Radio

How much time you got?? Lots, I hope. Follow my steps and you'll be on the way. This whole job is a bitch, in technical parlance, but in the end, you will have beautiful stereo music that you can hear at ANY speed, provided you use molded earphone like mine. home

First, the radio is in JC Whitney catalog number 619J, page 7, item number 81NL6249R, at $119. I got mine at a store called Best Buy here in Virginia for $89; check them if you can or call around to audio stores in your area. You are looking for the Jensen XCC 6120 AM/FM cassette with detachable security panel.

1. Remove the radio's detachable faceplate and put it away in the holder that is provided for that purpose.

2. Remove the plastic and metal frames that are clipped onto the front of the radio. The metal part will not be used.

3. Unscrew the two little tabs on either side of the front of the radio. These will not be used either.

4. Detach the plastic base into which the faceplate docks. This part is connected to the radio via a bundle of small white wires. Detach the flat connector from the base and set the base aside.

5. The next task is to cut the bundle of wires connecting the radio to the faceplate and to solder each wire to a pin on the DB-15 connector. Do this one wire at a time, connecting the edge connector's #1 wire to the DB-15's #1 position, etc... Since the wires are all the same color you must not lose track. When you are finished, you should have the main part of the radio with a DB-15 connector hanging from the front and the faceplate base with a DB-15 connector hanging out the back. Use the 6' VGA cable to make the connection, power the radio up according to the instructions, re-dock the faceplate and check that the radio functions properly.

6. You now need to make a metal faceplate for the radio into which you will attach the DB-15 connector. I used an aluminum plate to do this. Also, the radio in its present state is slightly too long for the compartment under the K12's seat, so you need to reduce the length of the radio box by about 1/2 inch. Use your ingenuity to form the edges of the box so you will be able to securely attach the new faceplate. In my case, this necessitated condemning the cassette part of the radio, but you may find a better way than mine and keep that part of the device. How useful it will be once the radio is installed is unclear to me, though.

7. Remove the K12's seat and take off the cover to the compartment incorporated into the back of the seat. Put some double-sided tape on the bottom of the radio and experiment with its position on the mudguard. Yes, the radio rests directly onto the mudgard and the cavity under the seat needs to land over the radio without disturbing it. The rear of the radio faces toward the front of the bike. Once you've found the right location - on my bike, flush against the dataplate on the left side of the mudguard hump - make an "L" shaped brace which you screw into the side of the radio and into a hole you drill into the dataplate. A stout sheetmetal screw secures the radio. In my case, this one bracket, together with two velcro strips on the bottom of the radio case (which attach to the mudguard, suffice to immobilize the radio.

8. As I use molded, in-ear speakers, I cut all the speaker leads flush, bundled them with a cable tie and snuggled them under the dataplate. I then connected extension cables to the pre-amp output's phono plugs, allowing me to plug in my stereo earplugs. Power leads to the radio were connected as directed by the installation manual.

9. In order to hold the radio's faceplate and plastic base, I bought a plastic hobby box available at Radio Shack (may not be the exact name, but is used for electonic projects). I got one which is slightly longer and wider than the faceplate base, and cut a rectangular opening in the front just large enough to tightly accomodate the plastic base. Out of various pieces of aluminum plate, I fashioned a base that attaches to the fork bridge with two large cable ties, using rubber pads on the bottom of the base to mitigate vibration and eliminate movement. The metal plate that comes with the Radio Shack box attaches to my aluminum base and the plastic hobby box is screwed into the metal plate. One note of caution; the backlit display of the faceplate is not most visible from a straight-ahead angle. It is most visible when you are looking down on at an angle. Make sure you experiment with the correct attitude of the faceplate in order to ensure you will be able to see it optimally when seated on the bike.

10. The VGA cable is then fed through a notch in the metal plate so that the DB-15 connector mates with the DB-15 connector you soldered onto the white wires. I then used a sheet of thick, clear vinyl like the stuff you can find in sewing supply stores and made a waterproof cover for the radio's faceplate and base. The vinyl is long enough to hang about 1/2 inch below the lowest edge of the faceplate base. Finally (!) push the waterproofed faceplate assembly into the hobby boxe's opening until the edge of the faceplate base is flush.

11. Lastly route the VGA cable under the top panel, the one that covers the top of the gas tank (yes, you have to remove both side panels AND the gas cap assembly), under the seat, and connect the VGA plug to the radio. Turn on the ignition, press the "on" button on the faceplate, and everything should light up nicely.

12. Oh yeah, the antenna. If you have a right side saddlebag and haven't removed it by now, do so. I bought a flexible whip model that is about 1.5 feet long. The base is a ball joint-type which is supposed to fit through a standard sized hole in the fender of a car. Cut away the two flat metal articulating arms that are riveted to the side of the base. Then, with a coarse file, file the sides of the (cylindrical) base so that the base is about 3/8 of an inch wide. Go to the right side passenger peg bracket, and unscrew the plastic cap which is held onto the back of the bracket with two screws. Look on the inside aspect of the back of the bracket and you will notice that there is space in the casting across from the plastic cap's lower screwthat will accomodate the now filed down antenna base. Fiddle with it until the base fits snugly into this gap, with the antenna cable facing toward the front of the bike. Route the antenna cable along the speedometer cable and up into the seat frame, securing it with black cable ties and no one will be the wiser.

If you do not have a right side BMW saddlebag: Drill out the bottom screwhole of the plastic cap so that the main antenna mouting screw will pass through readily. Put the cap back on the passenger peg bracket, put in the original top screw, and attach the ball and joint part of the antenna base to the outside of the cap with the main antenna mouting screw. Don't tighten it too tightly just yet. Plug in the antenna cable into the back of the radio and start scanning. You should pick up the same stations your car radio receives. Tighten the main antenna mouting screw so that the antenna ball and joint is immobile. I found that if you tighten it too much, you will ground the middle of the antenna base to the K12's frame, resulting in your receiving only a few of the very strongest stations.

If you do have the right side BMW saddlebag: Cut a piece of copper grounding wire or some other multi-strand large diameter wire to the total length of the antenna plus an inch. Bend and turn each end of the wire a quarter inch from the end; you should have just eaten up exactly one inch of the antenna's length. Cut a half inch piece of tubing that is small enough to fit into the screwhole, yet large enough to accomodate the wire. This will insulate the wire (antenna) and prevent it from grounding to the frame. Push one end of the antenna into the antenna base, ensuring the tubing stays in place so that it fulfills its insulating function. It will be a tight fit, but that is good. Install your right side saddlebag, making sure the antenna is bent towards the ground. Under the saddlebag, tape a length of plastic tubing that will act as the sheath for the antenna; you'll need this arrangement to keep the antenna from getting ripped off by the elements or when you take off the saddlebag. Insert the antenna into it, and you are done.

13.  You're done, and should enjoy wonderful audio at any speed.  If you use in-helmet speakers instead of in-ear speakers, you'll want to use the speaker leads that I condemned in step 8.  There, you're on your own.  The amp connection will not drive speakers loud enough for them to be useful at speed. home