Stereo on 2003 Concours

[brianc]

Hello All! I have a 2003 Connie and have always struggled with how to install a stereo onto the bike in a way that looks good and won't be too invasive as far as damage to the bike, if I choose to remove it one day. I came up with the following solution and thought I would share it in case there is any interest out there. With my oversized fairing, I find the sound to be decent, even at highway speed. I can choose music from a variety of sources; memory card, usb, bluetooth or hardwire (phone) & FM Stereo. I just loaded a 1,000+ song on an SD Card and it sounds great.

I've used ear buds for years. I've always found them to be annoying as they tend to dislodge when donning and doffing helmets or you catch the wire with your hand and pull the friggin things right out. This setup is great at speed and easy to turn the volume right down when in town or intersections. Speaker are sold as waterproof but I have small covers for them for heavy rain or if I have to park in crap weather.

Shiny side up!

Cheers, Brian

 

[mcfly]

I always contemplated this, then I got the Sena headset in my helmet, and it pairs so well with the phone and GPS, I dropped the idea, I had music!

Nice to see someone pull it off.  I used most of the space for Cruise Control anyway... A
decision I don't regret, but limited accessory space.

Enjoy the tunes!!

 

[turbo-max]

saw a random guy with a stereo set up in a tank bag...dunno, i'd rather hear the music of the machine personally  :motonoises:

 

[MAN OF BLUES]

Not sure of the life expectancy on the components, getting caught in a downpour...

I did make a "jam" bag once, from an older tank bag, which was waterproof, and it worked surprisingly well, some smaller full range speakers, and all the wires in the bag, with one power wire exiting.
But alas, as time goes by, and I hear bikes riding down the road blasting music, I find it a bit pretentious, and annoying... especially coming from some Harley, with loud pipes, and they are playing hip hop wussy dance tunes..  or Justin Bieber... as loud as it will go...

Now I just use a set of scavenged small headphone speakers tucked inside my helmet under the padding.. and a small mp3 player... with 2 piggybacked "boosteroo" amps...more than enough for me...

 

[jim snyder]

Brian do you have a satellite radio in your car or truck? Do what I did. I bought and extra vehicle kit and mounted my Sirius radio on my bike and installed helmet speakers into my helmet. When I am ready to take off riding I simply pull the radio out of the car dock and plug it into the dock on the bike, plug in the helmet speakers and away we go !!! I will take a picture of my setup tonight and post it for you.

 

[pbfoot]

saw a random guy with a stereo set up in a tank bag...dunno, i'd rather hear the music of the machine personally  :motonoises:

  This. I prefer the wind and the machine. I have enough distractions in life. Riding is where I do my best thinking.

 

[Sport rider]

I have a set of these on my Nomad.  Listening to the music and relaxing as I cruise along is relaxing.  Besides, during my commute in the morning, everyone else at stop lights can listen to John Boy and Billy with me.  )

 

[brianc]

Thanks Sportrider. Finally a positive comment. LOL

 

[mcfly]

I wouldn't say 'negative' comments, more or less 'alternatives' offered from previous experience. 

I'm still watching...  I've seen a stereo installed in a faring glove box.  Personally I prefer a less cluttered dash,
and there's little to no room left to flush mount speakers without losing the rest of that easy access storage ... 
Most motorcycle stereo systems offer a wireless remote for controlling the stereo, and I've found
most of those to be shy of features, and a distraction.

The Sena SMH-10 is kinda limited in what it can do, but with voice control (on my iPhone), I can select playlists, or artists/songs,
take/make phone calls, and get voice directions from the GPS, all pretty much seamlessly.  All done with two buttons
on the side of my helmet... I can even pair with other bluetooth headsets.  These are added reasons as to why I
chose not to install a dedicated stereo with speakers.

Living in Florida, I have a lot of Q-Tips riding Road Kings with their stereos blaring Frankie Valley at traffic stops, and it's usually not cared for by
surrounding vehicles...Ok... that was harsh...  I'll take that back! It was another reason I chose not to go with an 'open air' stereo.

 

[Sport rider]

that does occur to me Marty.  I do turn the volume down when I stop at a light.  this particular unit has a wired remote which clips to the middle of my handlebar between the risers.  easy to change volume up or down and also to change stations too.  the downside to the radio is when traveling it's harder to find other stations.  it has a SD card slot and with a 64G card, you could load more music on there than you would ever listen to on a trip.  it also has a connection for a phone connection for ipod use.  I've not done either though, cause the nomad is mostly used in town these days.

the only negative for these units is the speakers.  they are big....but not as large as others that were previously on the bike.  they are powerful though.  good sound from them.  mine are attached to the base of the mirror stems.  with a bolt, the mirror holes on the C10 could be used.

 

[turbojoe78]

This is what I did.  I put a Shark motorcycle set up on my C10.  Amp / FM tuner is in the left glove box with a wired remote mounted right below the cruise control remote, speakers are mounted in the mirror mounting holes on the controls and I have an ipod shuffle mounted (with Velcro) on the handlebar clamp right in front of the key. (not shown in the picture)