Do not mount Iphones on Motorcycles!

[maximNikenGT]

This warning just got posted  on September 10, 2021 from Apple. Apparently they've identified a root cause issue where if you mount a late generation Iphone on your motorcycle the vibrations can cause issues with image stabilization hardware and software thereby causing problems with your camera. 

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212803

Switchglide12 was right to keep his phone on his person vs mounted on the bike.  

[maximNikenGT]

Looks like Quad Lock's vibration dampeners will see a huge uptick in sales in that they're one of the few makers that have a specifically engineered solution. 

https://www.quadlockcase.com/collections/shop-moto/products/vibration-dampener?variant=32819777372235

 

[Garybinnyc]

Saw that article from Apple.. I normally upgrade very year so I'm not as concerned but if I was going to keep my phone for a while I'd def look for something like what you've pointed out.

[angrygirafe]

Another added benefit to my iphone SE. Can’t break a feature you don’t have 😂

[2and3cylinders]

No issues (knock on plastic) so far with my Samsung S21 5G 6.1" in a RAM X-Mount clone mount connected via an arm to a RAM ball thru bolted to the left rear handlebar riser cap.  I've run the Samsung 5 & 7 Active phones too for 10s of thousands of miles with no ill effects Unfortunately they discontinued their Active series for now, great MILSPEC phone with none of the slow and funky issues the older Kyocera had.  Too bad AT&T doesn't offer the DuraForce Ultra 5G, Kyocera’s first 5G Rugged Smartphone

 

[rd4me]

I've killed two phones/cameras this way. Both Iphone XRs using ram mount.

It doesn't take long to do this either - maybe 2,000kms of riding before the camera is toast. 

 

[OZVFR]

I've also found the RAM X mount to be crap.

I've been using the Quadlock with the anti vibration mount for a couple of years with no problem.

Fast, secure and easy to use in all weather with the raincoat, good bit of kit.

[Buggy Nate]

3 hours ago, angrygirafe said:

Another added benefit to my iphone SE. Can’t break a feature you don’t have 😂

They are the best hey! I finally updated my old se to the newer se2. The old one literally bent both ways without cracking and I straightened it back out. Keyboard/touch screen flaking out was the only reason for an upgrade!

[maximNikenGT]

3 hours ago, rd4me said:

I've killed two phones/cameras this way. Both Iphone XRs using ram mount.

It doesn't take long to do this either - maybe 2,000kms of riding before the camera is toast. 

 

I've got the XR on a induction charger RAM mount and noticed the problem with my camera intermittently after only a few times on the bike. So far it appears to have self corrected but I've avoided placing the iPhone in the RAM wireless mount until they engineer a vibration dampener of some kind. 

[CRFan250]

15 hours ago, angrygirafe said:

Another added benefit to my iphone SE. Can’t break a feature you don’t have 😂

I have the SE too and I have no camera issues at all, lol

[tedski]

A similar thing used to happen to my Google Pixel 2.  Went through about 3 warranty replacements before I realized the phone mounted in an x-grip was rattling the camera module loose.  You'd go to open the camera app and the phone would crash and reboot.  

[MightBeSasquatch]

I use the quadlock dampner and haven't had any issues with with an 8 plus. 

[bwringer]

Over on ADVrider.com there are reports of iPhone cameras dying even with a Quadlock damper. It seems to help, but it's probably not a solution.

I use cheap water-resistant Motorola Android phones for handlebar GPS (why anyone would want to put an exquisitely delicate piece of $1,000 electronic jewelry on your handlebars, I cannot fathom, but that's a separate topic), and I've killed the cameras on two this way.

So, two things:

1) The RAM X-Grip is a fiddly, low-rent, phone-dropping POS. What you want on a motorcycle is RAM''s Quick-Grip or Quick-Grip XL (same thing only bigger for bigger phones). Absolutely bombproof grip on the phone, fast, and impossible to get wrong. Your phone is either in or it's not; no fiddling, no chance of pressing buttons, etc. I suppose it isn't as cool-looking as the X-Grip.

2) I added rubber "sandwich mounts" from McMaster-Carr to the Quick-Grip XL mounts on all my bikes. So far, so good; my phone camera still works after about ten months of hard use on a vintage Suzuki, a KLR650, and my FJ-09. YMMV, obviously.

Like so (complete with bugs and filth):

The hardware on RAM stuff uses 8-32 threads. The mounts you want are the higher capacity neoprene mounts:

https://www.mcmaster.com/sandwich-mounts/general-purpose-vibration-damping-sandwich-mounts-with-studs-6/thread-size~8-32/

Whether this would keep an iPhone alive, I dunno. FWIW, when I killed the cameras on my cheapies, the rest of the phone worked perfectly well. But you'd hear a physical buzzing noise when you opened the camera app; I think the focus mechanism was stuck.

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by bwringer

[knyte]

36 minutes ago, bwringer said:

why anyone would want to put an exquisitely delicate piece of $1,000 electronic jewelry on your handlebars

I've been supporting smartphones since the early Blackberry days...actually, a bit further back, if you count Kyocera.

You are spot on with that.  Smartphones, by and large, are overpriced and fragile.  They're not suitable for this application, in the context of motorcycling.  Some will disagree, and that's OK, it's whatever works for you.  I know I'm the minority, but I jumped off the endless (and expensive!) phone upgrade cycle a few years back.  Like anything, it did take a bit to get used to being without it.  Now I can't imagine ever going back to relentless alerts and updates.  Just call me, for crying out loud   ...my KaiOS flip phone makes calling easy (and is untrack-able), and my Garmin makes directions easy.

[maximNikenGT]

Found this Hondo anti vibration mount on sind adventure touring boards. 

https://hondogarage.com/products/buzz-kill-vibration-isolator