New Owner - Need Electrical Advice

[Twigg]

"Buy a better bike" they said, casting a disparaging eye over my 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale, and this despite the fact that I had just stuck it into 3rd place ... but they were just "shooting ****" in a rally parking lot, and the points hadn't been tallied then.

Whatever, I finished 3rd again, and I was beaten down into that 3rd place by the same two eejits as last year, so something had to give because I was extracting more out of that bike than it had to give.

So into my life has come a 2005 FJR1300. It has managed 88000 miles in it's short life to date, so it appears to be able to cover the ground. I have ridden it a couple of times now, and it scared the crap out of me, but I'll get used to that. I remember similar acceleration from my trusty FJ1200A some years ago, but this takes it to a new level and I think we will get on just fine.

The bike already has a Russell seat and auxiliary gas, so a few shekels were saved there. Beyond that is is fairly standard, and that is going to change. Justin will sort me out with lights, probably a pair of LR5s, and if I need more I'll ask God to turn up the sun

My problem is how to set up the ancillary wiring. On the Venture I had the 2 GPS Units, Sat. Radio and USB ports for phone, Sena charging, etc, wired "always on". Then when I needed to switch them off, one switch covered it. At gas stations I simply kill the engine with the kill switch, but on the FJR that leaves the headlights on and is not ideal.

Here is what I was thinking of doing:

Convert a Blue Seas 12-way to have 4 outlets "always on", but with the power passing through a handlebar switch, so I can turn on those low power items on and off with one switch. The other 8 outlets would be "switched" through a relay activated probably by the tail light. Through that I could power everything else ... heated gear, lights, voltmeter, etc.

Are there any obvious flaws in this idea?

Also, I was thinking of locating the unit under the passenger seat, mainly because I read that the tool tray is the best place to fit a Cruise Control ... my 1986 ride had electronic CC, and I don't like being without it, even though the FJR did come with a Throttle Meister.

 

[NightShine]

Hey, Twigg!

Is your new-to-you '05 abs or non-abs?

 

[Twigg]

Well when I bought it, I thought it was the non-ABS, but when I collected it the damn thing had managed to morph into the ABS model

 

[RossKean]

I (and many others) have used a Fuzeblock.

https://www.fuzeblocks.com

6 circuits; any of which can be switched or unswitched. Relay is built in. Very compact.

 

[Twigg]

I'm familiar with the Fuzeblock. It's an excellent unit but the one thing it won't do is allow me to control all the "unswitched" sources with a single switch. I would have to turn each item on and off manually.

It's not a bad solution, but not quite perfect. I've just got used to using the stuff the way I like to use it, over a number of rallies because it works for me.

I haven't ruled it out though.

 

[RadioHowie]

Well when I bought it, I thought it was the non-ABS, but when I collected it the damn thing had managed to morph into the ABS model

Don't worry.....it won't be ABS too much longer....

 

[garyahouse]

...my 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale...
So into my life has come a 2005 FJR1300... It has managed 88000 miles... so it appears to be able to cover the ground...

I have ridden it a couple of times now, and it scared the crap out of me, but I'll get used to that...

...with lights, probably a pair of LR5s...

... I read that the tool tray is the best place to fit a Cruise Control ...

The Venture Royale:

With that detuned VMax motor, I thought that bike had some pretty good get up and go. Surprises me that you would say that the FJR scared you. I rode that Venture several times and came away thinking that the difference wasn't all that great. Ehhh- everybody's got their own opinion I guess.

88k miles:

No sweat for an FJR. Keep up with the suspension and the valve checks and it'll do that many miles all over again.

Lights:

Great idea. I love my Kristas and can't imagine riding without them.

Cruise:

I assume there's a CC in your future. I've read the same thing you have, but there are indeed other places to put it.

Good luck.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[Twigg]

The Venture Royale:With that detuned VMax motor, I thought that bike had some pretty good get up and go. Surprises me that you would say that the FJR scared you. I rode that Venture several times and came away thinking that the difference wasn't all that great. Ehhh- everybody's got their own opinion I guess.

It didn't really scare me I was kidding. It did impress me quite a bit though. In theory I knew that it would reach "go to jail" speeds effortlessly, I just didn't know what that felt like having never ridden anything later than a 1992 FJ1200.

The Venture motor is wonderful. I love that V4 and if I could have fitted it into a modern twin-spar aluminum frame, I might have kept it! As it is, it was very difficult to maintain sufficient progress. It's 80s tech and it shows when you try to get it up to the McDonald Observatory, in a hurry.

Don't worry.....it won't be ABS too much longer....

Really? I have read a bit of the forum and hadn't noticed that the ABS failed regularly. What goes wrong? Now you have me worrying about something I didn't think I would have in the first place :: sigh ::

 

[ionbeam]

Don't worry.....it won't be ABS too much longer....

Really?...What goes wrong? Now you have me worrying about something I didn't think I would have in the first place

That's what we're here for :lol:

On the Gen I it is the hydraulic pressure control block that freezes up (ever so rarely). It is unrepairable, replace only. For $$$$$$$$$$.$$. Or, you continue to ride with no problems other than no rear ABS. So far there is no documented front ABS failure.

The Gen II ABS wheel sensors can stick in the housing and get broken during tire changes in addition to the afore mentioned hydraulic block issue.

 

[Twigg]

That's what we're here for

On the Gen I it is the hydraulic pressure control block that freezes up (ever so rarely). It is unrepairable, replace only. For $$$$$$$$$$.$$. Or, you continue to ride with no problems other than no rear ABS. So far there is no documented front ABS failure.

The Gen II ABS wheel sensors can stick in the housing and get broken during tire changes in addition to the afore mentioned hydraulic block issue.

That is interesting. On car ABS systems (at least the ones I've dealt with), if the ABS throws a warning it disables the entire system. Are you saying that on the FJR it could fail just on one wheel, and maintain function on the other?

Either way it's not really something that worries me much, although ABS is much peace of mind.

What about my electrical problem? I'm still not sure of the best way to manage that.

 

[ionbeam]

When the hydraulic system stops working it is either a plugged passage or frozen spool, neither of which will set an ABS code. The ABS system remains enabled.

There is no reason not to go ahead with your Blue Sea perversion. If you are going to switch the power with a handlebar switch make sure the switch is rated for the load; something like a 10A switch.

While you are getting all electrofarkeled, keep in mind the Gen I stator only puts our 490 watts @ 5k rpm, less watts at less rpm. You have roughly 100 watts to play with.

The one electrical item I highly recommend is a quality volt meter like a Datel or equivalent so you can monitor power usage.

 

[Twigg]

The one electrical item I highly recommend is a quality volt meter like a Datel or equivalent so you can monitor power usage.

Thanks, it's on the list.

I had a similar issue with the Venture Royale. No toaster ovens possible on that bike either although it did have a much bigger battery for those times when you simply MUST have all lights ablaze. I got very used to making sure that voltmeter was never allowed to show less than 13V for any length of time. Most of the time it was no issue, the farkles I use are mostly very low current items.

I also swapped nearly every bulb for LED. There are 10 (count 'em) 2.4W bulbs just in the instrument panel of that bike!

I''ll fit the LR5s to come on with the High Beams, and maybe a smaller set of LEDs to the forks for daytime running. We can take it from there. Even a 70W jacket only draws that amount when warming up or running on FULL. Most of the time they pull much less current.

We will see

 

[dudeckp]

Hi Twigg,

I almost immediately Upgraded factory halogen to HID and put a PDM60 into my '05. I may never have to replace a stock fuse, but if I do, another one of these goes in the left side to replace the stock block.

I put a "easy to access" Deutsche connector on the 6 positive leads to add farkle pins as I need them. Add the switch to ground and you can make your AUX bus out of any of the 6 channels. and NO RELAYS!

Only have a pair of Justin's LR4's (fork mount) and a TomTom Rider on it so far, but Tablet support (Nexus 7?), USB & other charging adapters, and probably a couple of LR64's should appear out of nowhere soon.

I also ordered the NEO3 & 5 LEDs from SuperBright (and Stebel Nautilus) that'll go in next time the cowling's off.

Please keep sharing!

 

[Twigg]

I upgraded the Venture headlight from halogen to a 35W HID projector. That gave me more light and save maybe 18W over OEM. The FJR has OEM headlights with Silverstar Ultra bulbs. I haven't ridden it at night yet, but from the garage they look to be very good headlights, and there might not be much to gain from changing them if I have the LR5s to supplement the High Beams.

I'll look again at the PDM60. I dismissed it because of the price, but I'll take another look.

The NEOs look good ... How did they compare to the stock instrument lighting?

I also need to do something like Hyper-Lites at the back.

 

[garyahouse]

I also need to do something like Hyper-Lites at the back.

I think I read somewhere that you don't want to mix LED tail lights with those Hyper-Lites. I could be wrong about that, but be sure to check it out.

 

[Twigg]

I have the OEM tail lights. They are staying, anything I add will be "extra".

 

[RichDoyle]

I'm familiar with the Fuzeblock. It's an excellent unit but the one thing it won't do is allow me to control all the "unswitched" sources with a single switch. I would have to turn each item on and off manually.
It's not a bad solution, but not quite perfect. I've just got used to using the stuff the way I like to use it, over a number of rallies because it works for me.

I haven't ruled it out though.

Possible approaches to your requirement (which I don't fully get):

1. Put a switch on the battery input to the fuzeblock. This would shut out everything the fuzeblock powers with a single switch.

2. Use 2 fuzeblocks, one of which has such a switch and one that doesn't.

If you could be more clear on what you're after, I could be more help.

 

[Twigg]

If you could be more clear on what you're after, I could be more help.

What I am after is to have my two GPS units, Sat. Radio and charging outlets for phone and Sena only go off if I switch them off with a single switch. That means that if I turn off the ignition at a gas or meal stop, then those items will stay running. On the old bike I could manage that by turning the ignition key back to the ACC position, which the FJR does not have. I can kill the engine with the Kill Switch, but that leaves the headlight still on. Not necessarily a deal-breaker at the gas station, but inconvenient at a rest stop.

Two Fuzeblocks would solve it. The PDM60 I think would solve it also (maybe), although a one hour "delay off" would be better occasionally. 30 mins would be good enough. Both of those solutions are nearly $200.

The Blue Seas conversion would solve the problem completely at the expense of a bit more wiring, but much cheaper.

I could also think about simply fitting an On/Off switch for the headlight for those rare occasions that I needed it. Then just adding the Blue Seas without the trouble of converting it at all.

 

[RichDoyle]

1. If you turn off your ignition, then everything goes off, including anything that's "switched" on the fuzeblock. Anything "unswitched" from the fuzeblock stays on. You can pull the key out to refuel, whatever.

2. Turning off the additional switch I suggest then turns off anything remaining in the fuzeblock. Such a switch could be replaced/augmented by a time-delay-off relay.

What am I missing, other than the limit on the number of circuits a fuzeblock can handle?