The ST1300 has unique multi-part handlebars. How do you folks attach things like phone holders and cup holders?

Chuckles

Joined
Apr 20, 2021
Messages
59
Age
60
Location
Grant-Valkaria, FL
Most of the accessories I can find expect to have about 1/2" of round handlebar to attach to. Well my ST1300PA doesn't have 1mm of space it seems like.

It seems to me that if there was some accessory that could bridge this gap, it would be an idea place to attach such accessories. Thanks for any input. HandlebarArea.png
 
These.

Mounts to clutch or brake lever perch.
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This is a Helibar riser with RAM mount option. I believe a 1" ball could be mounted to the stock one with by drilling a hole and using a nut and washers. The OEM cover is plastic and may not be as sturdy.
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Another option:

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Okay, that makes sense.
I'm looking at those Helibars to get some more height on my handlebars for comfort. So those balls are universal mounts then. I'll explore that more deeply.
 
@ST1100Y Do you have another ball on the underside of the dash covering too for your GPS mount? That's a lot of RAM balls. :)
 
Ram Mount
Chuckles said:
Okay, that makes sense.
I'm looking at those Helibars to get some more height on my handlebars for comfort. So those balls are universal mounts then. I'll explore that more deeply.
Click to expand...
Ram makes something for every type of motorcycle application. The balls seen in earlier posts are 1" and mix and match with Ram components.

www.rammount.com

Motorcycle Mounts & Components

RAM® Mounts is the industry leader in rugged motorcycle and car phone mounts, rugged tablet mounts for trucks, forklift mounts, and more. Find the perfect device mount for your car, truck, motorcycle, plane, forklift, snowmobile & many more.
www.rammount.com www.rammount.com

www.rammount.com

Motorcycle Ball Bases

RAM® Mounts is the industry leader in rugged motorcycle and car phone mounts, rugged tablet mounts for trucks, forklift mounts, and more. Find the perfect device mount for your car, truck, motorcycle, plane, forklift, snowmobile & many more.
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My 1300 had an aftermarket RAM ball mount that was similar to @ST1100Y's picture in post #3. Mine was nothing more than a 1/4" (or 3/16") thick by 1" wide aluminum bar about 8" long. It was bent to the arc of the top of the dash and mounted on top of the dash under the windshield using the existing holes there. Longer screws were used to mount that. Tapped into three holes were 3 RAM balls. The company that made this is long since gone, but this mount is easily made and some guys here have made one.

Some company made a cover for the clutch or brake master cylinder reservoir that had a RAM ball tapped into the middle of it. I would not mount anything heavy to that, but it should be easy to do yourself. I think that company is gone too.

STRider said:
@ST1100YThat's a lot of RAM balls. :)
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Every bike needs at least two.
 
SMSW said:
My 1300 had an aftermarket RAM ball mount that was similar to @ST1100Y's picture in post #3. Mine was nothing more than a 1/4" (or 3/16") thick by 1" wide aluminum bar about 8" long. It was bent to the arc of the top of the dash and mounted on top of the dash under the windshield using the existing holes there. Longer screws were used to mount that. Tapped into three holes were 3 RAM balls. The company that made this is long since gone, but this mount is easily made and some guys here have made one.
Click to expand...
Like this? RBIS - RAM Ball Installation System. The authentic ones are well built, like the one I bought from another site member a few months ago. Those two outer screws can be replaced with long allen bolts that allow a RAM ball to be attached in that position.

My only complaint is that the threads on the RAM balls are 1/4"-20 so those button head screws and the hex at the base of the ball are the only non-metric items on my bike. Gnaws at my psyche.

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STRider said:
Like this? RBIS - RAM Ball Installation System. The authentic ones are well built, like the one I bought from another site member a few months ago. Those two outer screws can be replaced with long allen bolts that allow a RAM ball to be attached in that position.

My only complaint is that the threads on the RAM balls are 1/4"-20 so those button head screws and the hex at the base of the ball are the only non-metric items on my bike. Gnaws at my psyche.

1621889701840.png
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Mine was very similar, but did not look so professional, and it had 3 RAM balls mounted, exclusive of the screw holes.

For years I've used SAE 1/4-20 bolts to hold the license plate on, usually because I have them on hand. I figure the metric and SAE screws better get along with each other, sort of like people. In recent years I've started to use the Allen head metric screws I bought when I restored two Guzzies - only because they will get thrown out when I die.

Your dash display is very bright. Nice! Did you opt for the dash light upgrade by sending your dash to bluegages.com?
 
SMSW said:
Your dash display is very bright. Nice! Did you opt for the dash light upgrade by sending your dash to bluegages.com?
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Yes. Got that done during the short winter downtime. Great turnaround from both Scoot at BlueGauges as well as the USPS. I sent it directly into the teeth of the big winter storm that hit Buffalo in January and they were back to me in Oregon in just over a week.

I went with white LEDs without the LCD reversal. I might try that on my own sometime later. It's just a change in the arrangement of some polarized film that can be had cheaply on Amazon.

Big improvement in readability except when I wear my polarized sunglasses with a dark visor.
 
ST1100Y said:
Such would seriously mess up my night-vision... subject for another thread though...
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So I'm not familiar with the product mentioned, but I just rented a Victory 8 Ball that had a BRIGHT BLUE LED PANEL and I found it completely unreadable at night! It was very bright and there was no brightness adjustment. Great motorcycle, but I consider that a design flaw.
 
Chuckles said:
This also looks interesting and looks like it will fit the bolts in the existing fairing. Is this a 3D Printed item, or is it for sale? I have a 3D Printer, maybe it's time to make some functional prints instead of cartoon characters for my daughter.
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That's a product sold by Bike-Quip out of the UK, Dashmount ST1300 Machined from billet. However, if you're skilled with CAD I'm sure you could make something identical to this with a 3D printer. Suggestion - use a RAM ball with a nut and bolt that passes through such a unit rather than threading into the 3D part itself. Like this RAM-B-367U, this RAP-395T-BBU or this RAP-B-114-5BU

Chuckles said:
So I'm not familiar with the product mentioned, but I just rented a Victory 8 Ball that had a BRIGHT BLUE LED PANEL and I found it completely unreadable at night! It was very bright and there was no brightness adjustment. Great motorcycle, but I consider that a design flaw.
Click to expand...
BlueGauges.com is a small business run by Scott Woodruff out of Amhearst, NY replacing OEM LED backlighting with brighter versions. He offers the option to change colors and even in the case of the ST1300 info panel, reverse the polarity of the display, turning white numbers on a black background into black numbers on a white background. Now that would be too bright even for me!

Well, that photo doesn't do justice to the backlighting upgrade. It exaggerates the overall brightness of the LCD display area. For me it isn't excessively bright, and there is a brightness control on the dash. I did the upgrade because, even on the brightest setting the stock red/orange backlighting was unreadable at night. I found myself craning my neck and moving my head around just to read the clock and tripmeter. Now a quick glance is all I need.

The gear position indicator is the brightest thing on the dash and being red, it's not that bad even at night. It's a quite functional, cheap knock-off of the Heal-Tech product, but it lacks the former's ambient light sensor. However, it was less than a third the price too ($49 vs. $159).
 
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