RAM Mount for my phone and underseat storage

The parts

So, this week a little package from http://www.rammount.com/ came in the post.
It contained some goods I ordered when I ordered the bike. I knew they were going to be late because one of the products on the list wasn't yet in stock.
As I use my Samsung Galaxy S II as a GPS on the bike, I wanted to be able to see it while riding.
My order looked like this:

RAM-HOL-AQ7-2CU RAM AQUA BOX PRO 20 WITH CRADLE $33.33
RAM-B-342U RAM CYCLE STEM BASE WITH 1" DIAMETER BALL $16.59
RAM-B-180U RAM 9MM MOTO ANGLE MOUNT WITH DIAMETER BASE $29.13
RAP-B-224-2U RAM 3" DIAMETER SUCTION CUP W 1" PLAS BALL $11.11

So that's about $ 90 without shipping.
I'll break it up:
RAM-HOL-AQ7-2CU RAM AQUA BOX PRO 20 WITH CRADLE
This is their new "aqua box". The "20" is the larger one, the smaller one only fits very small phones (like some Nokia's, some Blackberries, iPhones, ...). This one fits anything up to the Galaxy S III (which is a bit of a push but it fits without forcing! This means that it's a "lot" bigger than needed for the SGS2, so it could easily fit one that's in a case. It comes with a clip that is attachable to the rest of their product range.

RAM-B-342U RAM CYCLE STEM BASE WITH 1" DIAMETER BALL
This is the part that goes in the stem of the VFR. Little remark on this one: it doesn't really fit the VFR out of the box. But I wasn't going to the regular installation so for me it fitted perfectly.

RAM-B-180U RAM 9MM MOTO ANGLE MOUNT WITH DIAMETER BASE
This is actually a combined item. You can combine some things in one item on their site, and it could save you a couple of $.
1) The most important part of this is the "arm", it's a very very solid piece of metal. I was quite pleasantly surprised as I expected it to be plastic. I could have ordered a shorter arm but this one's actually pretty good.
2) Also important: the ballmount diamond base. This allows to attach various RAM products, such as the Aqua Box.
3) Just a bit extra, because it was just a couple of quid and wanted to keep my options open with the RAM mount, was a ballmount with an "eye", just to mount it on top of a screw for example. Could be useful if I want to install the mount somewhere else.

RAP-B-224-2U RAM 3" DIAMETER SUCTION CUP W 1" PLAS BALL
Again to keep my options open with the RAM mount, a suction cup.

All in all I'm very happy so far with the service, prices (though delivery was steep at over 30% of my order :/) and products. For what it's worth I think they are well worth the money and I wouldn't hesitate to buy again.

Mounting

So, as for the mounting on the stem.
Most remove the plastic "stem cover", I wanted to keep it because I thought it looked better. So I just took the plastic cover and drilled a hole in it. The plastic cover has a couple of plastic flaps that secure it to the inside of the stem, much like the ram mount would do. So what my construction does, instead of trying to "press" itself directly to the stem, it presses those flaps to the stem. As I mentioned before, this also solves the issue that the stem mount is too small for the VFR. The securing was a bit of a hassle, but it's only a one-time deal. The trick is to get it as tight as possible, jam it in the stem (some force may be required ;)) and then try and get it tighter still.
Mine is absolutely secure and would need an allen/hex key to be removed.

VFR1200 RAM Stem Mount

VFR1200F RAM Mount with arm

VFR1200F RAM Mount without case

VFR1200F RAM Mount with aqua box pro

Top view

Verdict and use

 It's actually a lot bigger than I anticipated, which is the only bad thing I can say about it. It's actually more my fault than the mount :). When mounted like this in the stem, and then put in portrait mode (as I like my GPS best),  it covers the entire tach. I don't really mind actually, I'm used to the bike and the tach really isn't necessary then, especially when you have a gear indicator. 

As you can see, it's pretty high up. This is due to a combination of the arm, and the positioning of the attachment on the case. It's ok for me as it clears the tank bag, without the tankbag I can flip it 180° and it's a lot more recessed, only downside then would be that the key isn't as reachable. This is perfect though if riding without a tankbag:

When riding, even with the arm and mount fully "stretched", it doesn't move at all, no vibrations, nothing. Operation through the plastic is a breeze, never would've thought it would be that easy. As said before, it's quite a lot bigger than needed for my SGS2. But the S2 is a very slim profile phone. If you have a thicker phone (like a BB Torch) or use a protective case ony almost any phone, this'll fit and then some. I have no doubt in my mind that this can fit 2 SGS2's. In fact, I'll put my wife's SGS2 in tonight as well to show you. So, a bit of space and a nice case, handy for a bit of cash, an extra battery,...

Underseat storage

A little note about the underseat storage, well, I fit a luggage net , a disk lock (a huge Detecto 8000, one of the biggest disk locks you can find nonetheless) and now the RAM mount there:

VFR1200F underseat storage

So, in short, I can very much recommend RAM and their products, the mount is great and very versatile, installation took me about 30min (1h30 if you add in the "test ride" ;)).