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beat the dead horse - Blues with Blue tooth

xcflyn

New member
I have read and read on the how to and what works, but more on how it doesn't work. I cant get my Sena10 to reliably connect to the 1600B ? Seems it is always a struggle and I am un pairing and re-pairing the head set. Cant get my GPS to sync in for some crazy reason either ? I can however get my Enacfire ear buds to pair but they don't have a separate volume and are full on. Clearly the volume control on the bike will not control the output to the ear buds which is a real bummer- the earbuds have much better sound quality.
No matter what I do I can not get the motorcycle speakers to work ? Hit the dial it just says volume off ? Speakers on the bike with a full face helmet are a waste anyhow IMO.
-So is there was way to control volume with ear buds and the motorcycle wheel ?
- How do I turn my speakers back on ?
- is the Sena 10 even worth the effort on a 2018 1600B ? I read a 20 or 30 is more compatible ?
- truth is I would rather just get my ear buds to work with the radio and GPS (and my phone if possible) and be able to control volume through the dial. I have been riding motorcycles for 45 years and BMW loyal for over 30. It amazes me that on a top of the line bike they still cant get a decent Bluetooth set up. Its not a huge problem as I dont have to have tunes, it just makes a long ride a little more pleasurable sometimes. Plus I hate to pay 30K for a bike and only have 80% work proper.

That's my gripe of the day- maybe tomorrow I will get on my exhaust rant :thumb
 
If the K1600 is similar to the R1200RT, then this video may be useful -

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M_qK1zzhh-A" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
That was helpful for sure. I am going to give it a whirl. I still would rather use the earbuds if I could get volume control. The video certainly address's the sound sharing when having a passenger which has been a challenge for many.
thank you
 
A much less expensive alternative is to obtain a bluetooth receiver and plug your favorite earbuds into that. I've done this; the bluetooth receiver goes into a pocket and the earbuds in my ear. I favor sound-isolating earbuds; normally I wear ear plugs. Links follow for some of the equipment that I have had good success with.

Both of these bluetooth receivers have adjustable volume - set on low before pairing with the BMW bluetooth!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0728GP9XH/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Bluetoo..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=WA7HN634EETZP184KCYE

Earbud preferences vary widely. My favorites were the Eymotic ER6 earbuds, but these are no longer available.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003S3RFIQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038W0K2K/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Alas, I have found the quality of the music coming from bmw's bluetooth (2018 RT) to be poor. I have good quality sound when paired with my phone, but when paired with the bike's bluetooth the sound quality is poor (scratchy, frequently broken-up). It seems that others have observed similarly poor audio with the BMW bluetooth implementation. Following is an alternative to improve the bluetooth audio sound quality -

There are a couple of YouTube videos that clearly illustrate how to use the speaker outputs to drive a Sena Bluetooth transmitter and have much improved sound. Links follow -

YouTube

BMW K1600/R1200 Bluetooth audio upgrade Part 1
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7SQx-dSW37g" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>


YouTube

BMW K1600/R1200 Bluetooth audio upgrade Part 2
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XScziTi5GLc" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Components used in these videos are:

Motochello audio speaker bridge
https://www.motochello.com/audio-speaker-bridge/


Sena SM10 dual stream stereo bluetooth transmitter
https://www.sena.com/product/sm10/

Motopower Mini USB Outlet

It was indicated elsewhere that one could use BMW repair plugs "83 30 0 413 580" and "83 30 0 413 581" to make an adapter cable and thus avoid needing to splice and cut into the existing wiring harness. A check with the MAXBMW on-line parts fiche shows -

83300413580 REPAIR PLUG, 8-POLE / 3-POLE - NO. 611651 $32.27
Function: 8-pin/3-pin for anti-theft alarm control unit, power supply.
Part Thumbnail Part Thumbnail

83300413581 REPAIR PLUG, 8-PIN - NO. 611652 $25.51
Function: 8-pin for main plug on anti-theft alarm control unit.
 
Last edited:
Before anyone runs out and purchases the BMW 8-pin plugs to avoid having to cut into their audio wiring harness, let me relate my recent findings.

The male 8-pin plug (part ending in 580) is a good fit into the Alpine audio unit. Alas, the female 8-pin plug (part ending in 581) "almost" fits into the existing male
8-pin plug (which has been unplugged from the Alpine audio unit).

The two BMW plugs (580 and 581) fit nicely together. I don't see at present what is causing the interference that prevents 581 from fitting to the wiring harness plug.

Bummer!

I would be keen to hear it someone has actually come up with a solution or found an alternate plug that fits.
 
Attached are a couple of photos showing the 8-pin plug to the Alpine audio unit. This plug contains wires to the speakers. I found these photos on one of the forum discussions cited earlier.

bmw alpine audio1.jpg

bmw alpine audio2.jpg
 
BMW does not provide a wiring diagram (that I've found) for the audio. Research by others, and what seems a general agreement, reveals the wire codes from the 8-pin connector at the Alpine audio unit to be -

Color codes for the wires coming out of the Alpine unit:
Left spkr + =yellow w/ red stripe. Connect to black wire of audio cable
Left spkr - = yellow w/ brown stripe. Connect to white gnd of audio cable
Right spkr + =blue w/ red stripe. Connect to red wire of audio cable
Right spkr - = blue w/ brown stripe. Connect to white gnd of audio cable

The instructions from Motochello have the +and - wire colors reversed, but a discussion with Motochello indicates that their shown hookup will work (due to the use of isolation transformers in the unit). Failure to use an audio bridge can result in mono rather than stereo and possibly damage to the Alpine unit. It was stated in some other discussions that BMW dealers have indicated that modification to the audio unit or wiring can void warranty coverage.
 
Hooray! I got the BMW R1200RT Alpine speaker output redirected to a Sena bluetooth transmitter and the sound quality is much improved. Last night I was having problems connecting to the BMW connector plug. It seemed that there was some obstruction with the new 581 connector. I decided to order another 581 connector on the off chance that this was a one-off defect. (The 581 connector will have to come from Germany and will take a week or so). Meanwhile I decided to test the set-up, even if I had to make a destructive modification to the 581 connector. It was my goal to leave the stock hardware unmodified.

I cut part of the new 581 connector away (shown as the white connector in the photo below) so that the pins could plug directly into the BMW connector. This was successful. If necessary I can use a bit of safety wire and some shrink tubing to keep these connectors mated.

The new 580 and 581 connectors have numbered yellow wires coming from them. At present I have a rat's nest of wires. I will have to clean this up and make a few other decisions. One such decision is the location for the Motochello Audio Bridge Switch and the Sena bluetooth transmitter. I don't use the front "pockets"; these are lockable, yet readily accessible. There is still a need to push a button on the Sena bluetooth transmitter to enable pairing with a headset. And the possibility exists that I may wish to switch back to the speaker output at some point (e.g., when setting up the tent and not moving). I will likely use a switched source of power for the Sena transmitter. In the previous video the power was always on to the transmitter. Since I have the Clearwater lights and the CanOpener it is easy to have a switched power source (via a relay).

I have verified that I can re-store the stock set-up with no loss of functionality. Now to set about cleaning up the wiring.

bmw-alpine-audio-patch (2).jpg
 
Last edited:
I obtained a second 581 plug from the local BMW dealer, but it also "almost" fits into the Alpine audio plug. This is interesting as the other gender plug (the 580 plug) fits very well into the Alpine unit. Well, I have a solution.

The photo below shows the new 581 plug -
bmw 581 audio plug new.jpg

Next is the modification that I made by sawing off part of the connector. Note: the sawing should be done so as to NOT damage the connecting pins. -
bmw 581 audio plug modified.jpg

This modified 581 plug was connected to the disconnected Alpine audio plug and the connection was secured by safety wire -
bmw 581 audio plug safety wired.jpg

Then the plugs were further secured by use of some electrical tape then a bit of silicone "self-sealing" tape -
bmw 581 audio plug taped.jpg

A similar usage of electrical tape and silicone tape was wound about the wires to create a short wire harness. These wires were tucked out of the way beneath the rear seat.

The next photo shows the location for the Motochello audio bridge and Sena bluetooth transmitter. These fit beneath the front seat (this is on a 2018 R1200RTW) beneath the straps for the BMW tankbag. The front seat is very easy to remove, the rear seat less so.
motochello and sena bluetooth under front seat.jpg

For the upcoming trip to Iowa I am forgoing use of Bluetooth and will use hardwired earbuds. I have been experimenting with several types, including some that use active noise cancellation.

I very much have come to like several of the SiriusXM channels in my X3 and expect to listen to these same channels during much of the ride west. I also have the $80 BMW cable that allows use of a small Apple device (e.g., SE iPhone or iPod) to listen to music. [Note: - the iPhone + will NOT fit in the compartment with this cable!!]

I have been experimenting with direct plug-in of a USB "thumb drive" in the supplied cable in the right front compartment. Music in the form of mp3 files has been copied onto thumb drives after the thumb drives are formatted in the FAT32 format. I have made a number of these music thumb drives having storage capacities ranging from 2 to 16 GigaBytes. The 16 GB drives will hold several thousand mp3 songs. I expect to switch out the thumb drives periodically, i.e. at fuel and restroom stops.

Thus far the music sounds really, really good through the earbuds. I use the wobbly wheel (wonder wheel?) to change / select songs and to adjust the volume. The volume adjust feature is not available with the stock (awful sounding IMHO) bluetooth system.
 
I have found my earbuds for use while riding my motorcycle. They are called S Plugs. I found the sound quality from the single driver version to be quite good. These were very comfortable in my ears and very good sound isolation was provided. As with the most earplugs it was still possible to hear surrounding sounds (e.g., emergency vehicles) albeit at a much reduced sound level. These earbud speakers were plugged into the Motochello Audio Bridge unit mentioned above.

Typically the sound volume was set at a pretty low level for most of the SiriusXM radio stations that I listened to whilst travelling to and from Iowa. For some of the music saved on a USB thumb drive I slightly increased the volume using the wobbly wheel.

Link to product website follows -
https://www.plugup.com/the_S_plug_stereo_earbuds_s/67.htm

s-plug-earbuds.jpg

Here is a video review of the S Plugs by a GS rider -

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9Lk26TO2-6g" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
I did the K1600 Bluetooth audio upgrade a couple of years ago and

I did the K1600 Bluetooth audio upgrade a couple of years ago and now it’s seamless. A couple of hours and some $$ boom like it should be from the factory.
A much less expensive alternative is to obtain a bluetooth receiver and plug your favorite earbuds into that. I've done this; the bluetooth receiver goes into a pocket and the earbuds in my ear. I favor sound-isolating earbuds; normally I wear ear plugs. Links follow for some of the equipment that I have had good success with.

Both of these bluetooth receivers have adjustable volume - set on low before pairing with the BMW bluetooth!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0728GP9XH/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Bluetoo..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=WA7HN634EETZP184KCYE

Earbud preferences vary widely. My favorites were the Eymotic ER6 earbuds, but these are no longer available.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003S3RFIQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038W0K2K/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Alas, I have found the quality of the music coming from bmw's bluetooth (2018 RT) to be poor. I have good quality sound when paired with my phone, but when paired with the bike's bluetooth the sound quality is poor (scratchy, frequently broken-up). It seems that others have observed similarly poor audio with the BMW bluetooth implementation. Following is an alternative to improve the bluetooth audio sound quality -

There are a couple of YouTube videos that clearly illustrate how to use the speaker outputs to drive a Sena Bluetooth transmitter and have much improved sound. Links follow -

YouTube

BMW K1600/R1200 Bluetooth audio upgrade Part 1
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7SQx-dSW37g" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>


YouTube

BMW K1600/R1200 Bluetooth audio upgrade Part 2
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XScziTi5GLc" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Components used in these videos are:

Motochello audio speaker bridge
https://www.motochello.com/audio-speaker-bridge/


Sena SM10 dual stream stereo bluetooth transmitter
https://www.sena.com/product/sm10/

Motopower Mini USB Outlet

It was indicated elsewhere that one could use BMW repair plugs "83 30 0 413 580" and "83 30 0 413 581" to make an adapter cable and thus avoid needing to splice and cut into the existing wiring harness. A check with the MAXBMW on-line parts fiche shows -

83300413580 REPAIR PLUG, 8-POLE / 3-POLE - NO. 611651 $32.27
Function: 8-pin/3-pin for anti-theft alarm control unit, power supply.
Part Thumbnail Part Thumbnail

83300413581 REPAIR PLUG, 8-PIN - NO. 611652 $25.51
Function: 8-pin for main plug on anti-theft alarm control unit.
 
Reviving this thread - does anyone have a reference chart for the yellow wire numbers to the color coded wires on the stereo?
Also, I read somewhere else that a ground loop isolator is needed to suppress engine noise introduction into the audio.
Thanks much in advance!
 
Last edited:
Reviving this thread - does anyone have a reference chart for the yellow wire numbers to the color coded wires on the stereo?
Also, I read somewhere else that a ground loop isolator is needed to suppress engine noise introduction into the audio.
Thanks much in advance!

I think I saw the cheat sheet I used this weekend. I either saw it and pitched it because I concluded I was done with it or filed it away with the K1600 stuff. I'll take a peek at home and see if I can find it.
 
Reviving this thread - does anyone have a reference chart for the yellow wire numbers to the color coded wires on the stereo?
Also, I read somewhere else that a ground loop isolator is needed to suppress engine noise introduction into the audio.
Thanks much in advance!

I did not keep the colors on the Alpine to yellow wires on BMW accessory plug as intended. However, take a peek at post 8 and 9 in this thread. Post 8 reminds us that you need to locate where these wires are oriented on the female plug going into the Alpine unit:

Across the top of the female plug:
Yellow with Brown
Yellow with Red
Brown
Red with Green

Across the bottom of the female plug:
Blue
Blue with Red
White with Black
White with Brown

Also take a peek at Motochello's instructions here: https://www.motochello.com/wp-content/uploads/Speaker-Bridge-Install-1cw.pdf.

Hopefully this gives you enough to install.
 
Im just trying to get this squared away in my head... What job is the Montecello bridge performing?

The Motochello Speaker Bridge will be a bridge between the speakers of the bike and speakers in your helmet. When it first came out a handful of years ago many folks were using earbuds and plugging them into the 3.5mm stereo output of the Motochello Speaker Bridge so they could send sound from the bike to their helmet without needing a Bluetooth communication system being added to your helmet. Many of us already had a lot invested in quality earbuds and did not want to add a Bluetooth system just to be able to hear audio from the bike.

With the Motochello Speaker Bridge you put the switch on the Motochello Speaker Bridge in the speaker position and when you want to send the audio to your headphones/earbuds just flip the switch. It lets you use the bike speakers when and if you want to use the bike speakers or send to a headset if you don't want to use the bike speakers.

As the years have passed by and folks have increasingly added Bluetooth headsets to their helmets many of us have taken the 3.5mm stereo headphone output from the Motochello to a Bluetooth hub such as the Sena SM10 and then transmit the sound from the bike to our Bluetooth headset via the Motochello Speaker bridge plus the Sena SM10 hub instead of connecting directly to the bike via Bluetooth. The advantage of this approach vs. the bike Bluetooth directly to a Bluetooth headset on your helmet is you can still control the audio volume via the wonder wheel and the volume control on your headset.

If you do not have the BMW headsets which many feel are expensive and inferior and worked with only one helmet you cannot control the volume of the bike audio at the bike as intended, it can only be controlled at your Bluetooth headset.

Many have gone to bypassing the BMW/Alpine units entirely and simply have their music loaded on their phones or streamed by their phones and their phones connected directly to the Bluetooth headset of their choice which takes the BMW system out of the equation.

I prefer to go this route because I do like ability to use the bike's audio system and am using a Sena SM10 to not only send the bike audio from my bike to my helmet but also radar detector alerts.
 
Reviving this thread - does anyone have a reference chart for the yellow wire numbers to the color coded wires on the stereo?
Also, I read somewhere else that a ground loop isolator is needed to suppress engine noise introduction into the audio.
Thanks much in advance!

I did end up finding that chart and here it is.
 

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