Getting from a to b is music to my ears!

(Adding XM radio & GPS, by Ron Abbott)

 

Back in August I received my latest issue of Motorcycle Consumer News (you DO subscribe to the best mag ever, don’t you?) and read a test on two different GPS units for a motorcycle.  One was the Garmin 2610 and the other a Magellan, this of course started an itch I had to scratch.  So I got to thinking; hey “I could add that to my Suzuki” and why I’m at it throw in XM radio for good measure!

 

So I started spending $$$ on toys… how else was I going to pull the good ole US of A out of a recession.  Be forewarned, while not exactly a black hole for money, adding GPS and to a lesser extent XM to your Suzuki is not cheap!

 

So I did the requisite research and visited several web sites and found most of what I needed, including advise from helpful sales people.   I subsequently purchased a Garmin 2610 Streetpilot and XM SkyFi radio off of Ebay.   These were new units at significantly discounted prices, compared to MSRP.  Buy the XM radio with at least 1 car kit, as you will need the accessories for mounting to your cycle.  Cyclegadgets.com is knowledgeable about all the stuff you will need.   FYI, Garmin dealers have a $100 off coupon for the 2610 until 12/31/04.  My guess is this unit is going to be upgraded or replaced soon, or maybe it’s a slow seller.  I missed the $100 off by 5 days, oh well.

 

Please don’t assume from this article I’m an expert on any of this stuff, but I have learned a few things I’ll pass on which may save you some grief & $.

 

Summary of the process:

 

Powerlet.com is my recommendation for the electrical system(s) needed to power all of your toys.  Very helpful people and their web site has lots of information regarding connectors, power consumption and a methodology to determine if your system has sufficient excess wattage from the alternator to power the devices you want to add.   If your bike doesn’t have the excess watts from the alternator, then it draws down the battery, which will leave you dead in the water at some point.  Their site says that the SVs should have about 44 watts excess as I remember, however talking to the staff; they informed me that it’s a bit north of 100 watts, plenty for my (and your) needs.

 

There are 3 types of electrical connectors to know, SAE, BMW and cigarette lighter socket.  I like the BMW style and have installed a twin plug connected to the battery, attached to the passenger peg.  This provides power to my vest/gloves and to the tank bag, (more on tank bag later).  However, XM runs on 6 volts (go figure) and so you must provide a cigarette socket to power the radio, their cigarette socket/transformer does the voltage drop to the 6 volts.  You can use BMW style for the GPS and/or any electrically heated clothing.  Riding in the cold has it’s own rewards: no bugs, less traffic, but being cold is a real drag!

 

Cyclegadgets.com has a wealth of accessories for mounting and hooking up GPS and XM radio.  I found their prices for GPS & XM to be a little high compared to what I found in 2 hrs web searching, however if you like one stop shopping, buy all of your stuff from them.  They have all the mounting brackets, cables and accessories necessary to attach your toys.  Spend some time on their site, unless you know this stuff, before buying.

 

Audio (IMPORTANT): When listening to radio, you would ideally want GPS voice prompts to cut in to advise you of turns and other pertinent information.  On land yachts like Goldwing, BMW and Road Stars, they have intercom/radio systems that make this relatively easy.  On a SV you need to have a little box called a Mixit from mixitproducts.com.   This can be had from Cyclegadgets or mixitproducts.  John Brown the owner of mixitproducts.com (and a rider) is extremely helpful and knowledgeable about attaching audio devices and the problems encountered with motorcycle applications. 

 

You can get your audio stuff from Cyclegadgets but John’s pricing and help, are, I think better.  You should also consider getting a noise filter (from John) to keep out the electrical noise generated by the cycle, which was never meant to have a radio etc.  The Mixit unit will allow you to connect up to 4 audio inputs: like CD, MP3, RADAR, XM, and GPS with one output (to your ears).  The Mixit unit can be powered by a 9v battery or via the Suzuki’s electrical system.  The 9 v approach may eliminate much of the noise and lasts approx. 40 hours.  I used the Suzuki to power the Mixit, so the filter was necessary.  You might try the battery first and order the filter if you choose the other method for power.  Also one other limitation of the noise filter is a Battery Tender connected to your BMW or other connectors will not charge the system, the filter allows 12v out but not in.  So the 9v battery may be the way to start.

 

Even though expensive, I HIGHLY recommend buying Etymotic Research Inc. ER6 Isolator ear canal earphones or the ER6i, both can be purchased from IT Designs (mixitproducts.com).  They keep out most all the road noise, are very comfortable and pipe in wonderful sweet music. 

 

Important safety warning:  when using these ear canal earphones and listening to music, I COULD NOT hear my bike’s horn, that’s how good they are!!  I’m slightly deaf, and so this may account for this, but it could present a serious safety problem, which you should consider.  I’m told that earphones like this are not strictly legal in every state. These are expensive $149+ but completely worth it in my opinion.  John sells these cheaper than the Etymotic web site.  Don’t waste your money on the earphones that Cyclegadgets sells, they Velcro into the helmet and I couldn’t hear above 35mph with the volume at full.  Webbike.com had a FYI on how to make cheap adequate earphones, which may be an alternative to consider.

 

 

Mounting: Cyclegadgets.com sells RAM mounts for the XM & GPS, which are simple and allow mounting in many different positions. You can see from the picture that there is plenty of real estate in which you can mount devices, even on an S model.  Pic # 5 shows the GPS, XM mounted as well the antenna, which is on tank bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connecting everything: The GPS has 2 connectors, electrical & audio out; the XM radio has 3, audio out, antenna, and power.  Where do you connect all this stuff?  In the tank bag…. which provides weather protection and a place to hide all of the wires.   So the logical electrical path is as follows:

 

 

The audio out from GPS & XM connects to the Mixit input plugs and of course the only output plug is for your earphones.  You will need a special audio cable to connect the Garmin GPS audio to the Mixit unit; mixitproducts.com has it.  With this arrangement voice prompts from the GPS will be broadcast along with the radio.  Adjust the GPS volume to be certain you can easily hear the prompts without blowing out your ears!

 

Antenna considerations:  I’ve never had any experience with satellite radio before and didn’t know beforehand that antenna placement is critical for good reception.  The XM satellites are north facing (from the south), so when traveling northbound it’s easy to lose the signal if the antenna placement is not optimal.  Your body and other things can shadow the antenna and cause signal loss.  Cyclegadgets.com sells a metal antenna bracket that connects to their custom XM radio mount.  The antenna is magnetic and will attach there.  I did not buy this ($19.95), but chose to use a metal can lid stuck under my map window to hold the antenna flat and secure (see pic # 5 again).  While riding around for a hour, (mostly north) around all points of the compass, reveled only one short signal loss.  Depending on your riding position, your physical size and direction of travel, you will probably have to experiment around to achieve optimal results.  I’ve installed convertibars so I’m more upright and that’s, I think, why the tank bag location works for me.

 

Costs:  (Street)

  1. Garmin 2610                                        $740
  2. XM Radio                                            $140
  3. Cyclegadgets.com mounts                     $311
  4. Powerlet.com electrical connections      $156
  5. It-Designs audio equipment                   $147
  6. Miscellaneous parts                              $75

-----------------------------------------------------------

Total                                                          $1569

 

That’s a big gulp, but remember the GPS can be moved from your cycle to autos back and back again without anything additional.  Your XM can be moved as well but you’ll need a additional car kit to make it convenient, unless you’re willing to disassemble the SV XM and remount in your auto.  So I basically have added this to our three vehicles.  If you forgo the GPS your costs are considerably less, you could do the radio piece for < $500.

 

Final thoughts: Thievery is a problem so you’ll want to stow everything in your tank bag and take with you, unless you watch it like a hawk.  The SkyFi XM unit I’m told is about to be upgraded (SkyFi II), so be advised you may want the Roady model or shop for the new one, or they may discount the older model when the new one is out, your choice.

 

The XM radio is not weatherproof, so be sure to either come up with a Ziploc baggy or other solution.  Cyclegadgets.com has two solutions; one that is sort of expensive and one really expensive.  Me I’m looking for the ultimate baggy.  Not to worry about the Garmin 2610, it can be submerged in water for up to 30 min and keep on ticking.  If you use a different unit than this one, be sure you confirm that it’s weatherproof.

 

The Garmin 2610 is not battery powered, it must be connected to a 12v source, so taking it hiking and biking etc is not practical (ok you COULD haul around a car battery!!).  Garmin does make other units that use internal and external power from vehicles, check with Cyclegadgets.com to be sure they have the mounting brackets for any unit you are considering.

 

Connecting all this up to go riding is a bit of a pain, so for me only longer rides justify the inconvenience.  But I sure do like listening to XM when I’m riding thru a boring section of roadway and having electric vest & gloves is heaven!  If you have any suggestions or questions I’m rb_abbott2003@yahoo.com.