A camera can be attached to a motorcycle helmet in many ways. No matter which way you prefer the actual attaching part is not hard. You have to place the mount with adhesive and attach the extension arm with the camera and you are done.
What Is the Best Place And How to Attach the Camera on the Helmet?
You can attach your camera on either left or right side of the helmet. You can also attach it to the chin of the helmet considering it is not a modular helmet. Some people even use it on the top of the helmet. But it is only usable for a biking or skiing helmet since they do not have a visor that goes on top.
Whether you attach the camera on the side of the helmet or the chin, it completely depends on you and what you want. Here I will give you why should you go with a side or chin mount, how to mount the camera on the side or chin.
Additionally, what problems can they cause and how to solve them. That way, you can decide for yourself which mount to go for.
Side Mount
Side mount can be left or right. No matter which side you mount your camera it’s going to be the same. It is going to have a POV from the side. So the POV will not accurately match your POV.
This option is very popular among bikers. Some don’t mind or want the side POV and others want the front as close to the bikers POV as possible. The side mounting does have a few problems. But by being careful while mounting, it can be easily avoided.
Problems & Solutions
Mounting the camera on one side shifts the weight balance of the helmet. This can often cause neck ache if used for too long. Other than that, if the extension arm is too long, the camera is going to vibrate a lot because of the wind and shaking of the bike. This can cause the footage to be too shaky and unwatchable.
If the arm is too long the wind can even knock the camera off the helmet. That is especially if you are picking up some speed with your bike.
This can be offset by keeping the camera as close to the helmet as possible. Only use extensions to make sure the camera doesn’t touch the helmet. It’s not like you have to use all the extension arms because they come with the package.
Another thing is side mounts need to be placed properly or else it will have a part of the helmet visible in its POV. This can hinder the look of your footage. So make sure to get some reference footage and pictures before finalizing where to put the camera.
Doing a Motorcycle Helmet Side Mount
First of all, you have to have mounting accessories. For a GoPro, there are official mounting accessories that are available. Or else you can buy unofficial accessories from Amazon. We are mentioning GoPro as helmets with GoPro mounts are very popular among bikers.
Get the Accessories
Any mounting accessories will have an adhesive with a mounting pad a few extension arms and some long screws to hold these arms in place. First, add all the arms and the camera together with the screws.
Screw Everything Together
While attaching the extension arms, if you want to mount the GoPro on the right, screw from the left so that the screw doesn’t hinder the placement by touching the helmet. If you are placing it on the left then do the opposite.
Figure out the Angle
Now, without peeling out the plastic from the adhesive, place the GoPro on the helmet and figure out the angle so that the POV doesn’t get block by the helmet. After you are done figuring out the angle, use some rubbing alcohol to clean the area.
Mount the Camera
Now peel off the plastic and reveal the adhesive. Carefully place it on the area where you have previously placed it to figure out the angle. The adhesive is very strong so after placing you can’t peel it off from the helmet to fix the placing. So be careful while doing it.
Now you have your GoPro mounted on the helmet. At this point, if the arm is too long you can adjust it as you wish. If you need to take off an arm you can just unscrew it and take it off.
Chin Mount
Chin mount is the other popular method, especially for motorcycle riders since the helmet’s visor goes on top of the helmet as a result it cannot be mount on top. Chin mount is the best for capturing a rider’s POV. So if you want to capture your POV as close as possible chin mount is definitely the way for you.
The good thing about a chin mount is it doesn’t add any extra weight on one side. So even after extended use, it not highly unlikely you will get any neck ache from it.
Also, chin mounts usually are a lot closer to the helmet, so it is naturally less shaky. And since it is in the front you don’t have to worry about wind turbulence with the camera.
Problems & Solutions
Chin mounting is a bit harder to pull off than side mount. Many helmets have different types of ergonomic shapes making them a bit challenging to get the adhesive mount on the helmet. Nonetheless, there is always a way to mount the camera on the chin.
Modular helmets cannot use chin mounts. The whole front part of a modular helmet goes up when opening. So if you place the camera on the chin when it goes up it can harm the camera.
Unfortunately, for modular helmets, the side mount is the only option. There isn’t any way to add a chin mount. As for normal full-face helmets, different types of chin mounting accessories can be used to mount the camera on different shaped helmets.
Doing a Motorcycle Helmet Chin Mount
As I’ve said before, because of various shapes, every helmet may need a slightly different approach when doing a chin mount. Here I’ll be discussing the general way to attach a chin mount and talk about a couple of different accessories. That way you can choose which one would be best for your setup and helmet.
Different Types of Adhesive Mount
There are mainly two types of adhesively attached mounting plates that you can find commonly. The first one is the flat adhesive plate and the second one is the curved adhesive. Now there can be different types among the curved ones like some are more curved than others.
If your helmet has a plat surface on the front then a flat adhesive mount will be the best. But it doesn’t have any flat surface, then depending on the helmet, you need to get a curved one that is suited for your helmet.
Different Accessories Aside from Adhesive Mount
I’ll mainly talk about two types of extension arms. One is the J arm. This one works kind of like the side mount. The actual adhesive mount is placed on a side of the helmet. Then this J arm is used to bring the camera to the front for a rider POV. This can be used if you cannot attach the adhesive to the front of your helmet.
The other one is the short extension arm. If the adhesive mount is attached to the front of the helmet then you just need to make sure there is enough room between the camera and helmet. So you can use only a short extension arm then add the camera on top of it.
Attaching the Camera
Whether you are using a side adhesive with a J mount or a front adhesive with a short arm, the attachment works the same way as before. For a chin mount, you usually don’t need to be too precise with the angle. As long as the camera is in the middle it will get some good footage.
So you can attach the adhesive mount first and then screw the rest of the part as necessary. Or you can just screw everything together and then place the adhesive on the helmet. Either way works for this.
FAQ
Q: Is the Adhesive enough to hold the GoPro?
Ans: Yes, they are strong enough to hold it.
Q: Where should I mount my helmet camera?
Ans: You can either mount it on the chin or the side of your helmet.
Conclusion
Whether you are mounting it on the side of the chin, when placing the adhesive, you can heat it after peeling the sticker off. A little heat will make it stickier than before and it will attach even better after placing it on the helmet and drying it. So if you are worried about stickiness you can use this method to increase it.
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