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

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 the holes to widen them just slightly until the 10mm bolts will just barely slip into the holes. 


3. Take the windscreen off of your V-Strom so you can access the back side of the windscreen mount. 

4. Slip the two hex-head bolts through the two highest windscreen mount bolt holes and then through the holes you just drilled in your PVC pipe


5. My hex-head bolts required a 17mm wrench to stabilize them while I used a 17mm socket to drive the bolts on from the other side. However it works out for you, ratchet the lock nuts on until the PVC pipe just starts to deform from being perfectly round


6. Put your windscreen back on your bike. Clamp a handlebar-mount for your smartphone or GPS unit, such as the claw-equipped RAM Mounts X-Grip...

…onto the PVC pipe and…voila: heads-up display for your V-Strom:


Let me know if you found this useful or even improved upon it in some way!

Happy trails!


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