Garmin Nuvi 500 GPS on a motorcycle
I have a Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS for my automobile, but I chose the Garmin Nuvi 500 for
my motorcycle for several reasons:
- It is made by Garmin (http://www.garmin.com/)
- It comes with terrain as well as street maps
- It is waterproof
- It has a replaceable battery
- Battery life is a respectable 10 hours
It is not, however, recommended for a motorcycle because of the vibration issue.
I ignore the vibration issue for a couple of reasons:
- I do not ride a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
- I use RAM mounts which are designed to minimize vibration. The mounts come in a
variety of styles. The one I use replaces a handlebar clamp bolt. Also shown in the
photo is a camera mount.
I have been using this setup for three years and have had no problems.
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| Garmin Nuvi 500 | Nuvi mount from Ram |
The mounting hardware is from RAM Mounting Systems (http://ram-mount.com/)
The wiring is a PPC-015-DB from Powerlet (http://www.powerlet.com/)
Any power cable that supplies 5 volts through a mini-USB connector will work but there is a
caveat:
Some Garmin Nuvi GPS units may not detect a power cable as a charging cable but instead
detect it as a data cable. The PPC-015-DB comes with a right angle adapter cable (PPC-024)
that solves this problem. In the event you do not have a PPC-024 the following list of
processes provided by Powerlet have been determined to work.
- Turn off the unit and then turn it back on. Plug in the power cable. If the unit detects
the cable as a data cable instead of a charging cable then disconnect the cable and turn the
unit off. Turn the unit back on and press the reset button on the Nuvi. Connect the power and
see if the cable is now detected as a charging cable. If not, proceed to process 2.
- With the Nuvi off, connect the power cable. Hold the power switch down, release it and
press the power switch again. Keep holding it down on the second press. This will keep it
from trying to connect to a computer. "Going to charging mode" should appear on the screen.
Release the power switch. Pressing on the screen anytime after that will cause the Nuvi
to report that it is charging or that charging is complete". If this doesn't work, proceed
to process 3.
- Without the cable connected, power the Nuvi on. Press and hold the battery charge icon
when it appears. In about 10 seconds the unit goes into a diagnostic mode
showing a variety of unit specs and tests including the battery voltage and level. Plug
in the power cable. The battery will begin charging. If this doesn't work, proceed to
process 4.
- Without the cable connected, power the Nuvi on. Press and hold the battery charge icon
when it appears. In about 10 seconds the unit goes to the data page. Near the bottom,
"USB Device No cable Detected" should be visible. Plug in the cable and the
line should change to "USB Device USB Type-B" or "USB Device Power Cable". Press the exit icon.
The PPC-015-DB connects to the motorcycle battery so power is always available. I asked Powerlet
what the consequence is of having the power supply hard wired to the battery and not under load.
Here is their response:
We designed it without an LED light so as not to drain systems when not
in use or when the vehicle is stored.
We recommend that any bike that is stored be placed on a quality trickle
charger. This helps save the life of the battery and as well eliminate
any other potential of battery drain.
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| First created Apr 22, 2008 ~ Last revised October 20, 2010 |
