Rallye navigation bracket photo thread

Looks like an awesome Mexican 1000 vintage entry!

Tourances?? :huh:huh

And the waterproofing on the spark plug cable is good ...

That's the kill switch. Short the lead out to the head.

Cannonball entry?

Circus bear bump

Sorry to pick on you, but you seemed to contradicted yourself a bit with the whole hog rally nav tower that you used for Dakar. Could you have done just as well with everything bolted to the H-bars? Maybe you realized that having everything off the bars was a better idea? Thanks for your time.

I had interpreted his statement to mean that in the beginning the experience of road book navigation is the more important thing and that one shouldn't put that off because they do not have the high-end navigation equipment. While we would all love to have the optimal equipment set-up it may not be financially feasible (or really necessary) in the beginning of the learning curve. With that said, I don't think that anyone would suggest entering a competitive rallye at an international level with a manual road book.

- Ken

Relax Ken, I'm asking because I'm at the point where I need to decide which way to go with a Nav setup. Money is an issue for me also, so spending it wisely is important. If Ned thinks it was a benefit to get the weight off the bars, then I'll really try to go that route. I don't have experience either way, so I need his advice. Do you have opinion? Which version do you prefer from a fatique point of view?

I think the key point here is that the navigation setup could be different for different events. At the Safari rally I needed a roadbook and an odometer and that was it. I don't think GPS was allowed but it wouldn't have done you much good. I used a reasonably simple handlebar mount setup and did not find the weight on the bars to be much of an issue. The terrain consisted of loose sand roads and hard packed 2 tracks for the most part. In an event like Dakar with all the crap you have to carry a frame setup would be ideal given you have all the extra equipment on the bike.

We've been using this rally-light set up for a couplr of years now. Billet plate bolts to H/bar top clamp



http://www.rally-raidproducts.co.uk...nduro-bar-risers-steering-damper-scott-ohlins

http://www.rally-raidproducts.co.uk...ye/Roadbook-Mounts/ktm-billet-roadbook -mount

That's a nice simple set up Beaney, love it!

Seth, so all the extra weight on your bars wasn't an issue then? Honestly Seth, I don't want two or three different set ups for rally. Like I said, I'm at a place where I have some options and I'm trying to make a good decision. I don't ever plan on doing the Dakar, it has zero interest to me. I would like to do a few other rally events, like the MX1000, Toureg, Albania etc etc etc.

I've been thinking that a hybrid nav set up would be nice, a cross between the ultra simple H-bars style and the steering stem option. So far Paul's design seems like the best compromise between performance and simplicity but I've only done Rallymoto, so I don't have a clue if my thoughts are correct or not. As is usually the case, it's personal preference.

I'm hoping Ned chimes in

Pauls setup is looking good. You are welcome to borrow my bar clamp setup and take it for a local test drive..use it if you want. I'll sell you my F2R roadbook holder for a deal too....its a gen 1 rb unit and I'd like to switch to the newer version...but the old one would work fine for mexico.

Beanie, Seth and Aaron, this is similar to what Seth and I were going to do last year before we kept the RMS mounts, I' like the looks of both, but the RMS mounts have the ability to be completely removed quickly and easily. The top clamp mounts will work with my guard setup, but it would be more of a pain to remove for single track and I'd like to see it farther away from the brake line or the lines run down the triple.

Aaron, we can look at something like that if you'd like, but the farther out from the steering stem, the more momentum you'll have and feel. It'll always be a compromise to some extent, but like you said, it's not Dakar, you can get away with a lot less.

Aaron,

If all you need is the roadbook and an ICO then I think the RMS sytem will work fine. I used it during a three day draining last year and had no problems, didn't really notice the weight on the bars at all. I also think this system is probably a little more crash worthy as it can rotate. For Dakar there is so much more needed to be mounted that a fix mount on the steering stem makes sense. I'd keep it as simple as possible.

Thanks Bill! I figured you guys had a lot more gear to haul on the Dakar, makes total sense.

for smaller rallyes (I know I will never do the Dakar) I use a similar set-up:

KTM navi tower (carefull they crack - I have added extra welds to mine)
2 IMO 10050R instruments (I used to run 1 Vector for speed & 1 IMO for distance)
carefull routing of cables

that's it. The setup is not as high as the dedicated Dakar towers, but
on the plus side I barely notice the weight on the handle bars.

similar setup up with one IMO on the XR on the left as well, old picture with the Vector:





The other tried & tested option is mounting onto the handle bars like so:

my setup....early fitment stage...I later machined an aluminum dogbone to replace the cross bar and I mounted the combo switch on the dogbone. Paul at HDB helped me out with the adaptors that bolt to his existing top clamp setup. The system proved to be simple, easy to work on and around, and I hardly noticed the weight effect on the bars.

The ICO, F2R, bracket, and bar clamps all came from Charlie at RMS.

I guess I didn't make myself clear. Sorry!

The point is doing whatever it takes to get out and try a roadbook, to give it a try, to have the experience. If that's two broom handles and a rubbermaid container and making a trip, or putting on something more sophisticated and staying home, I say take the trip every time.

The Dakar wasn't my first rodeo. I think getting the weight off the handlebars is preferable, I think the rallymotokit setup is awesome, but my point is that the equipment is secondary to the experience. It's not contradictory to have better equipment, but I feel like I often see people building stuff more, and using it less. I was offering the opinion that the reverse is more ideal- build less, ride more.

If you can do both, so much the better. Most of us can't, and I would argue the "whole hog" I took to Dakar was at least a ham or two (well, a horse or 15 more like) shy of some of the other equipment there... keeping true to the build less, ride more mantra.

Thanks Ned, as usual you have a good way of explaining things, unlike me
So far, I like the Rally Raid UK mount. Simple, very simple!