What's the simplest way of using satellite radio on the bike?

[Potential]

A couple of weeks ago I got some nice helmet speakers to use with my iPod. I have a nice listening setup where I keep my ipod nano in my jacket pocket, with the headphones plugged into it, and a small remote that I have velcro-taped to the plastic dash panel on the right (the one that covers the battery). Very easy to use, does not hamper me from turning my head around or from standing on the pegs, and no long cords whipping around in the wind. The ipod runs on batteries and I just bring the charger in luggage to charge it later (such as from my laptop via USB). Though I haven't done that yet since I've just done shorter trips.

But I just bought a satellite radio, the XM XPressEZ, and am confused on how best to hook it up. The unit itself is very small but the connections to it are some proprietary multipin connector, though it comes with a dock cradle which has the normal connections (DC in, audio out, antenna in). Also it has no batteries so it has to be plugged in to the bike's power.

I am not sure how best to do all this. I know there is this reservoir-cap mount which I assume fits the FJR and I assume fits the XM unit, though I don't understand if the docking cradle itself goes into the mount or what.

But my main issue is I really don't want a wire going from something mounted on the bike to me. Is there a wireless way of sending the audio signal to a receiver I can keep in my jacket? If anyone can provide me direction, that'd be great.

 

[willieiso118]

A couple of weeks ago I got some nice helmet speakers to use with my iPod. I have a nice listening setup where I keep my ipod nano in my jacket pocket, with the headphones plugged into it, and a small remote that I have velcro-taped to the plastic dash panel on the right (the one that covers the battery). Very easy to use, does not hamper me from turning my head around or from standing on the pegs, and no long cords whipping around in the wind. The ipod runs on batteries and I just bring the charger in luggage to charge it later (such as from my laptop via USB). Though I haven't done that yet since I've just done shorter trips.
But I just bought a satellite radio, the XM XPressEZ, and am confused on how best to hook it up. The unit itself is very small but the connections to it are some proprietary multipin connector, though it comes with a dock cradle which has the normal connections (DC in, audio out, antenna in). Also it has no batteries so it has to be plugged in to the bike's power.

I am not sure how best to do all this. I know there is this reservoir-cap mount which I assume fits the FJR and I assume fits the XM unit, though I don't understand if the docking cradle itself goes into the mount or what.

But my main issue is I really don't want a wire going from something mounted on the bike to me. Is there a wireless way of sending the audio signal to a receiver I can keep in my jacket? If anyone can provide me direction, that'd be great.

https://www.mixitproducts.com/

You'll need an amp something like this one to enjoy the audio from the sat radio and the plus is you can input your GPS and radar detector also.....

 

[Potential]

Don't have GPS or radar but that does look like a nice amplifier. However that's not my main concern -- do you know if there's a Bluetooth sender *and* receiver that works with any audio source? All I can find are bluetooth transmitters, usually just for ipods, but no receivers. Instead they expect you to use a Bluetooth headset, which is no good to me.

 

[GPRIDER]

A couple of weeks ago I got some nice helmet speakers to use with my iPod. I have a nice listening setup where I keep my ipod nano in my jacket pocket, with the headphones plugged into it, and a small remote that I have velcro-taped to the plastic dash panel on the right (the one that covers the battery). Very easy to use, does not hamper me from turning my head around or from standing on the pegs, and no long cords whipping around in the wind. The ipod runs on batteries and I just bring the charger in luggage to charge it later (such as from my laptop via USB). Though I haven't done that yet since I've just done shorter trips.
But I just bought a satellite radio, the XM XPressEZ, and am confused on how best to hook it up. The unit itself is very small but the connections to it are some proprietary multipin connector, though it comes with a dock cradle which has the normal connections (DC in, audio out, antenna in). Also it has no batteries so it has to be plugged in to the bike's power.

I am not sure how best to do all this. I know there is this reservoir-cap mount which I assume fits the FJR and I assume fits the XM unit, though I don't understand if the docking cradle itself goes into the mount or what.

But my main issue is I really don't want a wire going from something mounted on the bike to me. Is there a wireless way of sending the audio signal to a receiver I can keep in my jacket? If anyone can provide me direction, that'd be great.

I just hooked up a XPressEZ to my FJR before a long trip to Wiconsin this month. It's not hard to find a hot wire under the fairing somewhere under the fairing to power it. I tried some cheap earbuds I had first and it wasn't loud enough going down the road. I went to Best Buy and bought some good Sony noise canceling in the ear speakers with an in line volume control. They are loud enough because of the outside noise canceling. They actually sound good and cost $30. At first I didn't think I'd like a plug in my ear, but it's not too bad. I got used to it and they don't cancel out completely. You can still hear other outside noises, but at a much lower level. If you want wireless, you'll have to go with the J&M bluetooth unit. Only $300. Someone else Makes a bluetooth for a little less I think. But not much less. I really wanted the bluetooth so I wouldn't have to mess with the wires, but $30 versus $300 is no brainer. At least for now. If I come across some extra money in the future I might splurge for some. CycleGadgets has all kind of mounting devices for satellite radios. That's where I got mine. They'll fix you up.

GP

 

[Potential]

Thanks for mentioning that site; turns out they have exactly what I was looking for! Awesome.

 

[GPRIDER]

Thanks for mentioning that site; turns out they have exactly what I was looking for! Awesome.

Wow. I didn't realize they had that. Maybe it's new. Now you've got me interested. If you get it, PM me with the results of how it works.

GP

 

[Potential]

I'll do that, and probably post about it here or in a new thread as well. I've already ordered it, don't know when it'll ship though.

 

[Potential]

I got the Bluetooth sender/receiver and fully hooked up the satellite radio to my bike, sans MixIt2 which was backordered. Anyway the bluetooth thing works very well.

The receiver is tiny, even smaller than my iPod Nano, and has a display screen that shows battery level (there are four bars onscreen when it's full so it's not very precise but still useful) along with other things, like if it's connected or looking for a bluetooth device. It comes with a wall charger that you have to use first for a couple of hours to charge it up. It also has a tiny joystick for changing volume or doing other things, and it's important to realize the volume may not be full initially, so when you first get it, you need to press up on the joystick repeatedly until it's at maximum volume (which is basically whatever the volume of the source audio device is; it's not an amplifier so all it can do is quiet the source). It takes a little while to connect to a new Bluetooth sender but the reconnect time is practically instant. It's great. I have my satellite radio connected to a power switch, and after turning on the power switch, I almost immediately hear the music through my speakers, and the little delay there is is actually caused by the satellite radio itself and not the bluetooth device.

The sender is also small, with fairly flat edges that should make mounting simple. I used velcro tape to place it on top of my clutch-fluid reservoir. There's an off-on switch which cannot be accessed with motorcycle gloves but it doesn't matter; there's no need to turn it off while riding anyway (just turn off the radio instead). You should turn it off when not using it, though, or it'll still try to do whatever idle Bluetooth devices do, and it'll blink a blue LED to let you know it's on. It comes with a USB charging cable that you can plug into a computer or whatever to charge it. The LED shines red when charging. Note that the charging cable is not a standard type so don't lose it.

Both devices work very well and you can use them for anything. Haven't yet tried it during a ride, though -- I'll do that tomorrow. Although the volume is pretty low without the amplifier so I can't test it too well yet.