Motorcycle - Meridian Gold - Ram-Mount - Vibrations

[+Haughton's Hunters]

I've been caching for some time now, and often use my Meridian Gold on my motorcycle in a bicycle handlebar mount. This has worked great for several years except for one small thing.

 

On occasion, the GPS (plugged into a power port) says "Critical power loss, shutting down" or something similar. It then shuts down. Well, this is fine unless I'm wanting to keep the mileage I've traveled or keep my track. It doesn't seem to be happening at any specific RPM/Speed, it's almost like it's just random vibrations can turn it off. I've even had success (if you want to call it that) at smacking into my palm and having it turn off. Again, not always, but it will happen.

 

So the question is two fold. Has anyone else had this problem, and will the $100 (or whatever they charge) repair bill to send it to Magellan fix it? Secondly, has anyone been in the same situation, switched to the Ram-Mount system, and had the problem go away? According to Ram-Mount's site, because of the rubber balls that are used, the vibration is reduced significantly. But before I spend any more money than I have to, I'd like to hear from others. I'd hate to go one way just to find out it didn't do any good.

 

I have been told that the problem is the contacts from the battery terminal to the circuit board is to blame because the leads are not soldered on, but held there by tension. So I opened up my case and bent the contacts back so they are forced onto the board more. This has made no discernible difference.

 

I plan on taking the bike from Phoenix to GeoWoodstock VI in May and don't want to have to keep turning my GPS on every few miles.

 

And no, purchasing a new GPS isn't the solution as I don't have the cash for that at this time.

 

TIA for any help or insights you may have!

[+Team Crime Scene]

I haven't experienced the problems you have but I can tell you I really like the Ram mount. I transfer my garmin from truck to kayak to bike and clip it off to carry on my pack with ease. It has never come loose or wiggled free. The Ram mounts are not the cheapest thing on the market but they work great.

 

Good luck.

 

TCS

[+Haughton's Hunters]

I haven't experienced the problems you have but I can tell you I really like the Ram mount. I transfer my garmin from truck to kayak to bike and clip it off to carry on my pack with ease. It has never come loose or wiggled free. The Ram mounts are not the cheapest thing on the market but they work great.

 

Good luck.

 

TCS

Thanks TCS. Have you used anything other than the Ram system? I'm wondering just how much vibration is reduced (or not).

[+DavidMac]

I had already splurged and bought a RAM mount for the car, so it only cost me about $10 or so to buy the handlebar mount. The fact that the cradles are easily removable from the mounts (and therefore you only need one cradle per GPS model) can offset the cost of the RAM mount. On my bike, I haven't had enough vibration to be concerned about, except at very high speeds (that is, faster than what you should do on the highway ).

 

The only problem I've had is with bumpy roads. The mount for the Garmin 60 series requires the use of a small circular "nub" that screws into the back of the unit in order to secure it to the cradle. I don't use the nub since I like to carry the GPS in my pocket, and I find it annoying. Without attaching the nub, the GPS just sits in the cradle. It's not a problem in the car, where I keep the GPS almost vertical, but on the motorcycle (a sport bike with low handlebars), the GPS sits close to horizontal. Hit a big bump, and it can come loose with devastating results (the first time it happened, I barely caught it by the lanyard as it flew out of the mount). I solved the problem by attaching an elastic strap to the back of the mount, and looping it around the antenna to hold it down.

 

The Magellan mounts may be designed differently, so that you may not have the same problem, but I haven't used one.

[+Isonzo Karst]

So the question is two fold. Has anyone else had this problem, and will the $100 (or whatever they charge) repair bill to send it to Magellan fix it? Secondly, has anyone been in the same situation, switched to the Ram-Mount system, and had the problem go away? According to Ram-Mount's site, because of the rubber balls that are used, the vibration is reduced significantly.

 

I used a Merigold for a long time, and I used the RAM mount for it on a road bicycle, off road bicycle, in the car and on a kayak. Good mount. I'm still using it with a new cradle for my eXplorist.

 

Will it help with vibration enough to solve your problem? I doubt it. You need to tighten the arm down on that ball mount pretty firmly if you're traveling at speed, enough that it's a solid fix to the handle bars for all practical purposes.

 

IF they'll fix it, I doubt if they'd charge $100. I had repairs to two different Merigolds - I don't remember what I was charged, but it was fair, and quick, plus both units came back with extra goodies. Note, this was BEFORE Thales was sold.

 

However, they refer to that as an "obsolete unit" so they may not offering repairs at any price.

[+Haughton's Hunters]

IF they'll fix it, I doubt if they'd charge $100. I had repairs to two different Merigolds - I don't remember what I was charged, but it was fair, and quick, plus both units came back with extra goodies. Note, this was BEFORE Thales was sold.

 

However, they refer to that as an "obsolete unit" so they may not offering repairs at any price.

 

Thanks for the info. As for the fixing it, I have called and they told me it was a main board problem and the base charge was like $120 or something. I figure for that price I can get one off of ebay <SIGH>.

[+Rattlebars]

If you get a new one, get a COLOR. Much nicer than the Gold edition (I have both). I made a mount for mine to reduce vibrations (see). It is important to reduce vibrations to any unit that may have batteries. Batteries can "arc" at the contact points with vibration and heat up causing problems. My homemade mount solves that by being mounted with Velcro. It wobbles a bit, but that's OK. It also helps that it's mounted on a GL1800 Gold Wing.

 

[+Haughton's Hunters]

If you get a new one, get a COLOR. Much nicer than the Gold edition (I have both). I made a mount for mine to reduce vibrations (see). It is important to reduce vibrations to any unit that may have batteries. Batteries can "arc" at the contact points with vibration and heat up causing problems. My homemade mount solves that by being mounted with Velcro. It wobbles a bit, but that's OK. It also helps that it's mounted on a GL1800 Gold Wing.

Thanks Rattlebars. I'm running on an '07 Honda VTX 1300R. Just finished the Clayton Root mod, waiting for the clock to show up so I can put it in the speedometer housing. Highway bars are supposed to be here on Tuesday.

 

I don't have the ability to create a bracket for myself, so it looks as though the Ram system is probably the best bet. Of course, I'm looking at over $60 because I don't want just one, I am headed to GeoWoodstock on it as well and want to mount a camera for when I go through Yosimite and possibly other places.

 

Thanks much. I checked out your site as well, lots of good info there!