Idea: Radio/CD/MP3 head unit (+) speakers installed in a Pelican box

[Walden]

Hey All,

Yep, I searched. Five pages of results for "radio" and all anyone talks about is installing a CB or speakers into their helmet.

I'd rather not hack up my and my wife's helmets ($700 together). How about another approach?

A while back, a forum member posted pics or a link of a Honda speaker setup that mounts to the handle bars, is self amplified and costs a mere $600. The speakers can't be any bigger than 2 inches, so I can imagine the quality of the sound. I'm either too cheap or too redneck for that.

THE IDEA:

A black Pelican 1600 case (clicky) mounted on the back. I have a Garauld rack, and there are many ways to either permanantly attach a case, or temporarily lock it in place. (~$150)

With the case laying down on its side and the carry handle mounted toward the rear, all of the following components would be mounted on the bottom of the case, facing toward the rider.

1. a cheap head unit-exactly like one you would install in the dash of your cage.

-Best Buy is running a special on a 200w Pioneer unit with (2) 6.5 in. speakers for $70 (click-eroo)

2. shield the head unit from the elements with a black tinted marine radio cover (~$10) (chitty chitty click click)

3. mount 3.5-6.5 in. circular speakers inside the case to the case itself. Cut large holes or a series of smaller holes to let the sound through. Shield them from the elements by covering/gluing latex gloves between the speakers and the case.

-On the top side of the case (while mounted as previously mentioned) speakers up to 6x9 in. could easily be mounted.

4. run power to the setup by a powerlet cable from my rear powerlet into the box.

**My inspiration came from a recent Popular Mechanics article: (Click-eroni) where they mounted an iPod touch inside a Pelican box, with external speakers. The thing even works under water. THIS IDEA COULD WORK!!!**

CONS:

-Head units are especially easy to steal. That's why I'm considering a cheap one. You can also mount them more securely by screwing the unit directly to the Pelican case. That, and maybe a Taser ****y trap.

-Difficult to control the radio/CD. I have been looking at RF remotes and haven't found an exact fix for this yet. If the unit can play MP3 CDs, one CD can hold 180 songs, so how much input do I really need to give? I could just tether an infared remote to my jacket pocket zipper and use it to mute the unit while at stops and such.

-Pelicans aren't exactly the prettiest farkle. However, they are sealed to the point that they need a pressure relief valve for changes in altitude. This will help with water protection and low frequency response from the speakers.

-My wife riding on the back will block some of the sound and I would have to trust her with the remote-causing me to give up hard-earned man territory. The 1600 case should be wide enough to install the 3.5-6.5 in. speakers on the outside corners, which shoud be a direct line of sight to my helmet.

PROS:

-Cost: 150+70+10=$230. That's $370 less than the Honda speakers. Even if I double the cost because of unexpected setbacks, I'd save $140 off the Honda speakers and have much, much better sound. Heck, I could even amplify the unit and still come out ahead and piss off all my neighbors!

-It will definitely be loud enough to hear. I ride with my windshield full up, and get barely any buffeting. I usually crack my faceshield because I get so little wind.

-Automotive head units are designed to run in environments with plenty of shaking, heat and cold.

-The "I made that" factor.

-I would have the case locked to the bike so I could take it with me while in higher crime areas (rather than permanently attached).

-So long as I turn the radio down before my final stop, it won't be obvious that there is a sound system installed on the bike. The average thief won't be expecting a valuable automotive quality head unit to be installed on a motorcycle. Those $600 Honda speakers would come off way to quickly for my liking.

-Most head units have an input for external MP3 unit.

-I could even mount a telescoping radio antenna inside the case for un-paralleled reception.

-With everything installed, there will still be plenty of space in there for other crap, like an extra battery or a trunk monkey.

-A pelican is ugly enough to mount ugly funny bumper stickers to.

So what am I looking for from you, the reader:

-Anything that I might not have considered

-Links to head units that come stock with RF remotes or at least RF remote capability

-Comments from the peanut gallery

-A flogging if I have missed a post that directly addresses this idea (I know, you would have done that without my request!)

Thanks,

Dubyuh

 

[Greg E.]

Adding earphones to your helmets is straightforward and doesn't require any modification to the helmets themselves. By purchasing an intercom system made expressly for motorcycles you can have all of the features you desire without subjecting the general public to music they have no desire to enjoy(tolerate?). As an alternative, there are several amp/mixer units on the market that require very little space or energy to use. The cost has proven to be reasonable. The unit that I have allows me to listen to my sat radio, my mp3 player, AM/FM, cell phone/radar detector and communicate with my pillion. Not bad bad for a box the size of a deck of cards.

 

[Happy Dog]

Why would you pay $150 for a Pelican box, then drill holes in it?

Why would you want to carry all that weight when you could get a starcom and run something tiny portable? And you could use that rack for something else.

Back to the drawing board. How bout a margarita machine?

 

[k7lvo]

My other bike is a Gold Wing with front and rear speakers, so I feel especially qualified to address this.

You will not get acceptable sound from rear mounted speakers. They fill in with the front ones, but are not sufficient by themselves at speed.

<Musing> Bose makes amazing small speakers. I wonder what they have that might work... </musing>

 

[Checkswrecks]

Unless you've first gotten a barn-door Goldwing/RoadKing windshield and totally stopped any helmet noise issues, speakers external to your helmet suck and just don't cut it. Even then, my Arai kills the highs and mutes a lot of sound. Personally, I use a better set of ear buds, but there are any number of ways to get music in your helmet.

Don't forget a car antenna for the car radio.

Sorry if not what you wanted to hear, but if you want to have a go at the idea figure out a way to mock up a radio and external speakers to try before you commit.

 

[Walden]

Thank you to those who viewed and posted. I appreciate a chance to see another's perspective. I understand that blaring music from an FJR may seem blasphemous to members who have an AARP card. However, I'm 24. That's one of the things I like most about this forum. Vastly different people coming together to share their knowledge of and enjoyment in the FJR.

Consider that both the "bad ***" HD riders and the Goldwing crowd have external speakers. Why not on a sport tourer then?

Adding earphones to your helmets is straightforward and doesn't require any modification to the helmets themselves.

I thought differently because of some posts I have seen here. Thank you for clearing this up. Another problem that I have with speakers inside the helmet (earbuds in my case) is that I tend to turn it up so loud that I am left with ringing in one ear and a nice headache. That's why I started thinking about moving the noise out of my helmet.

...without subjecting the general public to music they have no desire to enjoy(tolerate?).

Greg, you are far more considerate than I! I will admit to having subwoofers in all but one of my cars, but I have grown out of trying to piss off fellow motorists. I'd rather not ride in traffic anyhow. Most of my riding is in the country.

---

Why would you pay $150 for a Pelican box, then drill holes in it?Why would you want to carry all that weight when you could get a starcom and run something tiny portable? And you could use that rack for something else.

Back to the drawing board. How bout a margarita machine?

-$150, because a Givi is about $300, and the yamaha box is about double that.

-It appears that Starcoms (2-up) run from $290-$470 without any extra hardware. The cheaper units might be a good compromise. I'll have to research this option.

-Margaritas... :dribble:

---

You will not get acceptable sound from rear mounted speakers. They fill in with the front ones, but are not sufficient by themselves at speed.

I get what you are saying, but what kind of power does your Goldwing's stereo put out, and how big are your rear speakers? If I remember correctly, the speakers are similar in size to what I am thinking about here, but the head unit may be a whole 'nother story. Speakers that are loud enough can always be heard.

---

Unless you've first gotten a barn-door Goldwing/RoadKing windshield and totally stopped any helmet noise issues, speakers external to your helmet suck and just don't cut it. Even then, my Arai kills the highs and mutes a lot of sound. Personally, I use a better set of ear buds, but there are any number of ways to get music in your helmet.
Don't forget a car antenna for the car radio.

Sorry if not what you wanted to hear, but if you want to have a go at the idea figure out a way to mock up a radio and external speakers to try before you commit.

-Barn door: CB+2+2 with very little wind noise

-Earbuds: I can't seem to find any that stay secure in my ears while putting on my helmet. I have read the posts about the custom molded earbuds, but they seem a little pricy to still have little bass response.

-Mock up: possibly the best suggestion so far. After reading this, I calculated how much "face" space the faceplate and speakers would take up, and realized that my design could be completed with a smaller (and cheaper) Pelican case. If I were to buy the radio and speakers first, mock them up in a spare piece of wood, then try the rig out on a test ride, I could have a good idea of whether or not it will work before ponying up for the big purchase of the Pelican case.

Thanks again,

W

 

[Checkswrecks]

Why not just skip the complication of the Pelican case and creating a mixture of parts? A lot of folks use one of these weatherproof radios the related set of weatherproof speakers:

JHD 910

 

[Happy Dog]

I just think that modifying a pelican case, or a givi, or your side cases is expensive to reverse and those are things that are designed to be water/dust proof--so drilling holes kind of defeats the purpose. Although the good harley sound systems utilize their panniers, don't they?

Maybe you could fab an aluminum shell for the purpose. might look pretty cool polished or painted to match the bike.

Remember that when you a producing power at the amp stage, you have to consider cooling or meltdown. You may need to beef up your alt to get the power you need.

I've seen some space efficient "boom" type boxes. Maybe paint to match?

 

[oldryder]

in 1977 I mounted an am/fm/casette/cb radio with a power amp stacked on top of the radio to the handlebars on my Z-1 (I was 22). 6X9 co-axials were mounted behind the plexifairing.

it was great. i could crank it loud enough to hear it clearly no matter how fast I was going or how windy it was. CB worked great also. surprisingly, I never had any weather issues with the radio, amp, or speakers. I had a shower cap I put over the electronics if it was raining. the speakers were pretty well shielded by the fairing when moving and when stopped I just had to make sure the wind was blowing into the faring instead of behind it.

I did scare a few cage drivers when I rode up on them with the music kinda loud but I wasn't by anyone long and I turned it down if in traffic.

I think if you want to do the same thing with more contemporary hardware go for it. I really enjoyed what I did and it was relatively unique for its time.

 

[Bounce]

Thank you to those who viewed and posted. I appreciate a chance to see another's perspective. I understand that blaring music from an FJR may seem blasphemous to members who have an AARP card. However, I'm 24. That's one of the things I like most about this forum. Vastly different people coming together to share their knowledge of and enjoyment in the FJR.

i've had 3 different wings. rear mounted speakers blasting at full volume isn't the issue. it's the fact that, while riding, the wind will whip away the sound before it can be heard by you. even front mounted speakers are usually lacking above anything more than a slow cruise. i miss blasting the tunes like i did on the wings, but with my ear monitors i actually hear better QUALITY audio with better clarity than i ever did with external speakers. If i then also want to ruin my hearing even more, I can turn it up until my ear drums burst and still be below max volume.

https://www.fjr-tips.org/acc/cb/cb.html intercom/cb/aux audio

https://www.fjr-tips.org/acc/ear/ear.html ear monitors

 

[yak]

just an idea get a 110v power inverter mount 2 12" speakers in side bags a bose wave raido/cd/mp3/with a 1000watt amp

 

[Knifemaker]

-Earbuds: I can't seem to find any that stay secure in my ears while putting on my helmet. I have read the posts about the custom molded earbuds, but they seem a little pricy to still have little bass response.......

Although I have a set of the Etyomic ER6i's:

https://tinyurl.com/yno7xh

those that have tried these seem very happy with the sound quality:

https://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/product.asp?Item=SPLUG

And as 90% of what I listen to is Hardcore Techno/Trance , I will tell you the bass responcse is just fine. ( You ain't going to get any bass responce out of a 4 inch speaker anyway)

Granted the phones cost a bit, but as you can buy a 1 gig MP3 player for 40 bucks now,(or get a Xm radio for that price) the overall cost of your "system" could still be under 200 dollars.

These earphones cut down outside noise so you actualy end up turning the volume DOWN some compared to regular headphones. So when you get to be as old as I am, you will still have your hearing left.

There is nothing blasphemous about music blasting from a FJR, it just really does not work well in practice, especialy when there are alternatives that not only work better but are safer and good to your health. (And I got to use my AARP card to get 10% off the new Juno Reactor CD...)

If you heart is really set on some kind of external sound system for your bike, I would strongly suggest thinking about incorperating it into a tank bag instead of a rear case. You can point the speakers right at your head and be able to see/touch/adjust the controls alot easier while riding.

Knifemaker