Radio 2002 R1150RT

Good morning Oilheads! Hope you folks are enjoying your Sunday morning. May I take a moment to plant a seed in your brain?

When I purchased my RT a couple months ago, the bike was delivered to me without the factory radio. Yet, the bike was originally equipped with a radio package. The previous owner said he preferred the storage and didn't listen to music while riding. Included in the sale of the bike were some spare parts, including the handlebar controls for the radio, antenna and radio chassis. Missing however are the speakers, LED display and THE RADIO! Hard to listen to music without a radio, right? Well anyway, my research shows that the BMW radio was made by Clarion and from the reviews I've read, some people weren't that impressed with it. Aside from being a cassette player which serves no purpose in today's world, my only interest in that radio is for AM/FM listening only. I've priced this radio out and it appears to sell for roughly $750 new. Add speakers, LED display, etc and the package tops out around $1k. I can think of a many ways to blow 1K, but spending it on an obsolete cassette radio of marginal quality isn't one of them.

So my solution is to ask you good folks, the faithful Oilheads that you are, to see if you wouldn't mind keeping me in the back of your mind, if/when you happen to stumble across a functioning factory radio for my RT. Many of you probably own/owned a 2002-2004 RT or perhaps know someone who has a non-running bike in their garage collecting dust which they plan on parting out. I've looked online to places like, eBay, Beemer Boneyard, etc and so far the only radios I've found are way overpriced or are broken in some way. I'm on a waiting list with BB hoping one turns up, but we shall see. I did check the Marketplace and found that a BMWMOA member had a radio for sale that appeared to be in perfect condition. Sadly.....it was sold....about 8 YEARS AGO! Talk about missing the bus, eh?

Remember, while my bike is 14 years old (21k miles) it's brand new to me. So I'm like a kid on Christmas day with a new toy. While most of you good folks have moved on to newer, cooler, techier and faster bikes, I'm busy shopping for farkles for my old RT. Sometimes I just go downstairs to the garage to admire that beautiful bike sitting in my garage. I'm sure you can relate to what I'm talking about. So if you run across a radio for sale, or know somebody who has one they no longer need/want, would you please send me a PM? I would be grateful for your help.

TA -

I think your best solution is to put a Wanted to Buy ad in the Marketplace. Posts tend to disappear after a few days and people forget about things. But there are members poking through the Marketplace all the time, so someone's bound to match their radio with your ad.

20774 said:

TA -

I think your best solution is to put a Wanted to Buy ad in the Marketplace. Posts tend to disappear after a few days and people forget about things. But there are members poking through the Marketplace all the time, so someone's bound to match their radio with your ad.

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Good suggestion. I'll do that also. Hopefully one will turn up eventually.

State of the art...in 2002



Chuckled seeing this on a bike here a few weeks back...
And another buds LT with a six CD changer in his sidecase taking up a lot of room

My .02 cents would be get an IPOD and some earbuds saving dollars for other useful things. After riding with some Cruiser buds blasting their radios to all in range, I never used the one that came on my 05 RT...preferred to keep my tunes to myself.
I wear earplugs anyways and trying to listen to a radio at speed was futile anyways, even behind the RT screen.

I will ask the owner of this unit if he wants the storage space instead next time I see him however

1100RT After-Market Radio



I agree with Henzilla. I wouldn't sink a grand into an OEM radio system. I'd be surprised if you couldn't locate an after-market alternative for a fraction of the cost. For example: the previous owner of my '96 1100RT installed a Kenwood CD player in it. It appears to fit well and has handlebar mounted controls. Though I must admit, I'm not a fan of the concept. I've only rode around town with it on once and quickly discovered that, due to wind noise, I could only hear it at the stop lights. And then I felt like a self-absorbed teenager for subjecting nearby motorists to my blaring tunes.

Which brings up a second point. In my youth, I rode many a mile without hearing protection and paid the price. Then I tried foam earplugs, but they seemed to shut everything out - including the sound of the engine, which I want to keep tabs on.

Today's ear buds seal nicely to take the edge off of obnoxious and damaging wind, and supply soothing (or rockin') music with which to cruise the countryside. Plus you're not looking like a buffoon broadcasting noise pollution to the world.

But, if you would like to pursue the radio option, below is the model number for the unit in my RT. (I believe there are no differences in the radio compartment between the 1100 and 1150).


Ebay has a bunch of them. This one for $95.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kenwood-KDC-225MR-AM-FM-CD-MP3-WMA-Detachable-Face-Stereo-2-Brand-New-Speakers-/322351484012?hash=item4b0da54c6c:g:66AAAOSwj85YRxGf

Jim

bwanajames said:

Today's ear buds seal nicely to take the edge off of obnoxious and damaging wind, and supply soothing (or rockin') music with which to cruise the countryside. Plus you're not looking like a buffoon broadcasting noise pollution to the world.

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Any recommendations for a brand that is particularly effective at cutting wind noise? I'm down to one good ear and am very protective of it.

K7GLE said:

Any recommendations for a brand that is particularly effective at cutting wind noise? I'm down to one good ear and am very protective of it.

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I've been using the Skullcandy Titans. They are reasonably priced with astonishing sound quality (far better than RT external speakers). They also have an in-line switch. Double-click it to change songs (ipod) or click it once to pause in case you'd like to speak with someone, or simply enjoy a moment of silence.

A friend prefers the custom molded variety which also provide music. There are many options to choose from. The important thing is that you take some measures to protect your hearing. We don't think of wind as being as damaging as say, a gun report. But human hearing can absorb a sudden shock load better than the sustained noise we subject ears to on an all day ride. Think of it this way: a jet engine is simply pushing wind too, right? And all we know how loud that is. The wind roar through the helmet at 65-70 mph is similar on a smaller scale.

My audiologist (yes, I wear hearing aids, largely due to riding unprotected...) once showed me a decibel/time chart, revealing how damaging sustained noise is. It's something we want to avoid.


http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone_review/skullcandy-titan/

+1 on avoiding the OEM radio. Clarions were not considered much beyond "better than a poke in the eye" quality.

As a possible Plan B, consider the Sena 20S intercom. Bluetooth, rich feature selection, good compatibility with non-Sena intercoms, built - in support for Sena's Prism camera, and... wait for it... it's coming around the corner... here it is! Built-in FM receiver! Woohoo!

I use a pair of speakers and a set of Nonoise brand earplugs while wearing a Shoei Air-GT. Two thumbs up!

And all of this for a third of the OEM route. What's not to like?

Although we may agree, we may both be wrong.

Intriguing. I didn't realize that Sena offered an FM receiver. I must admit I am curious about these headsets and the price point is certainly an advantage. I would also like the ability to communicate with my passenger via intercom when riding two up. I understand they can also be paired to an iPod/iPhone and send/receive phone calls. So this may possibly be a total solution for me. My bike has an Autocomm system installed, but since the bike is new to me and didn't come with headsets, I haven't explored whether or not the system is still functioning.

RBEmerson said:

+1 on avoiding the OEM radio. Clarions were not considered much beyond "better than a poke in the eye" quality.

As a possible Plan B, consider the Sena 20S intercom. Bluetooth, rich feature selection, good compatibility with non-Sena intercoms, built - in support for Sena's Prism camera, and... wait for it... it's coming around the corner... here it is! Built-in FM receiver! Woohoo!

I use a pair of speakers and a set of Nonoise brand earplugs while wearing a Shoei Air-GT. Two thumbs up!

And all of this for a third of the OEM route. What's not to like?

Although we may agree, we may both be wrong.

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RBEmerson said:

+1 on avoiding the OEM radio. Clarions were not considered much beyond "better than a poke in the eye" quality.

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Don't let Ichris read this.

got two radios, what kind of money are you looking to spend?

A few years ago I wanted to add a radio to my "radio ready" 2003 RT but after reading the comments I decided against it. The compartment now holds a nice air pump, patch kit, the manuals and a few extra select tools.

BMW Radio Compartment Fire Extinguisher

PAS said:

A few years ago I wanted to add a radio to my "radio ready" 2003 RT but after reading the comments I decided against it. The compartment now holds a nice air pump, patch kit, the manuals and a few extra select tools.

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Interestingly enough, I stumbled across a parts fiche for Bob's BMW and discovered that BMW was apparently suggesting a fire extinguisher as an RT radio compartment alternative.

Having had a couple of gas leaks, I don't want to sit idly by and watch my bike go up in flames. However, most fire extinguishers are larger than we want to carry. Fortunately, Aerostich came to the rescue with a small 10 oz version that is easily tucked in a saddle bag. I carry one with me at all times.

Jim

A fire extinguisher? How reassuring. That's rather confidence inspiring, now isn't it? Good grief! What's next? Flame retardant suits, as alternatives to traditional riding apparel? Ha! Ha!

bwanajames said:

Interestingly enough, I stumbled across a parts fiche for Bob's BMW and discovered that BMW was apparently suggesting a fire extinguisher as an RT radio compartment alternative.

Having had a couple of gas leaks, I don't want to sit idly by and watch my bike go up in flames. However, most fire extinguishers are larger than we want to carry. Fortunately, Aerostich came to the rescue with a small 10 oz version that is easily tucked in a saddle bag. I carry one with me at all times.

Jim

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tangoalpha said:

A fire extinguisher? How reassuring. That's rather confidence inspiring, now isn't it? Good grief!

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Ahhhhhhh............. But it may be someone else who needs to be rescued..........I always keep one on the boat and when I had the truck, I kept one on board as well......The car however........I'll let it burn

I installed a Kenwood marine stereo on my 2004 R1150RT, iPod control, AUX in, Bluetooth. Way cheaper than the factory stereo and has so many more options!

Get a Sena headset (Bluetooth) and stream wireless from your phone.

RO Radio

Sent to you a PM

Well....it's been a while since I started this thread and thought I'd just wrap things up by sharing with you what I decided to do about the missing radio in my RT. As you probably remember, I was dead set on buying the factory radio and installing it, especially since the when I bought the bike it came with the handlebar controller, antenna, speakers, etc. Many of you chimed in offering advice to either go aftermarket, noting the poor quality of the stereo or, go with a wireless option by installing a Sena headset, or the like.

My main purpose, besides being able to listen to music was to have the ability to communicate with my passenger through intercom. After much debate, it just seemed like the BMW radio just wasn't going to give me what I wanted, so I opted instead to purchase a Sena 20S, which I purchased along with a new Shoei Neotec modular helmet. So now, besides being able to listen to music or communicate with my passenger, or other riders, I have the ability to communicate with a group of riders, make/receive phone calls (something I rarely do...or ever want to do while riding) and also, I can listen to voice guidance from my GPS. Overall, I'm happy with the Sena 20S, but I admit, I'm still getting used to it. One thing I've learned is that by pressing one button, I can ask Siri to do just about anything through the headset, so that certainly does make things much easier. This morning when I went for a morning ride, I tapped the button, listened for the Siri tone and then told her to play a selection from my favorites playlist. While I was reluctant to go the wireless headset route, I'm glad that some of you pushed me to do it. I'll admit, you were right! I'm very happy with the choice I made and the Sena unit has given me much needed capability over what the factory stereo offered. One thing that I could not figure out is why BMW even bothered to offer a radio package that wasn't set up to be hooked up directly to a headset. No helmet speakers, microphone, intercom option....just literally an AM/FM cassette radio that could only be played through the external speakers. Anyway...just thought you'd guys like to know about my recent purchase and also I want to thank those of you who offered to sell me your stereo, knowing that I was convinced that was the direction I was heading. I really enjoy the sense of community I get from this forum and the many helpful members here.

tangoalpha said:

One thing that I could not figure out is why BMW even bothered to offer a radio package that wasn't set up to be hooked up directly to a headset. No helmet speakers, microphone, intercom option....just literally an AM/FM cassette radio that could only be played through the external speakers. Anyway...just thought you'd guys like to know about my recent purchase and also I want to thank those of you who offered to sell me your stereo, knowing that I was convinced that was the direction I was heading. I really enjoy the sense of community I get from this forum and the many helpful members here.

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Remember...that was 2002. Don't think we had much wireless anything back then.