Sport Touring In Northern California, ST1300 Camera Mount

HERE'S SOMETHING THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO THOSE THAT LIKE TO MAKE VIDEOS. I HAVE A
LOT OF FUN WITH FILMING MY RIDES AND SHARING THEM ON THE INTERNET. SINCE I MADE SO
MANY VIDEOS WITH MY BEAUTIFUL ST1100, IT ONLY GOES TO FOLLOW THAT I HAD TO FIGURE OUT A
WAY TO MOUNT MY CAMERA ON THE NEW STEED.

I'M USING A SONY MINI DV DCR-TVR18 I PURCHASED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.

MY EDITING SOFTWARE IS SONY VEGAS 5.

I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BAD-MOUTH THAT CRAP PINNACLE CALLS
VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE. AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE.

THIS IS THE RON SMITH DASH SHELF. HE
HAS DONE A FANTASTIC JOB DESIGNING
AND BUILDING THIS SHELF. IT TAKES
SOME TWEAKING TO GET EVERYTHING
LINED UP CORRECTLY, BUT ONCE YOU
GET IT SITUATED, IT'S A GREAT PIECE OF
WORK.

I FOUND SOME RUBBER BUMPERS OF TWO
DIFFERENT SIZES TO USE AS A BUFFER
BETWEEN THE DASH SHELF AND THE
CAMERA. I USED TWO SMALLER BUMPERS
IN THE REAR TO ANGLE THE CAMERA
UPWARDS AND GET A CLEAR VIEW OF THE
ROAD.

THEN I MADE A BRACE TO STOP THE
BOUNCE DUE TO THE WEIGHT OF THE
CAMERA. I USED 1/4" BAR STOCK FOR
THE VERTICAL BRACE, 1/2" ALUMINUM
TUBE FOR THE HORIZONTAL BRACE. I
DRILLED A HOLE SO THE SQUARE STOCK
WOULD SET IN THE ALUMINUM TUBE.
FOR LACK OF A BETTER METHOD, I TAPED
IT TOGETHER WITH ELECTRICAL TAPE. I
ALSO USED SOME 3/4" X 1/2" ANGLE
STOCK FOR THE LITTLE ANGLE BRACKETS.

AFTER I HAD EVERYTHING SO IT FIT, I
USED THE DREADED POP-RIVET GUN TO
ATTACH THE ANGLE TO THE VERTICAL
BRACE, ATTACHED VELCRO TO THE
UNDERSIDE OF THE LOWER DASH SHELF
ANGLE AND THE TOP OF THE BRACE
ANGLE TO KEEP THINGS FROM SLIDING
DUE TO ROAD VIBRATION.

THEN I USED SOME HEAT SHRINK TUBING
TO COVER IT AND SOME 1/2' RUBBER
CHAIR LEG CAPS ON THE ENDS OF THE
ALUMINUM TUBE.

I USED AN APPLIANCE KNOB AND SOME
ALL-THREAD TO MAKE A SCREW THAT
WOULD GO THROUGH THE DASH SHELF AND
INTO THE BOTTOM OF THE CAMERA WHERE
IT WOULD NORMALLY MOUNT TO A
TRIPOD. HERE'S A PICTURE OF THE SCREW
AND THE BOTTOM OF THE CAMERA.