power outlet 2012 1200GS

[sloride]

I may be picking up my 2012 1200GS from the dealer tomorrow. I was planning on using my 90 watt jacket liner

Will the outlet handle it?

[stkmkt1]

I don't think it will. I think it is limited to 5 amps. And your jacket would be around 7.5 amps. I recommend once you get the bike, put your own plugs on it, run them through a fuse block, and tie the block directly to the battery. Maybe someone else can confirm I'm right, but I think 5 amps is all those CANBUS outlets are good for.

[janda]

A year and half ago I plugged in my Gerbing to the CANBUS outlet which caused it to constantly cut out. My fault for not checking the jackets amp draw. I now have a seperate fuse block for all accessories. Works great and neatly wired.

[racer7]

The RT was upgraded from a 5A to a 10A outlet capability back around 2008 (both early RT and GS hexheads were 5A).
The value is given in the Riders Manual so just look it up. I would exepct it to be 10A on the current model GS but perhaps they've failed to upgrade. Riders Manuals can be found in english on the Danish BMW site.

A 10A outlet will run any currently marketed jacket plus a pair of gloves but not gear for two if you have a rear outlet- they're on the same line so share the capacity. A 5A outlet will not even run anything except a few of the very lowest power jackets (which does not include WarmNSafe or Gerbings) and must be rewired to a fuse panel (or an wxtra outlet connected to battery or fuse panel added) to be of any real use.

[kurt1305]

You need the 12" Powerlet kit to replace the OEM plug. Takes 10 minutes to install, but be advised you will need to drill out the hole for the plug. A pigtail to the battery is an even simpler solution for 1/3 the cost.

[racer7]

I looked up for you.

From the technical specs section Riders Manual for the GS for 2012, its still 5A- so you will definitely need to rewire or add another outlet.

Talk about engineering laziness and disregard for customers....Why a $20K bike gets a useless stock outlet when other bikes in the product line are upgraded (eg the RT)? Instead you get an "adventure" bike equipped for riding in Florida or other subtropical climates.. Don't they use heated gear in Germany (I know BMW makes a pretty crappy low power jacket or at least used to)?

[sloride]

Before I picked up my GS I called the shop . Mechanic told me that the outlet is 5 amp and he'd install a 15 amp outlet for me so I could use my liner

My 08 RT has a 10amp outlet I assumed the GS had the same and posted my query,fooled again

My ride home was warm.

Great bike, good balance and handles well .

Thanks for the help. It's nice to have a place to get help

[Polarbear]

Non riders build bikes in Germany, gotta be! Some things are simply NOT explainable. Randy

[marchyman]

Some things are simply NOT explainable. Randy

Maybe it's a "Real men don't need heated gear" thing?
Or the Schwarzenegger version: only girly men need heated gear.
By that measure I must be a girly man.

[chewbacca]

Mathematically it shouldn't work, but it just might. There is a lot of approximations on that 90 watts, 5 amp limit and just what the voltage is at the socket. Definitely wouldn't depend on it working though. IMO, one the first things you should look at, if you want to mess with the electrics on a GS is a junction box. I have a Fuzeblock mounted in the tool tray. Once that was in, I cut the leads to that side socket and plugged it into the Fuzeblock. Now it will run 10 amps and I can put a battery charger into it without any worry, or need for a special CAN-Bus charger.

[sloride]

I may end up putting a fuse block in. It would eliminate one set of wired going to my battery