Crafting a decent on board entertainement for the ST...

[ST1100Y]

G’Day,

I came upwith this setup already in the 90ies, and I thinkI’ve gotten it right by now…
The kit inmy current ’00 ST was created in ’96 and is already joining the high mile club onthe 2nd bike now…
The core isalways a ‘vintage’ Sony XR-C430RDS or similar head unit with CD-changer link, their highlyreliable, rigid and don’t seem to mind me tinkering with them too much.
(tried withmore ‘modern’ types… no-go…)

As such abuilding thread is knowingly useless without pics, on with the show:

It starts with a pile of parts on the workbench, OEM Sony service data for the model does aid the parts ordering process, the radios float around for peanuts on Ebay:

Some tiny soldering spots to attack there:

Contact array successfully recovered:

Prepping the 12-core cable:

Done:

While at it secure all parts prone to vibrations with heat glue:

(don’t ask why I know… )

Cable nicely routed, cassette deck back in (not that it’ll have to do much in the future…)

Doing the other side, dedicated to end up in the dash, actually above it

Prepping the bracket/tray for the detachable front

Milled, drilled, all set up

Cybernetic working flawless

Nice!

Industrial type 14-pin male/female DIN coupling to keep the ST1100 serviceable, always keep your shipyard mech happy by keeping your farkelseasy removable!

Eachpin/soldering spot with shrink tube, for those U-boot regattas in heavy weather

Tailcone mods, for those who till now still wondered where this nut intends to put a DINsized car stereo on an ST1100
Plastic taillight cover cut accordingly, the zinc-spray on the frame tubes indicate the areas where some angle grinder ballet took place, dunno why Honda didn’t thought to provide the required clearance there in the first place, it are only~2,5mm on each side after all
Box in the middle is a NOS OEM ST1100 Averto Alarm, with a nice plug’n’play harness

Since its still not packed enough back there, the trusty Autocom ProM1 is added.
I just love vintage

First fitment check, falls right into place

Bunch of cables, note the Dension iPod interface on the CD-changer port and RCA sockets, got ourselves a nice juke box there

Water protection or what a small piece of garden pond foil can do for you

Even the OEM tool kit fits nicely

Snugging comfortable

Now that’s a clean workspace!

All photos, except the very last which shows my daily ’00 workhorse, were taken during the refurb of a used and badly roughened up ’94 ST1100 I’d obtained in 2011.
During theprocess I got carried away and added all kinds of OEM P-spec stuff to it
I mean hey, what else to do with a spare ST in desperate need of a new paint job…

but that qualifies for another thread…

 

[nhdiesel]

Very nice work!

I have to wonder though...why not just go with an MP3 player? My phone holds more music than I can fit on CDs in a CD changer. My GPS is actually where I normally put music- it has built in XM & MP3 player. Wireless to my headset, great sound. The only thing I lack is a regular radio...but I don't listen to them. At home there are only a few stations in english and the sound quality is terrible. On the road, I end up spending all my time trying to find a station I like...then I lose it 5 miles later.

You obviously have your reasons for what you chose, and did a great job installing it.

Edit: One more thing to add- you did a good job of waterproofing the head unit location and wiring. Have you thought about a marine cover for the faceplate? It would protect the controls during rain.

 

[ST1100Y]

I have to wonder though...why not just go with an MP3 player?

MP3? Back in the 90ies? ;-)

And how to operate that thing with gloves, in the rain? Their prone to humidity...
Yours truly wants FM stations, TA and a fader between intercom feed and fairing speakers, plus the juice behind to run them ;-)

Came a long way with that, first cassette only, then a 6xMD-changer in the LHS pannier, clogging up space, requiring a new set of MDs on daily bases due to 7hrs max playback.
Then this Dension IceLink gadget came along, normally neither a fan of Apple, nor of MP3 compression (audiophile nut and that ), but the functionality and storage got me.
CDs don't work on motorcycles, the sudden changes of directions/leaning angle causes the disk to tumble, the drive runs out of buffer...

Set to [random] + [shuffle] and tug that iPod away in the tailcone (yep, still space for that); don't like the track playing? Hit [next] on the radio display(
there actually would be a way to select playlists with a Sony, but I never bothered)
Currently >48hrs on selected riding music loaded, takes some long hauls to get bored... ;-)

Newer, MP3 ready stereos won't work with the 3m extension between display and HU, those darn 90ies models do.

And then I like a slick, tidy cockpit (I even avoid those hulks of current satnav units, that ancient Quest-I serves me well)

Protected behind the screen, rain never was much of an issue, unless some realy heavy downpours with strong winds occured,
but even whith soaked display front, the Sony simply kept playing (it just wouldn't accept inputs anymore)

But also this is solved now since a British rider introduced me to ACF-50, a true snake oil ;-)
A layer sprayed on both sides of the PCB of that control display and not even notorious Welsh downpours irritate it anymore.

 

[Bones]

Impressive execution. Whatever works!

 

[nhdiesel]

And how to operate that thing with gloves, in the rain? Their prone to humidity...
Yours truly wants FM stations, TA and a fader between intercom feed and fairing speakers, plus the juice behind to run them

You just described everything my GPS does...glove friendly, waterproof, combined with my helmet headset I have integrated intercom & bluetooth to my phone.

But like I said...I do like what you did, and if it has what you want...that is all that counts.

 

[sofawizard]

just got 1 of the shark amps coming in the post its got bluetooth so i can stream music and sat nav off my phone hopefully the sounds not to distorted lol as long as i can hear it ill be happy thinking of puting the speakers on the police spot brackets i have hiding in my workshop hmmmmm and the amp on the dash where your remote for the head unit sits your thought please

 

[ST1100Y]

...the amp on the dash where your remote for the head unit sits your thought please

IMHO not ideal, a) lack of space and if it fits it'll distort the support air-flow behind the screen, and b) exposure to the elemets...

And speakers on police strobe brackets might not be compatible with everyone's sense of aesthetics
For a smooth appearance I'd suggest flush mount speakers in the fairing pocket lids :-D

 

[sofawizard]

good point ill re think the amp but the speakers i think stay where i plan as i like using the glove boxes for other things got a camera i keep in the left box fits lovely and right has small bodging items i might sacrafice the bodging items i supose ill miss them or find some space elsewhere ?? hmm

 

[ST1100Y]

Also I still use my 'glove boxes'
LHS holds the Kenwood radio, RHS tire gauge, screwdriver, GSM/GPS interface

I have those cute Visaton FR 8 WP, 4 Ohm in black installed; quite an OEM look and astounishing sound
http://www.visaton.de/en/chassis_zubehoer/wasserfest/fr8wp_sw_4.html

Many moons ago (pre-MP3 aeon, back then I also had a 6xMD-changer installed <g>) I'd those oval 130W McAudio 2-way coaxial chassis in there, supplied by a decent 2x200W Sony XM MOSFET amp :-D
But the speakers were sensitive to dust and tiny pebbles (stuck in the air gap around the winding, causing the assembly to seize/scratch) and then McAudio stopped making them...
Also did the amp consume some space... so did the MD-changer...