Modern Vespa

I got a GoPro 3+ Black Edition for my birthday and am looking for advice on using it with my Vespa. I have the chest strap and that seems to work pretty well. However, I was thinking about the suction cup mount but I worry it might come off. Has anyone tried this? Does anyone have suggestion on how they use it? I am interested in both shooting forward and back at me to see how ridiculous I look.

BTW, here is the first video I made using it!

I wouldn't trust the suction cups unless you leash it to something. Throw a mount on your helmet. I have a Contour so i can turn it 360 on one mount. Don't know if you can do that with the newer GoPros. You can put a forward and backward facing on on the helmet. Also attach one to the side of the grab bars. Have fun. I was amazed at how many laws i broke when i looked at my first vid.

I like the leash idea regardless. I can get some climbing rope and carbiners to ensure if it does fall, it's attached. I just thought it would be cool to mount it to the windscreen but mounting it to the mirror might work too! Good ideas Judy!

A good friend of mine works for GoPro and he advised me to use the iPhone app to get an idea of the mounting location. Did you download it yet? Its really sweet.

I have the Android app and yes, it is damn cool. It connects via Wi-Fi direct and you can see what the camera sees in real time. Amazing. That's another good suggestion. Thanks.

Don't trust the suction cup - safety wire/tether if you do.

Be careful not to use one of those higher powered USB chargers... you will BBQ the charger plug/port. 'Good news' is there is a fusible link between the the camera guts and the plug/port, so the camera won't be toast.

The faster time lapse modes really do require high quality fast memory cards. They will appear to work for awhile... and half way through your ride stop the first time the card can't keep up.

That's all I got.

I've got a GP3 and using the WiFi connection kills the battery. My battery barely lasted 30 minutes using that connection with the Android app. I don't know if they've got new firmware out for it, but I ended up getting the LCD bacpac and now get over 2 hours of use.

Nice video Paddlen'.

Personally I like the chest mount view. I love the view, it's like being in the saddle with the rider.

If you use a suction cup mount, I will echo what others said, make sure you have a safety wire attached to your camera.

Have fun and post up some more vids when you get a chance.

I will post additional Vespa vids someday in the future. It's snowing here and I expect it will be a little bit before I get to ride again. I even hooked up the tender last night. However, if you are interested in ski vids...that's whole other thing!

Another great tip is to apply scotch tape to the open back of the case. This way you get almost all the sound without the air/wind noise.

Lots of tips on youtube

I have watched a couple tip and tutorial videos. However, I was looking for scooter specific advice.

I've use the suction cup on the front of the leg shield. No leash. WOT. All day long until the battery dies. Never fallen off. Still tight when I go to release it. Per the GoPro site it's "proven at speeds 150+ mph". Going on 3 plus years of use, no problems.

The only issue is vibrations. When idling the video does shake. Not so much when the scooter is moving.

I've taken to using the photo every x number of seconds feature when I mount the camera there. Makes for a cool effect when you string the photos together.

I hope this helps.

My experience is that the mirror stem and windscreen will be vibration-o-rama. I don't think you will be happy with the results.

Helmet mount will give you a nice steady picture like the chest mount, but the POV with all the looking at your mirrors, speedo, traffic, over the shoulder checks, gets a little to hectic for me. For good results you have to spend a lot of time editing that footage.

I've seen videos pointing the camera backwards. I like. One of my favs was where the camera was mounted low down by the floor board somehow, so that the POV had the edge of the front tire and the road ahead. I don't know how it was mounted but the perspective/result was amazing.

Experiment away. I look forward to seeing your results.

Oh you will be surprised. I have mounted the suction cup to a car and an airplane going well over 120mph, and never had a problem.

I putted around this year with my Sonycam. Sony's version of the Gopro this year with the suction cup stuck to my windscreen on my scooter, and the sunroof on my fiat. I did the North Ogden divide to Wolfcreek in the rain and it stayed stuck. I did have a leash though tied off just in case. I feel pretty safe with the arrangement.

Great advice. I appreciate it. I am looking into the suction mount as I think the photo from the airplane pretty much sold me on it. I also will likely put a tether for peace of mind (mostly because I want to make certain I don't make a mistake).

just got a hero 3plus black addition and used bth mounted to handlebars and helmet top. shakes to much on handlebars. the helmet top is great because I can move it around and much steadier on top of helmet

Do you notice any added noise (inside your helmet, that is) when you mount a GoPro on your helmet?

I used the stick on mount right on the leg-shield.

I also got a GoPro Hero 3+ Black, along with a helmet mount and grab bag of mounts.

Went skiing with five newbies a few days ago, and gave lessons. After a few hours, they were catching on nicely, and I wanted to give them a video of their new achievement. I filmed them while holding my iPhone and skiing backwards. The video turned out well, but I wish I had the GoPro then!

Thanks for posting that video -- now I'm homesick for Ogden again. That was my go-to route when I didn't have much time available but wanted to get in a few minutes of fun riding. I was just up the hill there in Riverdale/Roy.

Ram Mount.

Cool video. Well done.
I like that mount, because of the vantage point, but a bit higher might be better, as the occasional traffic view from the mirrors could add some interest.

The suction cup is great, I've used it on the roof of a rented minivan, the legshield of a borrowed Kimco Frost, the cowl on my LX150, all with no issues, but always with a tether, just in case.

+1 for the suction cup mount on the front of the leg shield (horn cover). I like that there is none of the turning back and forth you get from mounting it on your helmet...
I mounted the remote control on my left handle bar with a velcro strap so that it's easily accessible.
Be sure to try out the different angle widths...on my first few tries I had it set too wide, and although you get a big POV, much of what's in front of you seems very far away...

Have fun!!

I have found that the suction cup mounts work great. I have used them on my Granturismo a lot. All of the smooth, flatish surfaces offer several good mounting points. I usually mount mine on the middle of the front leg shield facing forward. Mounting on the side cowls can provide a nice view change, facing forward or back. These locations have very little vibration too.

I usually use a tether but have never had one come loose. Just make sure to secure the suction cup securely to a smooth, clean surface.

Nice to hear about how well the suction cups on the horn cover works.
Will try that.
Now to get some riding weather...

+1 re the suction cups. I stick mine to the glove box and face the camera rear-wards. The intent was to zoom past a 'Rally Ride' and capture everyone on the ride. (Battery died before I set off last fall at Richmond). However, the suction thingie held fast.

I tried a GoPro mount on the top case - way too much vibration. It was better on the starboard cowl.

Chest mount is good for a forward-facing perspective. I also use a RAM mount on the mirror stem - very little vibration.

I have not tried the helmet mounts yet. I am concerned that the constant head-turning will be too unsettling to the viewer's stomach.

The x frames per second speeded up effect works well. I have to do more testing to find the best setting for highways, etc.

I did try the slo-mo setting but I could not get it to work.


Oh, and I use PowerDirector 12 as an editor. A great program. Not cheap, mind you.

+1 with the WiFi vs battery life. However, it is well worth it for setting the time and date. One tap on the smart phone and it is done vs a 24 step process on the camera.

Do set the time and date as GoPro creates file names that always start over at 001. This can get confusing.