Mounting a go pro to Stella 4t

gilbee · Post by **gilbee** » Fri Oct 11, 2013 10:54 pm

I want to start video taping my rides for safety purposes (similar to that of a dash cam) and I think people look a bit strange mounting a box to the top there heads. So I plan on mounting the go pro to the Stella somewhere.
I have a few concerns though.
How the vibration of the bike will effect video quality.
And where/how do I attach it without adhering a piece of plastic to my bike (which may be a pain in the ass to remove without damaging the finish of the bike).
As far as mounting, I was considering using the curved mount (with the 3M sticky) and attaching it to a removable/replaceable component like the horn cover or the headset just in front of the speedo.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Stormswift · Post by **Stormswift** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 12:14 am

One other consideration for you: When a cam is mounted on the dashboard it is stationary while a cam mounted on a helmet records whatever you are looking at, when you turn your head. If there is a problem say to your right and cam is facing forward on the dashboard you may be looking at whatever it is but the cam is not.

RoadRambler · Post by **RoadRambler** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 3:24 pm

There are a couple of recent threads in the Gallery forum from Scoot Lemont and others about some lowtech non-gopro mounts, but they've got some vids and that may give you some ideas.

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 4:57 pm

I would agree that, aesthetics aside, if you are trying to accurately capture what you are experiencing on your ride, be it for posterity or safety, the helmet is the best place to mount it. Second to that would be the GoPro chest mount.

However, if you want to attach it to the Stella without potential permanent damage, your idea of the curved mount attached to an easily replaceable part is a good one. There is also a strap mount that is made for bicycle helmets that have vents - the straps are made to go through the vent holes - maybe there's a way to use that. And, as often suggested here, you could go with a RAM Mount. As for vibration - there are some example videos at that RAM link of GoPros attached directly to vehicles.

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 5:10 pm

The suction cup mount to the glove box or leg shield should work. I have never had the suction cup mount fail but I do use a small bungee to tether.

I have a low def go pro that I picked up at Costco for $100. It's not the best quality but I have gotten way more than $100 worth of fun with group rides and rallies.

BeefSupreme · Post by **BeefSupreme** » Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:07 pm

This is what I use for my Contour Roam, I'm not sure if the go pro has a standard threaded tripod mount, or if you can buy an accessory mount for it that does, but these are rock solid and produce some great video if mounted to an area of the scoot that has minimal vibration. I've had the best luck mounting to an area of exposed frame, being as the stella is all steel you should be able to mount to the cowls, leg shield or anyplace else and get minimal "wobble".

http://www.amazon.com/UltraClamp-Assemb ... B00CDIGDGC

I've got a few videos on youtube, any shot NOT obviously on a helmet cam is filmed using this clamp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAhPRZNLCtg

This next video starts with the clamp on the plastic of the cowls on my bike, you can see the vibration of the engine creates a funky effect in the start of the video, after mounting to the rear rack in the above video there's no such vibration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDBTCIHgf8I

I've got a whole lot of more footage from this summer i've yet to get on to youtube... maybe i'll get to it soon.

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 6:10 am

BuddyRaton wrote:The suction cup mount to the glove box or leg shield should work. I have never had the suction cup mount fail but I do use a small bungee to tether.

I have a low def go pro that I picked up at Costco for $100. It's not the best quality but I have gotten way more than $100 worth of fun with group rides and rallies.

The suction cup can fail. I had (someone else's) Go Pro tumble off my Stella several times when he tried to use it for a ride. It stuck just fine to his Buddy.

The Stella was a bit dirty, maybe.

Is the anti-vibration on the Go Pro good enough to overcome the Stella's shakiness, even? When I use my iPhone (on a RAM mount), even stills have some distortion due to vibration when they don't on my other scoots.

ScootLemont · Post by **ScootLemont** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 9:48 pm

Yeah.... this is probably not what you are looking for

You can see the shaky results here topic26023.html

BeefSupreme · Post by **BeefSupreme** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 9:54 pm

ScootLemont wrote:Yeah.... this is probably not what you are looking for

You can see the shaky results here topic26023.html

I love the simplicity, but rather than the flexy tripod, I think a standard camera tripod thread is a 1/4" machine threaded bolt, you could run one through that board and have an even steadier picture for about 15¢.

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Oct 15, 2013 3:14 am

I looked into or tried all kinds of ways to reduce camera vibration on my LX. Foam padding, rubber padding, mounting different places. I even considered various shock mounts.

Nothing works as well as mounting the camera to yourself somehow. I wore mine in a pouch on a strap of my bail out bag.

Second to that, really good image stabilization / vibration reduction.

gilbee · Post by **gilbee** » Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:16 am

BeefSupreme wrote:This is what I use for my Contour Roam, I'm not sure if the go pro has a standard threaded tripod mount, or if you can buy an accessory mount for it that does, but these are rock solid and produce some great video if mounted to an area of the scoot that has minimal vibration. I've had the best luck mounting to an area of exposed frame, being as the stella is all steel you should be able to mount to the cowls, leg shield or anyplace else and get minimal "wobble".

I was highly considering the contour. Mainly because the waterproof feature. I figure I would have to worry about housings for the gopro to keep it on my bike on a regular basis. Are you pretty satisfied with that camera?

Also, thank you guys so much for such great feedback. You've answered most of my questions about the topic. You guys are fantastic.
I'd like to try both out (mounting on body and bike). I figure I clould get that clamp mount and attach it on the side of my helmet or something. And try out leg shield view as well.
Any other thoughts or recommendations on cameras to use?

BeefSupreme · Post by **BeefSupreme** » Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:23 pm

gilbee wrote: I was highly considering the contour. Mainly because the waterproof feature. I figure I would have to worry about housings for the gopro to keep it on my bike on a regular basis. Are you pretty satisfied with that camera?

Also, thank you guys so much for such great feedback. You've answered most of my questions about the topic. You guys are fantastic.
I'd like to try both out (mounting on body and bike). I figure I clould get that clamp mount and attach it on the side of my helmet or something. And try out leg shield view as well.
Any other thoughts or recommendations on cameras to use?

I've been nothing but happy with the Contour Roam, huge note though, they recently went out of business. Some places, Bestbuy for example, are selling off their remaining cameras at over 1/2 off and accessories and mounts for next to nothing. I just picked up $100 worth of mounts for $20. It's a good time to buy but be warned, unless someone swoops in and takes over the currently out of business Countour Cameras, accessories will be hard to find.

As a helmet camera, the Contour beats the GP hands down, it's dead easy to use with gloves on and streamlined. Contour has low profile helmet mounts that work like a charm. I think the biggest plus about the Contour is the ability to rotate the lens, so if you have it mounted sideways or upside down, you can rotate the barrel to get a level image, it even has a built in laser level.

BUT... Garmin just came out with a best of both worlds (contour roam and Go Pro combined) action cam which will probably be what I replace/add to my line up with. It has all the pros of both. Like a contour it's water proof, has a BIG on/off switch that's easy to use with gloves and is streamlined. Like a Go Pro it has the ability to change settings on the go. Only thing it's lacking is the rotating lens like the Roam. And the 299 price point ain't bad.

SockyTX · Post by **SockyTX** » Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:24 pm

I simply use my iPhone, monopod and the mcam from http://www.actionlifemedia.com a The mcam is a means of expanding the functionality of your iPhone 's native camera and it's sturdy as all get out.
I have been working to devise an alternate means of mounting. I have an idea that I 'll wait to reveal once complete. You can see different angles captured using this setup on my rides at
www.youtube.com/sockytx

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:04 am

SockyTX wrote:I simply use my iPhone, monopod and the mcam from http://www.actionlifemedia.com a The mcam is a means of expanding the functionality of your iPhone 's native camera and it's sturdy as all get out.
I have been working to devise an alternate means of mounting. I have an idea that I 'll wait to reveal once complete. You can see different angles captured using this setup on my rides at
www.youtube.com/sockytx

I've thought of this, but the problem I have is limited storage. The MCam looks like a great product, though!

There are some dock connector storage expansion devices… hmm…

Anyways, the MCam would probably work well with a Ram X-Mount or tripod mount.

amudzen · Post by **amudzen** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 9:15 pm

I have not had any experience with a GP but do own Both a ContourRoam Waterproof and ContourRoam 2 and highly recommend them both. Have not experemented mounting on a scoot though but have had it mounted on a helmet and videos turn out just fine. As previously suggested would shop around at Bestbuy and they have been selling at a discount on Amazon although I see the prices have climbed up since then.