Quad Lock Review: Is It The Best Motorcycle Phone Mount?

Need a way to mount your smartphone to your motorcycle that’s safe and secure? Not sure which is the best motorcycle phone mount on the market today? In my Quad Lock review, I’ll outline everything that you need to know about the kit and how to install it onto your motorcycle.

We’ve all been there. While out on your Sunday ride through your favourite mountain road, a whim of adventure overcomes your senses. Suddenly, you decide to turn down that mysterious back road to see where it leads.

Before you know it, you’re in the middle of nowhere…you’ve lost your bearings and you don’t know where to turn.

So you fumble your phone out of your leathers in all in a vain effort to open your go-to maps app. Then it hits you, you’re out of reception range.

Damn it.

Perhaps this whole situation could have been avoided if you kept your phone just a short glace away from your instrument cluster. Therein lies the value of motorcycle phone mounts. 

What is a Quad Lock system?

One of the most popular motorcycle phone mounts on the market is the universal Quad Lock kit. The kit comes in two main two parts: the mounting arm and the phone case.

Quad Lock manufactures a large number of model-specific phone cases for most popular phone models such as Apple and Samsung. Additionally, they offer a range of accessories such as the vibrational dampener, ball mount and wireless charging head. 

However, they’re not just for motorcyclists. They are exceptionally popular bicycle mounts — you can even use them as a car mount.

Front mount vs handlebar mount vs fork stem mount vs mirror mount

The first thing that you’ll need to figure out is what type of arm mount you’ll need for your motorcycle. The front mount is designed for bicycles, so don’t accidentally buy that one if you want to mount your phone to your motorbike.

That leaves the handlebar mount, fork stem mount and mirror mount to choose from. There isn’t exactly a right or wrong decision to make here. It all depends on where you want to position your phone.

For myself, I decided to purchase the handlebar mount. Thankfully, I had just enough room to fit the mount on the left handlebar. If you have a motorcycle that has short handlebars or not much room, check the width dimensions of the handlebar mount before purchasing it.

If you don’t have enough room or you want your phone dead-centre on your handlebars, the fork stem mount is the way to go. Or, if you have a scooter or a naked-style motorcycle, the mirror mount could be a viable option.

Is Quad Lock safe?

Unlike most other motorcycle phone mounts that hold your phone in a grip, the Quad Lock differs as it holds your phone from a 4-point secure phone case mount. This prevents your phone from accidentally slipping out of its grip while you ride. Or in some cases, phones may fall out of the grip due to road vibrations loosening the mount over time. 

Since installing my Quad Lock system onto my KTM RC 390, I’ve done about 2,000 road kilometres. Even with the thumping single cylinder of the RC 390, the mount has remained solid as a rock.

Does Quad Lock damage the phone?

With the mount and phone case, you would have to be in a seriously bad accident to damage your phone…to the point where your phone would be the least of your concerns. 

One thing I did notice when seating my iPhone 11 Pro into the case is the fit is extremely tight. 

I have to be very delicate when removing my phone from the case because of this. There’s very little give in the case, meaning if I ripped the phone out with too much force, there could be a good chance that I’d damage my phone. 

This isn’t a problem if you don’t plan on removing your phone from the case after each ride. However, since I swap my case out to my Toru CX Pro which holds my RFID access cards, the process of swapping phone cases after each ride does become tiresome.

Hopefully, I can get my hands on either a Ram Mount or Rokform soon so I can see how these mounts compare with the Quad Lock. 

Own a new-ish smartphone? Here’s why you need the Quad Lock Vibration Dampener

About five months after I mounted my Quad Lock, I noticed a big problem. After my weekly Sunday morning ride, I noticed something had gone wrong with my iPhone 11 Pro’s camera.

When using the camera app, the phone could no longer focus. Worse of all, it would move in and out of focus every half second, making the camera unusable.

I thought that I had broken the camera by dropping the phone. However, after taking it to my local Apple Repair Store, the first thing the technician said to me when he inspected it was: “Do you ride a motorcycle?”.

Cock-eyed, I responded with a nervous “yes”. It turns out that the engine vibration harmonics from motorcycles can unsettle the floating lenses of newer smartphones.

Thankfully, the company has already engineered a solution to this in the form of the Quad Lock Vibration Dampener. For only an extra $25 or so dollars plus shipping, it’s a worthy investment if you plan on mounting a new-ish smartphone that has floating camera lenses. These camera setups are common for modern Samsung and Apple smartphones.

However, I do wish the company made it more obvious to motorcycle riders that you can destroy your phone’s camera if you mount it without the vibration dampener.

Since installing the vibration dampener, I’ve had zero issues with my iPhone’s camera.

How strong is Quad Lock?

The metal ring that grips your handlebar is made of high-quality, thick and durable stainless steel. It’s also powder coated in black so it blends in with your handlebars (as long as they are black too). 

The plastic lever that latches onto the case is made out of glass-filed nylon. The material is also high quality. It is thick and extremely resistant to bending and warping under pressure. 

All Quad Lock phone cases are made from a tough, polycarbonate core with an impact-absorbing TUP ‘edge-to-edge’ outer shell. My iPhone 11 Pro case also has a slight lip around the front edge which protects the screen from cracking.

Fortunately, I’ve yet to drop my phone with the case on. According to the company, the phones can survive drops from two-story buildings with the case installed.  

Even with all this protection, the phone case does not add too much bulk to your phone. This is particularly important if you ride with pants that are ‘track’ cut which makes carrying bulky phone cases uncomfortable.

It’s also important to note that all phone cases are compatible with Quad Lock’s wireless charging head. However, compatibility for third-party wireless charging heads may vary depending on the phone and charging device. 

Living with the Quad Lock case

The Quad Lock case sits slim on the phone, meaning you barely notice it when it’s in your pocket. Chamfered edges on the case make it easy to hold even in low-grip scenarios.

After six months of use, the phone case still looked brand new. Even after a few accidental drops, the case held up fine and kept of iPhone safe.

My only gripe is how tight the case sits on the phone. I realise that you don’t want a loose-fitting case however the case is so tight that taking your phone out of it becomes a mission in itself.

On the motorbike

What I love most about the Quad Lock system is how quick and easy it is to mount and dismount your phone.

Admittedly, it’s slow the first time you do it as you figure out the angle of where to place your phone so it fits onto the mount. However, once you get that down pat, I can’t think of an easier way to securely mount your phone to your motorcycle.

Although I’ve always kept my phone in a horizontal mount position, I like knowing that I can change it to portrait without having to purchase another accessory.

Additionally, having four different handlebar mount sizes means I can move the mount to different motorcycles without needing to purchase additional accessories.

Is Quad Lock worth the money?

Even though you need to purchase both the mount and phone case to use it, the bundle still retails for slightly less than Quad Lock’s main competitor, the Ram Mount. It’s also considerably cheaper than Rokform mounts.

The Quad Lock offers the best value if you do not have a phone case and you want to get one for your phone. As I mentioned above, swapping your phone between cases after each ride quickly becomes tiresome. However, if you don’t plan on swapping out your phone case after each ride, the Quad Lock system is definitely worth it. 

Quad Lock Moto Mount Kit – All iPhone Devices

The Quad Lock moto mount kit is a high quality phone mount offering excellent protection for the money. Installation is quick and simple. If you don’t want to risk damaging your phone camera, purchase the optional vibration damper.

Product SKU: QLMOTM

Product Brand: Quad Lock

Product Currency: AUD

Product Price: 94.90

Product In-Stock: InStock

Editor's Rating:
5

How to mount your Quad Lock Motorcycle phone holder

1. Identify which mounting diameter fits your motorcycle’s handlebars. You should be able to find your motorcycle handlebar diameter from your motorcycle manual. As my RC 390 comes from the factory with a thick triple clamp handlebar, the large 35mm diameter spacer was the only one that would fit it. 
2. Next, decide where you want to mount your Quad Lock. Before committing to a location, fix your phone to the mount so you can make sure that your phone doesn’t get in the way of your motorcycle’s running gear and you can easily see your phone without needing to move your eyes too far from the road ahead of you. Make sure to check your phone in both the landscape and portrait position before committing to a location.
3. Once you are happy with your mounting location, tighten the mount bolt and screw to ensure there’s no play or movement with the mount.
4. If you have purchased the vibration dampener, you’ll need to remove the mount handle with the provided hex key. Then, install the vibration dampener on the mount and fasten it tight. Finally, you can place the mount handle on top of the dampener before tightening it.
5. Before each ride, check the mount remains tight and free of any play.