Adding a CB radio to a 1200GS?

[crcawein]

Has anyone sucessfully installed a CB radio on a R1200GS? I've been researching this all day and cannot find a solution. The issues seem to involve "electrical noise" from both the fuel pump and ABS system.

John Lazzeroni (a really nice guy) of J&M Corp says they are in R&D to make a kit available through the BMW Dealer network, however, there are no dates yet for availibility.

[BradfordBenn]

Yes, it is possible. However I guess the question is what are you looking to do, if you want to power it off bike power, you will probably need a "choke" or electrical filter to keep out the alternator noise and to prevent ground loops. Or you can not conenct it to anything else on the bike and it would be great. Also you will probably want a no ground plane antenna, I think Firestick is what you want.

Perhaps Mr. Nye could shed some light on this one, if I remember right he has one on his GS>

[Dave_Faria]

Call the local police dept. and see what, if anything, they have to do for their bike radios. Hold an AM radio, that is not tuned to a station, next to the gas tank about where u think the fuel pump is located. See if there is any interference. If there is interference how far away does the antenna have to be before the problem goes away.

[PUDGYPAINTGUY]

Don't most police bikes have the radio pack on the rack? Maybe that is why.

[The_Veg]

No, the location is because police radios tend to be larger than CBs.

[PUDGYPAINTGUY]

huh...makes sense...for whatever reason veg I thought they were a combined unit on the motos...so where is the CB on an LT or Gold Wing? Of course I am sure that the gadgets must be surpressed/shielded but just curious.

[The_Veg]

I only ever got a look at one bike radio when I worked with police 2-ways, but it was a version of the same radios that the cars carry, housed in a fibreglass box right behind the seat. The antenna was mounted to the top of the box and there was a control head (volume control, speaker, etc.) mounted to the handlebar or fairing. Police radios (and all 2-ways) use a different frequency range than CB and usually have higher transmit power.

[crcawein]

I didn't know a CB was on an AM frequency. I talked to John Lazzeroni again after the first post. He said they have prototyped a system for the bike but BMW hasn't decided if they will buy/offer it to the public. I also spoke to a guy (didn't get his name) at Sierra Electronics and he was the one that explained the issues were because of the electric fuel pump and the ABS. If Honda can have a CB on a GW, and BMW can have one on the LT - what could be the monumental differences causing such a problem on the GS?

Brad - Yes I want to power it off the bike

[BradfordBenn]

It sounds funny but the big issue is the deal with getting noise back down the power system. So an isolation cable or other device such as the choke should help with that considerably. Also it comes down to how they shield their electronics.

The CB puts out a radio pulse that can interfere with the electronics. Think about the sound of a nextel or blackberry by a computer speaker, usually you can hear the interference it puts out. Now imagine that was happening to signal wiring in your ABS brain. The GS might not be as well shielded to save the weight.

[crcawein]

Thanks for the help..... I still don't have a good solution for putting the CB on....

[Kenny2]

Chris,
For a solution, contact your local Ham radio operators or Ham shop. They are VERY good at installing radios, isolating interference. Also, MARC is a good point of contact as well. (Motorcycle Amatuer Radio Club).

Good luck.