Rockin and Talkin (almost)

So Kelly got me an Autocom for the Concours.  Bike intercom for rider-to-passenger and  bike-to-bike comms, as well as integrating gps unit sound, mp3, phone, etc.  Figured out how/where to mount it, and fiddled around with getting it installed this evening.  Ended up mounting the main unit upside-down inside the glove-box on top of the bike like so:

This arrangement gives me access to the VOX, fader, and both volume knobs with the glovebox top installed and the door open (more pictures later when I get a chance in some daylight).  I had to cut a slot in the front of the lower glovebox frame, in the center just behind the steering head.  I then ran the cables up into the empty space behind the left fairing, and zip tied everything out of the way.  Had to tape off the passenger headset lead until I can get an extension from Autocom to run that down under the tank and seat to the rear of the bike, as it isn’t long enough to reach.  Still managed to tuck everything away pretty well:

Right above the wire bundle, I secured the included Kenwood tk-3101 FRS radio that came with the unit (serious thank yous are in order to Kelly’s PhD advisor, Dr Ax for hooking her, and thereby us, up with this setup!).  Fits in behind everything nicely, and with a 2-watt power output, it should still be able to reach out over any electronic noise coming off the ignition system.  Still to be tested on the road, but most confident in the setup given the output wattage:

I haven’t figured out exactly what I’ll do long-term for a GPS solution, but for now I’ve got my eTrex HCx, which doesn’t do verbal turn-by-turn or play MP3s, so that lead will remain open.  I’ll most likely end up wiring up a power hit for that, but that’s another project…  For now, I added the PTT switch and mode toggle to the left handlebar so I can utilize the bike-to bike when out on group rides.  I had to trim the piece a little to get it to fit between the clutch mount and the end of the bar, but once done, it fits nicely:

Any headset system would be totally incomplete without a way to pipe in some rockin motorcycle tuneage, so with a little velcro:

Voila!  Ipod shuffle mounted to the top of the clutch reservoir where I can reach the controls.  Not waterproof, but that’s what sandwich baggies and twisty ties are for!

Probably going to do another post when I manage to get ahold of the extension and bungee leads for both headsets so I can document how I run the cabling for the ZG/GTR fanatics forum, but for now this works.  Oh, and since it looks like there’s no way in hell we’re going out 2-up on New Year’s day as we had tentative planned (since it’s supposed to be FREEZING and that’s pretty much a no-go for her), I’ve got a little while longer to get the 2-up setup finished so we can talk back and forth while on the bike…

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