Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => Accessories and modifications - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: midniteben on September 07, 2012, 10:02:05 PM
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Hey, i'm about to pull the trigger on a Zumo 350LM and a Techmount for my 2011 C14. Any suggestions or link to help with the install and wiring.
Thanks in advance.
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Hey, i'm about to pull the trigger on a Zumo 350LM and a Techmount for my 2011 C14. Any suggestions or link to help with the install and wiring.
It is pretty easy since it is likely you are just getting power. The GPS pulls almost nothing, so it doesn't matter where you gain power, but it should be ignition. Just tap into the lighter plug
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I just plugged my GPS into the accessory plug, no splicing needed
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I have mine hotwired with fuse to the battery. You can program with key off at the gas station and it doesnt have to reboot every time you stop for lunch or gas.
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I have mine hotwired with fuse to the battery. You can program with key off at the gas station and it doesnt have to reboot every time you stop for lunch or gas.
The Zumo doesn't have to reboot when on ignition. It asks if you want to run on battery when power is lost, you say "yes" and it stays on.
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good to know. My ancient 2730 works best on all the time.
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Yes it does, but I have found with my 550, that if you kill the ign while it's booting up, sometimes it locks and you have to do a battery pull to reset... That was a while ago mind you and may be fixed with the later firmware, but I just wired it to battery.
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Interesting responses. Are the Zumos 12 Volt? I have a garmin that is 5 Volts, which most of them are. Are they 12 Volt for are you using an adapter?
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Interesting responses. Are the Zumos 12 Volt? I have a garmin that is 5 Volts, which most of them are. Are they 12 Volt for are you using an adapter?
I use a NUVI 3450 and I just added a second cig lighter socket under the fairing on the left, plugged a 12 volt adapter and taped it with electrical tape so it cannot come out. This is all hidden under the fairing and just the coil wire comes out and up the antler to my mount. Works great! The built in socket on the C14 is used for my radar detector mounted to the right antler. Just the cost of an additional adapter. The original adapter I use for my cars or to travel with rental cars.
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Interesting responses. Are the Zumos 12 Volt? I have a garmin that is 5 Volts, which most of them are. Are they 12 Volt for are you using an adapter?
The Zumo is 12V and includes the motorcycle mount for direct wiring (but it can be charged with 5V through USB, if necessary). The Zumo is grossly overpriced, but high-end and complete and specifically designed for motorcycle use (100% waterproof, glove-friendly screen, side buttons, vibration resistant, RAM mount, bike graphics, etc).
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I just plugged my GPS into the accessory plug, no splicing needed
So the accessory leads are under the bell shaped rubber boot under the glove box area correct? Easy access and just crimp or solder bullet connectors?
Thanks guys!
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So the accessory leads are under the bell shaped rubber boot under the glove box area correct? Easy access and just crimp or solder bullet connectors?
Thanks guys!
I believe he was talking about the lighter socket.
But yes, there is an accessory lead in the black boot that you can also use.
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Yes they are male/female bullet connectors. ON the bike itself I believe the Positive is the Female connector and the Ground is the male, but make sure you test them with a multimeter before hooking up to be sure you have the correct wires/polarity
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Mine is wired into my Fuzeblock (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/bigthumb.gif)
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The Zumo is 12V and includes the motorcycle mount for direct wiring (but it can be charged with 5V through USB, if necessary). The Zumo is grossly overpriced, but high-end and complete and specifically designed for motorcycle use (100% waterproof, glove-friendly screen, side buttons, vibration resistant, RAM mount, bike graphics, etc).
My Zumo 450 from 2008 finally died in a way I can't fix. I have replaced the touchscreen three times and re-sealed the physical buttons with silicone sealant twice. But it started acting strangely last week with weird error messages, then wouldn't charge from the mount. Checked the fuses and powerlet and they are good.
I called Garmin and they were no help at all. All I wanted was a pinout of the mount or the Zumo connector. They claim that is not available anywhere. Yeah, right. So I can't even check power from the mount because I don't know which of the zillion pins it is, and it seems to be un-openable. I tried the other direction from inside the Zumo and that isn't much help either. So I have a $550 brick.
I would have hoped such an expensive device would have lasted longer, although 9 years isn't bad. So I looked at their current Zumo offerings, the 395 and 595 and was just shocked by the reviews on Amazon. The prices are just as outrageous but the conclusion is that the software is now horrible (bugs, crashing, poor design, tiny fonts, lack of labels, etc), the bluetooth unreliable, the music on the 395 is very poor quality and the screen on the 595 is unreadable in daylight. Tom-Tom makes a bike device and it is rated just as poorly.
Now I don't know what I am going to do. I can't find any info to fix mine (and it had its own issues- takes forever to boot, even longer before it will play music, can't hold but 4GB SD card, won't play music on self-battery, and the touch-screen failures are annoying). It looks like the newer ones are garbage. And there are no alternatives worth looking at. I bought a RAM X Grip mount for my phone (which is excellent) but using a phone is horrible... no physical buttons, capacitive touchscreen is almost unusable no matter how I apply conductive thread to the glove fingers, has no autonomous mapping, has no SD card so I can't carry any more music than the old Zumo, there is no way to keep it "on", is not at all weather resistant, the volume controls are not accessible while in the mount, and the screen is nowhere near as bright.
:(
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So the accessory leads are under the bell shaped rubber boot under the glove box area correct? Easy access and just crimp or solder bullet connectors?
Thanks guys!
Correct, and they are also a switched supply meaning when you turn off the ignition then power to these leads is switched off
You will need small hands to access the leads and patience to find them , I made up two lengths of extension (male and female bullet connectors ) and attached them to the leads on the bike which makes for easier access and attachment ;)
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Yep, that is how it goes with consumer electronics. Garmin offers what is supposed to be an exchange program, they take yours in (in any condition apparently) and claim to give back a rebuilt or refurbished unit in exchange. I have used this service several time with a few different models and all have been brand new, in the box. But they only offer this service for a period of time once a model is no longer made and once they are gone, they no longer offer the exchange. And as they do not and never had offered any parts or pay service on road vehicle models, that is about the end of the life for that model. You are in the situation a lot of us have ended up in.
My own favorite is a Zumo 550, and that too is no longer supported by Garmin so when (really not 'if') it fails, I am SOL. I also own a 665 but overall prefer the 550; it has the far better screen to see / read in daylight or direct sunlight, and has enough buttons to do what I need to do without having to use any on- screen buttons when riding. The 665 is the faster device but has a display that is far from as good as the 550, and requires the use of screen buttons to operate it. And as I am using a communications jack on both units, there is nothing available new that can replace either one, at least the way I am using it now (hard- wired to the comm. system on the bike, Bluetooth connection to my cell phone).
There does not seem to be much or any development going on for outside vehicle GPSs either so it is not looking good for the future. It appears that smart phones have taken over that market and while I am sure that works for most people, smart phones no longer have comm. jacks on them either so again, they will not work for me.
There are a few outfits that repair these older GPS's and it might be worth looking into that. The 4XX and 550 Zumo series have PCB contacts on the bottom that contact conical, spring- loaded brass buttons and after a while, the buttons actually wear holes in the pads (had that happen to two different units) and it is unlikely that any repair facility will have new PC boards available so these units are going to have an absolute lifespan limit without support from the factory.
The only other way to go might be a tablet, sealed against weather and mounted on the fuel tank instead of vertically, behind the windshield. With software and a GPS antennae, or just using a tablet that has a GPS system built in, it should serve as a route planner / display / directions as well as a sound system.
For whatever it is worth, I am really impressed you had one go 9 years. I have gone through them like candy, always having them replaced under warranty (either factory warranty or the original Best Buy warranty I got along with a Magellan Roadmate 700 many years ago). In my own experience, they are just not very reliable.
Brian
My Zumo 450 from 2008 finally died in a way I can't fix. I have replaced the touchscreen three times and re-sealed the physical buttons with silicone sealant twice. But it started acting strangely last week with weird error messages, then wouldn't charge from the mount. Checked the fuses and powerlet and they are good.
I called Garmin and they were no help at all. All I wanted was a pinout of the mount or the Zumo connector. They claim that is not available anywhere. Yeah, right. So I can't even check power from the mount because I don't know which of the zillion pins it is, and it seems to be un-openable. I tried the other direction from inside the Zumo and that isn't much help either. So I have a $550 brick.
I would have hoped such an expensive device would have lasted longer, although 9 years isn't bad. So I looked at their current Zumo offerings, the 395 and 595 and was just shocked by the reviews on Amazon. The prices are just as outrageous but the conclusion is that the software is now horrible (bugs, crashing, poor design, tiny fonts, lack of labels, etc), the bluetooth unreliable, the music on the 395 is very poor quality and the screen on the 595 is unreadable in daylight. Tom-Tom makes a bike device and it is rated just as poorly.
Now I don't know what I am going to do. I can't find any info to fix mine (and it had its own issues- takes forever to boot, even longer before it will play music, can't hold but 4GB SD card, won't play music on self-battery, and the touch-screen failures are annoying). It looks like the newer ones are garbage. And there are no alternatives worth looking at. I bought a RAM X Grip mount for my phone (which is excellent) but using a phone is horrible... no physical buttons, capacitive touchscreen is almost unusable no matter how I apply conductive thread to the glove fingers, has no autonomous mapping, has no SD card so I can't carry any more music than the old Zumo, there is no way to keep it "on", is not at all weather resistant, the volume controls are not accessible while in the mount, and the screen is nowhere near as bright.
:(
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My own favorite is a Zumo 550
Yep. My 450 is the same as the 550, just without bluetooth.
There does not seem to be much or any development going on for outside vehicle GPSs either so it is not looking good for the future.
Yeah, I noticed. Garmin has a near monopoly, and that is why the quality has dropped and prices have remained high.
For whatever it is worth, I am really impressed you had one go 9 years. I have gone through them like candy[...]In my own experience, they are just not very reliable.
Well, the only reason I have been able to do so is because I could buy cheap, touchscreens off Ebay (and I am not afraid to take things apart and clean, re-seal the buttons, etc. But without power, I am stuck. I just find it hard to believe that nobody knows the pinout! If I had to, I could just put my own power connector directly on the 450 and feed it 12V to the board inside, if it is 12V.... I am not even sure of that without a pinout!!! Haven't given up on that concept quite yet, although it would make somewhat of a Frankenstein out of it.... and that assumes that the headphone jack on the mount will still work after such a mod...