I origionally posted in another thread about my Harmon kardon radio problems: https://www.hdforums.com/m_3441397/m...tm.htm#3451191. I explained that my 2nd HK LCD had died and if it happened after the warranty expired I was going to replace it with the following: Sony CDX-M30 marine radio, Hawg-Wired HSA470 intstall kit (includes module for handlebar controls (HSA150), radio cradle (DC235) and machined aluminum radio bezel (DB235), and Kicker KS5.2 component marine speakers. I have everything except the radio. The place I origionally ordered from wanted to charge me 4 times more ($46 for four lbs instead of $13) for shipping to Hawaii than it would have cost. So I cancelled and reordered from another store that cost $20 shipping. Radio got misrouted in California and won't be here until Monday. Here's what I've got so far:



Here are the Kickers as components. Woofer, tweeter and crossover (not pictured)




If I didn't need the gauges, the tweeter was a perfect fit.




So, these components can be mounted as a 2-way.




Here is the speaker with the crossover mounted behind the glovebox area. It's a perfect spot and will allow me to run the radio wire directly to the input. If I end up using the amp, which I don't anticipate, this will work nicely.


While I was test fitting, I hooked up the input to the crossover and speaker (from the Harmon Kardon) and left the JBL GTO527 hooked up on the other side. The JBL is a 2ohm and the Kicker is a 4ohm. The Kicker was much clearer and just as loud, if not a little louder than the JBL. So with the extra push from the Sony head unit (52 watts) I probably won't need the amp. I can hear the HK (40 watts) and JBLs just fine at 70-80mph.

The piece of crap HK is almost a $1000. All of these components were less than half of that. Not a hard decision when the warranty is gone.

I'll post more pictures when the radio comes in.

 

looks good so far.&nbsp\\; I'll be interested in seeing the rest of the mod.

 

Well, it's done. Had I know that this would be the outcome I would have ripped that POS Harmon Kardon out a long time ago. This setup is probably 3-4 times louder and much much clearer than the HK and JBLs (and stock speakers). The Sony's volume goes to 34. It about two times louder than the HK at 12-14. I can take it to 23-24 before before I start getting any distortion. These speakers have better mids/lows and cleaner highs. I used a spectrum analysis program on the laptop and ran a comparison of both setups with a microphone. The graph showed that there was better response in the 20-30 hz range at a lower volume and that was a lot louder than the JBLs at max volume on the HK. The install went well and probably took 2-3 hours start to finish, because&nbsp\\;I took my time and wrapped all the wires and made sure it all looked good. I will not need an AMP, but I do wish I had another set of the Kickers and the pods/tour pack to mount them in.



Here is the Sony installed in the Hawg-Wire kit.



Here is another shot of the speakers with all of the inputs connected.



I pulled the main harness away from the fairing hangers and tucked the control unit behind it.



Here is the harness zip-tied back into place. and the wires leading to the back of the Sony.



Here is a shot of the unit installed with the face plate in place. For the Aux input I used a thin ribbon connector that I pulled from a retractable aux cable unit I picked up form WalMart (pictured below). I used cable stays and routed it through the faring and to the right glove box. I enlarged the drain hole and ran the cable into the glovebox. Now I just plug the MP3 up and throw it into the box and don't have any cables flapping around or routed all over the place.



Here is a link to a video that shows me messing with some of the settings. If you are wondering: the song is a live version of Cool From The Wire by Dirty Looks. Copy the link, open media player. Press CTRL+U to open URL. Paste URL and click OK. Or try clicking the lick and it may open media player itself.

http://www.inspirationalthoughts.org...icker/sony.AVI

 

Just popped in a custom MP3 CD into the player. There is almost no delay in for the CD to start playing\\; unlike the HK that took a good 12-15 seconds before it would start playing. All the handlebar control work to control the radio. Even the PTT button will cycle the different audio features. Will take it for a ride tomorrow and see how well it sounds under highway speeds.

 

Man, that setup rocks!&nbsp\\; If mine ever goes bad, I might have to look this up one day.

 

Good stuff &amp\\;\\\\\\; very nice write-up!
&nbsp\\;\\\\\\;
I like that Sony head unit. I assume all those RCA jacks are a mix of inputs &amp\\;\\\\\\; outputs..??... Do all of your stock hand controls work like they originally did?
&nbsp\\;\\\\\\;
...and, I can see it now. OL's gonna be saying "WTF is that?" ,&nbsp\\;\\\\\\; as&nbsp\\;I blast that old Dirty Looks CD on the Bose this weekend! hahahahha!!!

 

how come i dont see the pics?

 

Thanks for the pics and write-up.&nbsp\\;
&nbsp\\;
Question:&nbsp\\; Does the Hawg-wired device that allows use of your hand controls preserve the Automatic Volumce Control so that the radio automatically adjusts volume based on bike speed?&nbsp\\; I ask because I&nbsp\\;have read that it does NOT retain the AVC featureso you adjust the volume from relatively loud when cruising, to a lower&nbsp\\;volume at stop signs/lights, etc.
&nbsp\\;
I&nbsp\\;have the Biketronics interace unit with a Sony headunit and it preserves the AVC function.&nbsp\\; Not dissing the HW product but would like to know if the HW unit preserves the AVC function or not.
&nbsp\\;
Thanks, again, for the pics and write-up.&nbsp\\;

 

Harleyflo - No pics is issue with the site. I didn't see them this morning either, but they finally downloaded.

Harleypingman, as far as the AVC, I was under the same impression concerning the Hawg-Wired controller, but on their website under the writeup for the controller it says: Utilizes factory attenuate features. I take this to mean that it controls the volume, but it was late when I finished up and haven't had a chance to try it out on the road. I just don't know how this works with the Biketronics or the Hawg-Wired product. On the HK you could change the AVC settings, but I don't see that feature on the Sony. So I don't know if the volume just increases/decreases a few settings as you ride or what. How does it work with your Biketronics unit?

PhilM - Yes all the hand controls work as with the HK. With this setup I even get input from the PTT switch, but I think it's the same changes as the volume control. The RCA jacks are as left to right: Bus in, Sub out, and Front out. The bus in is for HD radio tuner, XM Radio tuner, or CD Changer. Yea, I don't think many people know about Dirty Looks. They're not for the faint of heart. I heard about them when I was stationed in Long Beach in the mid 80's. I also got to see them at a club in LA one weekend during that same period.

 

Ok, I've looked more into the attenuate feature. The Sony has an attenuate button that basically turns on or off. It can be controlled through a button on the radio or remotes, so I guess the signal that was used to control the AVC now turns this feature on or off. With attenuate on, the sound is lower. My guess is turn attenuate on and set volume. When moving the attenuate is turned off and the volume goes up a bit. Won't be the same as AVC, but I got a great deal on the Hawg-Wired kit so I can't complain. If I was paying full price for all of the pieces, I would have tried to buy the Biketronics controller by itself and the Hawg-Wired bezel and cradel. I think the Hawg-Wired bezel looks much better than the biketronics cheap looking flat plate. If I lost AVC with this controller, I can live with that. I just need to get out of here and ride a while and see how it all pulls together.