Fitting a Garmin nuvi 2797 to a Motorcycle

I've been running Garmin GPS's on my motorcycles since 2001. The best one I ever had was the Garmin 2610. It had lots of configurable features. They've gone downhill since then. I completely understand a business catering more to the larger market but it is frustrating.

There has been a lot of discussion in my community about Garmin's nüvi® 2797LMT. Considering the size and features, Garmin's $270 is a bargain and street prices are $40 less. When you compare this to Garmin's Zumo line for motorcycles, with prices from $600 to $900, taking the chance of putting this on a motorcycle is highly tempting.

Based on Greg Rice's article on his experiences with I purchased one used from a friend. [Greg's write up of the unit's features and screenshots is excellent which I'll not reproduce] The unit I purchased came with the Ram mounting so I was quite pleased with my $185 price, I mounted it up and have been playing with it without having it wired to my audio system.

Since I'm tooling up for the 2015 Iron Butt Rally™ I needed to get the audio connected to my bike. With that done, I am mightily impressed with my short test run. I never thought having voice actuation would be an important feature but, based on my initial testing, it looks like it's going to be a winner. Of course, a giant display is nothing to scoff at.

Here you can see it mounted on the left side of my dash shelf.

Note the sunshade. I had a shade like this on my K1200LT with the Touratech locking mount and really missed having it. Not so much for the shade, but for having a place to stick my pens. I LOVE velcro.

Here is how I implemented the audio changes.

I followed Greg's procedure with only one problem with removing the back of the unit. After you remove the screws (one of these kits from Harbor Freight is essential for working on miniature electronics), the back didn't come off. Turns out there are little tabs around the periphery that need to be disengaged. This requires prying the edges up, always a concerning task since the the tabs break easily. Some type of spudger tool is preferable to a screwdriver or knife which can mar the case.

I'm posting my pictures, not because Greg's are deficient in any manner but because my job was a little cleaner. In all fairness I was trained as an aerospace electronics assembly technician in a previous life.

This is the before I messed it up shot.

Rather than cut the speaker wires I removed the rubber coating and unsoldered the wires.

The microphone wires needed to be cut. Ends are tinned ready for splice. Mic pigtail is taped down to inside of case. I drilled two holes for the audio wire and put rubber grommets in place.

Splices have been made, shrink wrapped, and taped to the case. Zip ties are to prevent wires from being easily pulled out.

I almost forgot to label which wire was which. [FWIW one of these printers is really nice to  have around.]

Some RTV sealant to resist water intrusion.

Taped over non-essential openings (speaker grill and SD card slot) to minimize the risk of water intrusion.