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Charging Cell Phone While Riding?


Wojo72

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I have gotten into the habit of using my phone and ear buds while riding in my short 300 miles of seat time.  I haven't wandered too far from home yet but I expect that I'll want to use Google maps while out and about.   What do you folks use to charge your phones while riding?

 

1) There is a wire under the tank cover that I can use to hook up a charger.   I keep my phone in my pocket instead of a mount so this probably won't work well.   I also don't know how much it will cost to rig this up.  I'm guessing about $45 from what I have seen on a few forums.

 

2) Portable Charger - I've used this in the past for other circumstances.  I can pick one up that will charge my phone several times before needing to be plugged in.  I have a small one that is AWOL in the house.

 

Are there any other options that haven't occurred to me?

 

Thanks

 

 

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I charge my phone on the bike, but I also take a portable charger with me on weekend camping trips.  I have an "Ion 10" from Octopod (a buddy and fellow motorcyclist owns the Hilliard-based company) and it'll charge my iPhone 6 a couple times over, which is all I need between access to AC.  It'll fit easily into a pocket and keep your phone charged through a long day of riding.

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Hellmutt bought me a power bank, you charge it then it charges the phone (up to 2xs). I love it, its a little bigger than my phone (razor). It works great and I no longer need power when I need to charge. I recharge the box as needed and I still charge my phone nightly. I can still use my phone while the bank charges it.

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I think that this is the route that I am going to go.  Maybe get one of the 10K units and call it good. 

 

Hellmutt bought me a power bank, you charge it then it charges the phone (up to 2xs). I love it, its a little bigger than my phone (razor). It works great and I no longer need power when I need to charge. I recharge the box as needed and I still charge my phone nightly. I can still use my phone while the bank charges it.

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It works great, my phone doesn't hold a charge for very long (or I use it to much). This has beeh a huge help and I absolutely love it. I was on my phone all day yesterday, I used the bank twice but never had to plug in. I charged only the phone last night and I am using the bank for a 3rd time now.

Edited by snot
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When on the Triumph I have a powerlet adapter and just charge the phone right off the bike.  When on the Ducati I have a 4000ma battery pack charger.  It will keep the phone fully charged for about 2.5-3hrs with the GPS and screen running.

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It works great, my phone doesn't hold a charge for very long (or I use it to much). This has beeh a huge help and I absolutely love it. I was on my phone all day yesterday, I used the bank twice but never had to plug in. I charged only the phone last night and I am using the bank for a 3rd time now.

 

Note that if you have an Android phone, you might be able to replace the battery for really cheap.  It's a little tougher with an Apple phone, but is also doable if you're handy with small screwdrivers or take it to a "phone doctor" place in town.

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I have a new phone on order. But, I might change the battery in this one later. If don't like the new one, I will switch back. I also, keep my last phone just in case... I washed 2 of hellmutts phones in the same week once.

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Any GPS systems seem to eat power like crazy. I like to use CoPilot since the maps are preloaded which will save data use.

 

This might be more involved than you were looking for, but I installed a cig lighter/USB socket in a tank bag then connected it to the battery using a 12-volt connector that came with my battery tender.

 

The tank bag is a SW-Motech that mounts to a ring on the tank cap so that it never touches the paint on the tank. This version of the tank bag has a clear window - touch screen film so you can mount the phone in the bag, connected to the power and still see it, and use the screen.

 

I found the cig/USB adapter at WalMart in the RV section. It looks sort of like the one in the link below but only has one cigarette socket, does not have the male socket end (the unit I found was direct wire) and it cost less. Also, It is made to be mounted to a dash, or in this case to the baseboard of the tank bag.

 

http://www.amazon.com/adapter-cigarette-lighter-splitter-MRS152UV/dp/B003RQBKLC

 

Then I needed to extend the wires to get to the tender connector to the battery so I got an extension like the following, but at Autozone - also in the RV section.

 

http://www.amazon.com/CES-Gauge-Quick-Disconnect-Harness/dp/B0057ZQJ12/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1420409266&sr=8-3&keywords=12+Volt+Connectors

 

I use a Sena SMH10R headset in my helmet which uses Bluetooth so I don't need any wires to the helmet. I got that mainly to have intercom with the wife.

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Well if you have a battery tender pigtail, they just released a usb adapter. I got mine at iron pony for 10 bucks.

Here: http://www.batterytender.com/Accessories/USB-Charger-QDC.html

This is what I use, as a bonus its a 2.1 amp charger.

I ran the wire under my tank to my xgrip phone holder on my handlebar. Keeps charged all day long, and that's with using GPS and streaming music with occasional phone call through my sena

They aren't just released I've had mine for over a year and a half.

Edited by 2talltim
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Well if you have a battery tender pigtail, they just released a usb adapter. I got mine at iron pony for 10 bucks.

 

Here: http://www.batterytender.com/Accessories/USB-Charger-QDC.html

 

Also what I use. Don't have a mount for anything, just store my cell in my stoarge area.

Charges my cell pretty well.

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I use a power station in my tankbag. 3 power ports and 2 USB ports. I can simultaneously run the GPS, charge both our phones, and still have spare power sources. Wired straight from the Battery Tender tether, just plug and play. Cheap enough, around $20 last year iirc.

Here's a link, but dont buy direct - they can be found much cheaper elsewhere online

http://www.eklipes.com/EK1-214

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I just bought a cellphone and gps adapter w a female end 12v adapter from iron pony... $20...it plugs right into the harness of your battery tender pigtail...super easy and very user friendly...I can charge my phone or Ghost HD in the tank bag.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Earlier this week I picked up a KMASHI 10000mAh MP816 from Amazon for less than $14.  That should be enough to charge my phone 3 times while out on the road.   Hopefully it works as advertised.  I'll just stick it in a pocket of whatever jacket I am wearing.   My son and I can also use it to charge tablets when travelling. If I end up hard wiring a charger to my bike it won't go to waste.

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I haven't tried it yet so I can't comment on how well it works.  Here is the link just in case anybody wants to take a gamble on a cheap portable charger.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JM59JPG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Edited by Wojo72
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