VIOFO MT1 Motorcycle Dash Camera
Installation and Review
With the way the world is today, I have been thinking about getting a dedicated traffic camera system for my bike. There is not a ride that goes by where I don’t find someone crossing the centerline or pulling out in front of me. While I take responsibility for my safety and try to make sure I am putting myself in the proper lane position, maintaining proper following distance and staying out of blind spots, there are still times when someone makes a bonehead move. For those times it would be nice to have a traffic/dash camera documenting potential incidents; just in case.
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/_Eef_eV5QJo
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/_Eef_eV5QJo
VIOFO MT1 Motorcycle Dash Camera
20% Off Black Friday Sale (through 11/30)
Was $299.99 now $239.99
Was $299.99 now $239.99
As synchronicity would have it, while I was thinking about purchasing a camera system, the folks at VIOFO reached out to me and asked if I would consider doing a review of their MT1 Motorcycle Dash Camera.
So, after doing some research and finding mostly good reviews, I decided to take them up on their generous offer to send me a camera for testing.
Features
Before we get into installing and using the camera, let’s take a look at the basic features:
- Dual Channel (Font and Rear) 1080P Camera. This system does not shoot in 4K, which is fine for its intended purpose of documenting traffic incidents.
- Sony Sensor - Utilizes dual Sony Exmor R STAVIS image sensors.
- 170 Degree Wide Angle View.
- Super Night Vision - The Stavis sensory has exceptional detail at night.
- WIFI Support - You can Bluetooth your camera to a phone app.
- GPS Logger - Tracks date, time, speed and location.
- Remote Control - Comes with a wire remote control as will as Bluetooth App Control.
- Water Resistant - Resistant to water and dust.
- Built in G Sensor - Senses when an incident has occurred and saves recording.
- Automatic Startup and Shutdown - Turns on when your bike starts and shuts off when you stop.
Installation
I am not going to get into extreme detail about the installation process, because it is very simple and of course specific to your motorcycle. The biggest task when installing the VIOVO MT1 camera system is determining when to place your camera and run all of the wires. The actual hook up process is quite easy.
There are 5 wires you will need to run. Each of these wires comes with a color coded threaded terminal.
Yellow Wire
Front Camera
Yellow Wire
Rear Camera
Blue Wire
Remote Control
Black Wire
GPS Sensor
Power Supply
Red Wire
Front Camera Placement
For me, I placed the front camera on the front beak and the rear camera on the underside of the rear rack. I also placed the GPS sensor on the front of the bike just behind the windscreen. I then routed the wires through the fairing using a wire fish and a flashlight to identify a clear path. Once I had the wires pulled through, I hid the wires under the faring and secured them to the frame with zip ties.
Front Camera Placement
For me, I placed the front camera on the front beak and the rear camera on the underside of the rear rack. I also placed the GPS sensor on the front of the bike just behind the windscreen. I then routed the wires through the fairing using a wire fish and a flashlight to identify a clear path. Once I had the wires pulled through, I hid the wires under the faring and secured them to the frame with zip ties.
Front Camera on Beak of Bike
Wires Zip-Tied to Frame
Rear Camera and GPS Sensor Placement
For the rear camera, I ran the wires under a plastic end cap (behind the passenger seat) and then zip tied the wire to the frame.
The two camera lines, as well as the GPS sensor, terminate in the Triumph’s battery compartment.
Rear Camera on Rear Rack
GPS Sensor Behind Windscreen
Remote Control Placement
For the remote control, I did not want to stick the unit on my fairing, so I chose to place it on the outside of the battery compartment, next to the seat lock. I can easily reach the remote while riding if needed, however, I do not foresee that I will be needed to do so very often. Most of the time I will just let the camera turn on and off with the bike and do its thing.
Remote Contol Mounted
Mounting the Main Camera Unit
Once I figured out how I was going to route all of the wires, I needed to mount the main camera unit. On the Triumph Tiger 1200, there is a plastic compartment designed for cell phone charging, and while this is a nice idea, I just do not see myself using this at all, so I removed it and am going to use the space to house a Rowe Electronics PDM 60 and the VIOFO camera unit.
Main Camera Unit
With 5 Leads
Main Unit Mounted
Cell Phone Storage
This was removed
Velcro
Works very well
OPTIONAL (Follow standard installation if you do not have a power distribution module)
PMD60 (Power Distribution Module 60amps)
The PDM 60 is a solid state device that serves as a set of fuses and relays for up to 6 circuits, keeping all accessories separated from the bikes main electrical system. Modern CAN bus systems are very sensitive to minor fluctuations in current and thus having a device similar to the PDM 60 is a good idea.
The total amperage for these circuits is 60 which can be customized for your needs. I did a detailed video when I added one of these to my Yamaha Super Tenere, so I will refer you to that post if you want to know more.
Basic installation is to hook the device to the battery's positive terminal and then to the negative terminal via a grounding harness. The PDM 60 then has a trigger wire (gray) that is attached to a keyed accessory. In this case I used the rear charging port. Once installed the PDM 60 will turn on and off with the bike.
For more details about how to install the PDM60 see this video:
For more details about how to install the PDM60 see this video:
PDM60
Grounding Harness
After I had the PDM 60 installed, I then mounted the camera, in the available space, using the included stick on velcro; which holds very well.
I then ran each of the leads from the main camera unit so that they were out of the way and could easily meet up with the corresponding wire from the color matched camera, control or sensor. The hard part here was dealing with any extra wire, which I did with a few strategically placed zip ties.
After the yellow, blue and black leads have all been hooked up and the extra wire neatly tucked away, the last step is to hook the camera to a power supply. The VIOFO comes with a harness that includes a hot wire (red), ground wire (black) and a trigger wire (blue). Similar to the PDM 60, the camera itself contains a solid state relay that powers the camera when the bike is turned on.
Standard Installation (Power Supply)
In a standard installation, you would hook the red wire directly to the battery’s positive terminal, the black wire to the battery’s negative terminal and then the blue wire to a key accessory like the port I have used for the PDM.
Red Wire
To Positive Terminal of Battery
Black Wire
To Negative Terminal of Battery
Blue Wire
Trigger Wire, to Keyed Power
Finalizing the PDM60
In my case, since I have the PDM 60, I do not need to attach directly to the battery and I do not need the included fuse. After trimming the wires for fit, I attached the black ground wire to the grounding harness of the PDM 60 and both the red power wire and the blue trigger wire to the violet wire leading from the PDM 60.
Camera Fuse
I removed this for the PDM60 install.
Camera Power to PDM60
I attached the red (power) and blue (trigger) wire to the violet wire from the PDM60 (4amps)
Powering Up
Once everything is installed , I turn on the bike, the PDM 60 fires up (after a 7 second delay) and the camera turns on, as noted by checking the lights on the remote control.
PDM60 Lights Up!
The camera starts recording.
VIOFO App
The next step is to install the VIOFO app on your smartphone (Android or iOS). You can then view recorded videos, change your settings and update your firmware.
I set the camera to record 3 minute segments and to stamp with date, time and location, but not speed–for obvious reasons. I also set the G-sensor to low, so that any minor bump will be ignored.
The camera will now record constantly, saving each three minute segment until the SD card it filled up. Once that happens, the system will record over the oldest segment as needed. The looped recordings are saved in the “cont_rec” folder.
If you want to save a particular segment, you can press the “REC” button on the control and it will save the last segment plus the current segment, plus 20 seconds. The video will then be saved in a separate folder ("manual_rec") so that it is not overwritten.
If you do have an accident, the G-sensor will be triggered and the current recording (3 minute segment) will be locked so that it is not overwritten. Events are saved in the “event_rec” folder.
Summary
Overall the installation of this camera was straight forward and simple. The instructions are well written and easy to follow. The biggest challenge is to take the time necessary to plan out our installation. Figure out were the wires are going to go an how you are going to deal with the excess. Do you have enough space under your seat to house the main camera unit and the extra wire?
Once you have finalized you plan, the actual install goes very quickly. While I used the PDM60, it is not necessary when installing this camera. The unit, come with a trigger wire and an internal relay, you just need to find a keyed trigger wire appropriate for you install.
After completing the installation of the VIOFO MT1 Motorcycle Dash Camera, I was able to spend a day riding and filming with it. The video quality is very good, but it does not shot in 4K nor is it stabilized. I think that 1080P is more than adequate for what this camera system is intended for; documenting potential traffic incidents.
To see samples of the video shot my the MT1, please see the accomping YouTube video.
Ride Safe My Friends!
--Craig Ripley
Once you have finalized you plan, the actual install goes very quickly. While I used the PDM60, it is not necessary when installing this camera. The unit, come with a trigger wire and an internal relay, you just need to find a keyed trigger wire appropriate for you install.
After completing the installation of the VIOFO MT1 Motorcycle Dash Camera, I was able to spend a day riding and filming with it. The video quality is very good, but it does not shot in 4K nor is it stabilized. I think that 1080P is more than adequate for what this camera system is intended for; documenting potential traffic incidents.
To see samples of the video shot my the MT1, please see the accomping YouTube video.
Ride Safe My Friends!
--Craig Ripley