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Adding electronics

OldBoots

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I just bought my first street bike and wile I want to wait until I have more experience riding before I start making modifications to suspension or geometry, I do know I want to add some aftermarket electrical devices:

Battery tender connection
GPS power supply
USB for phone charging
Connection for portable air compressor
Eventually I may add heated grips too

I will probably pay someone to do it but I want to be sure I understand what is the best combination of robustness, flexibility, and reasonable price. I hopefully won't just show up at the shop, open up my wallet, and shake whatever is left out onto the counter.

Thanks for your help!
 
... I want to add some aftermarket electrical devices:
Battery tender connection
GPS power supply
USB for phone charging
Connection for portable air compressor
The Battery Tender brand connection is a standard SAE connector, you hardwire it directly to the battery.

You can buy USB phone chargers that plug directly into your SAE connector, they cost $12 to $20 from Amazon, have single or double ports. I use one to power my iPhone while I ride, since my iPhone is my primary navigation device. There is enough space in the Frunk's seal to allow you to ride with a cable coming out of the Frunk so you can charge your phone while you ride while using it as GPS mounted above your instrument cluster.

You can buy a portable air compressor that uses the very same SAE connector, they cost $30 to $75 depending upon size/brand/etc. So the simple connector for the battery tender will power your other devices.

Battery Tender USB charger. There are other brands but this is just an example:



Stop & Go SAE connected air compressor for motorcycles. Many other brands available. I own one of these. It works.

 
Thanks! It looks like the first phase of things should be easy to do. The battery tender/compressor/usb adapter do not need to be tied to the accessory switch. And thank you for the recommendation on the compressor. There are many out there and most look like they could rattle themselves apart before blowing a tire up. I am going to open up the frunk this morning just so see what I can see.
 
I was unaware of that. Thanks for the information! How do you tell which models would be impacted? At this point, if I were to add luggage is would be one of the soft horseshoes like Giant Loop or something like that.
 
I am unfamiliar with Giant Loop. My impression is that the side cases that brace off the rear fender are racks for hard cases and soft cases with an adapter plate. This is a Hepco & Becker rack for a 2021 NC750X. You can see the brace going from the fender to the rear rack. You need to pick the brand you want and do your homework.

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I am unfamiliar with Giant Loop. My impression is that the side cases that brace off the rear fender are racks for hard cases and soft cases with an adapter plate. This is a Hepco & Becker rack for a 2021 NC750X. You can see the brace going from the fender to the rear rack. You need to pick the brand you want and do your homework.

View attachment 46949
I've got the Hepco & Becker rack on my bike. It is robust but very easy to remove too. a 1/4 turn of a hex key on 3 key bolts on each side and the whole thing comes off my 2018 NC750x. It comes off the bike in a large U-shaped unit with 3 attachment points on each side of the bike.

The brace goes around the rear but does not actually brace onto the license plate holder. At least that is how it works for the 2016 to 2020 model year bikes.

I'm not sure if that photo of the 2021 rack actually braces onto the license plate plastic of the 2021 bikes. I'd bet it is like mine where the two sides are braced against each other and come together behind the license plate frame but is not supported by the flimsy plastic that exists back there.
 
As for usb chargers, you may want to consider two, not just one. One in the plastic upper/inner front cowl and one in the frunk.

You may think, why do I need two? It's useful for powering external gadgets on your bars, but also gives you the option to charge stuff in your frunk. The additional utility may be minimal, but the added work to do it is along with the other is also minimal.
 
As for usb chargers, you may want to consider two, not just one. One in the plastic upper/inner front cowl and one in the frunk.

You may think, why do I need two? It's useful for powering external gadgets on your bars, but also gives you the option to charge stuff in your frunk. The additional utility may be minimal, but the added work to do it is along with the other is also minimal.
There are dual port units with SAE connectors. Some show voltage too. Lots of SAE connector options.


I actually run my iPhone charging cable out of the Frunk (the Frunk lid snaps shut without damaging the cable) up to my phone mount that is located above the instrument cluster. I have not found the need to charge my SPOT X Satellite Communicator while riding, but I can also snake that cable out of the Frunk up to the mount for the SPOT X.

I do the same with my cable for my heated gear.

There is a large rubber gasket around the Frunk that keeps it water tight even when there are multiple cables snaked out of the Frunk.

I am of the old keep it simple school of thought. The SAE connector is already there for the Battery Tender. Might as well use that for other things when the Tender is not in use. Obviously you are not going to be using the battery tender when you are riding. So the connector is a simple way to power an air compressor or multiple electronic devices, both inside and outside the Frunk. No need to complicate things. No need to over think this stuff.
 
I just bought my first street bike and wile I want to wait until I have more experience riding before I start making modifications to suspension or geometry, I do know I want to add some aftermarket electrical devices:

Battery tender connection
GPS power supply
USB for phone charging
Connection for portable air compressor
Eventually I may add heated grips too

I will probably pay someone to do it but I want to be sure I understand what is the best combination of robustness, flexibility, and reasonable price. I hopefully won't just show up at the shop, open up my wallet, and shake whatever is left out onto the counter.

Thanks for your help!
If it's a new bike, I suggest you look at the battery and see what is already connected to it. On both my 2015 Suzuki V-Strom 650 and my wife's new 2021 NC750X, there was already a SAE connector tucked away but pre-installed, probably by the manufacturer.
You may get lucky.
 
I just bought my first street bike and wile I want to wait until I have more experience riding before I start making modifications to suspension or geometry, I do know I want to add some aftermarket electrical devices:

Battery tender connection
GPS power supply
USB for phone charging
Connection for portable air compressor
Eventually I may add heated grips too

I will probably pay someone to do it but I want to be sure I understand what is the best combination of robustness, flexibility, and reasonable price. I hopefully won't just show up at the shop, open up my wallet, and shake whatever is left out onto the counter.

Thanks for your help!
2016 nc700x here. i added a couple of marine 12v outlets to left and right of the frunk lid, plus a battery tender sae plug coming out somewhere left flank. all were wired directly to the battery terminals with 10amp fuses. the outlets have USB receptacles and charge a gps unit and a phone (i do have a double usb in one of these so there's some room for expansion) and have hidden the wires so there's nothing hanging or looking weird or interfering with airflow. took me around an hour or so to install, with the heaviest effort in drilling holes for the outlets. i have no switch for these (they're hot regardless of ignition switch position) but am thinking of adding something that looks elegant and built-in sometime this winter.

this should work for an air compressor as well (though i'd suggest having the engine run when you do use it).

as far as cost goes, i don't think i spent more than an hour of time and <$75 in parts (including the battery tender setup).
 
I just bought my first street bike and wile I want to wait until I have more experience riding before I start making modifications to suspension or geometry, I do know I want to add some aftermarket electrical devices:

Battery tender connection
GPS power supply
USB for phone charging
Connection for portable air compressor
Eventually I may add heated grips too

I will probably pay someone to do it but I want to be sure I understand what is the best combination of robustness, flexibility, and reasonable price. I hopefully won't just show up at the shop, open up my wallet, and shake whatever is left out onto the counter.

Thanks for your help!
The old 'I bought a new bike..."
1. Cell phone holder & 2 usb plugs - easy to wire direct to battery (inline fuse on pos wire) charge even when bike is off (toss cell in the trunk).
2. Crash bar - I use R-Gaza.
2. Windshield - optional but I hate wind esp on highway.
3. Storage rack - I must have storage.
4. Hand guards / cups to deflect wind, then Heated grips - I love them and consider it a must for colder weather.
5. Suspension upgrades: I don't recommend doing stuff like this. Expensive, time consuming, and it's a lot of work doing the first 4 items. Average mc ownership in usa is 2 years and less than 4K miles. And most buyers don't care about 'upgrades' or appreciate the time and effort that goes into it.
 
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