So I have a bone stock 2012 RG with the stock HK head unit. Is there anything available that could take care of my audio needs and add NAV into play and be able to link to my phone. I am fine with my 2 speaker setup for right now, but would like to have the ability to add on down the road. Excuse my ignorance, I haven't dabbled in audio stuff since the day of pull out decks and a trunk full of amps and subs.

 

Your stock HU has nav doesn't it? And you can pair your phone to your HU with bluetooth. With that said, there are aftermarket HU that will sync up nicely with your smart phone and has android anc apply car play support.

If you're looking for an upgrade in sound, you'll need at least two fairing speakers and an amp.

What kind of budget are you working with?

 

No I don't have nav, just the basic HK HU. My bike is 7 yrs old already. Budget, I think 500-1k?

 

Sorry just saw I put 2016 instead of 2012.

 

I though I was seeing things. Yeah I saw the 2016 you had. lol

hmm might wait for a reply by some of the smart guys here then. Not sure about your options for nav and such on a pre rushmore bike. I mean im sure with a BT HU you can get the turn by turn directions through your speakers from your phones nav.

 

Borgy I guess the first question to ask is do you ride in the rain a lot? If so and you want a "weatheproof" head unit instead of just "marine grade" that sort of limits you to the new RF head unit and one of the Aquatic AV units. Also keep in mind if you swap out the head unit you will lose the automatic volume control.

With single din head units I suspect it kind of ties you to using your phone as a GPS with the bluetooth link to the head unit for audio cues. I wanted to keep my stock HK head unit in my 2010 so I got a Metra SaddleTramp bluetooth adapter for it. If I want GPS with audio cues I just mount my phone on the handlebar and connect via bluetooth. I also got Iron Cross audio to add front and rear preamp outputs to the stock head unit to make it easier for me to expand the system.

When it comes to pre-Rushmore bikes like ours we have to make hard decisions as to what we are willing to give up before starting down the upgrade path. I didn't want to give up my AVC, CB, Intercom or Weather Band so I modified my stock head unit. If you think you can do without that stuff then an aftermarket head unit will get you the bluetooth with the ability to play music off of a USB thumb drive usually, which is nice.

In my understanding the Rockford Fosgate and Aquatic AV head units plug directly into your bike's wiring harness so you can use your handlebar controls and have preamp outputs for adding amplifiers. Keep in mind though I think the cheaper Aquatic AV units only have one set of preamp outputs on them.

If you don't want to spend that much and don't mind getting a good cover for your head unit to keep it dry the sky is the limit for single din head units. If you go that route you will need an adapter of some kind to get your handlebar controls working. I have been told Hawg Wired and BikeTronics make good kits.

Post back which way you would like to go and the smart folks can steer you in the right direction.

 

Thanks for the responses guys. Ideally a multimedia head unit would be nice, but getting it wet would suck. I think bluetooth linking is probably most important where I can do music off my phone and use the GPS for route cues. Of course like anything nothing covers all the bases.

As far as future plans to expanding , I think I'm ok with just my fairing speakers but they could definitely be better. I like the idea of glancing at the GPS so I can get a visual on where my next turn is going to be. No you dont need maps or gps when riding, but I do like a specific route when I am out riding. I'm the guy that will take the 100 mile back way to a destination vs the 10 mile route.