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Cruiser
Posts: 297
VA | Ok, so I should have taken pictures, I apologize, but I was sweating my butt off. But, I made my own motorcycle garage door opener, and if you care to make your own, here are the instructions.
I had a Genie garage door opener. The remote is paired with the opener. (For purposes of this post, I will be talking about the Genie, but I imagine it will work for any) I took a spare remote, about $30 dollars at Lowe's/Home Depot if you don't have a spare. I took the screw out of the back, and opened the case. It is basically a circuit board with a battery at one end. The battery is 12V, which is the same volatge as the bike.
In the middle of the circuit board is a button. Flip it over, and you can see 4 solder joints where the botton is soldered in. You have to "jump" the top and bottom. I took a short piece of wire, and soldered the top to bottom. This basically bypasses the switch.
Next, I cut two 2 foot pieces of wire. I stripped off the ends, wrapped them around the prongs that normally hold the battery. I then soldered the wire to the prongs and wrapped some electrical tape to make sure they were secure.
Here's the more time consuming part. Next, take the dash apart. (If you're not familiar with this, there are posts with the dash removal, please see those) I took the center console out. I also removed the windshield, and the plastic cover, or dash. If you look at the left controller, where the headlight switch and windshield control is, there is a larger black wire harness coming off this, which has all the wires inside. I followed this down to the top of where the handlebars connect to the triple tree. There is a black plastic connector at the end of this. Inside are the wires from the left hand controller. I tapped into the solid green wire, which is right next to a solid yellow, and yellow with pink stripe. A wire tap is all you need. Connect this to the postive of the garage remote.
I then used a ground underneath the windshield, just one of the bolts that was there. I connected the negative of the opener to this. I put this underneath the windshield, actually at the top of the motor for the windshield.
Now, with the bike in the run position, when you turn the high beam on, it activates the garage door opener.
I have no idea if constant use of the high beam will fry the opener from heat build up, but if it does, I will run it off the turn signal. Same process, just determine which wire is used for that.
That's it, all it cost me was some solder!
Hope that helps anyone wanting to do this.
Marc  |
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Visionary
Posts: 1324
So Cal | Oh boy, I miss you guys in Va. When I lived in Pa. and couldnt find anything to do we would always make the trek to Va. ALWAYS had GREAT time. Always thinking.
Ok, this is the LA me. divesharc, I hope you didnt take that the wrong way. I had some great times back there. Va. W Va. NJ OH MD. I really miss it. People that think, inovators, stuff this country was made from.
When I start thinking like you do. trying to find a better, easier solution. People out here just ask why I dont just go and buy something. They just dont get it. Im always trying to build the better mouse trap. Simple solutions are always better. But out here, if its too cheap people wont buy it. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 297
VA | cjnoho, don't worry, not offended at all. I will say, I have some friends on the west coast, and that is an astute observation. I'm cheap, but not because I have to be, but because I want to be, because being cheap allows me to think of some new ideas. I am pretty sure that most of the best inventions in the world were created by someone who wanted to make and/or save money.
I said this in another post, but since I grew up, which would be 3 years ago when I decided to get married and build a house, I have become boring. Now, the idea of saving a hundred dollars on something that may or may not work as well as I want it to, versus having the fun of taking my bike apart and getting to try something new. Well, I'll take the second option every time. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 619
Southeast Iowa | A much simpler (but not as cool) way to install a garage door opener is to Velcro one to the lid of the small storage compartment. When I pull in the driveway I just pop open the storage compartment lid and push the button. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 297
VA | Much easier way indeed, but I fried one because it get wet inside that compartment. Not sure if just humidity did it, or the little bit of water that got into the compartment when I washed it. But, the back of the circuit board had the green patina that is similar to what happens to copper when left in the elements. So, I think it was something that built up over time.
But more importantly, I think this has the cool factor. Geek cool, but still cool. I came home the other night, flicked the headlights and by the time I got up to the garage, I could pull right in. When I saw similar devices on the internet for $100, I also felt like I saved myself $100 bucks. I might not have spent that anyways, but I still feel like I saved myself the money. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 203
Rapid City, SD | I have heard of people doing this but I never understood it. I feel like the russian space team that simply used a pencil to write in space while everyone else spent millions developing a pen that could write upside down.
My solution is to clip my garage opener key fob onto a belt loop with a novelty carrabiner. It also doubles as a place to clip my ballcap while I'm riding and a place to keep my key when I finish riding. Really not that difficult to reach my belt as I get close. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1324
So Cal | af goalie - 2009-08-02 10:09 PM
I have heard of people doing this but I never understood it. I feel like the russian space team that simply used a pencil to write in space while everyone else spent millions developing a pen that could write upside down.
My solution is to clip my garage opener key fob onto a belt loop with a novelty carrabiner. It also doubles as a place to clip my ballcap while I'm riding and a place to keep my key when I finish riding. Really not that difficult to reach my belt as I get close.
Oh, how I remember those days. Simple was working just great. But we had to stay ahead of the Russians, so we had to complicate things with technology.
divesharc spent nothing more than brain power and a couple of bucks and and came up with something you cant buy, now. Divesharc, it only takes one good idea to put you on easystreet. Keep at it. I am. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 297
VA | Thanks CJ! Yeah, more than anything, I think it was just fun to do it. Plus, I got a good look at how everything was laid out. Dreading changing the headlight(s) though. It doesn't look fun. Now, I think I might work on making an AM/FM antenna that is either mounted off the grab rails, or on the trunk somehow. The AM/FM in mine sucks, and Victory doesn't seem to be speeding along with offering something to fix it. |
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Homemade Motorcycle Garage Door Opener
