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2002XR650L
Colorado
USA
5 Posts |
Topic started on 09/15/2009 at 11:11:01 AM
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who here has mounted a GPS on their bike? What did you wire it to (ie direct to the battery, to a headlight (?))
tx |
02 XR650L, Acerbis 5.8 gallon tank, de-smog kit |
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jrsride2002
San Diego, CA
USA
125 Posts |
Posted on 09/15/2009 at 8:39:08 PM
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What kind of GPS??? I have a small Garmin 60CSx, and I bought a handlebar mound for it... If you have one of those big screen ones, I would buy a, "Wind Screen Support" and mount it to that, then maybe hook it in to the head light, so when the key is of, so is the unit...
Im interested so keep up posted,
~Junior |
'02 XR650L - Big Bore 671cc, Stage 1 cam, Diamond intake & exhaust valves, custom oil cooler added for kicks, full FMF exhaust(power bomb and Power core 4), Keihin carb, and a proper dyno tunning!
'02 Suzuki DR650... stock.. |
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4Given
Santa Barbara, CA
USA
439 Posts |
Posted on 09/15/2009 at 9:04:02 PM
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How about 2 GPS units?
The Tomtom is wired into the tail light circuit so when the key is on it gets power (I added the correct power converter to get the USB2 standard 5v @ 500mah under the seat on top of the air box). The Tomtom is also rubber mounted on a custom mount I made just for that purpose. I do not consider the Tomtom a "dirt worthy" accessory, so when the tires leave the pavement, the Tomtom gets stored safely in the backpack. The Garmin (Etrex Vista Hcx mounted on the handle bars) lasts about 20 hours on its 2 AA batteries, so I did not bother to provide external power to that device. |
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2002XR650L
Colorado
USA
5 Posts |
Posted on 09/16/2009 at 06:41:46 AM
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| 4 Given, I have a garmin nuvi 350 and I will mount it like your tom tom. So I purchased a power converter, and I was thining either the head light or the tail light, when you hit the brakes though, does it cut power? I read hi beams on the headlight will have that effect. |
02 XR650L, Acerbis 5.8 gallon tank, de-smog kit |
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4Given
Santa Barbara, CA
USA
439 Posts |
Posted on 09/16/2009 at 7:21:15 PM
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| I selected the tail light circuit because it was easy to get to at the location I wanted to mount the power regulator (top of the air box). Because the power regulator takes the 12v from the bike and reduces it to 5v and limits the power output to something less than 500 mha, it has plenty of "overhead" to keep the power to the GPS nice and smooth. I have bypassed the headlight for normal day riding (Did you notice my switch located just above and to the right of the ignition key?) because I am worried about not having a kick starter, and am totally dependent on the electric start. Any extra battery drain during a "cold start" scares me. Also running with the headlight on changes the temperature of the area behind the headlight faring and causes the outside air temperature reading from my Trail Tec Vapor unit to read about 10° to 15° warmer than reality. |
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2002XR650L
Colorado
USA
5 Posts |
Posted on 10/20/2009 at 06:35:35 AM
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| can someone please post the wires they tapped into and which one is positive? I really need help w. this. Thanks! |
02 XR650L, Acerbis 5.8 gallon tank, de-smog kit |
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markbvt
Burlington, VT
USA
86 Posts |
Posted on 10/20/2009 at 08:29:54 AM
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I installed an accessory power socket using a kit from Eastern Beaver -- just ran wires from the battery and installed a Powerlet socket in the headlight shroud, on the right side below the headlight. No need to tap into any wires at all unless you want the power socket to be switched with the ignition key (I didn't because a GPS draws very little power, and I don't want it to shut off every time I need to turn the bike off to gas up or whatever). If you do want it switched, it's still a much better idea to run wires (with an inline fuse) off the battery and use a relay on the headlight lead to provide the switching, rather than tapping directly into the headlight or taillight power.
My GPS itself, a Garmin Oregon 300, goes into a RAM cradle mounted to the handlebar and is powered by an adapter plugged into the Powerlet socket. This setup worked great for me on a recent 3500-mile tour of the Trans-Labrador Highway, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. Only complaint was that the power cable (a Powerlet one with an in-line voltage stepdown transformer) crapped out on me partway through the trip, so I had to revert to my backup, a regular car cigarette lighter power adapter and a Powerlet/cigarette lighter adapter cable. This worked fine for the rest of the trip, and continues to. |
03 XR650L / 01 Triumph Bonneville cafe racer / 08 Suzuki V-Strom 650
"Do you keep one bullet left for yourself, for when it's all over and done?"
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2002XR650L
Colorado
USA
5 Posts |
Posted on 10/20/2009 at 1:42:23 PM
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I appreciate that but I want it to be off switched power. my coverter will be on (green light) all the time and will kill my battery. How do I hard wire to headlight and which wire is hot?
thanks |
02 XR650L, Acerbis 5.8 gallon tank, de-smog kit |
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Hardcharger
San Diego, CA
USA
300 Posts |
Posted on 10/20/2009 at 4:05:24 PM
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You just need to pick up power from the red (power) wire coming out of the key switch in the instrument cluster that runs to the head light connector. Then find a suitable place to connect the ground (green) wire, not to the negative side which is (black).
Keep Ridin'
HC
"It can't be the rider, it's gotta be the bike. Yeah, that's it..." |
'98 XR650L - Baja Proven
'84 VT500FT - Vintage Street |
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2002XR650L
Colorado
USA
5 Posts |
Posted on 10/21/2009 at 06:36:24 AM
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| cool, thanks hardcharger. anyone on here have pics of the wires they pigtailed to? maybe different than the red ones as described above? |
02 XR650L, Acerbis 5.8 gallon tank, de-smog kit |
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markbvt
Burlington, VT
USA
86 Posts |
Posted on 10/22/2009 at 09:53:50 AM
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Don't pick up power off the headlight, just use that for a relay. Run power leads from the battery and use the relay to ignition-switch it.
--mark
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03 XR650L / 01 Triumph Bonneville cafe racer / 08 Suzuki V-Strom 650
"Do you keep one bullet left for yourself, for when it's all over and done?"
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Topic |
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Where to mount and wire a GPS unit on an XR650L?
