This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Got a tech tip for Voyager 12's from your personal experiences, or one complete with pictures and instructions, here's where to post it. You can also ask about tips or procedures here.

Moderators: the2knights, Highway Rider

Post Reply
User avatar
suzib6sw
Tourer
Tourer
Posts: 313
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 7:06 pm
14
Current bike(s): '86 Kawasaki Voyager XII
Location: Virginia
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 1 time
Contact:

This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by suzib6sw »

Ok Folks.. Some of the most common things I hear is, I cant hear my radio, its not loud enough, can I add an amp?..

9 times out of 10, its a "User" issue rather than an actual electronic issue in that the rider is unaware of just how the radio should be set up..
1st: Check the mute buttons (BOTH of them) are out. Frequently, throwing your leg over, its possible to kick the rear passenger controls and it gets pushed in.

2nd: Unless you are using a head set, set the two LEFT control knobs on the radio to fully counter clockwise. You dont need them and they only affect the Intercom and CB and VOX (Voice operated switch level).

3rd: Make sure the HS block on the lcd isnt lit. If it is, you may JUST hear the speakers with your head glued to the front of the bike.

4th: Set the Outer RIGHT knob to 2 o'clock. This sets the maximum volume ABOVE 30mph.
5th: (Personal choice) set the inner right to max for max treble.
6th: With the bike at a standstill, with or without the engine, set the handlebar volume to show 2 or 3 blocks on the LCD . This sets the MAX volume UNDER 30Mph.. You may find 3 blocks too loud when stationary, at your garage door at 1am.. ;-)

7th. Enjoy!..

If, after you have run all the checks above and its still too quiet, then you need to take out the ear plugs or check the 7.5amp fuse on the power amp (under the right fairing under the cruise control actuator)..

Basically at those settings, you should be able to have plenty of volume down the road. If you are using cassettes, then either the head is magnetized, worn or your tape is shot.
If you cant hear the radio, it is possible that a capacitor in the radio has gone leaky and its holding the mute circuit on.

Cheers..

Pete
These users liked suzib6sw's post:
glvnthedream (Thu Aug 03, 2023 8:36 pm)
Rating: 11.11%
Pete
Want MP3 or GPS Mods to the Voyager Radio or have a Broken Radio or CB? Call me 540 391 0884 or Carl
https://sites.google.com/site/voyagerradiorepairs/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1986 Voyager XII
User avatar
Mr Jensee
King of the Road
King of the Road
Posts: 1987
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 5:55 pm
15
Current bike(s): Phone 337-781-8158
Home Phone disconnected.
Previous bikes. Yamaha 180, Honda CM200T, Suzuki 1000LNKawasaki ZRX1100.
Location: Lafayette, La
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 9 times

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by Mr Jensee »

Thanks for posting this Pete. It took me a long time when I got my bike to figure out all that. Now a lot of people who are new to Voyager XII bikes will have the info they need. I suggest the editors make this a sticky. :thmup:
For Voyager XII Manuals click the link below.
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Ao3K0Ai2gvglgS3l7J4pBJrjfBhc
User avatar
glich54
Cruiser
Cruiser
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2011 4:51 am
13
Current bike(s): 2001 Kawasaki Voyager XII
2009 Kawasaki KLR 650
1979 Triumph Bonneville 750
1951 Cushman Eagle
Location: Woodinville WA
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 0

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by glich54 »

Dittos on the thanks...(the voyager radio appears to be an excellent example of an overly complicated design)
Gary L.
Woodinville, WA
01 Voyager XII
79 Triumph Bonneville
51 Cushman Eagle

"The fewer the facts the stronger the opinion"
voyager55
Elite Tourer
Elite Tourer
Posts: 820
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2013 6:08 am
11
Current bike(s): 2003 1200
Location: Eden Prairie, MN
Has liked: 1 time
Been liked: 3 times

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by voyager55 »

Why did they make rear speakers? Riding solo you can't hear them.
User avatar
suzib6sw
Tourer
Tourer
Posts: 313
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 7:06 pm
14
Current bike(s): '86 Kawasaki Voyager XII
Location: Virginia
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by suzib6sw »

voyager55 wrote:Why did they make rear speakers? Riding solo you can't hear them.
well you kinda can if you wind the fader round but they were meant for Passenger enjoyment too.. Plus, it was a selling point against the Goldwing at the time ;-)
Pete
Want MP3 or GPS Mods to the Voyager Radio or have a Broken Radio or CB? Call me 540 391 0884 or Carl
https://sites.google.com/site/voyagerradiorepairs/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1986 Voyager XII
voyager55
Elite Tourer
Elite Tourer
Posts: 820
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2013 6:08 am
11
Current bike(s): 2003 1200
Location: Eden Prairie, MN
Has liked: 1 time
Been liked: 3 times

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by voyager55 »

Guess they look ok to, lol
User avatar
joerod777
Cruiser
Cruiser
Posts: 64
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 2:43 pm
13
Current bike(s): 2003 Voyager XII
Location: Hampton, Virginia
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 0

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by joerod777 »

Pete,

Good point about the mute button on the passenger remote. I had a volume problem and it turned out to be the passenger remote mute. Took me awhile to figure this out.
JoeRod
User avatar
gearheadfla
Grand Tourer
Grand Tourer
Posts: 563
Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2011 5:29 pm
13
Current bike(s): 1988 Voyager XII
1989 Voyager XII
2001 Voyager XII
2007 Vulcan Nomad
2006 Honda Rebel
Location: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 2 times

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by gearheadfla »

joerod777 wrote:Pete,

Good point about the mute button on the passenger remote. I had a volume problem and it turned out to be the passenger remote mute. Took me awhile to figure this out.
Yeah, I got rid of that a long time ago. Drove me nuts.
Jim in Fl. 88 XII
89 XII-parts bike-scraped
01 XII-sold
07 Vulcan Nomad
Patriot Guard Rider, Florida.
Sunshine State Voyagers
Veterans Nation Riding Association
User avatar
richardb, austin
Traveler
Traveler
Posts: 164
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 1:58 pm
16
Current bike(s): '94 Voyager as of 02/10
Location: Austin, Tx
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 0

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by richardb, austin »

Yeah, I think my bike looks ok without rear speakers.
Also, if you do have headset cables, water in the rear headset connector (with the dust cover plug in place to catch & hold rain), will kill your volume. Pete, thanks for the post.
richardb, austin
__________________
"If you understand what you're doing, you're not learning anything." -- Abraham Lincoln (probably spoken to a DIY Voyager mechanic)
carolinarider
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2011 7:52 am
13
Current bike(s): 1990 Kawasaki Voyager XII
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 0

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by carolinarider »

Great radio tips...thanks !! And talking about ear plugs, I always use 'em and find I enjoy the radio much more as the plugs eliminate all the wind noise .....
aace
Streetster
Streetster
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 10:26 am
10
Current bike(s): 92 voyager 82 virago
Location: Attleboro, Mass
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 1 time

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by aace »

ok but how does one set the time and the preset radio stations?? also im gonna try a cassette adapter for my ipod?? have you heard of this or is there a better way to get modern music without sending the unit out??
User avatar
Tonyvdb
Grand Tourer
Grand Tourer
Posts: 530
Joined: Thu May 29, 2014 11:36 pm
10
Current bike(s): 2017 Victory Vision
1996 Voyager (Just sold)
1981 GPZ 550 (Previous bike)
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 0

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by Tonyvdb »

Press and hold the Memory button (ME) with the power off and push the arrows up to adjust the hr and down to adjust the min. When your tuned into the station you want push the ME button and then select the number you want the presets to be stored in.
A cassett adapter works great as I do the same. If the belt is still good it will work but if the belt is broken your out of luck and will have to send it in to Pete.
2017 Gloss black Victory Vision
1996 Kawasaki Voyager Just sold
1981 Kawasaki GPZ550 (sold)
User avatar
Littlebeaver
Traveler
Traveler
Posts: 108
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 4:29 am
10
Current bike(s): 1999 Voyager 1200, 1981 Honda Goldwing Interstate 1100
Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 0

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by Littlebeaver »

I was bewildered as to why the radio didn't stay the same volume after I got it,, the volume sound reduced as the speed of the machine did.. Hummmmm Is there not a way to keep it at one volume regardless? Or I this something I have to get used to?
User avatar
Scott-(Altoona, PA)
King of the Road
King of the Road
Posts: 1082
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 1:22 pm
16
Current bike(s): 2001 Voyager XII
Location: Altoona, PA
Has liked: 83 times
Been liked: 136 times
Contact:

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by Scott-(Altoona, PA) »

The XII's have a volume advance feature (dependant on the speedo working) where after you get above a certain speed (I think its like 35) the volume steps up. On the radio, one of the two knobs(w/inner and outer controls) is marked "col adv" I'm pretty sure. Can't swear by it without looking but check it out. The concept is to counteract the increase of road noise at faster speeds!
Its intentional.
Mid-Atlantic Voyagers chapter secretary {"scribe"}
2001 Voyager XII
We may not know them all, but we owe them all! Thank a Veteran today!
User avatar
suzib6sw
Tourer
Tourer
Posts: 313
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 7:06 pm
14
Current bike(s): '86 Kawasaki Voyager XII
Location: Virginia
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by suzib6sw »

Littlebeaver wrote:I was bewildered as to why the radio didn't stay the same volume after I got it,, the volume sound reduced as the speed of the machine did.. Hummmmm Is there not a way to keep it at one volume regardless? Or I this something I have to get used to?
..
There is an way but I would have to have the radio in order to disable the AVC and give you full control from the handlebar.. It may be possible to do without removing the radio but you it will be trial and error..
If you really want to do this, then let me know, otherwise, if you set the radio up as per my instructions at the top of this thread, it works exactly as designed and will be loud enough when stationary and moving.

Pete
Pete
Want MP3 or GPS Mods to the Voyager Radio or have a Broken Radio or CB? Call me 540 391 0884 or Carl
https://sites.google.com/site/voyagerradiorepairs/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1986 Voyager XII
User avatar
chevyman1
Board Member
Board Member
Posts: 731
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:59 pm
15
Current bike(s): 1990 Kawasaki Voyager XII
1991 Kawasaki Voyager XII
1993 Kawasaki Voyager XII
1972 Yamaha LS2 100cc twin 2 stroke
Location: Myerstown, Pa.
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 16 times

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by chevyman1 »

Just a thought, what if you unplug the wire from the radio to the speedometer?
I think it's a 2 wire plug with small wires :hmm:
President - Mid-Atlantic Voyagers
1990 Voyager XII
1991 Voyager XII (Team Green)
1972 Yamaha LS2 (100cc Twin 2stroke)
Voyagers Voice editor SEND ME STORIES AND PICTURES PLEASE
to. (kew427@comcast.net)
carl leo
Guru
Guru
Posts: 145
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 1:42 am
16
Current bike(s): 96 voyager zg1200
76 kz900 LTD
60 NSU supermax
Location: Ormond Beach, FL
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 1 time

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by carl leo »

this would do it but you would also lose the cruise control and self cancelling turn signals............
:bat:
User avatar
Scott-(Altoona, PA)
King of the Road
King of the Road
Posts: 1082
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 1:22 pm
16
Current bike(s): 2001 Voyager XII
Location: Altoona, PA
Has liked: 83 times
Been liked: 136 times
Contact:

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by Scott-(Altoona, PA) »

Or just turn the volume down all the way on the AVC knob, that way it won't increase volume any more than what it is set at while setting still!
:thk:
Set the volume using the volume control on the handlebar controls and leave it at that.
Mid-Atlantic Voyagers chapter secretary {"scribe"}
2001 Voyager XII
We may not know them all, but we owe them all! Thank a Veteran today!
User avatar
jek7galo
Cruiser
Cruiser
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2014 7:05 pm
9
Current bike(s): Kawasaki ZX-12R - 2000
Kawasaki Voyager XII - 1995
Location: Brasil
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 0

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by jek7galo »

Hello friends,
   I'm an intermittent problem, my radio is cutting the volume when the bike is over 30 ~ 50 miles, sometimes between 90 ~ 100, Printing a loose thread.
  Another symptom that presents the same problem is when I'm cruising speed and I accelerate faster and happens again the volume of the cut.
   Anyone seen this problem before?
Kawasaki Voyager XII - 1995
Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R - 2000
User avatar
suzib6sw
Tourer
Tourer
Posts: 313
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 7:06 pm
14
Current bike(s): '86 Kawasaki Voyager XII
Location: Virginia
Has liked: 0
Been liked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: This is how to set up the Volume on the Radio..

Post by suzib6sw »

jek7galo wrote:Hello friends,
   I'm an intermittent problem, my radio is cutting the volume when the bike is over 30 ~ 50 miles, sometimes between 90 ~ 100, Printing a loose thread.
  Another symptom that presents the same problem is when I'm cruising speed and I accelerate faster and happens again the volume of the cut.
   Anyone seen this problem before?
There are several possible causes here.
The Power amp by the Cruise control actuator may have cold solder joints.
There is a loose screw inside the radio from the front panel jumping about inside. This typically comes from end where the HS button is located. If the HS button has no effect, then thats probably it.
The AVC Circuit on the lower logic board is faulty..
In all cases, the radio needs to be removed :-(
Pete
Want MP3 or GPS Mods to the Voyager Radio or have a Broken Radio or CB? Call me 540 391 0884 or Carl
https://sites.google.com/site/voyagerradiorepairs/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1986 Voyager XII
Post Reply

Return to “Tech Tips - Voyager XII (1200 Four)”