After Market Radios

[suzib6sw]

Folks.. With the increasing difficulty obtaining the LCD displays for the Stock Radio, Im looking now at aftermarket radios to slot into the Voyager..
I have two options to consider.. 1: a Marine Grade radio or 2: a "standard" car radio.

The Issue I face is that the Marine radio cannot be controlled from the handlebars using the voyager controls.
The "Standard" car radio, I CAN interface (certain models) to the Voyager controls for Volume, Channel and hopefully, mode selection..
There is a really nice Clarion Marine radio that I like with just one large multi function knob Ideal for gloved hands.

Anyway.. Im actively working on this now. I just have to find the radio I would prefer to use , with bluetooth, MP3, USB, possibly SDcard and maybe IPOD controlability too.

Yes we WILL loose the intercom feature. YES we will loose the auto volume with speed.
Yes, we may need to have waterproof cover over the front.

Whatever happens, we will need to have a replacement front panel to mount the radio in.
I will try and mount the radio to, say, the left leaving an area for possible add on instruments or power charger sockets.

The mounting is still in the planning stage.. The Electronics are a much closer solution.. ( I have Harley Davidson to thank for some of the ideas and details).

If anyone has any ideas for mounting the radio and materials, I would appreciate some feedback.. I may be able to use one of the side brackets already in the old radio mount.

Cheers..
Pete

[gearheadfla]

I found a nice Kenwood marine radio on Flea-bay for $100.00, it's a CD and has a USB port for your I-Pod, phone or even a flash drive, I'm putting it in the batwing faring for my Nomad. I went with a marine radio because of the rain, but all so because of the vibrations that it will get on a bike. It also has line out jacks on the back for a amp and subwoofer if needed. I will post a report on that project next week, the faring is at the paint shop right now.

[suzib6sw]

Hmm.. Jim.. Does it have a remote (wired) control option and if so, what is the type of plug?.. Which model was it?

Cheers.

Pete

[gearheadfla]

When I get home tonight I will find out all the specs and post them.

[gearheadfla]

Here's what I got Pete.

It does have a wire in the harness for "Marine Remote" I think that's what you was asking about.

And from the front under a trap door is a USB and a I-Pod jack

Hope this helps, I will report how it works once I get it installed on the Nomad this weekend (if the faring is painted)
It also has this plug on the back.

[Okie34]

I've used the Pyle Marine Audio Radio on the 95.

http://www.pyleaudio.com/sku/PLCD16MRWB ... red-Remote

I had one of these in a boat that we gave a viking funeral to. I popped it in when I found the stock Clarion was toast. I mounted the remote on the faux tank cover just below the Cruise Control Head.Worked like a champ but had to watch the volume. It could blow out the stock Clarions pretty quick.

-- JD

[suzib6sw]

What Im interested in is how you mounted the radio where the stock radio went.. did you use any specific ready made plates or did you cut out your own and what materials did you use..

the problem with many of the marine radios is that there is no adapter that will allow the handlebar controls to work.. Also of the ones on here, neither have bluetooth as far as I can see..

Anyway.. Pictures would be great...
cheers..
Pete

[suzib6sw]

Next Question..

Im trying to find a good range of radios that can be used with with the Voyager XII.. looking for Bluetooth, with USB and Ipod support, remote control support, water-resistant and SD card/flash drive support too..


Which would be the more popular.. A Radio with a CD player or a Mechanism free, digital only receiver..
That is to say, a Radio/Cd player with or without bluetooth, with or without USB input , with aux input etc OR
a Radio receiver with NO CD drive at all but with Bluetooth, SD card, USB, ipod, aux input etc..

My thinking is here , of course, is the fewer moving parts, the better..

Cheers..
Pete

[gearheadfla]

My Nomad radio don't have Bluetooth, but does have CD and USB, I love the USB, I have a thumb drive with about 1500 songs on it, just plug it in and away I go, I do miss the handle bar controls that the XII has when riding, there is a model of the radio I got that does have remote control but I opted not to spend the extra for it, I would just lose or drop the remote on the highway at 70 mph knowing me. I kinda can see a problem with the Nomad radio on the XII exploding the stock speakers pretty quick, it gives the 4- 5 1/4 speakers on the Nomad a workout as they thump out the base, might want to look into a way to mount better ones on a XII.

[wyofisher]

Before I knew about the repair guy on ebay, I chucked my malfunctioning radio and installed an IMC MIT-100U intercom and an Alpine radio with bluetooth and ipod capability. The intercom is great, the radio is a no button front with pressure sensitive sliders and "buttons" that do not respond to gloved fingers, and the bluetooth is crappy. The display is impossible to read in the sun, but most are. But I do get my ipod music. I used the original mount and had to do lots of grinding and filing to get a car stereo to fit. Of course there is a closeout panel that I still have to remake (looks amateur). I used a PAC steering wheel control interface to use my handgrip controls. After experience with both PAC and Axxess interfaces I can say get Axxess, I hate my PAC interface, its very buggy. I removed all of the old components except for the speaker amp, and mounted the new stuff behind the left fairing. I used the pre-amp outputs of the stereo for the old speaker amp, so I could install a switch to turn the speakers off.

If I had it to do again, I would get my old unit repaired, but I couldn't figure it out, and didn't know about the service on ebay. So when I get more money and time, I'll revisit the stereo and handlebar controls. But I love the intercom, and do have my music. I usually ride alone, so the ipod is very important to me.

[gearheadfla]

The service guy on E-Bay, well, that's Pete here.

[chevyman1]

Next Question..

Im trying to find a good range of radios that can be used with with the Voyager XII.. looking for Bluetooth, with USB and Ipod support, remote control support, water-resistant and SD card/flash drive support too..


Which would be the more popular.. A Radio with a CD player or a Mechanism free, digital only receiver..
That is to say, a Radio/Cd player with or without bluetooth, with or without USB input , with aux input etc OR
a Radio receiver with NO CD drive at all but with Bluetooth, SD card, USB, ipod, aux input etc..

My thinking is here , of course, is the fewer moving parts, the better..

Cheers..
Pete

I would just want a way to play digital media. Who want's to fumble with CD's if you can play music off a flash drive or a Ipod.

[suzib6sw]

Yup.. Tis I, guilty as charged.. :-)

Interesting you had issues with the Pac.. I am tossing up between the Access one and the Pac.. Will take a look at the Access one..
I assume you worked out the resistor values to use for the Pac..

Anyway.. I managed to mount the radio without having to grind that lip out of the way but Im not using the supplied mount..
The Radio fits just about without that slide in mount and then I have secured it with some angled brackets to the existing chassis..
Just got to cut some lexan squares for either side of the radio and spray the rear surface black and get them mounted in the spaces..

I have managed to get the right plugs for the handlebar controls to make the interface plug straight in without having to cut into any wires..

Just got to find the speaker socket to allow them to also be "plug and play"..

If anyone has pictures or ideas for the front panel replacements, they would be appreciated..
Either upload here or email me directly at voyagerrr@outlook.com (yes 3 R's)
Cheers..

[Mr Jensee]

I am curious why a radio designed for a current bike like Harley Davidson or the current Voyager 1700 could not be modified to work on a Voyager XII?

[gearheadfla]

I messaged you on F.B. Pete.

[gearheadfla]

I am curious why a radio designed for a current bike like Harley Davidson or the current Voyager 1700 could not be modified to work on a Voyager XII?

The first down draw is the price, even the XII radio new,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, .......... any Harley parts are just at us. The Kaw 1200 radio is around $1400.00 new.

[suzib6sw]

They can be modified wiring harness wise.. however, the shape is certainly not a DIN standard.. The frame where the radio of the XII fits its 2" tall (just about) which is the DIN standard height..
Harley and '1700 radios are well over $1000 new, $600+ second hand and the book price for the XII radio is $1680

I finally found suppliers of the 9 pin handlebar control sockets and the 4 pin speaker wire sockets, so Im hopeing to literally have a plug and play solution to this..
Yes, the plastics and radio WILL have to come off, yes there is a little bit of grunt and cussing involved but hopefully it will be a reasonable alternative to the stock radio.

Pete

[gearheadfla]

So now you got be thinking Pete, can this be converted to my Nomad using a set of XII controls ?

[wyofisher]

[quote="suzib6sw"]Yup.. Tis I, guilty as charged.. :-)

Interesting you had issues with the Pac.. I am tossing up between the Access one and the Pac.. Will take a look at the Access one..
I assume you worked out the resistor values to use for the Pac.. "

Yeah, I did the resistor thing and got it all programmed per the instructions. It works, but sometimes, after stopping for a while and restarting, it doesn't work, or it gets confused about which button I'm pushing. Sometimes I get no response on volume control, sometimes it advances to the next song. It might be dirty switch contacts adding to the resistance the PAC control is looking for. I got to thinking about the Axxess installation, and just figured out that it wouldn't work on my bike ('86 XII). Its programmed for cars that use one wire, and doesn't really show universal installation setup like PAC's. Looks like I better clean my switch contacts and stay with the PAC unit. So let me rephrase my other post---the PAC interface works great....

[suzib6sw]

Yup.. if you have either the blue/yellow remote wire (which according the the Kenwood box you posted, you do) Or the "Steering Wheel remote" jack socket, then, it is possible.. Either using a VXII or an 2007 harley set of switchgear assuming they just switch to a common ground.. Not sure what the V1700's use, so if anyone has a wiring diagram of the 1700's radio and switch gear, I should be able to tell you ..

Some of the later harleys and other bikes use a digitally encoded arrangement (much like the marine wired remotes) that dont ground..

Am also looking for the wiring diagrams for a 2007 ish street or road glide or ultra chassic without cruise control to see if their handlebar controls will fit and plug up with Pam's Softail Heritage..

Just fitted the JVC to hers, media only receiver (No CD) with USB and Bluetooth.. Very impressed.. Its one option I have in mind for the XII..

Pete