New to me 14 RT

[davagail]

WOW!! Traded my 09 in on a buy back with 804 miles. Finally got to ride today for 200+ miles and all I can say its kind of like getting back with an old flame.... Once you start riding for a few minutes it's all good.....

One observation was windshield noise but there was 15-20 mph crosswind the whole ride. We will wait for final on that.

What fun and easy to ride bike in MHO

[narcosis]

Congrats! And just after the 600 mile service I suppose.

[Firenailer]

Congrats on a nice bike! I'm still waiting to pick up mine, I traded my 2012 after a test ride on a buyback with Tour, Tech, Dynamic Pkgs + Nav V Gps. 1575 miles. Looking forward to it!

 

 

[Rob L]

Depending on your height, you may want a larger windshield. Living in the northern part of the country, I like more protection and purchased the Cee Bailey large ws. Lots quieter and more protection.

[DMilan]

WOW!! Traded my 09 in on a buy back with 804 miles. Finally got to ride today for 200+ miles and all I can say its kind of like getting back with an old flame.... Once you start riding for a few minutes it's all good.....

One observation was windshield noise but there was 15-20 mph crosswind the whole ride. We will wait for final on that.

What fun and easy to ride bike in MHO

 

Almost bought a buy-back myself. No luck selling either of my GTs this past year.

 

I test rode a '14 RT b-4 the Do Not Ride, 70 miles or so.

I liked it well enough...Comfy, quick, light on its feet

but

1. Lotta dough... the buy back bikes are more in my comfort zone $.

2. Radio is useless for my needs.. at least it takes up storage space and adds weight and expense...

3. I agree with you. Even at just 5'9" I could not find a sweet spot to relieve windshield noise.

 

Should I end up with one, a replacement, Laminar Lip or other spoiler would be needed, just as I have done on nearly every bike I've owned.

 

Enjoy yo new ride.

d'milan

 

 

[davagail]

well rode back the same 200 plus miles with still a crosswind not quite as bad but still noisy with wind. don't really notice any buffeting but wind noise is annoying. does any one have any experience with the wunderlich clip on deflector? thinking of trying but like others i had CB on the 09 and could always find a sweet spot...looking forward to replies.. and yes 600 mile service was done

[realshelby]

The Wunderlich clip on deflector is really small. Not likely a big improvement.

 

I am using a MRA Vario Touring x-creen on my '14 RT. I am happy with that after I made some mods, but I must say the new Laminar Lip looks to be exactly what I am trying to do with the MRA.

[DMilan]

+1

 

Too Small

and

sort of a cludgy assembly procedure

you have to fold over a rubber pad , then clamp it around the screen or some such... cludgy IMO

 

I've had some Wunderlich stuff that was okay... didn't like the spoiler though.

 

Laminar Lip or other screen or the MRA Screen Spoiler as recommended in MCConsumerNews Christmas Shopping List would be where I'd go b-4 Wunderlch

 

To each his own

and remember

Spending whilst experimenting helps stimulate the economy.

humor there

 

 

d'milan

[davagail]

as usual this place always a wealth of info!!

great froum...

 

thanks inmates

 

[David Langford]

completly agree about the radio being a waste of space and weight, I'm going to remove the speakers and thinking of removing the cirrus box under the seat. Anybody know of a reason I shouldn't ?

[strataj]

completly agree about the radio being a waste of space and weight, I'm going to remove the speakers and thinking of removing the cirrus box under the seat. Anybody know of a reason I shouldn't ?

 

Resale value and possibly a slower sale. The radio is on so many bikes it's become stock. At resale it's all about stock, repainted bikes (non stock color/design) sell for less as an example.

 

Jay

[DMilan]

completly agree about the radio being a waste of space and weight, I'm going to remove the speakers and thinking of removing the cirrus box under the seat. Anybody know of a reason I shouldn't ?

 

 

I removed a factory Radio w-(cassette) and speakers from my 2002 R1150RT which I bought used in 2003. Not many RT came equipped back then. I was able to sell it for a decent $ and gained a nice storage bin to use at the same time.

 

Now, as was mentioned in the prior post, they've become standard equipment, so to speak.

 

Anyway

Don't think there's much to gain by removing it from a new RTWC. They are very integrated into the bike, all the control buttons and such. Plus, you probably won't be able to sell it, the radio etc., that is. Who would buy one? Very few RTs don't already have one, and to retrofit it to a bike that does not.. well, I doubt that'll happen very often.

 

All that said.

If I were to order a new RT to my specifications... I would definitely not check the box next to Radio......

 

IMO and IME

There is far too much ambient noise to enjoy dashboard speaker music whilst riding a motorcycle. And, as for helmet or ear speakers, tinnitus began for me in my early 50's. I advise serious planning and consideration when it comes to protecting your hearing.

 

d'milan

[realshelby]

If we were talking about the radio in my '04 RT, then I would say they are worthless. Remove it like I did mine.

 

But, I doubt the new system is that easy to remove with all the system integration on the new bike. Speaker weight wouldn't be much so no real help there.

 

I can hear the radio speakers on my new RT very well at 80 mph. I have done some work on the windscreen area to reduce noise, but still it is not at full volume and it is very clear. Very easy to reduce volume, or mute it when coming to a stop so as not to irritate other people. I have a Sena headset system that works very well. But I am finding I am using the bikes speakers instead of the bluetooth. Probably less of a concern about hearing ambient noises that I need to pay attention to with the bikes speakers compared to the headset. I ride to enjoy the experience. The radio makes that ride more fun for me.

[ryan_ca1]

tinnitus began for me in my early 50's. I advise serious planning and consideration when it comes to protecting your hearing.

 

Slightly off topic, but I'm in my mid 30's and I'm worried I'm already getting tinnitus. If I wake in the night, the ringing is so bad that I can't go back to sleep, and even feels a bit claustrophobic. I've been using the radio on the RT (even though I thought I would never use it) and I think it might be making it worse.

 

Do you wear ear plugs when you ride? I drive 1 hour twice a day at 80 mph. The wind noise is noticeable but not uncomfortable. I hate riding with ear plugs because I can't hear other cars around me.

 

If you have any tips to manage hearing protection and riding daily, I would really appreciate it.

[Firenailer]

Earplugs are the only answer. An hour each way at speed every day is going to take atoll on your ears.

 

Try Hearos brand foam plugs. Give yourself a chance to get used to using them. You'll find you can still hear what you need to but won't get any more damage.

 

They won't cure the damage done, but will protect your ears from further damage and hearing loss. I wish someone had said this to me when I was younger, tools, guns, sirens and concerts did my ears in.

 

Protect what you've got left.

[mneblett]

+1 -- plenty of charts floating around the Internet showing that exposure to that level of noise (sound pressure) for that long will *quickly* lead to hearing loss. Another +1 on ear plugs: my experience is needed noise will still filter through.

 

I'm pretty sensitive to "stuff" in my ears, so soft foam plugs are all I can tolerate.

 

On the tinnitus, I have it. If there is other ambient noise, I don't notice it as much. I sometimes "escape" from it by putting on some music, usually via earbuds.

[AlanS.]

ryan_ca1,

Find an audiologist who can mold custom earplugs that are filtered. They are a band-pass filter that allows you to here some sounds but filters out the highs and lows. You can have them in and hear people talking and the sound is only slightly reduced.

 

Alan

[AlanS.]

Here is one type.

 

http://www.earinc.com/p1-filtered-afiltered.php

 

Alan

[dirtrider]

Morning ryan_ca1

 

Start wearing ear protection now, I sure wish I would have taken better care of my hearing back when I was in my 30's.

 

By the time I smartened up enough to start wearing ear protection it was too late.

 

Now I won't ride 50' without ear protection, same with using ear protection when using power tools, shooting guns, or even mowing the lawn or weed whipping.

 

If you use a radio on your motorcycle start out by listening to it sitting still. That is the volume you really should use when riding.

 

If you have to turn it down when you slow down or stop then it was way too loud for your hearing while riding. It (the radio) doesn't get any quieter when riding, most just turn the volume up to hear it over wind & road noise. That high radio noise added to the wind & road noise will eventually kill your hearing.

 

I used to wear ear buds inside my helmet but had to turn the volume up while riding to hear them. I came to stop one day after leaving the freeway & they were so loud I couldn't stand it (even with my poor hearing). That got me thinking, they were still THAT LOUD when riding I just didn't know it due to the ambient noise around me at 90 mph. I don't use ear buds (or even a radio) any longer while riding.

 

 

 

 

 

[DMilan]

tinnitus began for me in my early 50's. I advise serious planning and consideration when it comes to protecting your hearing.

 

Slightly off topic, but I'm in my mid 30's and I'm worried I'm already getting tinnitus. If I wake in the night, the ringing is so bad that I can't go back to sleep, and even feels a bit claustrophobic. I've been using the radio on the RT (even though I thought I would never use it) and I think it might be making it worse.

 

Do you wear ear plugs when you ride? I drive 1 hour twice a day at 80 mph. The wind noise is noticeable but not uncomfortable. I hate riding with ear plugs because I can't hear other cars around me.

 

If you have any tips to manage hearing protection and riding daily, I would really appreciate it.

 

My .02 worth (I know enough to know that I don't know everything)

 

I wear ear plugs almost every ride, except super short...like to the gas station or such.

 

I've tried many styles of earplugs. I find that foam, the ones that claim 32 /33 dbl noise reduction are the best. I find that the pudgy, bell shaped ones work best for me. Other shapes are available.

I've tried custom molded from an audiologist and wax. Nahh...not as good for me.

 

IME, I've seen mostly men with hearing problems. I think this is due to vocational factors (drills, hammers, punch presses) and war and that they have, in the past anyway, tended to shoot guns more often than women.

 

For me, I believe my hearing was damaged in my "yout" with too loud Rock n Roll. I recall being at a Led Zeppelin Concert and my left ear drum was buzzing like an air pump. Not good. Lucky for me, a friend, smarter that I, started tearing filters off of cigarettes and stuffing them in his ears to lessen the volume at those events. (yes, he quit smoking too)

 

Back in 2002 I started to ride motorcycles much more. They became transportation, not just recreation. Can get boring on those long rides at times. I purchased a set of custom molded earplugs with little tiny speaker tubes drilled into them. I wore them under my helmet and listened to my music of choice though an MP3 player strapped to my forearm. It was great. Sounded fine. Tried to be mindful of the volume.

 

Then sometime round 2005-7, the tinnitus started.

Mine is primarily noticeable when I'm in the sack. It manifests itself as a constant , super high frequency tone.

 

I found that any extra volume occurrences, loud music, lawnmower, snow-blower, whatever, WILL exacerbate the condition. My custom earplug speakers remain in drawer. I miss them on the longer rides. Maybe I'll try them again sometime, but I think I know what the outcome will be.

 

Sometimes, on longer rides, maybe when my ear plugs have been used a few times ad have become a little oily and dirty or when I haven't fit them in 100% properly I notice the tinnitus later that evening. I find that foam earplugs are good for a couple/few uses, then they don't seal as they did when new. The reasons stated above would explain this as would the fact that in order to insert the plugs , you must first roll them/compress them. Perhaps the foam slightly loses it's ability to spring back out after a few compression's. If you decide to use them, change them out often, they're cheap.

 

Just a note, my tinnitus seems to be associated with my left ear.

Laying in bed one night , I found that if I stuck my little finger in my left ear that the tinnitus seemed to subside a bit. Further experiments proved that even a small bit of cotton ball stuffed into that ear, on nights when it's bothersome, seems to help.

 

 

d'milan

[realshelby]

In my younger years I operated Heavy Equipment for a living. Even in cabs that were "approved" for permissive noise @ 10 hour days....I wore earplugs.

 

They will take some time to get used to. If I go without wearing them a few days I can tell the difference. Try different brands, and use one of my tricks. That is buy 3 or 4 different brands and swap them out during a days ride. The difference in fit and construction keep you from getting the sore ear canal effect.

 

I find that I can actually hear the helmet speakers better WITH earplugs. I don't think I give up much in hearing ambient sounds that matter. After a couple hours without them you are not hearing as well as you might think with the ringing.....

 

I think wearing earplugs makes you feel less tired when dealing with high noise for extended periods. That was what I found in operating equipment, I just don't ride the bike without them now.

[strataj]

Wearing Ear protection for me is a must. Most of your riding buds use them I'm sure they will share so you can test them out and buying a sample pack makes that easier http://www.amazon.com/Disposable-Plug-UNCORDED-Samples-pieces/dp/B0001YXOQC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1417621450&sr=8-3&keywords=ear+plugs+sample+pack

 

Jay

[Rob L]

dirt rider

How much noise you hear while wearing earbuds depends on the type of earbuds being used. I have used my etymonics and can hear almost no ambient noise. I wear my Earfuze custom earbuds and get slightly more ambient noise. Both are much better than nothing! The Earfuze buds are only around $40 and are very comfortable. I often wear them for 8-10 hours on long riding days (I take them out at gas stops and when taking breaks). I have added 2 jacks to plug into on my 14RT; 1 under the seat for her, and one inside the right glove box for me. The RT sound system works great using the earbuds. I can control volume from the magic wheel and often listen to my Ipod.

[ryan_ca1]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm sitting here in bed with my ears ringing after my commute. I feel dumb that I didn't realize this was the source of my problem until now. I am wearing earplugs from now on.

[TEWKS]

Once you get use to them, you won't ride without 'em.

 

 

Pat

[bmwdavid]

Rob

What type of jacks did you add that allow you to listen to the bikes audio and control the volume thru the jog wheel? As far as I know the only way to do this is to buy the shuberth and bmw communication system. I wouldn't mind buying if the sound was good.

[Chris in GA]

Start wearing some sort of hearing protection NOW. I wear the Etymotics and they boast that you can carry on "gas station conversations" while wearing them and you can. I can use the radio's farinng speakers on my RT while wearing the plugs. Mine (and others) significantly reduce wind noise. Wind noise is more harmful than loud pips actually.

 

I too have diagnosed tinnitus. My audiologist started me on Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, trying to get my brain to ignore it. The best help is a white noise machine at night. Try to always have some sound around or even a low white or pink noise in some earbuds.

 

I also have a slight to moderate hearing loss which my tinnitus makes worse. My hearing loss would not normally require hearing aids. But last fall with a combination of the two, it was time for hearing aids with a tinnitus feature in them. Best money I ever spent in my life. My advise is go to a real audiologist at a doctor's office or audio practice, if you go that route. DO NOT go to a hearing aid booth at Cosco or something similar. They are in business to sell the hearing aids and nothing more. With my audiologist the hearing aids were not the first or even 2nd choice and I had to go through quite a bit of testing to make sure it was the way to go.

 

Bottom line, wear something NOW or you could end up needing hearing aids and very few if any health insurance polices pay for them unless it's necessary from a documented injury.

[Rob L]

I bought radio shack 3.5mm headphone extension cables and cut them so I could use the female end. I tapped into the speaker wires in front and the wires exiting the radio module under the seat. Followed this thread but keep in mind that the ground or common wires have brown stripes. The + and - are labeled wrong in this post.

http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/rt-series/90481-hard-wired-audio-pictures.html

[Rob L]

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

 

I believe that the same colors are used at the speaker connections in the dash. I used positaps for the connections and the sound is great. The speakers still play , but the volume is so low when using earbuds that they can barely be heard.

[AlanS.]

Chris,

Which one of the Etymotics do you use?

 

Alan

[strataj]

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

 

I believe that the same colors are used at the speaker connections in the dash. I used positaps for the connections and the sound is great. The speakers still play , but the volume is so low when using earbuds that they can barely be heard.

 

I had a volume problem when taping into the speaker lines (did it at the Sirus box, not sure which wires, I could check), too load, little to no volume control. Irish Mike showed me this PAC SNI-1/3.5 Noise Filter it's $13 on flebay works great made all the difference.

 

I disconnected the front speakers.

 

Jay

[strataj]

I found the link I used to tap into the Alpine box. The K1600 has the same unit. http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90481 I put the filer http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAC-Car-Aux-Plug-Noise-Filter-SNI-1-3-5-Ipod-iPhone-4-5-3G-Laptop-Auxiliary-Cord-/201116922880?pt=Car_Audio_In_Dash_Receivers&hash=item2ed380b400 in line. Been very happy since.

 

Jay

[BarryBeemer]

I just picked up the same line output converter at my local car stereo shop. My plan is to use the speaker wires under the windshield area like Garry in Australia did and come out of that transformer using a dual RCA plug to 3.5mm mini plug cable to the right side lockable compartment where the Sena SM-10 will hide. That unit will send bluetooth bike audio to our Sena 20s headsets. Wire surgery scheduled for Christmas vacation. Valentine radar detector audio will also be going into the SM-10.

[Chris in GA]

Chris,

Which one of the Etymotics do you use?

 

Alan

 

Here's the ones I use: http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/er20.html

 

[AlanS.]

Thanks.

[AZRTRDR]

Amen. Listen to this man, while you still can.

 

Earplugs are the only answer. An hour each way at speed every day is going to take atoll on your ears.

 

Try Hearos brand foam plugs. Give yourself a chance to get used to using them. You'll find you can still hear what you need to but won't get any more damage.

 

They won't cure the damage done, but will protect your ears from further damage and hearing loss. I wish someone had said this to me when I was younger, tools, guns, sirens and concerts did my ears in.

 

Protect what you've got left.