[Zmike125]

Since its nice to be able to use gps when riding I equip all my bikes with a ram mount ball, and some way to charge my phone or gps when using. Because they do wear down the internal battery when running the screen full brightness and gps at the same time

I found a super cheap, compact and very easy to install usb socket * * *Waterproof Motorcycle Mobile Phone GPS Dual USB Power Supply Port Socket Charger | eBay

And the ram mount *RAM B 309 7U Motorcycle Handlebar Brake Clutch Control Combo Mount Mounting Kit | eBay
there are other ram mounts to choose from, but I found this one is the cleanest to me, and easy to install*

So on the left side of the triple tree where the cables go down, there is a little metal cable clamp guide. The usb socket fits very snugly right there. No way it could fall out.
Its the perfect location

Then the super easy wiring, I just tapped into that tiny headlight bulb wiring and thats it.

Now when the key is on, the usb is on. You don't want it connected directly to the battery because it is a transformer and will constantly be running. So finding a key on wire to connect to is what I like to do. Of course you can do whatever you want this is just a really simple mod for those who don't like to do any wiring.

and I know what your thinking, its nice to plan out a ride where you can carry your charging cable and ram mount
but what if your already out riding and need to use a gps or charge the phone
The ram mount fits under the seat, and the cable can easily fit anywhere under the seat or even in the tool bag


this is the only way I can make it fit, and not hit anything
and it won't fall out either*
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[KawiGirl]

Thanks for this! I fear travelling too far in case my phone runs out of battery but this would remedy the problem.

 

[sevnn]

Just to be sure on this install like you said you tapped into that mini bulb with the positive connector, but is the negative wire just a ground? Did you just connect that to any bolt i presume?

 

[Ninja]

This would be great ! Especially considering I'm an iPhone user and our phones battery sucks mega ...

 

[Thralltheminibeast]

Just to be sure on this install like you said you tapped into that mini bulb with the positive connector, but is the negative wire just a ground? Did you just connect that to any bolt i presume?

I would absolutely love to see how exactly you tapped into the headlight wire.

 

[blackx09]

I wired my charger directly to the wiring on the mini bulb. I cut the wires the.n used a test light to find the keyed hot wire and then figured the other was ground. Cut them with enough to strip and crimp on weather proof bullet connectors then tied my hot and ground wires to the hot and ground on the one side and crimped it together so that they were on the male side of the connector and the light is on the female side then plugged them in and wrapped with electrical tape.

 

[WOT]

Did you by any chance test the power coming out of that, just to see how it ranks? Or better yet, how far or slow is it charging your phone?

 

[Zmike125]

Just to be sure on this install like you said you tapped into that mini bulb with the positive connector, but is the negative wire just a ground? Did you just connect that to any bolt i presume?

used the ground wire on the bulb too

 

[Zmike125]

Did you by any chance test the power coming out of that, just to see how it ranks? Or better yet, how far or slow is it charging your phone?

the power out of the usb? I think usb puts out 5v but no I did not test it

how fast it charges all depends on the actual usb plug and your phone or device

like I think some large items like iPads use a 4? amp charger so if you charge on a 2 amp it will take longer

you would need to read the specs on the usb plug, to see how many amps it puts out

but I can say running my screen full bright, with gps on for almost an hour my phone was adding charge

I started at 88% and at the end was in the 94% or so

I imagine with the screen off, it will charge faster




I also did purchase the battery tender usb charger since I have a tender plug on my battery

this way I can charge a device without the bike being turned on and I wouldn't be riding the bike just charging something while hanging around

but of course you want to unplug the usb charger when not in use as it will drain the battery so I will put it in my tool bag

 

[Jetta]

The ebay page shows it outputs 1A, I think my phone would take hours to charge at that rate.

 

[Zmike125]

The ebay page shows it outputs 1A, I think my phone would take hours to charge at that rate.

it can run my phone and gps with no battery drain
even if it only put out enough power to run that, thats fine with me

im not looking to quick charge a phone
im looking to supplement the power used by the screen on and gps running in the background

 

[MtnMoto]

Actually if you check the Apple USB power brick that came with your iPhone you'll find it's only a 1a output. That one from eBay should be sufficient to keep your iPhone charged for a ride.

 

[Mysta]

Just a heads up, got this from amazon: Webetop Motorcycle Cell Phone Holder Mount With USB Charger Waterproof Handlebar Mirror Accessories X Grip Universal for Mobile Phone GPS(can't post links) and a RAM bar clamp(like 30 bucks total) and it works great. The USB port is 2A as well.

 

[kevoh]

this is pretty practical and easy def gonna try this

 

[Greengoblin]

I mounted mine on top of the fork.