We recently received two INNOVV C5 cameras to test on our fleet off tour and rental Motorcycles in Australia.
Our first impressions of the C5 units when we opened the boxes were that they are very solid and compact units. There is a camera, a recorder unit and a wiring harness along with mounting hardware and even a micro SD/ USB card reader supplied in the kit.
We have now installed the camera systems on two BMW motorcycles, an R1200 GS that is used as a ride leader bike on our Compass Expeditions Motorcycle Tours and my own BMW F800GS which is used as a daily commuter as well as for desert touring and as a bit of fun off roading in the Australian Bush.
Our company mechanic installed the camera system on the R1200 GS in around half an hour and has done a very neat job of it.
With my limited mechanical ability it took me a little longer (about 45 minutes) and perhaps the result was a little less neat.
We thought that we would write this report to assist others to installing their own INNOVV C5 camera systems.
Laying out the wiring loom was the first step, with the red wire to the positive terminal of the battery and the black wire to the negative terminal that part was easy enough. There is a third, yellow, wire that needs to be tapped into a circuit that is live only when the motorcycles ignition is switched on.
On BMW motorcycles the from “Park” light is always on when the bike is on so that was our choice of circuit but you could also use the tail light or any other switched power source. The INNOVV website has comprehensive installation instructions.
To connect to the switched circuit we simply scraped away a small section of the insulation from the wire and soldered the yellow wire to it then sealed the connection with electrical tape.
Once everything was connected and in place cable ties were used to secure everything in place.
Next was to find an appropriate place to mount the Camera to the bike.
For the R1200GS it was an easy task as there was a camera-mounting bracket included in the kit. The bike is fitted with crash bars that had a perfectly located hole to secure the mounting bracket to witch placed the camera pretty much where we wanted it.
For the F800GS, because we were fitting a C5 unit that was meant to be fitted to a car rather than a bike we were not supplied with a mounting bracket in the kit (it also had a 3m lead between the Lens unit and the recorder unit, the excess cable was rolled up and secured out of the way with a cable tie) so a section of foam was cut from the packaging and the lens was secured with heavy duty cable ties to the headlight cover bracket on my motorcycle. This may not be the most elegant solution, but it certainly has proved to be secure and durable.
Once that was done it is simply a case of securing the rest of the cables and finding a safe place to stash the recorder unit. Under the seat of each of the motorcycles proved the perfect, easy accessible spot.
We have had these bikes out on tour across Australia, in the desert the Bush and in traffic to test the units and will have examples for you soon.
Stay Tuned
For further details about INNOVV and their range of products please visit the website