Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Got a spanner in the works? Post your motorcycle problems here.
Ginger
Posts: 299
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:41 am

Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Post by Ginger »

Hi Guys,

I know pretty much nothing about electrics other than it makes your tongue feel funny when you lick a battery and you shouldn't stick your fingers in a plug socket....

I am planning a long distance ride on a 1968 Honda C200 (charity ride) and it would be easier if I could fit the Sat Nav from my GS.

Its a TomTim Rider. So the question is; can this be done? The little Honda is a 6v bike but I assume the Sat Nav will need 12v to run.

I do not want to try and connect it to the battery to 'give t a try' as no doubt it will end up in flames!!! (or maybe not?)

Any auto electricians able to explain in lay-mans terms to me whether this can be done??

Ta

Andy
redbikejohn
Posts: 2176
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 4:01 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 95 times

Re: Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Post by redbikejohn »

It depends on the Tom Tom's input voltage. Check the lead, say something like primary voltage 12v and secondary 5v (guess). A lot of modern stuff runs on 5v dc ie phones etc so if it does you are in luck. The 6v should be OK with 5v equipment.
Yamaha tenere 700
XT660Z written off from behind by car.



Check out www.redbikejohn.com for ride & race reports (enduro, H&H etc).
sprintster
Posts: 2866
Joined: Tue Aug 06, 2013 4:49 pm
Has thanked: 105 times
Been thanked: 71 times

Re: Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Post by sprintster »

I'm not an auto electrician either but I think satnavs have to reduce their power down to 5 volts anyway.Take the battery out of the bike for peace of mind before you "give it a try" but if there's not enough power it won't fry anything,it just won't work.
Oop North John
Posts: 1658
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2011 11:30 am
Has thanked: 154 times
Been thanked: 199 times

Re: Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Post by Oop North John »

Maybe something like this is what you need:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Industry-Grad ... 3641.l6368
r6eck
Posts: 142
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:53 pm
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 27 times

Re: Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Post by r6eck »

I wouldn't be fitting it to a 6v setup on an old bike.
If its like my old dt175 then voltage varies all over the place.
Will hardly light a bulb at tickover.
Not the best for modern electronic equipment.

Have you considered upgrading your bike to 12v
dodursley
Posts: 716
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:25 pm
Been thanked: 98 times

Re: Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Post by dodursley »

I did a bit of looking around at adding satnav to my CT90. Most run on USB 5v ish power and I did find some power reducers, including circuits, on the internet but do not have the links.
I have just brought a C200 myself the electrics are a bit complex a mixed DC/AC system, as in many early small Hondas. Ignition, stop, horn and battery charging are unregulated DC (rectified AC) and lights are unregulated AC. Satnavs are sensitive to voltage so their power needs to be regulated.
Alternative have an additional small 12v battery on a carrier and feed some AC to a 12v zener diode to the supply the 12v battery & use a normal 12v-5v satnav/phone reducer. Not a very elegant solution. Try the C90 forum.
nickoff
Posts: 494
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 4:13 pm
Has thanked: 103 times
Been thanked: 50 times

Re: Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Post by nickoff »

dodursley wrote:I did a bit of looking around at adding satnav to my CT90. Most run on USB 5v ish power and I did find some power reducers, including circuits, on the internet but do not have the links.
I have just brought a C200 myself the electrics are a bit complex a mixed DC/AC system, as in many early small Hondas. Ignition, stop, horn and battery charging are unregulated DC (rectified AC) and lights are unregulated AC. Satnavs are sensitive to voltage so their power needs to be regulated.
Alternative have an additional small 12v battery on a carrier and feed some AC to a 12v zener diode to the supply the 12v battery & use a normal 12v-5v satnav/phone reducer. Not a very elegant solution. Try the C90 forum.
If you have a modern mobile phone why not download one of the many satnav apps and use that? Buy yourself a power pack for less than 20 quid and it should keep you going fir ages.
Nick.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
Rederic
Posts: 2900
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:22 pm
Has thanked: 72 times
Been thanked: 245 times

Re: Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Post by Rederic »

Just use the sat/nav from its own inbuilt battery you can keep it topped up with a power pack or if your using a Montanna just use AA batteries
It worked for me on my KLX 250

[center]
giphy-1.gif
giphy-1.gif (1.54 MiB) Viewed 3082 times
HTH (thumbs) [/center]
If your not the lead dog the view never change's
Peirre
Posts: 1120
Joined: Thu May 14, 2015 4:23 pm
Has thanked: 21 times
Been thanked: 64 times

Re: Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Post by Peirre »

I did wonder why the OP was considering fitting the satnav.
As most of us use them to navigate the last mile or two to the destination, which made me think why not just switch it on when your nearly there and use its internal battery power.
User avatar
Hugh
Posts: 1344
Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2016 1:54 pm
Has thanked: 938 times
Been thanked: 980 times

Re: Is it possible to fit a Sat Nav to my 6v vintage bike??

Post by Hugh »

Greetings,

I do n't use a proprietary Sat Nav as such when on my bike but as back up I have an application called 'HERE' on my Android Motorola G3 water resistant mobile phone. It only takes seconds to park up and just check your location although you could mount your phone in a waterproof case on your handlebars.

I have also used this app own a Windows phone too and found it very useful. I have tested in many high end cars and it works just as well and the extra benefit is that it is free. If unsure about phone battery life just carry one of those little power packs.

TTFN

Hugh.
Post Reply

Return to “TECHNICAL”