I mounted my Sena SM10 under the seat (tucked under the metal cross brace) along with the Motochello bridge. I used this cable https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U2DGJD2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to power the SM10 from a switched source (I have the FZ-1 Fuzeblocks installed under the right side cover commonly called the "canoe"). https://www.fuzeblocks.com/Fuzeblocks-FZ-1-Distribution-Block_p_1.html This is an analog power distribution box with a built in relay for switched power. By moving the fuses to one of two locations you can easily make a circuit either hot all the time or only when the key is on. It has 6 circuits and is easy to wire up with 3 wires, plus, negative and trigger wire for the relay.

I opened the SM10 case and unplugged the battery, left it in the case and closed it up. By doing this the SM10 comes on when you turn the bike on and goes out when you shut off the bike. If you leave the battery connected it will stay on when you shut off your bike and run off the battery. After several hours the battery will go dead. The next time you run your bike the SM10 won't fire up until the battery is recharged :crying:

 

Thanks Jim. I like that Fuzeblock—hadn’t seen that one before. You’ve got me straight on the battery removal in the Sena unit—I remember reading about that before, but now my understanding of the battery removal is clear.

Unloaded the bike from the trailer and cleaned it up a bit before enjoying a short ride in near 60 degree weather this afternoon. Clearwater tomorrow, Russell on Tuesday. Had 60+ mph winds causing near white-out conditions in Wyoming on Friday along I-80...and that was just snow from the ground! Driving conditions were much more pleasant on Saturday.

 

I think the frustrating piece, for most, has been the Sena SM10 transmitter location. Looking for your most recent options on what has/has not worked

If you want to use a single SM10 to reliably stream to both rider and pillion, mounting it under the seat or either canoe is a no-no. It needs to be out in the open. If you wish to use it to stream to the rider only, it will happily work located under the seat or in either canoe.

 

Prevailing wisdom is to have your BT toys accessible to deal with connectivity issues with greater ease. An extra hour (or less) in wiring to get them somewhere up front (sides, dash) will save your significant time down the road.

I personally had me SM10 under the seat and it worked most the time. And I got really used to popping my seat off and hitting the button when it didn’t. But now have the SR10 mounted on the dash and when it doesn’t connect I just reach forward and mash the button. Way better. You can also see the lights to confirm status- helpful in troubleshooting.

Lastly, the motochello has a built in ground isolator. If you connect something else to your sm10, I recommend another ground loop isolator before the sm10.

 

SM10 mounted under my seat...works fine there. Wireless remote in line with the positive lead so I can restart it those occasional times when it loses pairing. Fob for the remote attached to key ring.

 

There is alot of good info on this thread. Some of which I will steal. Some of what I did, I did see here. But I only glanced over this. Just in case.
My goal has been to keep the bike functioning as it was designed but make it actually work. So on that note I built a jumper between the radio and the speakers. BMW has repair connectors that make it plug and play. I am torn between that or pulling the speakers to stuff in HID lights.
Happy with the SM10 location making it removable. Happy with the jumper. Not with the Moto Chello but quick and dirty. Problem is having to pull the seat to switch making it not very useful..

 

My SM10 and Motochello speaker bridge are under the seats. I've moved them a few different times over the years but have always had them under the seat. As you see here some have problems with the SM10 under the seats but I just completed I believe my 4th year with the SM10 and I've never had a connection problem. The only reason I've moved them from time to time is to neaten up the space but have not had any connection or reception problems.


The power source being located where Arizona Jim notes is what I've done as is true with getting power to the SM10 and removing the SM10 battery. Zero problems with this method. I've tried a few different power distribution modules over the years but do think Jim's tried and true use of the FZ-1 Fuzeblock is my favorite. Nothing against the digital, programmable options out there. I just did not find they offered any additional value over the FZ-1 and they cost more. Want more power? Use a bigger fuse. Want switched power? Change the fuse location. It is incredibly simple and affordable but other options are out there which are fine options too.

 

Just to be the opposite side of the coin, I have tried the SM-10 under the seat, in the right canoe, and now in the left canoe. My connection has been flawless in all 3 positions. My wife's has been sketchy at best. Looking to move the SM-10 out into the open, as this is how I had it mounted on the ST1300. Connection on that bike for her was 90%+.

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That generally appears to be the issue...maintaining a connection to the passenger. I don't think just a single connection to the rider seems to be a common issue.

 

What's the purpose of the Sena SM10? I understand it's an audio bridge, but what does it bring to the table for you? The Garmin is bluetooth, so it can connect directly to you helmet. The webite should it connected to a two-way radio, other GPS.

 

What's the purpose of the Sena SM10? I understand it's an audio bridge, but what does it bring to the table for you? The Garmin is Bluetooth, so it can connect directly to your helmet. The website should it connected to a two-way radio, other GPS.

First, you are correct: the Garmin Bluetooth can directly connect to a helmet Bluetooth system. That said, I've read many postings on here regarding the music quality (rather, lack there-of) that ends up in the helmet when connecting directly to the K 1600 Bluetooth system. General consensus is tapping into the stereo wires and hooking in a Sena SM10 transmitter improves the quality of the sound. In this regard, it is duplicating something that is provided on the bike, but most feel there is an improvement in the sound quality. There is also an additional input into this transmitter that I will use for my radar detector audio output, so I should be able to get the radar detector alerts into my helmet while I am listening to music. Not everyone has the same issues when it comes to the various Bluetooth setups, but I have read enough that I am heading down that route.

 

What's the purpose of the Sena SM10? I understand it's an audio bridge, but what does it bring to the table for you?

The SM10 allows two helmets to connect to it simultaneously which is handy if you have a pillion. Audio sharing to a pillion via a helmet is not always very successful.

Secondly, as mentioned by @XPLSV you can bring in another input such as a radar detector.

Lastly, you can control the volume of the audio via the whiz wheel.

Joe

 

Radar detector is my main reason for using one.

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As noted there are a few times that my SM10 won't hook up to my helmet when I start the bike (my wife has her own music system so we don't double up on he SM10). When this happens I just turn off the bike and back on again. I don't lift the seat and fiddle with the SM10. I now get in the habit of not driving off until I hear that my helmet is paired with the SM10. It only takes a few extra seconds to verify this. When I'm riding with others I try and be the first one to start my bike after a stop, this gives me ample time to restart if necessary.

Sometimes I can ride for weeks and no issue then all of a sudden it doesn't pair up and then it's good again for long periods of time.

I also have an SR10 to run my bike to bike walkie talkie but that's another story best left for a different thread.

 

I put a push bottom on/off switch inline on the power supply to the SM-10, this way I don't have to restart the bike. I can just restart the SM-10. Like you, I listen for the audible conformation before starting off.

 

I searched the forums for an answer and this was the best result.

I picked up a 2020 GTL about 2 weeks ago. I didn't get the Nav VI, but have a Zumo 595 that I'm going to mount on the handlebars using the Wunderlich bolt and a Ram Mount. From what I have read, it seems the best/only option for powering accessories is through a Fuseblock. A few questions about this. Where do I put the Fuzeblock? Which wire do I tap into to make the accessories' power switched? Where is this wire located? What color is it? If there are pictures you'd be willing to share, I'd appreciate that very much.

Even though, I'm new to the GTL, I previously owned 2 LT's. The battery tender and heated gear I ran on them were connected to the battery. The GPS was connected to the dash map light, which, unfortunately, is not on the GTL.

 

From what I have read, it seems the best/only option for powering accessories is through a Fuseblock.

A Fuseblock being the only option is certainly not true. There are many options. Fuseblock is certainly one of them. As for it being the best option, that is an opinion some might hold.

Personally, I prefer the ezCAN with solid state fusing (circuit breakers). If you somehow trip one, you turn the bike off and back on and it is reset. A Fuseblock is certainly cheaper and perhaps simpler, but whether it is the best solution depends on what else you may want to connect.

A few questions about this.

Where do I put the Fuzeblock? Which wire do I tap into to make the accessories' power switched? Where is this wire located? What color is it? If there are pictures you'd be willing to share, I'd appreciate that very much.

Under the seat or under the "canoe" (the small body-colored panels just under the sides of the seat.

If you use an ezCAN, you don't need to tap into any wire. Other options for tapping into a wire include the tail light power (located under the right canoe, but not sure of the color since I've not done that one). There have been several posts on that topic in the past. A few minutes of searching should lead you to them.

 

Thank you for the information. I'll check out the ezCAN.

 

Also check out the PDM60, AmpLink, and Neutrino. They're all advanced solutions with slightly different abilities, but also higher prices (in the range of the ezCAN).

And note that the ezCAN (Generation II) and the CanSmart are the same device, just marketed under different names.

 

@Lee510 , where are you located? May be a forum member is close by that could mentor you through the process of configuring your new bike.

Duane

 

Hi, Duane, I live near Hickory, NC, northwest of Charlotte.

I looked at the ezCAN. Sounds like it would be very easy to install and set up. It's a bit more expensive than the Fuzeblock FZ-1. It might be worth the expense for how everything connects.

 

I'm at work, so no access to photos, but here is where I ended up putting my stuff. I put a grounding block at the back of the battery compartment...kind of at the top of the "step" that is in there but I have it along the backside wall. I have the Motocello under the seat next to the seat attachment bar, which is where most people seem to put it. My PDM-60 is below the seat (as opposed to under the seat) and is located behind the battery box on the piece of plastic that is forward of the rear wheel; the PDM-60 is waterproof yet is still protected from anything being thrown up by the rear wheel...not sure I have seen anyone put anything in this location. I wired the PDM-60 trigger wire into the CAN4 that was added for my Clearwater lights. I used Darb's Radar Shelf version 2.0 to mount an Escort radar detector at the front of the bike...Ran the power along the throttle side of the gas tank. This location works well for the radar detector field of view. I have a second navigation unit, the Garmin Zumo XT, mounted on one of Jim's balls at the top of the steering column and the power wire for that runs alongside the throttle side of the gas tank. I ended up putting the SR10 on the throttle handlebar, so it is out in the open. Ran the wires for that long the handlebar then down along the throttle side of the gas tank and another wire up through the console to the radar detector audio output. While I occasionally had less than stellar satellite service prior to mounting the radar detector, it was very, very bad when the radar detector was powered up. I bought another SiriusXM antenna and an adapter (didn't bother with trying to dig the OEM antenna out of the dash console) and mounted the new antenna with 3M hook & loop tape to the top of my Isotta aluminum luggage carrier on my top box...zero issues with the satellite reception now. I have more hook and loop tape for the top case luggage bag that I might occasionally use when the two of us are doing long trips and will just pull the antenna off the one piece of hook & loop tape and move it to the other for the trip...that way it is always out in the open and up on top. I was going to remove the rechargable battery from within the SM10 unit, like others on here have done, but wanted to make sure my entire setup was working before I would do something that would likely void the warranty. As my SM10 is sitting out in the open and easily accessible, I have just been turning it off when I stop riding and turning it on when I start, so I haven't had a need to pull the battery. Everything is working well for me and I was able to gather a lot of ideas from many folks on this forum to piece together what became my personal solution.

 

Thanks, Bernie! Sounds like you have quite a setup! I keep seeing references to Motocello, but I have no idea what it is. Time for a search.

 

Motocello

The Motocello unit is a switch activated audio bridge...the primary use here on the K1600 is to tap into the amp output and route the signal to the SM10 Bluetooth Transmitter which is then broadcasstd to varioius Sena and Cardo helmet units. Some of the guys do use it to route to a wired system and get their desired sound quality via a wired system to their helmets. The standard Motocello unit means routing the sound to either the bike speakers or to the alternate route...although it is possible to have it go to both. Frankly, I used the standard setup and almost always route to the SM10 transmitter as I really wouldn't be able to hear much from the bike's speakers when driving down the highway with a helmet on my head.