Retrofitting a BMW Radio to a 1200RT

[Wingco]

I have just bought the complete radio, wiring harness, speakers, control panel and aerial from an accident damaged 05 RT and now intend to fit it to my 05 RT. Before I start has anyone done it before and if so are there any useful hints or tips to pass on? Looking through the posts on this site I intend to add the connectors for the rear speakers to enable the radio to play through my helmet speakers using the fader control. I also intend to add an Aux out connector to allow iPod connection if I can find the correct cable.

[cpallen]

Good luck with this project and keep us posted. I'm planning on installing an aftermarket radio but would like to get some info on the speakers - can you post (or email me) some pictures of the speakers and possibly some critical measurements so I will have an idea of what I can fit into the space provided.

 

Thanks

 

Courtney in Seattle

2009 RT

[Wingco]

Well some progress I have removed just about all the front of the bikes fairing including the screen and headlamps although not strictly necessary I find with hindsight. I finally located the connector in the main harness lurking almost hidden behind the headstock. At the moment I have the radio connected and it and the CD player work but I have no radio info on the display. I have retired to read some more as it was getting cold and dark. Antway so far so good, hopefully tomorrow I will solve the no info problem. I notice that the wiring diagram identifies a removale raadio resistor maybe thats the problem. For Courtney I will take some photos of the speakes tomorrow.

[cpallen]

Thank you sir in advance for any speaker info you ccan provide!

[mneblett]

You may need to have a conversation with your dealer -- I suspect that one of the computers will need to be re-programmed to recognize the radio and permit it to communicate with the RID. AFAIK, BMWNA has *not* been willing to authorize reprogramming to add accessories (part of the pressure to buy accessories at bike purchase time). For example, as I understand it the new traction control accessory is a software-only item -- BMW *could* sell an after-sales "accessory" to upgrade bikes not purchased with ASR, but I was informed that they have expressely stated that they will not do so.

 

Hope I'm wrong with regard to the radio, but figured you should at least know what may be coming your way when you ask.

 

Good luck!

[Harry_Wilshusen]

When I bought my 06 rt the dealer gave me some paper work with a code # for the radio and told me not to lose it. I can't remember what it's for. I'll dig it out this evening if no one else clarifies this today.

 

Harry

 

[RedMac]

If I'm not mistaken, it's the theft code for the radio. Each code is unique. If you bought a used one, you will probably need that code to get the radio working again... (ack).

[Wingco]

My post from Tuesday seems to have gone missing but I will try to remember what I said. The intallation is complete and the radio works with all the functions you can test withou the display trying to remember the manual in the cold and dark defeated me so I gave up early on Tuesday. Convinced that MHN is right in his assessment that the computer needs to know that the radio is fitted. Lots of German ststions on AM which I suppose is to be expected but also some French. FM reception is very clear and good quality. Interestingly, the removal of the screen revealed very stiff pivots with some evidence of dissimilar metal corrosion, the lift motor must have been working quite hard so worth keeping an eye on these.

[Wingco]

Wednesday went to the MCN motorcyle show at the NEC near Birmingham and what a result. The BMW stand was partly manned by the staff from the local dealers which included the service manager. Mentioned the lack of display to him and his response was encouraging a retrofit upgrade to the software was needed and I agreed to call him on Wed am. Did just that rode over to the dealer today Thursday and Eureka its is now all fully funtional complete with display. The software upgrade was interesting once logged onto the BMW computer in Berlin all the build info including dates was displayed. The computer identified several upgrades were required and this took best part on an hour, facinating to watch the test routines post installation with lights flashing and the screen going up and down. Once the main upgrade was complete the rerofit menu was dispayed Radio selected and 10 mins later all was working. Total cost £15 about $20 so a very pleased owner rode home in driving rain and bitterly cold but with the radio on. Pictures to follow

 

[cpallen]

Did you take any measurements of the speakers for me?

Thanks

 

[XTrooper]

Outstanding, Wingco! Glad to read that you got your radio squared away!

[Wingco]

Reply for CP Allen I have the photos but how do I post a picture as I cannot make it work? The pictures I have taken have a ruler in the picture to give you some idea of size. If you prefer I will email them to ou direct but again how?

[RedMac]

If you need a manual, let me know. I can scan mine in and email it to you...

[Wingco]

Thanks for the Offer but there is an electtronic copy available on the Danish BMW site which I found through Google here is the link:

http://www.bmw-motorrad.dk/dk/da/bikes/tour/r1200rt/media/Rider_s_Manual_R_1200_RT__Radio__2008.pdf

[RedMac]

Thanks ! I'll download it myself. I like having electronic copies of the manuals anyway

[cpallen]

Wingco, I sent you a private message with my email address.

Thanks

Courtney

[Wingco]

Just for info I had difficulty finding an Aux in connector except for an outrageously expensive one from BMW which required special order and would take a couple of weeks. So rummaging around my workshop I found that the 10 pin connectors are the same size and spacing as an IDE cable. I cut a 10 pin block off an old connector and using pins 4 earth 8 right and 9 left connected a 3.5mm plug from and old pair of headphone and bingo it all works.

[Jaycee]

Hi Wingco, thanks for directing me to this topic.

 

From the info I've read elsewhere and on here I was aware that I might have to get the dealer to program the bike to recognise the CD/Radio, so I'll have that done when the bike is serviced in a few weeks time.

 

In one of our earlier posts you mentioned showing some photos, they would be useful. The main cable loom that came with my system still has all the bends in it, these make it fairly easy to see where it routes around the bike and where the cable ties are positioned. However, there are a couple of things I'm having difficulty with.

 

Firstly, inside the CD/Radio box there is a fan at the bottom, mine isn't yet fitted so I'd like to know its correct orientation; it's square so there's 4 possible ways it could go. Come to think of it, I'm assuming that the fan blows air onto the CD/Radio unit rather than away from it, am I correct? There are also 2 damper rubbers which fit around the fan and which are used in conjunction with a bracket to secure the fan, do these rubbers go top and bottom or at the sides of the fan?

 

On the following diagram from RealOEM.com the fan is item 6, the rubber dampers are item 13 and the bracket is item 7.

 

RealOEM Radio Parts Diagram

 

My final question (for the moment) is the routing of the main cable from the main electrical supply plug down to the large rubber grommet at the bottom of the CD/Radio box. I note there's a protruding 'nub' on one side of the box, does this have something attached to it which holds the main cable loom in place as it routes to the bottom of the box?

 

Wingco - in your second post you mention a removable resistor that is mentioned on the wiring diagram. If you haven't found out what this is yet then what I think it's describing is a resistor which is located inside the blanking cap which you will have removed from the main supply plug. On the subject of the wiring diagram, where did you get this from and does it help with cable routing?

[Wingco]

Hi Jaycee, My fan blows air onto the unit that seemed logical to me, In my case the rubber was looking a little tired so I replaced it with one continuous piece which went 3/4 around the fan and the retaining clamp fitted on top I assume its meant to provide some acoustic damping. I cannot remember the protrusion you speak of and you are correct the resistor is fitted into the blanking cover to fool the canbus that a radio is fitted otherwise you would have an error message on the display. The wiring diagram I was referring to was the Haynes manual which is where I found the reference to the resistor. The cable routing is self evident as the retaining clips on the speaker cables fit into pre-cut rectangular slots near the speakers. If you remove the front sub fairing where the Aerial is mounted you will find underneath a marking point for its location so you can drill the hole accurately I placed a thin plate of aluminium underneath to strengthen this area. I do have a couple of diagrams of the aerial fitting if you want them. The photos I mentioned were only of the speakers for a member who was going to fit a non OEM radio and wished to know the dimensions of the speakers and how they were fixed not much use to you. Did you get the link for the handbook? Without the software upgrade everything works but you need to memorise the handbook to make it work. As a bit of info if you intend to add the rear speaker/Aux input mods do it first to save yourself the work of retro fitting these mods are quite straightforward to do I have the pin-outs if you need them. One quick note make sure the 2 connectors to the left had control panel are well seated I thought I had a dodgy controller but one of the connectors wasn’t fully home.

[Jaycee]

Thanks again Wingco. I've currently only got the speakers installed and as you say their connectors fit into two pre-cut rectangular slots in the frame.

 

I hadn't noticed the marking on the fairing for the aerial location so that's good to know. I'd be grateful for those diagrams if you think they'll be useful. In regard to the handbook I downloaded that some time ago after finding a link to it somewhere else, I also purchased a hard copy of it from BMW.

 

With regard to feeding an input into the headset via the Autocom system, I purchased the relevant part from Autocom and have fitted the wires (via the appropriate cable terminations) into the rear speaker channel pins (3, 6, 12 & 14) on the main plug, so that's sorted.

 

I did a quick trial last night with everything loosely connected, the system switches on and the main control unit on the left hand upper fairing panel lights up, I also got some radio noise out of the speakers, however, the system shuts down after about 7 seconds which I think must be due to the CanBus system isolating it. Obviously this should be rectified when the bike is reprogrammed by BMW.

 

At the moment I'm waiting for 3 fillister head self-tapping screws which secure the CD/Radio unit mounting bracket and fan bracket inside the main box, so I can't do much more at the moment until BMW call to say they've arrived. I'm also having the handlebar control unit labels changed as the system I bought had "ASC" where my bike has "ESA".

[Jaycee]

Further to my earlier question, I'd be grateful for some clarification of the exact orientation of the fan. Having established that it blows air 'onto' the CD player rather than extracting warm air 'away' from it, that still leaves the question of which way around it goes, this therefore leads onto where the wires exit the fan (in relation to the mounting bracket) and how they route to the connector.

 

Pictures paint a thousand words so if anyone that has the CD/Radio system fitted currently has their bike in bits I'd sure appreciate a look inside the CD/Radio box.

[Jaycee]

I have another question - the rubber bung through which the main cable loom and aerial cable exit the bottom of the CD/Radio compartment has a small hole in it which looks threaded. Is this a water drain or is there another cable that comes out of there?

[Jaycee]

OK then, a small update.

 

Further to my question 2 posts above regarding the orientation of the fan, I managed to find a picture posted by Tapatio that gave me a glimpse inside the radio compartment, so everything is now sorted inside there in regard to what goes where.

 

What I'd also like to know is where the cables route after they exit the bottom of the compartment. I think they go up behind the compartment and are secured to a small nub which protrudes from the back of the compartment - is this correct? I think that they then split and the speaker wires go forward and the main control unit wires go across the back of the headstock towards the upper left side panel - correct? I don't know which way the aerial cable goes yet.

[Jaycee]

Another update.

 

After looking at Tapatio's photos (as well as a quick PM) I was able to work out the routing of the cables, the existing bends in the cables also gave me good clues as where they should go, so all cables are now in place including the aerial lead.

 

I drilled the required hole in the front fairing assembly for the aerial and that is now fitted. I found that there was quite a large excess of aerial cable as the section which comes from the CD/Radio unit terminates quite close to the base of the aerial, and the lead from the base of the aerial is over half a metre long, I therefore had to coil it up and stow it inside the fairing near the right hand indicator. I might find an alternative to this at some point later, perhaps you guys that have the system fitted can describe how your cable is configured, although given that I've largely been talking to myself in here I won't hold my breath.

[Paul In Australia]

My aerial cable is coiled up just like yours.

regards

paul

[Jaycee]

Thanks for that Paul, much appreciated.

[Jaycee]

So my system is now fully fitted and working, the last part of the jigsaw was the left handlebar controller which needed the lettering changing as the kit I bought was from a bike with ASC whereas mine has ESA. I had it done by an engraver and it turned out very well.

 

I'd be grateful for some input regarding the cooling fan inside the CD/Radio compartment. When I switch the system on (without the bike running) the fan is quite noisy, I've asked one guy who said he hears nothing so I might have a defective one. I've checked that it's not being impaired by anything surrounding it and that the blades aren't rubbing against the casing, so the noise is internal I guess.

 

What's the noise level on yours?

[Tapatio]

 

I can't hear the fan on my '06. I wonder how useful the fan is. It is sealed in a water tight compartment so I can only imagine that it is pushing hot air around.

 

 

[Jaycee]

Thanks Tapatio, that's 2 guys with quiet fans then.

 

The large rubber grommet at the bottom of my radio compartment has a separate hole in it (which looks slightly threaded) in addition to the 2 tubed outlets where the aerial and main cable loom exits, perhaps this is something to do with air flow in or out of the unit?

[RedMac]

If the bike isn't running I can hear the fan (it's fairly noticeable).

 

If the bike is running, I can't hear it.

[Jaycee]

Thanks RedMac, that's exactly the same as mine, it's not loud but it is noticeable as you say.

[Tapatio]

If the bike isn't running I can hear the fan (it's fairly noticeable).

 

If the bike is running, I can't hear it.

 

+1, I never turn the radio on when the bike is off so I didn't remember that fact.

 

 

[Jaycee]

Thanks for clarifying that Tapatio, I almost ripped the bike apart tonight to investigate further but I'll now wait for a few more replies first.

[Jaycee]

Just to bring the fan noise issue to a close, I fitted a new fan and the level of noise is exactly the same, so my original must be OK. I've left the new one fitted and will keep the original as a spare.