I've been wanting to put some external power on the bike for a while but wasn't sure what I wanted yet. But after thinking about what toys I use on my bike (iPhone and Bluetooth headset) a USB outlet seemed to be the best choice. There's not a lot out there, but the one I got by TAPP seems pretty cool. It's a new model with 2.1 amps to charge more power hungry devices like tablets.

Installation was pretty simple. One end is secured to the handle bars and the other end is wired to the battery. There's a rubber cap to cover the USB port when not in use and to keep moisture out. Since the USB port draws a small amount of power even when it's not being used I was concerned about the battery drain. The salesman I spoke to said the power draw was so small it would take about a 1,000 hours to drain a standard bike battery. I'm going to drain the battery on my iPad and then put it on the bike to charge and see how it does. The real question will my bike start in the morning.

Here are some pics of the install and final product.











I have a short black iPhone USB cable on order



Charging the iPad

 

hmm..i just installed a regular power socket...and, i have a usb plug that goes in if usb power is needed....

 

Ya I've seen those. But I don't have any accessories that use a cigarette outlet so why bother.

 

Versatility. And it probably cost less.

 

Hmm, how much did the direct USB power kit cost?

I paid $12 for my Cigarette 12v power, and $2 for the USB Adapter to go in it.

 

It cost a little more but that wasn't my concern, simplicity was. It made no sense to install a bulkier cigarette outlet when I'm only going to power USB devices.

 

Where on your bike did you install the power socket?

 

I already had a pigtail on my battery to connect it to my Battery Tender. I recently bought a female lighter outlet that mates right up to the Battery Tender connector. Perfect!!! I am going to get one of the Belkin USB adapters as well, to cover all my bases.

The 12v outlet I bought came with a 5' cord, so I *could* run it up to the handlebars... but for now, I'm planning on leaving it in back. The idea is to use it to power/charge stuff while they're inside my Wolfman Enduro bags. My (older) Garmin Legend uses a 12v male adapter, and I thought the 12v socket would be handy to power a mini tire inflator as well. In the future, if/as my needs change, I'll adapt as necessary.

 

on the front left...garmin mount is on the right....video camera mount is on the far left (off on this picture)...got the tusk power socket with rubber cap which seals the socket from rain or weather really well..i was worried that it will dangle in the wind, but seems like the shield projects it from wind..no dangling and cap doesn't move at all...

 

Mind sharing where you got that adapter for $2? That's the one I was looking at buying. They make a dual-port version as well. I've only seen the (single-port) one in the $9-$14 range... not including shipping.