Custom 3-Gange USB C For the 91 R100 RT

One thing I don’t want to be short on is power options. I record most of my rides with a camera or two and battery management is a real issue when you do that. My modern bikes have USB A ports for basic charging capabilities and when I am using my phone for navigation, the standard 5V output struggles to keep it going all day.

I spent many hours looking for small USB C options that could fit into one or both of the blank plugs between the clock and voltmeter (now oil temp gauge). Nothing quite fit the bill that would not look like a kludge. So, it stands to reason that I had to design my own solution.

Looking at the space I have to work with in the dash, the two blanking plugs cover 17.5mm cutouts that are just about 22.3mm on center. That gives room for 3 USB C ports if arranged vertically. Accounting for the space behind the panel, I estimated I could house a component that was 44W x 25H x 47D, all in mm. This allows for a circuit board that is 38mm x 40mm.

I did a good bit of research into integrated circuits, components, and electrical circuit design. I even went on a weeks long side-quest learning one of the more common software packages for this kind of work. In the end, I could probably design my own board for 3 ports, but I could not get the size down to the needed dimensions. I am not an electrical engineer, after all and failing on this was likely a foregone conclusion. That meant it was time for some outside help.

Turning to Fiverr, I found a highly rated PCB designer who was willing to take on the task. A word of caution to anybody looking to outsource work like this on Fiverr. There are a lot of scammers out there. Don’t waste your time on anybody with only a couple reviews. Find someone with a solid history of successful deliveries. I learned this the hard way with an initial false start. Once if had the right talent on the job, it was a fast process and I got a solid board designed with everything I needed to have it produced.

A few weeks later, an order from JLPCB arrived with 5 PCBs ready to go. The PCB takes 12V – 24V power and I did a good bit of testing to make sure I knew what did and did not work. In the end, I tested three of them to failure and kept two in reserve. One to use and one spare. Since I did not have the forethought to have the design include power terminals, I had to solder them on for the final assembly.

The enclosure is 3D printed using high temperature filament and a few threaded inserts to hold it together. The final version is in the photo below. If I supply 13V, it provides basic charging on all three ports, but it needs a DC-DC boost converter to get the fast charge capabilities to work. With a 12V – 24V converter, it can power three apple devices simultaneously using fast charging so it will more than meet my needs on the bike.

The cost will make this one of the most expensive BMW airhead dash panels on the road. $1500 for the PCB design, and $400 for the 5 boards (after tariffs). Now that the design is complete, I can probably make them in small batches for about $125 each, but I doubt enough people would want them to make that worth while. If I get enough interest, perhaps I’ll do that.

Installing this into the bike requires cutting the dash so the two circular cutouts become a slot. It’s quick with some careful Dremel work, but once you start, there’s no going back. Before I get this out into the weather, I’ll make some soft covers to seal the ports against weather, but it’s done otherwise.