I just traded my older 25,000 mile GS for a new Triumph Explorer 1200. Still breaking it in but love it so far! I had my Garmin mounted on the GS using a RAM mount and instead of spending money on the triumph GPS mount I decided to re-install the Garmin wiring and RAM mount. Since there are a lot of new explorer owners I figured I would share how to and what I ran into while installing. First, take off the side panels. (I took both sides off to wax the whole tank but you can get away with only one side) The two hex screws on the Triumph emblem come off first, leaving the one allen bolt in the middle. There is another bolt under the panel on the rear of the panel, four more on the front-inside and two more on top. One is alone the inside edge and the other is next to the power port. after removing the top bolt in the above picture you can remove the inside trim panel. There will be another bolt right behind it holding the side panel on... you can see it below... after this you should be able to slide off the panel. Be careful when taking it off, there is a spacer that goes in the first bolt hole (between the hex bolts) that will fall out. it's pictured below and should be pushed in through the back when re-installing... heres the explorer without the side panel... You can now remove the back plastic panel that runs down to the edge of the seat. Once you unscrew the bolt in back you can pull the front edge out to dislodge the small tab, then slide the panel straight towards the back of the bike to unsnap the panel. You can see in the pic the black rubber hole where the tab goes in and the silver bolt on the tank where it slides onto. There is another spacer at the back of this piece, make sure you don't drop it in the bike. Heres the mount and wiring spread out on the floor and a closeup. more to come in a few minutes...
Now, remove the four bolts for the windshield to expose the round-bar windshield mount. This is where the RAM mount will clamp on. The RAM clamp can only be mounted one way on the bar (ring on front side) because the windshield sits so close to the bar. I also had to shorten the bolt ends on the u-bolt. They were long enough to hit the gauge housing when the windshield is lowered all the way. After shortening the bolts it still touched a little so I found a small piece of rubber in the toolbox to fit over the end to keep it from scratching the gauge housing. You can see it mounted in this picture. I sliced a piece of rubber tube to keep it from scratching. You can also see where I mounted the XM antenna. You can use stick on velcro or double sided tape to attach it to the crossbrace here. below is the windshield in the lower position. You can see how close the bolts will come. It's hard to see here but there is an open space inside the center of the brace behind the headlight. You can put your extra wire in this space to keep it tidy looking. I then loosened the trim piece on the stem and slid the wire behind it to keep it looking clean. You can go under the tank and along the frame from here to the battery. ooooooooo.... mail man came with some goodies to distract me from my work. I controlled myself and only tore into one box. ok back to work...
ok... you can run the wires along the frame using zip ties in one or two spots. Then run the wires down between the frame rails and under the seat front in front of the battery. I have, for now, straight-wired the GPS until I get a fuse block put in. Just make sure there's a fuse in-line on the power wire to the unit if you do this. (My GPS was hard-wired on my GS for 15,000 miles with no problems) Make sure you test the unit before putting everything back together... works! now put everything back together in reverse and here it is!!
Great presentation but looks like a lot of work. I took the lazy man route using the same RAM mount and a 18" Powerlet cable plugged into the OEM socket.
I used the Triumph accessory mount for my Zumo. It was overpriced but is a tidy install. How does your antenna work in that position ? Any problems with reception ? I have not figured out where to mount my antenna yet. Just got the bike this week and wired up my Zumo yesterday,
The antenna works great there. I don't use it for xm radio but it picks up the weather and traffic updates perfect. I would assume the xm radio would have to be the same. On my old GS I had the same antenna mounted to the top of the brake fluid reservoir. I was always a little worried about someone lifting it.
I know this is an older thread but I'm looking at fitting a Garmin to my explorer. The photos are no longer attached to the thread. Is there any chance you still have the pics? Fingers crossed as it will help me out no end.
Old thread, pics long gone... FWIW, I have a Zumo 450 and a short RAM ball mount. I just attach the RAM mount to the windshield support (without a second ball mount) and plug it in to the aux Powerlet port. Works great, puts the GPS right in front above the tach where you can see it and stays in place. No disassembly required, and easy removal. Had to make a cable for the Zumo mount to the Powerlet port, but you can buy them already made for most units as well.
Going to be a lot more missing pix all over the internet since Photobucket has screwed over everyone who used it.
