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Showing posts from August, 2020

How To: DIY nav bar for 2009 V-Strom 650

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I was noticing on my most recent motorcycle adventure that if I wanted to check the map (or my speed - my wee-Strom’s analog speedometer is notoriously off in the high MPH range) on my smartphone-GPS app I had to look all the way down to my handlebars, taking my eyes dangerously off the road. I needed a way to mount the thing where I could see it with just a subtle shift of focusing distance. I needed to turn it into a heads-up display.  Fiddling around with ideas led me to realize that with my windscreen mounted part-way up (the proper position) there is an extra pair of bolt holes just waiting to be used. Here’s how: 1. Visit your local hardware store and get a 6” length of 1/2” inner diameter PVC pipe, two 10x40mm hex-head bolts, and two mating rubber-washer locking nuts.  2. Drill two 3/8” holes perpendicularly through the PVC pipe on 4.75” centers (oddly enough this fit an American measuring unit better than a metric one, despite it being a Japanese bike). Wiggle the drill inside