UPDATE: Dumb stunt of the year cost me some $$.

[John Schmidt]

I'm going about installing a double USB port on the trike in the left speaker panel of the fairing. The body of the device is longer than expected so I had to do some trial fitting so as to not interfere with the speaker and still have room to attach wires without hitting the outer portion of the fairing. I tried three different spots, marking each one, and finally settled on one that gave good clearance all around. With that, I commenced to drill a 1" diameter hole in the panel and did a trial fitting of the USB device, only to find it hit the edge of the speaker housing inside. I took a closer look and realized I had made a mark for each of the three tested spots for drilling, but hadn't removed the two marks not used. In the end, I used the wrong mark...followed by a forehead slap, then quick trip to visit Ebay and found a nice left panel for $40 which came today. Oh well...one of those days I guess.

As for using the speakers for the GPS, I have that solved to my satisfaction. I picked up a 4' long cord with the 3.5mm male connector on each end, one end in the GPS, the other in the Aux plug which I have laying on the battery cover. My handlebar mount is such that I can quickly pop the GPS off during stops where it's exposed to 5-finger shopping.  

UPDATE: Here's the result of my dual USB port install.


Ports ON. Notice it's upside down...done to accommodate the terminals in back. Hope the electrons don't get confused!


Ports OFF. The toggle switch is in the ground circuit, lets me shut it off when not in use to prevent possible battery drain when the bike isn't used for extended periods.


I could have run a wire from my aux fuse panel but I already had a power lead available in that area. The toggle switch is needed because that power lead comes directly off the battery for the Signal Boss. Since my turn signal lights are all LED, I'm well within amperage limits of the Boss.

[Jess from VA]

John, they sell little analog thermometers that can be stuck to the inside of the fairing.

They are just a little bigger than an inch.

They actually have a use, unlike bullet hole decals. 

Though it didn't take long to discover it's 8-10 degrees hotter inside the faring than the outside ambient temperature.  (I wasn't covering a mistake though)

[..]

I'm going about installing a double USB port on the trike in the left speaker panel of the fairing. The body of the device is longer than expected so I had to do some trial fitting so as to not interfere with the speaker and still have room to attach wires without hitting the outer portion of the fairing. I tried three different spots, marking each one, and finally settled on one that gave good clearance all around. With that, I commenced to drill a 1" diameter hole in the panel and did a trial fitting of the USB device, only to find it hit the edge of the speaker housing inside. I took a closer look and realized I had made a mark for each of the three tested spots for drilling, but hadn't removed the two marks not used. In the end, I used the wrong mark...followed by a forehead slap, then quick trip to visit Ebay and found a nice left panel for $40 which came today. Oh well...one of those days I guess.

As for using the speakers for the GPS, I have that solved to my satisfaction. I picked up a 4' long cord with the 3.5mm male connector on each end, one end in the GPS, the other in the Aux plug which I have laying on the battery cover. My handlebar mount is such that I can quickly pop the GPS off during stops where it's exposed to 5-finger shopping. 

And a tether for the GPS just in case it pops off when going down the road?

[Jims99]

I had to add a little angled piece of pvc for this to work, but came out great, and plenty of room.

[gordonv]

And a tether for the GPS just in case it pops off when going down the road?

I did exactly that for my windshield mounted GPS. I only use it on long unknown trips, attach a lanyard to it. I have had it fall of while driving down the Hwy, pulled over, and reattached.

[John Schmidt]

What makes this set up so nice is I can now keep my GPS charged while riding. I won't need it charging all the time, just when I see the battery is getting low then all I have to do is flip the toggle switch to turn on the USB ports. I figure at least a couple hours on a charge, I haven't ever run it down so don't really know what to expect. I did plug it in then test the Signal Boss to see if there's an excessive draw. All workd fine, probably due to the turns being LEDs. Weather permitting, the weekend of Aug. 6th I'll be making a short trip to the LaCrosse area for the Quad State gathering. That should give it a good test, the directions will be coming out over the speakers.

[hubcapsc]

What makes this set up so nice is I can now keep my GPS charged while riding.

Colorado and New Mexico was one of the first places I used the BFGPS...



My bike's not turned on in this picture, but if it was that little black
bar on the top right would be GREEN to let me know the BFGPS
is staying charged.

Part of the way through my first day on that trip I looked down and the
bar was half green and half black... I'M NOT CHARGING! HOW WILL I
EVER GET TO COLORADO ON BACK ROADS? I'M TURNING BACK!!!

I stopped somewhere near Rome Georgia, found the problem and
was back on the road  ...

-Mike

[Bagger John - #3785]

What I would have done (what I have done, in fact, for electrical accessory mounting) is to replace the stock handlebar clamp with a two-piece unit from a Shadow that uses a 1" diameter bar:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/k6QAAOSwwTtgB3Q1/s-l400.jpg

Then install one of these between the riser caps and wire it up:



No muss, no fuss and no drilling required. If you scour eBay often enough, the chromed Hondaline riser caps occasionally show up for sale.