BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Hi all,
I have just bought a Roadhawk Ride camera and am going to mount it on the bike permanently so its always recording as I commute a long way to work and back every day.  Sooner or later it feels like someone is going to pull a crazy move on me, and I want it on camera when they do!
I know where and how I am going to mount it, but I don't know the best place to connect to a 12v power source that goes live with the ignition.  I have read bits of stuff that you can't just go connecting into, for example, the side light power feed because the canbus system is very fussy and will detect the extra draw. I read on a forum the Roadhawk only draw 180 milliamp, so its pretty tiny.
Can anyone who is wiser and more experienced in all things BMW electrical advise me of how they would connect this up to the power?

A good idea if you fear for your safety, but just remember all of the film on the camera/card is admissible in a court of law i.e. if you had been speeding or breaking the law earlier then that would also be considered. Still it's a good idea if you are driving in hazardous conditions.

Into the rear of the accessory socket is the best idea. Just 2 things to watch. Make sure it switches off about a minute after you turn off the ignition and sometimes connecting extras to a socket can upset a battery charger.

Thanks, I dont know why I didn't think of the accesory socket actually. I presume I can just take off the upper left fairing to get to the back of it.  True it does stay on for 60 seconds after the ignition goes off, but thats just 60 seconds of extra video of the inside of my garage. No harm done there. 
The Roadhawk is lovely and clever in that it starts to record as soon as it gets power, and stops when the power goes away. If the memory card ever gets full, it just overwrites the oldest stuff. Should be great to fit and forget.  Well as long as somebidy doesnt steal it off the bike :alas:
I know what you mean about the downsides to the camera, and yes of course like most people I do exceed the speed limit sometimes. To my mind, if I am breaking the law or riding dangerously and I get knocked off, then I have contributed to that accident and so what do I expect.  I wouldn't expect to get away with it - let the camera show the truth.  As I understand it though, the law is very clear that it doesnt matter what I was doing 5 minutes earlier, the facts will be what was happening at the time of any accident and how much was each person to blame.  If I was somewhat to blame for going too fast it doesnt automatically mean I wouldnt win a case, but it might mean any payout was reduced due to my contribution to the situation. 
Sounds fair to me. It might remind me to calm down on those odd occasions I get frustrated with the traffic and filter a little bit quicker than I should!

Allrover wrote:Can anyone who is wiser and more experienced in all things BMW electrical advise me of how they would connect this up to the power?

A source of power can be taken from the socket/plug as shown in the photo below, the power socket is the top one.



Using one of these leads is fairly straight forward,
http://www.nippynormans.com/products/r1 ... anbuszu660

The power socket under the front, normally with a black cap in it is designed to take the Navy IV/V.  The Nippy Norman £15.00 adaptor is available at your local BMW shop for about £10.00. 

In 2011, the Sat Nav Repair Connector Plug, BMW Part No. 83300413585 was £13.97.

Power sockets with caps in place.

DaygloDavid wrote: In 2011, the Sat Nav Repair Connector Plug, BMW Part No. 83300413585 was £13.9
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I will check on the Part No and present price. I know its just called "tool" on the bag it comes in.

The Part No. & price are from an Invoice when I bought my first Sat. Nav.

RealOEM (No. 06),  has the price at $26.39, at today's exchange rate, that's £17.46.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... Id=61_2485

Putting the Part No. in the RealOEM "Search" Box, comes up with the following list of Motorcycles.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/partxref?q=+83300413585+

Thanks all,
I'll have a look at joining into the back of the accessory socket in the first instance I think.  I'm reasonably handy with electrical connectors, so will do a kind of two into one arrangement that should then be splashproof if its exposed to road spray under there. If in any doubt, I'll revert to the official adaptor.
Thanks again.
By the way, the Roadhawk ride turned up in the post yesterday, perhaps I'll do a post about fitting and using it. It looks a great bit of kit, its absolutely tiny and weighs only 37 grams.

If it's any help, the Red/Green wire is the +ve and Brown wire -ve on the Accessory Socket.

Thought I'd post an  update here now that I've done the job.
Took off the side panel last night to get access to the accesory socket and spliced into the power there. Easy peasey, though the colour coding is bizarre - I hadnt seen the post above at the time, but a quick test with the meter worked out which was which.  I fitted a cheapo USB accessory socket off everyones favourite auction site into the space where I presume a speaker would go if you have the audio fitted. It's nicely protected from the rain under there.

I stuck the roadcam onto my helmet, made up a USB cable of the right length, plugged in and rode in for the first time with it this morning.  I feel much happier having it on - I figure the chances of me needing to use the evidence against someone else are FAR higher than it being used against me.  The Roadcam is tiny, you don't know its there, I can highly recommend it.

Allrover wrote:

You're a braver man than I am, wearing a helmet with all that external stuff stuck to it.  Each to his own but I subscribe to the "Schumacher/Go-Pro" school of thought and keep my helmet as gizmo-free as possible...