Suggestions for a Better Ampli-rider Installation

hppants · Sep 11, 2013

(Hold your flames - I've spent 20 minutes searching for the answer to this. If it exist, I can't find it.)

When it comes to electricity, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. I bought the ampli-rider with the remote volume knob:

https://www.electric-avenues.com/amplirider.html

...and tested it out. Sounds great, no apparent noise revving the engine in the shop. I'm sold - it's a keeper.

Now, I want to install it pretty and I would like your help and suggestions.

1. There is no power switch on the amp, so I'm going to wire it to an "ignition hot" source. That's easy enough, but a really convenient idea would be to just run the hot wire to my "ignition hot" terminal on the automotive relay that I bought for my R/T Industries driving lights. According to Gary at Electric-Avenues, the amp only draws 0.25 amps wide open. Addidng that to the 1.7 amps my lights draw and I'm still well below the 3 amps that the relay is rated for.

Does anybody see a problem with this?

2. Regarding mounting the amp itself, I found a nice place under the rider's seat next to my accessory fuse block. But because of number 1 above, I'd have to run an "ignition hot" wire up to my lights relay under the B-panel. I think I'll just find a place inside of the front stay under the nose cowling and tie-wrap it there.

No real issues for this - just food for thought.

3. The ampli-rider volume know can be removed from its stem. I've got a nice rubber grommet that fits over the stem perfectly. So I'm gonna drill a hole in the A-panel, install the grommet, and run the stem through it for a nice touch. I picked the A-panel because I can easily use my left hand while riding to make volume adjustments.

Again, I'm good here - just setting up the real questions.

3. Input/Output wise, as a "booster", the amp just runs in line with the phone/ipod headphones output. They gave me a nice 6 foot male/female cable to plug the phone in. I suppose I could just run the cable underneath the A and B panels and tie strap it to whatever I can find, leaving a pig tail dangling near my tank bag.

But that would look like crap.

What I'd rather do is find a "bulk-head" style male/female adapter for the 1/8" audio connection that is waterproof on the outside. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-Cable-GPR101-Inch-Adaptor/dp/B000068O3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378902557&sr=8-1&keywords=audio+1%2F4%22+adapter

Except it would have 1/8" male on one side, 1/8" female on the other, AND it would be threaded with a nut such that I could drill a hole and install it on the A-panel next to the volume knob. It doesn't matter whether the female side or male side sticks out of the bike - I can get a cable easy enough to get to the phone output. The adapter would have this kind of mounting hardware:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PWM-Dimmer-24-Volt-DC-7-Amp-LED-Panel-Lighting-On-Off-Switch-OC-RP-protection-/221201049096?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item33809c2608

If it had some kind of rubber plug to keep water out of it when I'm not using it.

The last step would be to purchase a similar adapter for the headphones, of course this one would have to have the female on the outside to accept my ear buds.

So, that's a long story but I've learned enough from this forum NOT to re-invent the wheel.

Has anyone else addressed some of my concerns?

Thanks.

Geezer · Sep 11, 2013

hppants said:
(Hold your flames - I've spent 20 minutes searching for the answer to this. If it exist, I can't find it.)
When it comes to electricity, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. I bought the ampli-rider with the remote volume knob:

https://www.electric-avenues.com/amplirider.html

...and tested it out. Sounds great, no apparent noise revving the engine in the shop. I'm sold - it's a keeper.

Now, I want to install it pretty and I would like your help and suggestions.

1. There is no power switch on the amp, so I'm going to wire it to an "ignition hot" source. That's easy enough, but a really convenient idea would be to just run the hot wire to my "ignition hot" terminal on the automotive relay that I bought for my R/T Industries driving lights. According to Gary at Electric-Avenues, the amp only draws 0.25 amps wide open. Addidng that to the 1.7 amps my lights draw and I'm still well below the 3 amps that the relay is rated for.

Does anybody see a problem with this?

2. Regarding mounting the amp itself, I found a nice place under the rider's seat next to my accessory fuse block. But because of number 1 above, I'd have to run an "ignition hot" wire up to my lights relay under the B-panel. I think I'll just find a place inside of the front stay under the nose cowling and tie-wrap it there.

No real issues for this - just food for thought.

3. The ampli-rider volume know can be removed from its stem. I've got a nice rubber grommet that fits over the stem perfectly. So I'm gonna drill a hole in the A-panel, install the grommet, and run the stem through it for a nice touch. I picked the A-panel because I can easily use my left hand while riding to make volume adjustments.

Again, I'm good here - just setting up the real questions.

3. Input/Output wise, as a "booster", the amp just runs in line with the phone/ipod headphones output. They gave me a nice 6 foot male/female cable to plug the phone in. I suppose I could just run the cable underneath the A and B panels and tie strap it to whatever I can find, leaving a pig tail dangling near my tank bag.

But that would look like crap.

What I'd rather do is find a "bulk-head" style male/female adapter for the 1/8" audio connection that is waterproof on the outside. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-Cable-GPR101-Inch-Adaptor/dp/B000068O3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378902557&sr=8-1&keywords=audio+1%2F4%22+adapter

Except it would have 1/8" male on one side, 1/8" female on the other, AND it would be threaded with a nut such that I could drill a hole and install it on the A-panel next to the volume knob. It doesn't matter whether the female side or male side sticks out of the bike - I can get a cable easy enough to get to the phone output. The adapter would have this kind of mounting hardware:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PWM-Dimmer-24-Volt-DC-7-Amp-LED-Panel-Lighting-On-Off-Switch-OC-RP-protection-/221201049096?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item33809c2608

If it had some kind of rubber plug to keep water out of it when I'm not using it.

The last step would be to purchase a similar adapter for the headphones, of course this one would have to have the female on the outside to accept my ear buds.

So, that's a long story but I've learned enough from this forum NOT to re-invent the wheel.

Has anyone else addressed some of my concerns?

Thanks.

If you use the relay, will the Ampli-Rider only be powered when those lights are on? I agree with using switched power. Mine is spliced to the same power source I tap for the GPS and radar detector.

I have the Ampli-Rider with remote volume and simply stuck it on my dash shelf next to my GPS and radar detector. ALl of the wires do look like spaghetti and I often get comments on it, but it works for me. If I ever get another Ampli-Rider I will get the one with the volume control on the mixer itself so reduce the number of wires.

I do not adjust the volume often, so mounting the knob on the A panel should be fine.

You could simply run the wires from your devices through a hole you drill in the A panel and plug them into the Ampli Rider rather than exposing the jacks. I don't find myself needing access to those jacks very often.

hppants · Sep 11, 2013

Geezer - thanks. it didn't occur to me that I may want to use the ampli-rider without the lights. I'll go to my "ignition hot" source for the relay (which is my auto-retract for the windscreen, I removed the jumper).

It may come down to the "run the wires through the hole" method, but I hope to find some thing cleaner. Maybe others will chime in.

DesignFlaw06 · Sep 11, 2013

I would suggest Bluetooth. Bluetooth adapters can be easily found and won't draw much power. You can easily stash it in the bike, so water concerns are virtually non-existent. That will give you the cleanest install.

I stream music from mine all day long. The ideal solution was the LiquidAux by Kensington, which even had a remote that is normally for steering wheels. But I found it worked well for the handlebar as well and that allowed me to change tracks on the fly. Sadly they stopped making them and I have yet to find a suitable replacement that allows for previous/next track capability. But if that isn't a big deal, you should be able to find an adapter. In fact, I might even have one of those Kensingtons lying around. It doesn't have the remote, but you can have it for shipping.

If you're deadset on just a 3.5mm plug, there are plenty of these:

https://www.amazon.com/iPod-Waterproof-3-5mm-Stereo-Adapter/dp/B004221UQU

But you'd need one of these to get back to 3.5mm:

https://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-3-5mm-Stereo-Cable/dp/B0002KR1OG

hppants · Nov 3, 2013

I thought I would share how my ampli-rider install turned out.

First, I chose to velcro the amplifier box on top of the "shelf" that is created by the bottom of the nose piece. Althought it's tucked way under there, this picture illustrates how it basically fits. Judging from the dust that is accumulated down there, I'm hopeful that this area stays basically dry.

Next, I ran the power and signal wires under the "A" and "B" panels. I picked up a source of switched power from my toggle switch for my fork mounted aux. lights. The relay is more than capable of handling the 1/4 amp put out by the amplifier and that circuit is powered by the windscreen auto-retrac power source, which I disabled by removing the jumper.

I purchased a pair of 1/8 panel connectors like this:

Here's how they look installed on the "A" panel:

I picked up those yellow rubber covers from Lowes to keep the connectors out of the weather when I'm not using the ampli-rider. So I plug in my ear buds to one connector, and using a 2' foot male-to-male cable, my phone to the other. For added heat protection, I encased the signal wires under the "A" panel with that automotive accordian style wire loom. After 3000 miles, no signs of trouble yet.

Here's where the volume control wound up - velcro-d to the "B" panel

I'm not too pleased with this, but it needs to be on the left side and I can disconnect it when I wash the bike.

Anyway, the ampli-rider sounds great and I'm satisfied with the install.