a 3 amp in-line fuse, to connector #30 on the relay.

Finally I provided an earth to complete the satnav power circuit by running a wire from connector #87 to the common earthing point at the rear of the petrol tank.

I should mention that the power wire for the Zumo is long enough to run all the way back to the battery, so that's how come I wired up the relay in that area of the Spyder.

[2Gunns]

OK....time for the DUH? question of the week. How to you get underneath the double layered dash to drill and mount the RAM?

[CyncySpyder]

all you have to do, is remove the 2 screws from the TOP of the dash. this will give you enough room to pry the 2 black plastic dash pieces apart, enough to get to where you need to work. i didnt take the brackets off to save time. doing so would give you full access to take them completely apart. but for mounting the ram-mount, you dont require that much room. hope this makes sense and helps, if not, just pm me and i'll give you my cell number and i can talk u through it. its not difficult at all, good luck ....... Dave
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[Cavman]

OK, once you get the cable up under the dash part, where does the cable get routed to power?

[CyncySpyder]

OK, once you get the cable up under the dash part, where does the cable get routed to power?

There are different ways of going about this. I unplugged both my analogue fuel & temp. gauges & they both show up on the LCD screen & seem to be much more stable/accurate. I then plugged the power for the Garmin into the power supply for the disconnected fuel gauge in the instrument cluster. I could have used either, it doesn't matter which one you use really. Thats one way or you could run it back & hook it up to your battery directly, but I wanted a switched power source & using the power for the disconnected gauge works well for us & we haven't had an issue in almost a year now. Good Luck . . . . Dave & Teddy~

[IndySpyder]

When I took delivery of my RT I wanted to fix my trusty Zumo 550 up where I could glance at it without losing contact with what was happening ahead on the road. Finding a neat way of doing that has taken some time but at last it's done.

The double-skinned moulding above the instruments is plenty strong enough to support the weight of the Zumo, its cradle and a RAM-Ball mount and the air space between the skins is deep enough to allow the wiring for the Zumo to be run along inside there without danger of it being crushed. All that was needed was to cut a hole for the wiring to pass through into the air space.

That done, another hole was needed in the top skin for a RAM ball. The neatest option was RAM-B-260, a 1" ball on a threaded pillar which I could bolt from underneath. It was supplied from RAM Mount UK with a 10-24 thread but I didn't think this was substantial enough so I drilled it out and tapped it to take a M6 bolt. I thought it sensible to spread the weight of the Zumo with an oversized washer both under and over the plastic.

As well as providing turn-by-turn road directions the Zumo can Bluetooth to a phone and it can play mp3 music files, all of which is handled admirably by an Autocom Pro Automatic which I have found a place for under the RT's seat. It was necessary to lift the seat a wee bit for added clearance and for this I used felt washers, the kind used to stop wooden furniture legs making a din on hard floors. I had to adjust the seat locking mechanism to take care of the slight increase in height. I also took the back peg out of the over-battery tray which also added a little more headroom for the Autocom unit. It sits on a Velcro patch to keep it in position.

See also my post "Mounting a Zumo Up High - Job Done!" on this Forum for addtional photo coverage of the installation.

Great Article

[Flight Risk]

I am considering purchasing a Zumo 660 and really would like it mounted high center like you guys have done; however, I am mechanically deficient and would have to ask my dealership to do this. I have a 2011 Spyder RT-S SE5. I am wondering if they would do it as they normally use the BRP mount that goes at the apex of the handle bars.

Any suggestions on what I should say to them regarding how this mount can be done? What is the full name of the mount you are using and lastly........is this something that would/could void the warranty.

Any help will be appreciated greatly!!!


"I would never ride anything I built"

[SpyderGirl]

Looks good. I also have mine up there, of course I have a RS. :-)

[CyncySpyder]

I am considering purchasing a Zumo 660 and really would like it mounted high center like you guys have done; however, I am mechanically deficient and would have to ask my dealership to do this. I have a 2011 Spyder RT-S SE5. I am wondering if they would do it as they normally use the BRP mount that goes at the apex of the handle bars.
Any suggestions on what I should say to them regarding how this mount can be done? What is the full name of the mount you are using and lastly........is this something that would/could void the warranty.
Any help will be appreciated greatly!!! "I would never ride anything I built"

I'm no tech guy, but my friend & I did ours with the help of this Thread from the original poster. So if you took all the needed supplies (GPS unit, Ram Mount, 6'audio extension cable) along with this thread, I'd think your dealer would be able to take care of the install for you, at a cost of course. Heck, call them & ask, if so, feel free to PM me & I'll have Teddy look up all the products we used so you can order whats needed. Its not really that difficult, & besides the cost of the GPS, prohably less than $50 for the other accessories. Good luck, & ours is still work'n great, over 24,000 miles of smiles

[Flight Risk]

I'm no tech guy, but my friend & I did ours with the help of this Thread from the original poster. So if you took all the needed supplies (GPS unit, Ram Mount, 6'audio extension cable) along with this thread, I'd think your dealer would be able to take care of the install for you, at a cost of course. Heck, call them & ask, if so, feel free to PM me & I'll have Teddy look up all the products we used so you can order whats needed. Its not really that difficult, & besides the cost of the GPS, prohably less than $50 for the other accessories. Good luck, & ours is still work'n great, over 24,000 miles of smiles

Is there a particular Ram Mount that you used? I am going with the 660 as I don't need the XM stuff.
Really appreciate your posts with pictures! Well done!!!

[CyncySpyder]

Is there a particular Ram Mount that you used? I am going with the 660 as I don't need the XM stuff.
Really appreciate your posts with pictures! Well done!!!

Let me know if I can help in any other way. dav n ted~

[kinggeek]

Is there a particular Ram Mount that you used? I am going with the 660 as I don't need the XM stuff.
Really appreciate your posts with pictures! Well done!!!

2 - https://www.gpscity.com/ramb347
1 - http://www.gpscity.com/ram-mount-med...am-b-201u.html

You will need screws and nuts to attach it all but these are the Ram parts you need. I also used a 1/4" thick black foam rubber material under the mount on the dash. I makes the flat Ram mount fit more snuggly to the curved dash.

[GeoffCee]

I am wondering if they would do it as they normally use the BRP mount that goes at the apex of the handle bars.

Yes they do and yes it does. I guess it's a natural thing for a dealer to go with the manufacturer's products and preferences, especially as for him there is a chunk of profit in it. But step back and take a look at a problem and you'll sometimes find a better, cheaper way around it of your own. That's what I did. Inevitably, there is a tendency for some Spyder owners to believe that "BRP knows best" but I'm not one of 'em.

Smatter of fact it's true that BRP has CAUSED many of the problems we owners complain about, if not the majority of 'em. As this Forum demonstrates, almost on a daily basis, there is an amazing amount of ingenuity among contributors to SpyderLovers.com who are keen to discover and share their solutions to many of the issues that affect all of us Spyder riders. I think it would be a pity to waste that talent.

Any suggestions on what I should say to them regarding how this mount can be done? What is the full name of the mount you are using and lastly........is this something that would/could void the warranty.

As the author of the original "Mounting a Zumo up High" contribution to the "How to: Step-by-Step" board I suggest you print off my article and wave it under the nose of your Can-Am dealer. Good luck. What you say to him is up to you but I'd start by complementing him on his good looks. I'd also dress down and plead poverty, even though you already know it will do no good. Demeaning yourself is character-building. But why you would go to him at all is a mystery when my instructions are clear and detailed enough to allow anyone able to use a few basic tools to complete the job. (I even included the ref # of the RAM-ball I used).

If you are worried about invalidating your warranty I cannot advise you. Clearly, your warranty is essentially an agreement between BRP and yourself. Obviously, I don't know your financial circumstances but I'm willing to bet they can afford better lawyers.

[midiehl]

I have made this Mod to my RTS and added a Ram-348U antenna mount and completly stopped the satilite blockage.

[SpydherLuv]

Has anyone ever used a Ram suction cup mount, like this? http://www.gpscity.com/ram-mount-gar...cup-mount.html There is only one review on it at GPS City and it's not very favorable. I was thinking of mounting my Nuvi to the left side of the windshield using this suction cup mount, but if it's a POS I'll mount per the OP's instructions.