BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I just got my 2011 White F800GS to replace my R1150R. Very excited. Put on 150 miles. I'm very happy. However, I'm a little uncertain about touching the new electrical system. I want to power my Tom Tom GPS on the left handlebar. Anyone have a simple way to attach the wires (red and black). As you can see I'm not an expert.

Thanks,

Rich

I wired my Garmin directly to the battery of my R12R. They don't draw much to speak of and i can keep it on when shutting the bike down: don't loose my place and can fiddle with my trip plans without starting the bike.

Does it require a fuse?

Thanks,

Rich

rich1kim wrote:Does it require a fuse?

Thanks,

Rich

No....you just need a wire intended for your GPS. It will have a transformer on it. Mine knocks down the 12V from the bike battery to 5V that the GPS unit uses.

I think I got mine here: http://www.gpsgeek.com/

Something like this:

My dealer, Pandoras European Motorsports in Chattanooga Tn let me use an F800GS while my R12R was in for a yearly service. I loved it although I was doing some serious tip-toeing. It was 95+F out and I noticed a lot of heat coming up on my legs. That was my only complaint but after all - it was 95+ out. The bike was very comfortable to ride.

rich1kim,

You could buy the BMW plug that fits the socket provided on your bike and attach it to the TomTom cord.

If you want to use the GPS in your car too, cutting off the GPS plug to put on the BMW plug is not an option. Instead, you can install an automotive DC power (cigarette lighter type) socket into a body panel and wire it to the battery. Boxer has ventured there and then some. Read those posts (+ mine) and respond where the posts are instead of sending a PM. The same goes for the posts here about adding on 12V farkles, especially if you want them to go On/Off immediately with the key.

I strongly advise against wiring in ANY parasitic electrical drains, no matter how small they are, because they can and will $horten the life of the bike's battery. That is especially true if there is weeks of inactivity without being connected to a battery Tender.

Also consider the possibility of asking for volunteers "within riding distance" that can oversee or help you with the type of install you want.

Thanks so much for your input guys. I'll look into it a bit further on the site.

Rich

CycleRob wrote:rich1kim,

I strongly advise against wiring in ANY parasitic electrical drains, no matter how small they are, because they can and will $horten the life of the bike's battery. That is especially true if there is weeks of inactivity without being connected to a battery Tender.

Ha !

Sorry...I naturally assume rich1kim is smart enough to unplug his GPS (at the GPS unit) when not in use; that is if directly wired to the battery as I suggest. However, even if you leave the GPS unit plugged in over night and all the next day it's not going to do anything significant to your battery. But then I don't try to squeeze every little cent of worth out of my batteries. I keep a good AMG battery in all my bikes and they last for years; even after letting all my friends charge their GPS units on my bike all day.

Cyclerob is right, of course. He helped me wire up my F650GS Twin, which is the same setup as the F800GS. This bike requires special procedures to accomodate the CANBUS system, and mine is "primo" wired with several items. The only things I have straight to the battery is a SAE pigtail for charging the battery and a connection that hooks into the back of my tankbag with a cigarette lighter type socket for charging my phone inside the bag.

There's a writeup somewhere from when we did that.

I took the wimpy way out and put a tank bag on with a car charger wire connected to the navigator when needed.

Thanks,

Rich