HEX ezCAN The most intelligent power distribution accessory

Adding electrical accessories to bikes used to be simple because you could just pick up the taillight’s switched live power if you required one. Wanted spotlights with a main-beam brightness increase? It’s easy, just connect to the halogen bulb’s supply.

The most recent bikes, however, include CANbus wiring, which enables the ECUs to continuously check the state of the onboard electronic equipment and allows for the transmission of various data signals on fewer cables. That’s advantageous because it ensures that the bike will be aware if your brake light fails, notify you, and most likely utilise the indicators as emergency brake lights while you wait for it to be fixed.

It also makes it more difficult to wire in additional equipment, such as spotlights, extra brake lights, horns, sat-navs, alarms, etc. Additionally, it can violate the warranty on your bike.

Simply said, the Hex ezCAN is an affordable, simple-to-install programmable power distribution device. It has been around for a very long time and is currently in its second version.

To find out how easy it is and whether it’s worth the money, I installed the Hex ezCAN on my 2019 BMW R1250GS.

Four distinct circuit outputs, which can be engaged and controlled when the ignition is turned on or under other circumstances, are supplied with power by the bike’s battery through the Hex ezCAN.

Other options, such as controlling a horn, eliminate the need to wire a relay into the horn circuit and give you more control. For example, the secondary horn may activate after a delay of 0.25 to 0.5 seconds to give you a brief, polite toot and then hit them with something like the extremely loud Denali Sound Bomb if you hold the button down for a longer period of time. Additionally, you can add a delay before the auxiliary lights begin to flash.

One feature that works really well and helps in being safe on the highway is the strobe on pass function. When you flash the pass button three time the aux lights strobe for a couple of seconds. I noticed all motorists in front do give way and are aware that you are coming.

Extra settings on these means you can also set the intensity of the strobe if it you feel its too bright. All these functions can be easily accessed on your laptop through the ezcan software that you can connect with a usb cable to the hexezcan, the application is simple and easy to use and updated the settings at that same time.

Electronic fuses are used to protect every circuit that the Hex ezCAN controls, and you may easily modify their threshold. To figure out what to set it at, it’s worth downloading the complete ezCAN owner’s handbook, although if you’re really loading it, it can become a little technical.

Since the wire loom of your bike does not need to be altered in any way, the Hex ezCAN does not breach your warranty. For its primary power source, it is directly plugged into the battery. After that, it is plugged into a component on the CANbus circuit.

The ezCAN makes advantage of the tyre pressure monitoring plug of the R1200GS and R1250GS. Once more, this connects to the existing loom using a corresponding connector, and another connects to the monitoring device.

In order to read the signals it requires without interfering with them, ezCAN piggybacks on the CANbus wiring loom. Very clever, but it is model specific and limited to a few bike models.

A 3-pin splitter connection is provided if you want to operate more than one item from a circuit, such as two spotlights on one circuit, despite the ezCAN’s four output lines. To use them for power or as three-wire connections for dimmable lamps, the package comes with four plugs that have two wires fitted and four extra single wires. Additionally, two blanking plugs are provided for circuits that you do not utilise.