I read that in my manual also read it in the "waterproof" radio I had in my boat. I've been caught in the rain several times with mine with no problems although I ordered the Jensen with out a cd player. The face is sealed and the inputs have rubber plugs.
It takes time for the digital inputs boot up this is because it only has 1 power wire to prevent battery drain, there is and internal capacitor that keep your memory active.

 

Yeah, I figured it was something like that. If I remember to switch it back to FM before turning it off, I can leave the flash drive plugged in. When I turn on the radio, I just let it play the radio for a minute or two while the bike warms up before hitting "Mode" to switch to the USB input. Works perfectly this way.

It did something cool this evening. I was listening to the flash drive while wiping the chrome down(I had to ride home on wet roads this morning from work) and the radio cut out the USB and switched to the Weather Band to play a local flash flood warning automatically. When the warning was done, the radio went back to playing the flash drive right where it was interrupted. Pretty cool if you ask me. That could come in handy.

After reading several reviews of the Polk DB401's, I am going to put those on the list for the next upgrade for sure. I have a plan to mount an extra pair in the fairing as well, depending on the size of the grilles and if they'll fit where I have in mind. If they will/do fit, I will start a new thread with lots of pics of the custom install.

 

The weather alerts are nice but you can turn that feature off if you like. I leave it off unless I'm on a long road trip

 

When you ad those extra speakers to the fairing be sure to come back here and give us a couple of pictures and a review. I think before I'd cut the fairing I'd upgrade to the Polk speakers to get the best you can from those first.

Personally I just want better bass. The dash speakers sound great if you don't hit them with much bass. So without much bass it sounds weak to me. But then I've been a mobile DJ all my life and sound quality has always been a critical issue for me.

Maybe a strap on sub to put on my tour pack ... lol.

 

Well the volume inside the fairing ought to help some with the bass, right?

I intend to put a pair of Polks in the stock locations first, then later possibly adding another pair right below, relocating the gauges further to the outside. I think it would look and work very well.

 

For what it's worth: it has been a long time since I did much with the radio in our 1990 Ultra, maybe 2006? about 70,000 miles ago?

Not sure of the details but remember using the now obsolete Biketronics BT1008 kit where you had to solder the connections yourself to retain the radio controls. It has worked pretty good over the years but some times things get messed up and the automatic volume control will stop working. Usually it can be reset by flipping the rear speaker switch or maybe even sounding the horn and all goes back to normal. It doesn't happen often but does get me bitching when it does.

We use a Sony radio and have an Sony iPod adapter under the seat with the iPod in the tourpack.

For speakers I use the 4" Infinity Kappa series. They cost more but have a little more sensitivity than most which means they make a little more sound, they are designed for low powered head units. The 4" Kappa fit but their design is a little different and I used fender washers to help secure them- I have read some guys had trouble with the Kappa brackets braking from the excessive bouncing from the bikes, but so far I have not had that problem. I moved the rear speakers from the rear pods to the lowers, just drilled a few holes in the bottom to allow the sound to come out, it may be a little better than the rear because the wife's hips are tight against the rear speakers - we are both too old and obese to ride, but still do when we can.

Having the speakers in the lowers, pointing down is not the best choice, it gives the sound an old fashioned 50's type speaker sound, but it's still better than no sound at all. I received a new Sony digital player for Xmas 2 years ago to replace the Sony radio but never got around to installing it.

We run pretty quiet pipes on our '90 Ultra with a 113" Ultima engine, we use the 4" cvo with 1.75 full sac baffle conversions, hard acceleration and steep hills will overcome the sound system but normally we can hear at 70-80 mph. Our mp3 collection has a few songs that do not play as well as others, some songs will distort whereas most do not - I always plan on fixing the bad mp3s that distort but forget which songs do it by time I get home.

The flip down front on our radio does give us some problems, it bounces loose every now and then, not every day, sometimes it is ok for months. Likewise the cd gets messed up on severe bumps, but I keep a cd with mp3s in for those times when the iPod may give us trouble. Some of the buttons on the Sony flip down front stopped working as well, mainly the little button to switch between the various presets - Voice, Xplod etc.

Recently I thought about adding some speakers, and maybe a small amp but really do not know where to put the speakers, we don't have a lot of spare room. I have been reading some of the radio posts to see what others are doing and their results.

joe

sorry for any typos but I gotta get ready for work and have no time to edit

 

This seems to be a very well equipped head unit: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_020M502...1#overview-tab for only $189 shipped, with a wireless remote and bluetooth - Crutchfield does free shipping and free tech support also so it comes out the same price as the Jensen JHD1120 (with $20 shipping from the recommended site above.) For those interested, Crutchfield has the Jensen JHD1120 head unit for $159 and the remote for $9 (also free shipping.) I was just about to order the Jensen Player but I think I may try this Clairon Player instead and maybe the Polk DB401's (E-bay has these for $54.) Anybody know anything about the Clairon M502 or have experience with it? Does this sound like a good head unit and speaker set up for my 92 FLHTC? - Caleb

I just found these from someone on eBay for $154 and free shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Clarion-M502...ht_1822wt_1327

 

I looked at the Clarion but decided on the basic Jensen. It just seemed like a solid unit plus I read some reviews on the Clarion that steered me away. If you buy it from Crutchfield you will be able to return or exchange it.

 

Thanks for the head's up about the remote control! That's less than half the cheapest price I could find it on ebay. Hell, for that price, I could buy two and hack them up to make my own wireless handlebar controls! Heck, throw a third in for the wifey to use behind me! LOL!

 

Glad I could help with the remote!!

I'm seeing good and bad reviews on the M502 but mostly good. Most of the bad reviews sound like they are coming from people that aren't very tech savvy or educated about waterproof capability in open case electronics. I'm gonna sleep on it and keep researching the 2 head units tomorrow. I love the features of the M502 if they work properly and I've scouted out some places to put the wireless remote so that I don't have to use the **** that most people are complaining about.

Has anyone considered some really small boat wakeboard tower speakers to mount on the crash bars? lol. Most of those sound loud and clear when being pulled 60 feet behind a loud boat with a V8!! I'd be willing to try some small ones if the didn't look to terrible. I would love to have some fairing lowers with speaker pods but who has an extra $500-$800 laying around for everything needed? I really want a loud and clear stereo system and I'm willing to go out on an limb and experiment since I'm pretty short on my "toy funds" lately. Any suggestions will be appreciated. -Caleb