A practical one... (12V socket)

[vela]

We all need it.. and I don't know why don't they (Yamaha) install these on all of their bikes. FJR has it. Anyway this is how I did it. You really don't need to use wire this thick, it cannot hurt, but it's not necessary. I had it laying around so I used it, plus I bought a fuse holder that was mounted on the same type of wire so I just went with it...
This is what you need:

And this is how it's done:
Since this cable is too thick it had to be soldered, but that's better than cramping anyway.

Heatshrink is important, and it tidies things up.

That's it!

Look for this socket at your local marine supply store, it needs to be water tight. Don't buy the ones made for cars. This one also has a fuse and a small green LED. I'll be able to charge my cell phone on a trip or plug my GPS in it.
All I have to do now is to figure out where to put it. I think it'll go by the ignition lock.

 

[SovietRobot]

Well yours will be sturdy no doubt.

What I did was connect a fused 24" SAE lead to the battery, and have it come out of the frame by the steering head, then have an 18" SAE-to-cigarette socket that I can connect and have in my tank bag.
This makes it so I can connect a battery tender to the same lead.
I can leave the socket and whatevers connected to it in my tank bag, and just disconnect the SAE and tie it up.

 

[necrotimus]

Great modification. For those of us who aren't allowed to play with electricity there is also the buy it pre-made option.

Powerlet Products

 

[simonwb]

We all need it..

I agree. I got my dealer to wire me in one - my socket is located into the plastic panel just under the seat on the LHS - I use mine to power my heated vest.

Ed: I found a pic:

 

[vela]

Well yours will be sturdy no doubt.

What I did was connect a fused 24" SAE lead to the battery, and have it come out of the frame by the steering head, then have an 18" SAE-to-cigarette socket that I can connect and have in my tank bag.
This makes it so I can connect a battery tender to the same lead.
I can leave the socket and whatevers connected to it in my tank bag, and just disconnect the SAE and tie it up.

Can you please post a pic of it? It sounds very well taught off. I don't know what SAE is... I might try to replicate it. Thanks.

 

[vela]

I agree. I got my dealer to wire me in one - my socket is located into the plastic panel just under the seat on the LHS - I use mine to power my heated vest.

Ed: I found a pic:

Hey! That's a great place for it! I was going to put it by the ignition, but then I would have to make a mount for it. Cheers!

 

[OneTrack]

Hey! That's a great place for it! I was going to put it by the ignition, but then I would have to make a mount for it. Cheers!

Install 2 outlets: one at the front of the bike and one at the side (as shown above). My preference was for a marine-grade waterproof outlet at the front for my GPS & cellphone (for recharging), and an SAE connector at the same place shown above at the left side of my bike for my heated vest and for connecting my battery tender during storage. I prefer a "hard" connection for the heated vest.
The front inner fairing has a great place for mounting the 12v outlet:-

Here is my GPS mounted and plugged into the outlet:-

 

[Jman]

Nicely done!:Flash:

 

[Jim Karam]

I also went the SAE route, better known as the Battery Tender Connection. However, when you combine it with all the Powerlet options Powerlet Products , it's very convenient to power all kinds of stuff. My tankbag is probably a bit extreme as it holds a GMRS transceiver, cell phone, Autocom intercom/mixer, MP3 player, radar detector, Sirius radio, and cables to my GPS. Mainly, the bag holds cables, each of which is invariably 1 meter long when all you need is a few inches along with a cigarette lighter power adapter for each farkle. See photo.

 

[Motogiro]

Good post!
This is another project I would like to do to my FZ6

 

[vela]

:thumbup: You guys are way ahead of me! Great! Thanks for all the ideas!

 

[SovietRobot]

Can you please post a pic of it? It sounds very well taught off. I don't know what SAE is... I might try to replicate it. Thanks.

This is what the SAE socket looks like. It's a useful universal connector that can be used for a lot of things.

The socket that sits in my tankbag looks like this

Both the fused lead and the cigarette socket are "Powerlet" branded, about $30 for both from Eastern Beaver Powerlet Tankbag Kits, SAE Adaptors, cheap Worldwide Shipping (Great company by the way)

My way was very lazy and easy, not well thought out, but it works great for my purposes. Powerlet makes great socket kits if you want to mount it for a clean installation.

 

[SANGER_A2]

This is what the SAE socket looks like. It's a useful universal connector that can be used for a lot of things.

The socket that sits in my tankbag looks like this

Both the fused lead and the cigarette socket are "Powerlet" branded, about $30 for both from Eastern Beaver Powerlet Tankbag Kits, SAE Adaptors, cheap Worldwide Shipping (Great company by the way)

My way was very lazy and easy, not well thought out, but it works great for my purposes. Powerlet makes great socket kits if you want to mount it for a clean installation.

Weird thing. My bike actually came with a fused SAE connector already connected to the battery. I took it off when I was wiring in my grips etc though. I don't know if it was anything to do with the fact that my bike has ABS or just something the Yammie testers were using and forgot to remove!

 

[Roadstergal]

Anyway this is how I did it.

Nice sano job! I'd be interested to see the install pics when you do put it in. This mod is definitely on my list.