What are the pros and cons of using car/marine amps in a fairing of a bike? Other then having to fabricate or buy some type of mount. Is it possible to do has anyone done this before?

JM and Hawgwired systems may be plug and play but they are also extreme on the pocket/budget. Found a few marine grade amps 500watt on bestbuy site under $500. 4 channel 2ohm.

Other then a few who have gone to the extreme with audio set-ups whats the best way to go for those who are to cheap to pay for bike specific amps that only a few are happy with anyway? or am I the only one/

 

my harley amp was mounted under my tour pak. the elements could still get to it. i moved it into my saddle bag. i hav'nt had any problems. just lost bag space

 

The biggest problem is size and weight. If mounted in the fairing, first you have to shoe horn the larger amp in. Then the extra weight puts more strain on the mounting brackets.

If you put it in one of the saddle bags or the tour pack there the loss of space which is limited even on a fully bagged touring bike.

There still pricey but I like the biketronics, small, easy to wire and should be all the power you need.

 

The Arc 125.2 was, initially, an automotive amp that was later installed in bikes, and Arc packaged it as a motorcyle product. So no, there isn't anything inherently wrong with using an auto/marine amp on a bike.

As mentioned, a big issue is size if the amp is to be mounted inside the batwing fairing. Size is probably the biggest hurdle for using large wattage car/audio amps inside the batwing fairing.

The installation instructions for J&M's 500W amp call for removing the cups that secure the speedo and tach, then cutting about 1/2" off their bottoms to provide more depth for mounting the amp.

I'm not a tech or audio guy, but I'll be installing the Rockford Fosgate 300W 4-channel, 4 ohm impedance amp (it's a bit smaller than the Arc 125.2 amp I had) when it becomes available. It's 75W per channel RMS which should be plenty of power to drive fairing speakers and speakers in the fairing lowers on my bike. At $269 list price, it's much easier on the budget than J&M's 500W product.

Good luck with your research and project.

Carl

 

I just put this amp in my fairing last friday and it fit real nice and sounds good. I have no illusions about cost and quality, I know you get what you pay for. we'll see how long it lasts. hell if it last the year I'll be happy.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...STRK:MEBDIX:IT

 

Carl,...........you're being coy !!

You are an incredible 'tech & audio' guy !!!

 

"Rockford Fosgate 300W" this is the amp I am waiting for also. at first it was to be releasted this month. now they say May. I hope not to need it but if I do the RF will be my choice.

 

There really are no cons to using a car or marine amplifier. The price is definitely cheaper than the offerings out there for motorcycles. What I usually do when electronics are going to be exposed to moisture, humidity or temperature extremes is to disassemble the enclosure and spray on 'Conformal Coating' to both sides of the circuit board. This encapsulates all the components and prevents the ingress of mildew, fungus, moisture, etc. It also firmly holds the components and wiring in place on the circuit board to prevent stresses from vibration and temperature extremes. Most military electronics are treated this way. Conformal coating can be found at most electronic parts stores or here;
http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/422a.html

To properly seal electrical wiring connections I would also recommend this product; http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/4229.html

A couple of things to remember though when shopping for an amp is that, 1) Unless the stated audio power is shown as 'Watts RMS' (Root Means Square) into a specific load (8, 4 or 2 ohms) the wattage numbers are meaningless. Max power, Peak power and Peak music power wattage ratings are just nebulous sales/marketing jibberish and have NO meaning in engineering circles. It's interesting to note that most amp manufacturers don't show the current rating for their amps. This is a big clue as to how much REAL wattage the amp is capable of sourcing to the speakers. Most audio amplifiers are about 35 to 50% efficient at best. This means that a 100 watt amp consumes about 200 watts of power to produce that 100 watts to drive the speakers. Dividing 200 watts by 13.8 volts gives you about 14.5 amps of current drawn by the amplifier. Knowing the current drawn by the amplifier and the voltage to run it, gives you the true amount of total power to run the amplifier. After that, figure 35 to 50% of this makes it to the speakers as watts rms.
2) Some automotive amps don't work well below 12 volts. That means when the engine is off and your amp is running purely off the battery, the amp could cut out or distort as the battery slowly depletes. When the alternator is spinning and delivering 13.8 volts, all will be good though

 

RmS, I used this website for basic information on impedance matching between speakers and source; series and parallel speaker wiring; and some other basic issues:

http://www.bcae1.com/

Just scroll down the directory on the right side of the home page. I'd be interested in your views on the information it provides.

GP, fortunately the stuff I've done on my bike doesn't require much more than being able to read a wiring diagram, HD parts books, and information supplied by reputable vendors--no capacitors, diodes, etc. to deal with, and no fabrication of parts needed.

It's great to see the new products available for our bikes that have hit the market in the past couple of years, and the willingness of many here (like GLACIERPEARL) to adapt automotive products to the bikes.

Carl

 

• Product Height
  1-1/2"
• Product Width
  7-1/4"
• Product Weight
  3.5 lbs.
• Product Depth
  2-3/4"
• Continuous Watts per Channel (4 Ohms) RMS
  45W x 4
• Number of Channels
  4
• Line-Level Input
  No
• Speaker-Level Input
  Yes

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Alpine+-...&skuId=9442187
Those are the specs for an Alpine 180w mini. If I went this route with the stock HK head would it work and just need 4ohm speakers? From the reviews I would have to hard wire it since it is meant to be used with Alpine heads and speakers