Wiring solution question for Garmin GPS

[JRH08FJR]

I have been struggling to find the products that I would like to use to mount a GPS to my 2008 FJR. I think I am going to go with the Techmount bracket which replaces the triple tree stem nutt and the bracket mounts to the stem nutt. link here...Techmount Stem Mount . My delima now is trying to find a wiring solution. I found an interesting product at Cycle Gadget.com... 2nd item on the following page ... link here ...Hardwire Mini USB power supply...This wiring solution has one end with a mini USB and the other end with the wires necessary to hard wire to the battery or electrical pod etc. I would like to order this product, but when not being used, there does NOT appear to be any rubber boot or anything which would protect the mini USB end from water etc. Does anyone know if there is a way to protect this mini USB end and make it at least water resistant? If not, does anyone have other suggestions? Thanks in advance for any help you can give. JRH08FJR

 

[HaulinAshe]

... I would like to order this product, but when not being used, there does NOT appear to be any rubber boot or anything which would protect the mini USB end from water etc. Does anyone know if there is a way to protect this mini USB end and make it at least water resistant? If not, does anyone have other suggestions? Thanks in advance for any help you can give. JRH08FJR

A long time back I was looking for a rubber plug to fit mini-USB sockets. Never found one. The only such animal I've ever seen is supplied with PowerCommander-III USB units. The used PC-III I recently bought is missing the USB cover plug, so I might be calling them up too.

If you find a source for the USB plugs, post up please. Come to think of it, the guy at EasternBeaver.com might be the one person who could find such a thing. Let's ask him.

 

[JRH08FJR]

Just looked through my PCIII stuff and I cant find a USB cover plug in the box. After reading your reply, I was thinking and I am pretty sure there is one under the seat on the PCIII. I bought my PCIII from Fuel Moto. Maybe I'll contact them to see if Power Commander will sell that part individually. Dont know why it didnt dawn on me that the PCIII had such a thing to cover the mini USB port. Thanks again for the help. JRH08FJR

 

[rickcorwn]

Call Cycle Gadgets and ask them if that's a piece that would work on a bike after all it is Cycle Gadgets.

 

[squeezer]

I plug mine into my Battery Tender pigtail. That socket's not doing anything else when I'm riding.

A Battery Tender Jr. not only costs less than that USB power supply you're looking at, but you don't have to worry about where to mount that box that's part of the power supply. And, well, you get a Battery Tender too.

Techmount does great work. Instead of the whole mounting system, though, I called them up and asked if they'd drill and tap one of their stem nuts to accept a RAM ball I had sitting around the garage. They said, "No problem," then did the work and shipped it out the same day. Then you can use the RAM mounting hardware that comes with the zumo. For security, I picked up the RAM locking knob (towards the bottom of this page).

 

[Geezer]

Which GPS are you using? Do all Garmin's now have a mini USB port for power? My old 2730 has a mini USB port, but it won't power the unit.

 

[JRH08FJR]

Call Cycle Gadgets and ask them if that's a piece that would work on a bike after all it is Cycle Gadgets.

I called Cycle Gadgets and they said that they didnt have a way to make the mini USB wiring product water proof/resistant. I told them that this was a step short of a good product. How could you make a wiring product for a motorcycle, especially where a USB end is going to be exposed to the elements, and not think about how to protect it from water? :glare: JRH08FJR

 

[bramfrank]

For my bike (I use a Zumo 660) I plugged in a traffic receiver to the USB (to do this requires two separate power connections, one for the 660 itself and another for the traffic receiver) - so I wired up a cigarette lighter socket and used a standard traffic receiver from a 265WT. You could use the same traffic receiver for your model because it is a mini-USB device - or the standard power cord for your GPS - probably cheaper - is a viable option. Certainly less bulky than that 12 volt adapter thing you found.

So why not just use a conventional power cord and plug that into a cigarette socket you wire up (mine is underseat)? Perhaps you could just snake it into the glove box and plug it into the socket there?

For the physical mount I personally believe that Techmount is overpriced and went with a drilled and tapped stem nut (search the site for sources) and standard RAM mounting hardware - more flexible in terms of how it moves and the variety of bits . . . cheaper too.

 

[RZ350]

JUST A CAUTION (not knowing what model Garmin you have)...

On my Nuvi 780, plugging in the mini USB does power it up but causes it to go into a "download" mode because it thinks you are interfacing with a computer to transfer files to the GPS.

Instead, I found a "hardwire" power cable for my model that brings power in through the cradle just like the cigarette cable does. It has an 18-pin connector on one end and bare pos (+) and neg (-) leads on the other that are intended to hook directly to the 12V power supply (with the proper fuse, of course). The Nuvi 7XX series uses 12V power in, but check yours for power requirements.

If you're worried about weather when the power cord is not hooked up, the idea mentioned earlier about an SAE 2-pin connector (with a rubber cap) such as those supplied as battery tender leads is a simple way to do it. Just terminate the "hardwire" adapter cord with the matching SAE 2-pin connector. Unplug the adapter cord and store it with the GPS while capping off the SAE cord coming from the bike. It will also let you charge the battery when/if the bike is stored.

 

[bikerkash]

I'll assume you want to mount the GPS on the left side. If so, think about getting the threaded ball stud from cycle gadgets and just drill and tap a hole just a little ahead of the left grip and order a direct wire cord. I suggest you wire it to the hot side so when you turn the key off you do not need to wait for the GPS to start up everytime you turn the key on. When I do a radar dectetor I wire that hot to the key.

 

[bramfrank]

If you want it on the left side then just screw the ball into the unused mirror mount hole that's already there.

 

[GreyGoose]

I have been struggling to find the products that I would like to use to mount a GPS to my 2008 FJR. I think I am going to go with the Techmount bracket which replaces the triple tree stem nutt and the bracket mounts to the stem nutt. link here...Techmount Stem Mount . My delima now is trying to find a wiring solution. I found an interesting product at Cycle Gadget.com... 2nd item on the following page ... link here ...Hardwire Mini USB power supply...This wiring solution has one end with a mini USB and the other end with the wires necessary to hard wire to the battery or electrical pod etc. I would like to order this product, but when not being used, there does NOT appear to be any rubber boot or anything which would protect the mini USB end from water etc. Does anyone know if there is a way to protect this mini USB end and make it at least water resistant? If not, does anyone have other suggestions? Thanks in advance for any help you can give. JRH08FJR

I like this techmount option but i've got heli triple clamp on my bike with their risers. Does anyone know if the stem is long enough to clear the bars? my zumo 660 is a pretty heftly unit and i dont think it will clear. if you go with the 660, it comes with a nice hardwire kit.

thanx

Greygoose