Universal mounting apparatus

A ball-and-socket joint assembly for supporting a conventional mobile device on a handlebar of a motorcycle, comprising:

• a stationary object;
• a movable object;
• and
• a mounting apparatus comprising:
• first and second rigid link sections, each link section having an upper socket section and a lower socket section, so that an upper receiving space is defined by the two upper socket sections and a lower receiving space is defined by the two lower socket sections;
• an upper coupler having a non-deformable upper ball that is received for rotation inside the upper receiving space, the upper ball having a generally convex outer surface, with the movable object secured to the upper coupler;
• a lower coupler having a lower ball that is received for rotation inside the lower receiving space, with the stationary object secured to the lower coupler;
• a link member for securing the link sections together with the upper ball retained inside the upper receiving space, and with the lower ball retained inside the lower receiving space;
• and
• wherein each of the upper socket sections has a circular outer edge, and wherein each of the circular outer edges has a radius, with the radius of the circular outer edges being less than a radius of the upper ball such that each upper socket section contacts the upper ball only along its circular outer edge.