How I Manage Electrical Accessories on My Aprilia Tuareg 660
The little box that stops my Tuareg becoming an electrical spaghetti monster
Once you start adding accessories to an adventure bike, things can get surprisingly complicated.
A GPS.
A phone charger.
Heated gear.
Auxiliary lights.
Maybe a camera.
And before long, you’ve got a collection of wires disappearing under the seat, multiple connections on the battery terminals and a growing suspicion that you’ve somehow built a small electrical substation onto your motorcycle.
When I started adding accessories to my Aprilia Tuareg 660, I wanted a better solution.
That’s where the HealTech ThunderBox came in.
But before buying it, I wanted to know whether there were better alternatives.
So, in true ToHB fashion, I made a spreadsheet.
What does an accessory power management system actually do?
The basic job is surprisingly simple.
You want to take power from the motorcycle’s battery and distribute it to your accessories without having every accessory wired directly into the battery.
More importantly, you want those accessories to switch off when the bike is switched off.
Otherwise your GPS, USB charger or other equipment can continue drawing power and eventually flatten the battery.
There are several ways of solving this.
At the cheap end, you can build your own system using a relay and fuse box.
At the other end, you can install a sophisticated CAN-bus accessory controller that communicates directly with the motorcycle.
And then there are systems somewhere in between.
That’s where the ThunderBox sits.
The contenders
I compared six realistic solutions:
- HealTech ThunderBox TB-U02
- DENALI PowerHub2
- HEX ezCAN PURE / HEX ezCAN Arno for Aprilia
- Eastern Beaver PC-8E
- Oxford junction box
- A conventional relay and fuse-box setup
There aren’t actually that many products designed specifically to do this job on motorcycles, which makes choosing one slightly easier than choosing something like a helmet.
But the differences between them are significant.
- HealTech ThunderBox TB-U02
This is the system I fitted to my Tuareg.
The TB-U02 has two independently controlled 16A outputs. It is a solid-state design, so there are no conventional relays or replaceable fuses inside it.
It is also tiny.
The unit measures just 59 × 35 × 17mm and weighs around 75g including the wiring. It is rated IP68 and is completely sealed internally.
That matters on an adventure bike.
The last thing I want is a large electrical box taking up space under the seat, particularly when I’m already trying to find homes for tools, spare parts and everything else I seem to carry around.
The ThunderBox can operate automatically, detecting when the engine is running, or it can be connected to an ignition-controlled source.
It also protects the accessories against over-current and short circuits.
And perhaps my favourite feature is that it doesn’t require me to start communicating with my motorcycle in computer language.
Connect it to the battery.
Connect the accessories.
Ride.
That’s about my level of electrical engineering.
- DENALI PowerHub2
The PowerHub2 takes a different approach.
It provides six accessory outputs, with each output capable of 15A continuous power. DENALI describes it as a water-resistant power distribution module designed for motorcycles that don’t necessarily have compatibility with its CANsmart system.
The big advantage is the number of outputs.
If you’re building a heavily accessorised adventure bike, six circuits could be much more useful than two.
The downside is that it is larger and more conventional than the ThunderBox.
For someone installing lots of accessories, it’s a very credible option.
For my Tuareg, though, I didn’t really need six individually managed circuits.
- HEX ezCAN
Now things get clever.
The HEX ezCAN isn’t simply a fancy fuse box.
It communicates with the motorcycle’s CAN-bus and can use information from the bike to control accessories.
That means things such as auxiliary lights, horns, heated equipment and other accessories can potentially be controlled using existing motorcycle controls.
The Aprilia-specific ezCAN Arno makes this particularly interesting for an Aprilia owner.
HEX currently lists the Arno at £185 ex VAT. Which actually makes it by far the most expensive solution on my list.
Technically, this is probably a more capable solution than the ThunderBox.
But “more capable” doesn’t automatically mean “better”.
If I only want to switch my accessories on and off with the bike, I don’t necessarily need a computerised accessory management system.
- HEX ezCAN PURE
The PURE is HEX’s universal accessory manager.
It provides four configurable outputs and uses the same configuration software as the model-specific ezCAN systems.
The advantage is flexibility.
The disadvantage is that you’re now buying a system designed to do considerably more than simply provide switched power.
That’s brilliant if you want those capabilities.
It may be unnecessary if you don’t.
- Eastern Beaver PC-8E
The PC-8E takes the fuse-box approach but modernises it.
It provides eight outputs:
six switched and two battery-direct.
It has a 45A total rating, electronic fusing and waterproof construction. It doesn’t require an app or computer; a tripped electronic fuse is reset by cycling the bike’s power.
This is a very serious piece of kit.
It’s particularly attractive if you’re building a bike with lots of electrical equipment.
The downside is size, installation complexity and the fact that eight outputs is probably more than I need.
- Oxford Junction Box EL112
The Oxford Junction Box is probably the most obvious budget alternative to the ThunderBox. At around £25, it’s considerably cheaper and does the basic job very well: it gives you four individually fused 12V outputs, each rated at 5A, with an integrated relay that switches the outputs off with the ignition.
So why didn’t I choose it? For me, the biggest issue is that it’s a conventional relay-and-fuse system rather than the sealed solid-state design of the ThunderBox. Oxford specifies that the unit must be fitted in a dry compartment and says it is not designed for wet environments. It’s also physically larger and heavier at approximately 96 × 45 × 24mm and 134g, compared with the much smaller ThunderBox.
There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the Oxford — in fact, if you’re looking for a cheap and simple way to run four relatively low-current accessories, it’s a very sensible option. But for an adventure bike that’s going to spend plenty of time in mud, rain and water, I preferred the smaller, sealed and solid-state ThunderBox. The ability to use the ThunderBox’s white wire to control when accessories are available was another factor in my decision.
- The DIY option
And then there’s the option of doing what generations of motorcycle owners have done:
Buy a relay.
Buy a fuse box.
Buy some wire.
Start cutting.
Spend several hours making something that costs £30 in parts.
Then spend another two hours wondering why it doesn’t work.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach.
It’s cheap, repairable and completely flexible.
But it’s also the option most likely to result in a wiring installation that looks like I’ve been fighting an octopus.
For me, the attraction of the ThunderBox was avoiding all of that.
So why did I choose the ThunderBox?
After comparing the options, I think the answer is quite simple.
I didn’t need the most capable system. I needed the simplest system that did the job properly.
The ThunderBox gives me two 16A outputs, automatic or ignition-controlled operation, electronic protection and a tiny waterproof package.
And it connects directly to the battery without requiring me to start cutting into the Tuareg’s wiring harness.
That’s important on a modern motorcycle.
The ThunderBox is also completely universal. HealTech says it is compatible with 12V vehicles, including CAN-bus-equipped motorcycles.
So I’m not buying a system that’s tied to one particular motorcycle.
If I eventually change bikes, there’s a good chance the ThunderBox can move with me.
Is it the best system?
No.
And that’s actually the important point.
If you have six or eight accessories to manage, I’d probably be looking at something like the DENALI PowerHub2 or Eastern Beaver PC-8E.
If you want sophisticated CAN-bus integration, the HEX ezCAN is a completely different level of product.
But if what you want is:
Battery → accessory controller → a couple of accessories → everything switches off automatically
the ThunderBox is extremely difficult to argue against.
It’s small, simple and does exactly what it needs to do.
My ToHB verdict
For my Aprilia Tuareg 660, the ThunderBox made the most sense.
Not because it won every category.
It didn’t.
It doesn’t have the most outputs.
It isn’t the most sophisticated.
It doesn’t give you the most control.
But it scored extremely well in the things I actually cared about:
simplicity, size, weather resistance, protection and ease of installation.
And that’s something I’ve found repeatedly while building the Tuareg.
The best accessory isn’t necessarily the one with the longest specification sheet.
It’s the one that solves the problem without creating three new ones.
For me, that’s the ThunderBox.
And thankfully, it fits in a space considerably smaller than the spreadsheet I used to decide which one to buy.
ToHB Score
HealTech ThunderBox TB-U02 — 4.7/5
My choice for the Tuareg.
All scores are ToHB editorial scores based on an Aprilia Tuareg 660 touring/adventure build. Specifications and compatibility should always be checked against the exact product revision and motorcycle model before purchase.
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