Best Configuration for Electrics

[tesla]

Trying to figure out the best setup for my current and future electrics. Currently I have a Zumo and heat trollers wired directly to the battery and have a Battery Tender and mini compressor to connect as needed. In the future, I may get a radar detector, tire pressure monitoring system, electronic cruise control and maybe XM radio and weather receivers. I know that I'll need a switchable fuse box but what I don't know is if some of these components would be better utilized with an electrified tank bag or a dash shelf? Looks like the dash shelf is necessary for those that have many electronic goodies that need to be seen and not hidden away in a tank bag.

Regarding the tank bag, does anyone have the Heli triple tree AND the Heli risers with the Engage XL tank bag? What is the lock to lock handlebar clearance with the bag in the rear most position? I saw one guys account with pics but he did not mention the risers in his thread, only the triple tree.

 

[Fred W]

I don't think that you can use a dash shelf if you have Rifle tuning block on as it tips the windshield back much further and would foul on the shelf.

Instead, I have an electrified Bagster tank bag that is always on the bike when I ride it. This particular bag has had a lot of use. It was originally on a dual sport bike, that's why it's so odd looking. Considering upgrading to a slightly better looking Bagster bag sometime soon.

It contains my Starcom1 Advance comm system Moto Talkabout B2B FRS/GMRS radio and a 3 port cigarette lighter outlet power adapter. The lighter sockets allow me to power all sorts of chargers, for cell phones, iPods, what have you, on the fly. The bag is all powered off a single BMW powerlet jack in the D panel (right side). The powerlet port comes directly from the battery so is live all the time, and can be used for trickle charging the battery.

I have my Zumo 550 mounted on a WynPro RamBone up in front of the tank, and I use that as a music source for MP3 (no satellite radio) as well as cell phone via blue tooth, and as GPS navigation (duh). It is wired back to the Starcom1 in the tank bag and has a dedicated 12V switched power coaxial cable installed that terminates up at the triple tree so it can be quickly disconnected and removed from the bike (by me). To prevent others from quickly removing the Zumo I have a security cable that locks to the mount.

RD is an Escort Passport 8500, and that is mounted on a Ram ball and Ram "power plate" magnetic mount on the right handlebar and is wired back into the Starcom for sound and the tank bag for power. The RD is inside of a "legal speeding" weather protection case, as it isn't water resistant. This is the least secure part of my system, sitting right up there in plain sight, so when I have to walk away from the bike I unplug and pocket the RD. I'm seriously thinking of relocating the RD into the glove box per a recent thread to eliminate the likelihood of theft.

Nice thing about this powered tank bag setup is that, at the end of the day, I can pack the GPS and RD right into the tank bag and carry them up to my hotel room for the night, leaving only the mounts on the bike. I've made up another similar set-up in a small magnetic tank bag that I use on my Triumph and Honda. It makes it easy to move the electronic goodies between the two bikes.

 

[tesla]

Thanks Fred. Nice set up.