Scott, what year and model do you have? MikeyM's is a 2015 Burgman 650. The early 650's had the power port at a different angle and a standard Cig lighter plug will not fit with the door closed. See pictures below.Not to steer off subject but is there a cigarette lighter adapter that has a usb port that will fit in the original lighter plug and allow you to shut the glove box door?
I would like to use my old Garmin on my scooter but have not had any luck finding an adapter that would be male cigarette lighter on one end with a female socket on the other end and allow you to close the door.
yep there is i got one on my 650, bought it at the dollar general about 3 years ago
Great idea...love that you'll have digital battery display + 2 USB charge ports.Many have added a covered water resistant USB plug in the dash area. I am sure Wspollock will post his setups.
This one is 2 USB 3.0, 1 USB C and a Volt meter.
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I'm going to do a 650-relevant (sorry, re your 400) write-up in a bit -- and the OP, @NW 10-10, hasn't responded to our responses to his original post (so we still have no idea what size Burger he or she has).Great idea...love that you'll have digital battery display + 2 USB charge ports.
Can you say where there's dash room for it ?
I looked but dash has limited room at least my 2006 400 has.
Did he do a write up ?
Also wire direct to battery will be simple BUT risk of discharged starting battery lol.
Thx David
Ok, now that we know the bike, we can be more helpful.Lots of great stuff here! Thanks !
oh it’s a 2007 Burgman 650 executive
Ok, now that we know the bike, we can be more helpful.
Now, returning to your original post, your original question:
Any tips on adding plug-in to charge cell phone or GPS? TIA
I'd like to know whether you just want to keep your phone charged, in non-use mode (say, the way I charge my phone overnight), or whether you want to keep it charged while using it as a GPS, for instance.
Charging a Phone in the Glovebox:
If you just want to keep a phone charged in the glovebox, you can use some sort of splitter, as @dogboy noted in post 14, and maybe put a cig-to-USB adapter on the end of a splitter. The splitter will circumvent the problem that there may not be enough room between the stock cig outlet and the glovebox door.
I am not very familiar with this sort of thing, as I generally prefer outside outlets, so I will leave that discussion to @dogboy and others.
Incidentally, my new C 400 GT BMW scooter has left and right cubbies, similar to the 650 Burgers. Inside the right cubby, it has a BMW/DIN/Powerlet style outlet, and two USB-A outlets. Further, that cubby has a rubbery mat on the bottom, to ameliorate vibration. So, BMW has this sort of thing covered, if anyone's looking to buy one of these scoots.
Running a Phone or GPS Using an Outside Cig-Style Outlet:
As you may have noticed from earlier pics, on both of my Execs over the years I've added outside cig-style outlets. I used Marinco outlets, and was satisfied with their performance (obviously, or I wouldn't have two of them), but there are many similar devices from other companies. You can get one at Amazon, West Marine, etc., e.g.:
![]()
Amazon.com: Marinco 12V Receptacle Blk Plas Tic : Electronics
Buy Marinco 12V Receptacle Blk Plas Tic: USB Cables - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchaseswww.amazon.com
On the '07 Exec:
View attachment 100104
On the '08 Exec:
View attachment 100105
My '12 Victory bagger already came with this sort of setup, from the factory, in the outside dash; see the very lower left corner:
View attachment 100106
You can plug in a GPS, for instance, as a lot of GPS devices -- at least the old cheap ones that I have, e.g., Garmin Nuvis -- have a cig plug, with built-in circuitry to lower the volts to whatever the GPS needs.
Or, you can plug in a device -- phone or maybe modern GPS -- that has a USB cord, by sticking a cig-to-USB adapter in an outside cig socket.
If you use a phone as a GPS, it is indeed advantageous to have it powered while doing so, because the GPS chip is a big current draw in phones. Also, you'll likely have the screen set to max brightness, and that is another big current draw. So without being hooked up, a phone's internal battery may not last long enough for moto GPS needs -- certainly not all day.
Power to an Outside Socket:
If you're only going to be using a socket for light duty, such as powering a phone or dedicated GPS, you can get power for an external outlet by tapping the factory leads for the OEM cig outlet, for example.
If you might want to use that outlet to power heated gear, or to run a tire air compressor, then we're talking 10 or 15 amps, i.e., big-time current. While the factory Big Burger outlet is, as I recall, fused at something big -- is it 15 or 20 amps? -- those stock wires are really too small, IMO, for that sort of work.
You could always hook up an outlet like that directly to the battery -- making sure, of course, to fuse the hot side. But that means the outlet is hot all the time; that's a good thing, if you want to hook up a smart-charger, for instance, to keep the battery topped off while not riding, but it's a bad thing for the battery if you have other devices plugged in and forget to turn them off or unplug them when you shut down the bike.
For potential big-draw use you might want to look into a fuse panel of some sort. That way, you can have circuits that are both beefy and that are triggered on only when the bike's on. If you're unfamiliar with fuse panels, you can do a search on them on the forum. For openers, you can find a discussion of them within the threads www.burgmanusa.com/threads/replacing-oem-horn.167073/ and www.burgmanusa.com/threads/mccruise.177693/ .
On several of my bikes over the years, I've had both cig outlets that were relay-triggered and Powerlet outlets that were directly connected (fused) to the battery. The former would be sort of all-purpose, and the latter would be for smart-charging and heated gear (which is hard to forget you've plugged in, when you step off a bike that you've stopped riding).
Adding an Outside USB Port:
If you want to add an outside USB port itself -- that is, you don't want to use an adapter in a cig socket -- I recommend the 3BR Powersports Panel TAPP. I've done this on my last two bikes, the '08 Exec and my new C 400 GT.
You can see that port (with rectangular cover), in the middle pic above. Here's a pic of it on the Beemer:
View attachment 100107
I have a fairly detailed description of this addition in my C 400 GT gallery, starting with this pic and caption:
![]()
2022 C 400 GT
www.billanddot.com
Here's 3BR's Panel TAPP page:
To my knowledge, this is the only rainproof USB setup for bikes. I use this to power a GoPro, as I record all my rides; I may want to save the highlights of tours and day trips, and even if I don't it functions as a (forward-facing) dash cam.
In addition to that outlet, the Panel TAPP purchase also includes a TAPP CAPP. This is a matching rectangular female cover; included is some silicone sticks-to-itself stretchy tape to wrap around the downstream end. Here's a pic of that:
View attachment 100110
There are ways to have the connection to the GoPro camera itself -- i.e., the other end of the cord -- remain rainproof, but I won't get into that here, as I don't think there's much interest. If, instead of a GoPro, you're mounting a GPS or a phone and want a rainproof setup, well, folks often employ a sandwich baggie sort of thing put over a phone in the rain. There are also dedicated soft cases that are rainproof. I'm not aware of any hard phone cases that are both rainproof and allow a phone to be externally powered, but there might be some.
Mounting Some Phone:
Moving on. If you're interested, about five years ago I reviewed some phone mounts in a webBikeWorld article. If you're not too familiar with this topic, you might find it helpful:
![]()
Motorcycle Phone Mounts Reviewed - webBikeWorld
Motorcycle phone mounts reviewed and ranked and a primer on RAM mounts.www.webbikeworld.com
That article references some RAM mount products. RAM is the 600-lb. gorilla is the mounting field, and if you're not familiar with their products, this companion article I wrote around the same time for wBW might be useful to you:
![]()
Mounting an iPhone:
If, like me, you have a non-ancient iPhone, you might want to be careful about how you mount it, given how expensive they are, and given what Apple noted a year ago. See:
![]()
Apple Warns Riders Not To Mount iPhones On Their Motorcycles
Apple issued a warning to iPhone users who ride motorcycles, advising that some motorbike vibrations can possibly damage certain iPhones if mounted on bikes.www.rideapart.com
Exposure to vibrations, like those generated by high-powered motorcycle engines, might impact iPhone cameras
Exposing your iPhone to high amplitude vibrations within certain frequency ranges, specifically those generated by high-power motorcycle engines, can degrade the performance of the camera system.support.apple.com
Given that, if I were buying a mount today, I'd get a Quad Lock case and its "vibration dampener." See:
![]()
Motorcycle
Shop all Quad Lock® Motorcycle products: a strong and secure way to mount your smartphone onto motorcycles, scooters and sportsbikes.www.quadlockcase.com
As it is, I already owned (among other phone mounts) a Hondo Garage Perfect Squeeze, so last year I added their "vibration isolator." See:
![]()
Motorcycle Mounting Systems
hondogarage.com
I think that pretty much covers what I think I know about this topic.
Wow! Thanks a lot! Lots of good information and links!Ok, now that we know the bike, we can be more helpful.
Now, returning to your original post, your original question:
Any tips on adding plug-in to charge cell phone or GPS? TIA
I'd like to know whether you just want to keep your phone charged, in non-use mode (say, the way I charge my phone overnight), or whether you want to keep it charged while using it as a GPS, for instance.
Charging a Phone in the Glovebox:
If you just want to keep a phone charged in the glovebox, you can use some sort of splitter, as @dogboy noted in post 14, and maybe put a cig-to-USB adapter on the end of a splitter. The splitter will circumvent the problem that there may not be enough room between the stock cig outlet and the glovebox door.
I am not very familiar with this sort of thing, as I generally prefer outside outlets, so I will leave that discussion to @dogboy and others.
Incidentally, my new C 400 GT BMW scooter has left and right cubbies, similar to the 650 Burgers. Inside the right cubby, it has a BMW/DIN/Powerlet style outlet, and two USB-A outlets. Further, that cubby has a rubbery mat on the bottom, to ameliorate vibration. So, BMW has this sort of thing covered, if anyone's looking to buy one of these scoots.
Running a Phone or GPS Using an Outside Cig-Style Outlet:
As you may have noticed from earlier pics, on both of my Execs over the years I've added outside cig-style outlets. I used Marinco outlets, and was satisfied with their performance (obviously, or I wouldn't have two of them), but there are many similar devices from other companies. You can get one at Amazon, West Marine, etc., e.g.:
![]()
Amazon.com: Marinco 12V Receptacle Blk Plas Tic : Electronics
Buy Marinco 12V Receptacle Blk Plas Tic: USB Cables - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchaseswww.amazon.com
On the '07 Exec:
View attachment 100104
On the '08 Exec:
View attachment 100105
My '12 Victory bagger already came with this sort of setup, from the factory, in the outside dash; see the very lower left corner:
View attachment 100106
You can plug in a GPS, for instance, as a lot of GPS devices -- at least the old cheap ones that I have, e.g., Garmin Nuvis -- have a cig plug, with built-in circuitry to lower the volts to whatever the GPS needs.
Or, you can plug in a device -- phone or maybe modern GPS -- that has a USB cord, by sticking a cig-to-USB adapter in an outside cig socket.
If you use a phone as a GPS, it is indeed advantageous to have it powered while doing so, because the GPS chip is a big current draw in phones. Also, you'll likely have the screen set to max brightness, and that is another big current draw. So without being hooked up, a phone's internal battery may not last long enough for moto GPS needs -- certainly not all day.
Power to an Outside Socket:
If you're only going to be using a socket for light duty, such as powering a phone or dedicated GPS, you can get power for an external outlet by tapping the factory leads for the OEM cig outlet, for example.
If you might want to use that outlet to power heated gear, or to run a tire air compressor, then we're talking 10 or 15 amps, i.e., big-time current. While the factory Big Burger outlet is, as I recall, fused at something big -- is it 15 or 20 amps? -- those stock wires are really too small, IMO, for that sort of work.
You could always hook up an outlet like that directly to the battery -- making sure, of course, to fuse the hot side. But that means the outlet is hot all the time; that's a good thing, if you want to hook up a smart-charger, for instance, to keep the battery topped off while not riding, but it's a bad thing for the battery if you have other devices plugged in and forget to turn them off or unplug them when you shut down the bike.
For potential big-draw use you might want to look into a fuse panel of some sort. That way, you can have circuits that are both beefy and that are triggered on only when the bike's on. If you're unfamiliar with fuse panels, you can do a search on them on the forum. For openers, you can find a discussion of them within the threads www.burgmanusa.com/threads/replacing-oem-horn.167073/ and www.burgmanusa.com/threads/mccruise.177693/ .
On several of my bikes over the years, I've had both cig outlets that were relay-triggered and Powerlet outlets that were directly connected (fused) to the battery. The former would be sort of all-purpose, and the latter would be for smart-charging and heated gear (which is hard to forget you've plugged in, when you step off a bike that you've stopped riding).
Adding an Outside USB Port:
If you want to add an outside USB port itself -- that is, you don't want to use an adapter in a cig socket -- I recommend the 3BR Powersports Panel TAPP. I've done this on my last two bikes, the '08 Exec and my new C 400 GT.
You can see that port (with rectangular cover), in the middle pic above. Here's a pic of it on the Beemer:
View attachment 100107
I have a fairly detailed description of this addition in my C 400 GT gallery, starting with this pic and caption:
![]()
2022 C 400 GT
www.billanddot.com
Here's 3BR's Panel TAPP page:
To my knowledge, this is the only rainproof USB setup for bikes. I use this to power a GoPro, as I record all my rides; I may want to save the highlights of tours and day trips, and even if I don't it functions as a (forward-facing) dash cam.
In addition to that outlet, the Panel TAPP purchase also includes a TAPP CAPP. This is a matching rectangular female cover; included is some silicone sticks-to-itself stretchy tape to wrap around the downstream end. Here's a pic of that:
View attachment 100110
There are ways to have the connection to the GoPro camera itself -- i.e., the other end of the cord -- remain rainproof, but I won't get into that here, as I don't think there's much interest. If, instead of a GoPro, you're mounting a GPS or a phone and want a rainproof setup, well, folks often employ a sandwich baggie sort of thing put over a phone in the rain. There are also dedicated soft cases that are rainproof. I'm not aware of any hard phone cases that are both rainproof and allow a phone to be externally powered, but there might be some.
Mounting Some Phone:
Moving on. If you're interested, about five years ago I reviewed some phone mounts in a webBikeWorld article. If you're not too familiar with this topic, you might find it helpful:
![]()
Motorcycle Phone Mounts Reviewed - webBikeWorld
Motorcycle phone mounts reviewed and ranked and a primer on RAM mounts.www.webbikeworld.com
That article references some RAM mount products. RAM is the 600-lb. gorilla is the mounting field, and if you're not familiar with their products, this companion article I wrote around the same time for wBW might be useful to you:
![]()
Mounting an iPhone:
If, like me, you have a non-ancient iPhone, you might want to be careful about how you mount it, given how expensive they are, and given what Apple noted a year ago. See:
![]()
Apple Warns Riders Not To Mount iPhones On Their Motorcycles
Apple issued a warning to iPhone users who ride motorcycles, advising that some motorbike vibrations can possibly damage certain iPhones if mounted on bikes.www.rideapart.com
Exposure to vibrations, like those generated by high-powered motorcycle engines, might impact iPhone cameras
Exposing your iPhone to high amplitude vibrations within certain frequency ranges, specifically those generated by high-power motorcycle engines, can degrade the performance of the camera system.support.apple.com
Given that, if I were buying a mount today, I'd get a Quad Lock case and its "vibration dampener." See:
![]()
Motorcycle
Shop all Quad Lock® Motorcycle products: a strong and secure way to mount your smartphone onto motorcycles, scooters and sportsbikes.www.quadlockcase.com
As it is, I already owned (among other phone mounts) a Hondo Garage Perfect Squeeze, so last year I added their "vibration isolator." See:
![]()
Motorcycle Mounting Systems
hondogarage.com
I think that pretty much covers what I think I know about this topic.