No pictures were taken, but this is pretty straight forward, and I will answer any questions I can. Sorry for no pics.
Installed after bench testing with power provided from bike. No alternator whine, and major volume and richness improvements.
kenwood kac-m1824bt bluetooth 400 watt waterproof marine stereo. 131.00 from Amazon
This amp runs separately from stock system. Installing this will only give you Bluetooth music from phones, ipods, ipads, etc. I only listen to streaming music, so this works for me. If someone wanted to go the 1 step further, they could input the bike's signal, but too much work for me, when I don't use it anyway.
I originally planned to run this bridged into 2 channels at 90 watts rms, but had no speakers on hand that would handle such power, so I ran it in 4 channel mode, faded to the front, and 45 watts rms is plenty. I may try 90 watts rms in the future if someone can suggest marine speakers that will handle the wattage and fit the bike.
Only 2 permanent changes made to bike, your choice of location of amp and wired controller may change that.
1. I drilled a 1/2" hole in the forward end of the left saddlebag for the wires to meet the amp which I mounted inside using only the tool bag strap located there.
2. I also clipped off the piece of plastic from the left side cubby compartment that holds the driver's intercom cable in place. This was to make room for the wired remote cable to come through so I could Velcro it to the compartment door. The 2 cables fit the slightly enlarged gap nicely.
The Job...
Removed seat/back rest/luggage rack to get right speaker wire across bike to join left speaker wire on route to left saddle bag.
Removed speaker grill and speakers, taped stock speaker wire ends against weather and tucked them way back out of the way, tweeter speaker wires as well.
Removed left and right side trim, and left cubby and right false cubby panel over radiator cap. not completely removed due to heated grips and 12 volt accessory socket wiring, just popped out of position to aid in fishing NEW speaker wires down through existing hole inside speaker housings.(outside, forward, lower corner)
Removed black plastic lower covers ahead of foot controls, not sure what they are called, but this aided in fishing wires down also.
Removed left side panel to gain access to battery, and aid in fishing wires to saddle bag.
Right side is easy, route speaker wire down through hole inside speaker housing. I used a 2 foot long, stiff piece of 6 or 8 gage wire to snake down through hole til I saw it down by radiator cap. Taped speaker wires to upper end and pulled through like needle and thread. then used "needle" to thread speaker wires behind body panels to gas tank/seat area and crossed over bike toward battery box where I met my left side WIRES.
Left side WIRES are fished down the same way, Through existing hole in speaker box, past the cubby and down and across bike concealed behind body panels. I picked up the remote signal/turn on power from splicing into the cubby's 12 volt outlet. So I am now routing 1 10 gage remote turn on power wire, 1 set of speaker wires, and the remote controller wire that I chose to Velcro mount on cubby cover. Fish wires across side of bike behind body panels and into hole in saddle bag. The wired remote control wire has a large connector on the end and that dictated the size of hole I made in saddle bag. Insert that connector into saddle bag first and all other wires will fit easily.
You now have 2 sets of speaker wires, 1 remote power turn on wire, and the Wired remote controller cable into the saddlebag where the amp sits. Now we need POWER.
When I bench tested I used an old 12 volt battery tender lead I had lying around, and plugged it into the battery tender pigtail I have mounted to my battery. Fast test method, I even used it to power the remote turn on wire. Upon starting the bike and revving and hearing no alternator noise, I liked the power and ground source.
Sooo, I ran 1 black and 1 red 10 gage wire from amp, OUT of hole in saddle bag which is inches from battery, and attached battery tender pigtail permanently to red and black wires. Then plugged into battery side pigtail to power amp. It saved me from disconnecting battery cables and attaching ring terminals to red and black wires to attach to battery. When I need to maintain battery, just unplug amp and plug in charger.
Mounted the 6.5" JBL speakers from Dirtstiff's thread that I already had on hand and cut to fit, and made connections in saddle bag. Using the rubber tool bag strap to mount gives you room to work on amp out side of saddlebag easily. Put it all back together and voila!!
To go back to stock, cut wires in saddlebag and pull amp, retrieve remote controller, reinstall stock speakers. Done!
Bike's intercom/headset system is still functional too.
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Originally Posted by jimsol1
