I did this in my car and will probably do it on the bike as well. More and more devices (cell phone, ipod) charge via USB. In the car, I disassembled a cigarette lighter USB charger and wired it in to a switched power source. I'll probably do the same on the VFR once I get a relay and the Blue Sea fuse box.
Just thought I'd give others the idea...I may put one or two on the fairing, then use a black USB cable to extend it into my tank bag or something.
This wouldn't be hard to do, and as you pointed out more and more items use them. All you really need is a 5v regulator and an old cable or the port to hard mount it.
I just installed one to power my GPS and MP3 playa.
Nothing fancy - I soldered two wires into a car charger that has a USB slot and hooked it up to power through a relay. Since I don't have any other accessories, I taped up the charger and the USB cable "permanently" and ran the wire to my Powerlet in the stering stem. So, now I have 5V in the stem instead of 12.
Bringing up something related, is there any concern about how "clean" the power is that the VFRs can provide. As it is, we do have electrical issues typical to the VFR models that ranges from overload and underload conditions bad enough to burn through harnesses and make crispy RRs. Should installation of a USB port be accompanied with some sore of power stabilization and surge filter to protect what ever you might plug into it??
Bringing up something related, is there any concern about how "clean" the power is that the VFRs can provide. As it is, we do have electrical issues typical to the VFR models that ranges from overload and underload conditions bad enough to burn through harnesses and make crispy RRs. Should installation of a USB port be accompanied with some sore of power stabilization and surge filter to protect what ever you might plug into it??
Can a 12V power socket be connected directly to the battery, or is a relay needed? I want to use my USB power adapter (cigarette lighter socket to USB for GPS power) in the car and on the bike.
Can a 12V power socket be connected directly to the battery, or is a relay needed?
The power socket _should_ be connected directly to the battery with a separate 14-gauge (or thicker) wire and a MANDATORY separate fuse. You do not want the rest of your bike to die (or catch fire) because of a short in your mp3 player. A relay is optional, it would disconnect the power to the socket when the ignition key is off. Keeps you from leaving your stuff on and draining the battery. Did I mention that the wiring to the socket MUST have its own fuse? Here is my battery connection. You can see 2 inline fuses, one of them goes to the power socket, the second one goes to the aftermarket horns. [image: Posted Image]
This guy would probably have a USB connector on his Segway... Seriously speaking, if you do install a USB connector on your bike, you might want a waterproof one like the Amphenol MUSB series:
Any 12V to USB adapter will have a 7805 chip in it....which is a 5V voltage regulator. Probably easiest just to get an adapter rather than wire up a 5V regulator....but where is the fun in that?
Would one of you geeks just ride up alongside me on the freeway and I will hand you my Samsung mp3 to recharge, after 20 miles or so , just hand it back and it should be good to go, Thanks! j/k :angry:
Actually I have the powerlet steering stem bmw smaller 12v outlet, I wonder if powerlet has the adapter, bmw male plug one end usb on the other? not sure, a link would be helpful, heres mine :angry: [video: http://youtube.com/embed/-xEzGIuY7kw?html5=1&fs=1]
![[image: Posted Image]](http://saft7.com/techtips/klaksonkeong/klaksonkeong-10.jpg){kind=link}