Wiring accessories on a '12 RT - Best trigger wire location?

[jalah93190]

Hey everyone,
I’ve been riding my 2012 R1200RT for about three seasons now, and I absolutely love the machine. It eats up miles like nothing else I’ve owned. However, I’ve decided this is the season I finally tackle the lighting situation. The stock headlight is okay, but I do a lot of early morning commuting when it’s pitch black and the deer are out, so I picked up a set of LED auxiliary lights to help widen the field of view.

Here is where I’m hitting a wall, and I’m hoping to tap into the collective wisdom here. I am terrified of the CANbus system. I come from older airheads where you could just splice into a wire and call it a day. With the RT, I’m paranoid that if I look at a wire the wrong way, the dashboard is going to light up with error codes or the ZFE module will shut the circuit down.

I’m planning to use a fused power distribution block (probably a Fuzeblock or PDM60) to handle the load, but I need a clean source for a "switched" 12V trigger wire so the lights turn off when I kill the ignition. I’ve read mixed things about tapping into the rear accessory socket wiring versus the GPS connector up front. Does anyone have a preference for which is less likely to cause issues? I'd prefer not to hack into the factory harness if I can avoid it.
I’ve been spending so much time in the garage trying to plan this out that it’s basically become my second home office. It’s funny, I actually spent more time last weekend upgrading the garage infrastructure than working on the bike. I finally ran a dedicated ethernet line out there and set up a switch with a network devices expansion module https://serverorbit.com/network-devices ... /5-port-en (just a basic 5-port one) so I could have my laptop, the diagnostic tool, and the smart TV connected simultaneously without the WiFi dropping out. At least now I can stream maintenance tutorials in high definition while I stare at the bike in confusion!
One specific thing I’m worried about is the physical routing of the wires under the tank. It looks incredibly tight in there. Do you guys usually lift the tank entirely, or is there a way to snake a fish tape through the side panels without removing all the Tupperware? I broke a tab on the side panel of my old K-bike years ago and I still have PTSD from that "snap" sound, so I'm trying to be as gentle as possible.
Any photos of how you routed your cabling—or advice on that trigger wire—would be a massive help.
Thanks in advance!

[Quico]

Well, I think you've already said everything.
If it’s just a positive wire to activate the relay, you can use the accessory ports, keeping in mind that they stay active for 60 seconds after you turn off the key.
As for where to run the wires, I chose to always follow the original wiring, using a separate sleeve, secured with plastic cable ties.