Questions on installing a J&M handlebar mount CB radio

[David Morrow]

I'm installing a J&M model JMCB-2003 CB radio. J&M Radio

For those of you who have mounted one of these radio's :

1) There is a ton of wire and a noise filter to stash. Did you just coil it up and tuck it away or did you cut any of it out and splice the ends back together ?

2) Where did you tap into power? I've been poking around and I think I'll pick up power from the left parking light. Any thoughts on a better location for a power source that turns on & off with the ignition ?

3) Any other suggestions ?

 

[fljab]

I'm installing a J&M model JMCB-2003 CB radio. J&M Radio

For those of you who have mounted one of these radio's :

1) There is a ton of wire and a noise filter to stash. Did you just coil it up and tuck it away or did you cut any of it out and splice the ends back together ?

2) Where did you tap into power? I've been poking around and I think I'll pick up power from the left parking light. Any thoughts on a better location for a power source that turns on & off with the ignition ?

3) Any other suggestions ?

I have a J&M on my '09:

1> I ran everything up the left side along the stock wiring harness. I didn't cut anything, just coiled the excess near the neck. Are you adding anything else? Like a Zumo or radar detector? More harness required for that.

2> I installed a Fuzeblock in the tail using an idea I got off the forum, so the power leads come off the battery all the way back to the fuzeblock, then back up to the J&M; the Fuzeblock is triggerd from the running lights wire on the left side cover under the seat. You don't have to use that particular setup, but a relay-triggered setup is strongly suggested. I like the FB as it's already setup; you just have to find a place for it.

3> What are you doing for an antenna? I bought a grounded 3' and it mounts off the license plate; I drilled a hole in the plastic/rear fender big enough for the wire + eye, then sealed it with a homemade grommet made from hose, and used silicone sealant. Good reception/transmit and no issues so far.

I had to make some additional wire harness, mainly for the power feed from the battery; I took my time, thought it out, and crimped/soldered/sealed with heat shrink. The way I did it doesn't take the power off any other circuit the bike uses. You also need to run the mic/ear speaker feed line back where you can hook on to it from your helmet cable; I ran that back down the same way (left side under the tank) and it runs up between the tank and seat.

There are different opinions of what system to use and what/how to tie it all in; I used the complete J&M system because I am not as electronically savvy as many on this list - to be honest, I got fairly confused when I was looking at everything. The entire setup with my CB, Zumo, V1, antenna, plus all the J&M cables/harnesses that make it work is a pricey setup, but it was all plug'n'play and I have not had any issues since installation, so it was worth it to me.

There are others on the forum and other places that can offer some very good advice on what to use/mix'n'match/etc that would probably work well and cost less than the way I did it, but it all goes back to what it is you want to do, what you may want to add later, and how good you are at integrating componants. Hopefully, someone will add something to this that can be of help if that's what you want.

Speaking of which, I would like to look at adding another GPS, but to tie it in where I could hear it - even if I had to "prioritize" somehow - presents problems on how to do that; I've heard to contact Edsets and they could make a custom cable, but I'm not to the point of doing that yet. I have more important stuff/farkles to add before I need a 2nd GPS...

I can send pics if interested...

 

[David Morrow]

I've been pulling some more plastic off and there is a nice little cavity between the "A" panel and the left side driving light. I'm going to mount the noise filter on the lower, inside black plastic. It'll mean drilling two holes but they will be hard to see and will have SS machine screws holding the filter in place so it'll look just fine.

I'm going to coil the excess wire up inside that cavity. I can then run the big hunk of harness down from the radio quite easily.

I'll get power off that driving light. It's clean and easy to get to.

I bought the J&M 2 foot antenna but have mounted it to the bottom of my auxiliary gas tank so it's properly grounded and J&M has given me their blessing on this.

No other electrical do-dads being connected; that's one reason why I"m not installing a fuse block.

Like you, I've really been putting a lot of thought into this. When I'm done, all of the electrical wiring will be up at the front of the bike, under cover.

I drilled through the plastic to feed the coax so I'll have to make up a grommet for the hole now.

 

[fljab]

No other electrical do-dads being connected; that's one reason why I"m not installing a fuse block.
Like you, I've really been putting a lot of thought into this. When I'm done, all of the electrical wiring will be up at the front of the bike, under cover.

I drilled through the plastic to feed the coax so I'll have to make up a grommet for the hole now.

Sounds like you got a good plan!

Of note; I just used the Fuzeblock again for hooking up the AVCC I recently installed - I like the expandability it offers. Also not mentioned was when I made up the harness from the battery back to the FB (for 12V+ and 12V-), I also put in two extra wires in that harness. They are coiled/not used at both ends, but at the rear they can be put into the FB easily, and are near the battery in the front for use in additional farlkes if/when I add whatever that I need switched 12V for.

I was originally going to use a 2', but I heard conflicting info on how much the additional foot would help, so I just went ahead and went with the 3'; probably doesn't help that much but it was easy to do on initial purchase so I thought what the heck...

My next project is the aux lights which will also be well thought out using a front end based relay controlled power source. I have the "Shanghai Express" lights + brackets some of us recently did with RJ. I also want to add low beam HID's, and maybe something else up there - still thinking about it; looking at cost and energy effective lights (LED) that I can use for both daytime visibility and additional light at night.