I bought this little gem here:
https://www.motorcycleinnovations.ca/Dual_USB_Port_with_cig_port_p/usbport2_bar.htm
I have thought about getting a GPS for the past 4 seasons. I got a RAM mount to put my cell phone on and having a water resistant cell phone made it a practical option. Trouble was that a cell phone with a screen always on runs out of juice fairly quickly. An option was to get some sort of power source. I thought about strapping an external battery charger thingy but that seemed pretty silly. A much better option would be to have some sort of power source on the bike.
So here it is. The kit is very comprehensive, it even comes with an extra fuse, a block to mount the unit onto a flat surface (instead of on handlebars), and even several plastic ties:
The first thing I did was simply hook it right up to the battery to ensure if was working properly. No sense going to all the trouble or tying wires to framerails etc and doing all of the minutiae and not having it work! Water resistant on/off switch which illuminates. That is a good thing! Make sure it is turned off when you are not riding the bike so as to not drain your battery. It is truly "plug and play". If you have ever installed a battery tender it is just like that. Just attach the positive and negative leads to the positive and negative posts on your battery and you are done. Hooking it up is a no brainer and super quick. It takes longer to hide the wires and put the unit where you want to on your handlebars (or flat mounted to your fairing if you so choose).
And showing the switch turned off:
It comes with 3 layers of rubberlike material which are to dial in the proper fit to your width of handlebar. I used two which made for a nice snug fit. A note: no screwdriver is required for this step. It has a knob with a screw built into it which feeds into a threaded hole. So, you simply put the handlebar unit around the handle bar and tighten it by hand. Don't worry, it is very secure.
It took a little bit of thought to see where it would work best for me. In the middle would have looked good but it was just a shade too wide. I ended up mounting it to the left side of the handlebar just to the right of the RAM mount. If you look closely you can see where the unit is going to clip in:
Here is the physical unit which will mount onto the handlebar component. You see where it will interface with the handlebar component:
Once it clicks onto the handlebar component you are good to go. From here it was a matter of hiding the wires. I ended up only using one of the plastic ties that came with the kit. I have a whack of black and white plastic ties I use for various things. The black ones are used on my bikes all the time. I took the side fairing off and I think I did a decent job hiding the wires. When I pull the tank in the future to check the air cleaner (which is below the tank on this bike) I will be able to do a better job.
Yup! We've got juice!
This is a very workable package. Again, a hard wired Garmin would be nice but then again Google Maps works very well and is constantly being updated. I am going to experiment with Waze and Co-Pilot too. This also opens up the possibility of trying out bluetooth ear buds on a longer trip.
A black charging cable would look less conspicuous. I am keeping a twist tie on the back here and I can just put the wire into a loop when I was to use it.I am going to get myself a new, retractable black charging cable.
While I was at it I installed the Battery Tender leads, adjusted my brake and clutch levers to my liking, and remounted the licence plate. It is like I am looking for excuses to fart around with the bike. Hard to get used to a fuel injected bike with everything being so easy to work on. On the old bike anything required wrenches and time. A turn of the key and this seat comes off. On the CB I had to use a wrench to take the seat off (two bolts held it on). I love how easy it is to adapt this bike by taking luggage on and off etc.
Here it is after. The only sign I was monkeying around was that I have my battery tended lead on the left side of the luggage rack now:
See?
It was on sale for under $20 so an absolute bargain at that price point. Two USB ports and a 12V adapter. Sure, some metal in the construction might be better but it looks nicely integrated with the controls and on a flat bar with more real estate it could look really OEM like. I could also hide it deeper in the fairing with the flush mount that came with it and I would not even know it was there. So, I highly recommend this unit. The shipping was around $9 which was a bit on the steep side but then again I got it in a day. Perhaps I should have picked up another item or two to spread the shipping out a bit. As it was I was into this for just over $30 shipped and taxes in. Pretty cheap considering what a bike dedicated GPS costs. The RAM mounts are the better part of $80 so for around $100 or so you have the ability to charge and use your phone safely on your bike. Seems like a good deal to me. Just make sure you have a water resistant phone or use a water resistant case.
https://www.motorcycleinnovations.ca/Dual_USB_Port_with_cig_port_p/usbport2_bar.htm
I have thought about getting a GPS for the past 4 seasons. I got a RAM mount to put my cell phone on and having a water resistant cell phone made it a practical option. Trouble was that a cell phone with a screen always on runs out of juice fairly quickly. An option was to get some sort of power source. I thought about strapping an external battery charger thingy but that seemed pretty silly. A much better option would be to have some sort of power source on the bike.
So here it is. The kit is very comprehensive, it even comes with an extra fuse, a block to mount the unit onto a flat surface (instead of on handlebars), and even several plastic ties:
The first thing I did was simply hook it right up to the battery to ensure if was working properly. No sense going to all the trouble or tying wires to framerails etc and doing all of the minutiae and not having it work! Water resistant on/off switch which illuminates. That is a good thing! Make sure it is turned off when you are not riding the bike so as to not drain your battery. It is truly "plug and play". If you have ever installed a battery tender it is just like that. Just attach the positive and negative leads to the positive and negative posts on your battery and you are done. Hooking it up is a no brainer and super quick. It takes longer to hide the wires and put the unit where you want to on your handlebars (or flat mounted to your fairing if you so choose).
And showing the switch turned off:
It comes with 3 layers of rubberlike material which are to dial in the proper fit to your width of handlebar. I used two which made for a nice snug fit. A note: no screwdriver is required for this step. It has a knob with a screw built into it which feeds into a threaded hole. So, you simply put the handlebar unit around the handle bar and tighten it by hand. Don't worry, it is very secure.
It took a little bit of thought to see where it would work best for me. In the middle would have looked good but it was just a shade too wide. I ended up mounting it to the left side of the handlebar just to the right of the RAM mount. If you look closely you can see where the unit is going to clip in:
Here is the physical unit which will mount onto the handlebar component. You see where it will interface with the handlebar component:
Once it clicks onto the handlebar component you are good to go. From here it was a matter of hiding the wires. I ended up only using one of the plastic ties that came with the kit. I have a whack of black and white plastic ties I use for various things. The black ones are used on my bikes all the time. I took the side fairing off and I think I did a decent job hiding the wires. When I pull the tank in the future to check the air cleaner (which is below the tank on this bike) I will be able to do a better job.
Yup! We've got juice!
This is a very workable package. Again, a hard wired Garmin would be nice but then again Google Maps works very well and is constantly being updated. I am going to experiment with Waze and Co-Pilot too. This also opens up the possibility of trying out bluetooth ear buds on a longer trip.
A black charging cable would look less conspicuous. I am keeping a twist tie on the back here and I can just put the wire into a loop when I was to use it.I am going to get myself a new, retractable black charging cable.
While I was at it I installed the Battery Tender leads, adjusted my brake and clutch levers to my liking, and remounted the licence plate. It is like I am looking for excuses to fart around with the bike. Hard to get used to a fuel injected bike with everything being so easy to work on. On the old bike anything required wrenches and time. A turn of the key and this seat comes off. On the CB I had to use a wrench to take the seat off (two bolts held it on). I love how easy it is to adapt this bike by taking luggage on and off etc.
Here it is after. The only sign I was monkeying around was that I have my battery tended lead on the left side of the luggage rack now:
See?
It was on sale for under $20 so an absolute bargain at that price point. Two USB ports and a 12V adapter. Sure, some metal in the construction might be better but it looks nicely integrated with the controls and on a flat bar with more real estate it could look really OEM like. I could also hide it deeper in the fairing with the flush mount that came with it and I would not even know it was there. So, I highly recommend this unit. The shipping was around $9 which was a bit on the steep side but then again I got it in a day. Perhaps I should have picked up another item or two to spread the shipping out a bit. As it was I was into this for just over $30 shipped and taxes in. Pretty cheap considering what a bike dedicated GPS costs. The RAM mounts are the better part of $80 so for around $100 or so you have the ability to charge and use your phone safely on your bike. Seems like a good deal to me. Just make sure you have a water resistant phone or use a water resistant case.
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