Space for PDU and Autocom?

KevinW

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I've just bought a 1250 GSA and want to fit a PDU/Aux fuse box and an Autocom but it looks like there's no space under the seat and it seems very tight everywhere I can see without stripping bits off the bike to look underneath them.

If you've got either or both fitted would you mind sharing where you've put them please to save me time hunting for the elusive spaces?

Thanks.

Kevin
 
There are a couple of tutors in the Rospa group that have 1250 GSA and there is no room for Autocom, a tailpack or tank bag is the answer. I've given up on Autocom and use a Sena SR10 that is wired to a Kenwood PMR and connects it to the SRL in my Neotec.

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Sorry Ive no pictures. I've had a similar problem with Autocom. Its the best solution of a bad lot.

Lift the seats off. Under the rear seat ether are two module type boxes. The rearmost is the control box for the tyre pressure sensors. There are 2 screws securing it. If you can get at the rearmost with a tool and remove it you can twist the sensor forward leaving a void. The sensor has to be left secured with one screw.
The Autocom will fit in that space. You should wrap it in fine bubble wrap to reduce vibration and keep most water away.
If you don't have an alarm there is space under the rear cowl but you have to dismantle the rear end and unless you hack some plastic away you cant get at the controls on the Autocom. There is room for the small blue tooth adapter alongside the Autocom.

Don't try moving the front module it has to be fitted as it is because it senses the lean angle of the bike for an ABS braking feature.

To be fair the tank bag or tail pack remedy seems to be a reasonable work around.
 
autocom? why mesh or bluetooth comms is much easier

Not in our experience. We (my wife and I, she on pillion) have used Autocoms since, I think, the 80s. They are the only intercoms we've ever used but we really wanted a wireless solution, not least because of the GSA's space issue, so after a bit of research we bought a Packtalk Bold Duo set.

Our use case may be unusual but we both want to listen to the same music, hear the satnav instructions and chat. We accepted she wouldn't be able to hear the satnav instructions as a compromise to lose the wires but the music playback when shared by the Packtalk from an iPhone is choppy - constantly stopping, speeding up and sometimes playing normally. If it's just playing for one of us it works as it should.

Compare and contrast with plugging into an Autocom which just works, including both of us hearing the satnav instructions.

If there's a solution I'm all ears as we really do want them to work but at the moment, despite going back to the vendor to see if he can resolve it, they seem like a non-starter. He did seem to get it working but that was without the satnav. Now I've paired that again the music is back to how it was.

That's only part of the issue of course as even if we can get the Packtalk to work, and I've no confidence it will, I'm still trying to fit a PDU.

Kevin
 
<snip> there is no room for Autocom, a tailpack or tank bag is the answer. <snip>

I was afraid that was going to be the answer.

Sorry Ive no pictures. I've had a similar problem with Autocom. Its the best solution of a bad lot.

Lift the seats off. Under the rear seat ether are two module type boxes. The rearmost is the control box for the tyre pressure sensors. There are 2 screws securing it. If you can get at the rearmost with a tool and remove it you can twist the sensor forward leaving a void. The sensor has to be left secured with one screw.
The Autocom will fit in that space. You should wrap it in fine bubble wrap to reduce vibration and keep most water away.
If you don't have an alarm there is space under the rear cowl but you have to dismantle the rear end and unless you hack some plastic away you cant get at the controls on the Autocom. There is room for the small blue tooth adapter alongside the Autocom.

Don't try moving the front module it has to be fitted as it is because it senses the lean angle of the bike for an ABS braking feature.

To be fair the tank bag or tail pack remedy seems to be a reasonable work around.

Thanks. I shall have a look at that tomorrow. The top box is on there pretty much permanently so perhaps that's the answer for both Autocom and PDU but it's going to be messy running lots of wires to it, especially if I'm going to have a way to disconnect them to take the top box off.

Kevin
 
Not in our experience. We (my wife and I, she on pillion) have used Autocoms since, I think, the 80s. They are the only intercoms we've ever used but we really wanted a wireless solution, not least because of the GSA's space issue, so after a bit of research we bought a Packtalk Bold Duo set.

Our use case may be unusual but we both want to listen to the same music, hear the satnav instructions and chat. We accepted she wouldn't be able to hear the satnav instructions as a compromise to lose the wires but the music playback when shared by the Packtalk from an iPhone is choppy - constantly stopping, speeding up and sometimes playing normally. If it's just playing for one of us it works as it should.

Compare and contrast with plugging into an Autocom which just works, including both of us hearing the satnav instructions.

If there's a solution I'm all ears as we really do want them to work but at the moment, despite going back to the vendor to see if he can resolve it, they seem like a non-starter. He did seem to get it working but that was without the satnav. Now I've paired that again the music is back to how it was.

That's only part of the issue of course as even if we can get the Packtalk to work, and I've no confidence it will, I'm still trying to fit a PDU.

Kevin

We have the same requirements to be able to talk and also both hear the satnav instructions. I used to use an Autocomm, the smaller unit, forget the name at the moment, and had it mounted vertically inside the fairing on the left side, stuck to a bracket which I made. However on the latest bike I've gone back to Bluetooth to get rid of the cables.

It is extremely difficult to meet these apparently simple requirements with BlueTooth, and I have tried all sorts of permutations of phone based satnav and different BT units, including trying use the bike's TFT, even using a Samsung phone because it can in theory talk to two headsets at the same time. Some configurations almost worked but not reliably, so in the end what I have done is stop trying to pair my headset directly to the phone I use as a satnav. Instead I take an audio feed from the phone's headphone socket, split it into two using a stereo splitter and feed the connections into two usb powered Bluetooth transmitters of the sort designed to allow you to use BT headphones with your TV or other audio source. I have wired up a 12V to USB converter with dual outputs to power the transmitters.

If you use the BMW NAV rather than a phone satnav app, then audio is available on the spare socket on the cable which goes from the NAV mount to the bike's wiring. Note that if you enable audio output on the NAV in its settings, then that will automatically disable the Bluetooth output so you can't feed one headset from the NAV via its BT, and the other from a BT transmitter connected to the audio output, you will still need to split the audio to two BT transmitters.

I bought a pair of Cardo Freecom 2 headsets, and we pair mine to one of the Bluetooth transmitters and my wife's to the other one. The reason for buying the Cardo units is because they can be configured using a phone based Cardo app to enable a feature called Parallel Audio Streaming, whereby you can hear other BT transmitted audio sources such as whatever is coming out of the phone's headphone socket via the external BT transmitters, be it music or satnav instructions, at the same time as hearing the intercom to intercom connection. I've tried other headsets which supposedly have a similar feature, but the Cardos are the only ones I've tried where this seems to work reliably. This lets us hear the phone audio at the same time as our intercom conversation.

We don't normally play music, but we could do as the satnav app will automatically interrupt the music when a satnav instruction is issued. If you don't both need to hear the satnav instructions then you can just pair the rider's headset to the satnav phone or NAV and do away with the two BT transmitters. The wife could then pair her own phone to her headset, and and with the parallel audio streaming feature you can then both hear the intercom and audio over BT from your own phone.

I have so far only tested this off the bike but will soon be permanently installing the cabling and the two BT transmitters onto the bike and will seee if the more hostile electrical environment has any negative effect. The choice of transmitter is important, because you need units which once paired to a Cardo headset will reliably and automatically re-pair every time the two are both switched on. They also need to be capable of running directly off USB power rather than an internal battery. I found the dual transmitters, designed to drive two pairs of headphones from one unit, were very poor in this respect, so I'm using two single transmitters instead which are much better.

I am using ones very similar to these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/17430370...4430&customid=174303703914_58058&toolid=11000
 
I have installed my Autocom in a Cymarc Number Plate Carrier, it fits in there quite nicely alongside a radio. I don't know the size of the PDU but I have fitted a Hex Ezycan under the pillion seat, it fits comfortably. Before I got the number plate carrier as a stopgap I velcro'd the Autocom to the rear of the front light (1250 GSA) with the Bluetooth units velcro'd underneath. Not an ideal solution but it was fairly sheltered from water in normal road conditions, you just had to protect it when you washed the bike.
 
We have the same requirements to be able to talk and also both hear the satnav instructions. I used to use an Autocomm, the smaller unit, forget the name at the moment, and had it mounted vertically inside the fairing on the left side, stuck to a bracket which I made. However on the latest bike I've gone back to Bluetooth to get rid of the cables.

Oh that's good, I thought it was just us. I suspect the Autocom was a Logic.

It is extremely difficult to meet these apparently simple requirements with BlueTooth

That's what we're discovering and it's quite disappointing.

<snip> what I have done is stop trying to pair my headset directly to the phone I use as a satnav. Instead I take an audio feed from the phone's headphone socket, split it into two using a stereo splitter and feed the connections into two usb powered Bluetooth transmitters

That's an interesting idea. I need to use a proper satnav as I haven't found a phone app that does what we need but we're quite happy to listen to music from the satnav so, as you suggest, I could link the transmitters to that. I'm not going to use a BMW satnav as the Nav6 seems to be just an overpriced integrated 660 and things have moved on since then, not least in screen size.


Thanks very much for your comprehensive response. This definitely seems to be an option worth trying.

Kevin
 
I have installed my Autocom in a Cymarc Number Plate Carrier, it fits in there quite nicely alongside a radio. I don't know the size of the PDU but I have fitted a Hex Ezycan under the pillion seat, it fits comfortably. Before I got the number plate carrier as a stopgap I velcro'd the Autocom to the rear of the front light (1250 GSA) with the Bluetooth units velcro'd underneath. Not an ideal solution but it was fairly sheltered from water in normal road conditions, you just had to protect it when you washed the bike.

Funnily enough when I was pondering about this this morning I wondered if Cymarc would make me a lockable box that fits inboard of the pannier but came to the conclusion there wasn't enough room for one. I hadn't thought about the number plate carrier.

The Hex ezCAN is an interesting device and very small but where it fits will clash with the Canopener I need to fit for the Clearwater lights we have on order. The Canoperner and ezCAN look to have similar functionality and I wonder if they're related. I was also hoping for more than four connectors and have been considering the Neutrino or Amplink but they are both bigger than the ezCAN which brings me back to the "Where will it fit?" question. (Fitting this stuff is a lot easier on our S10 where I have two Fuzeblocks fitted where the tool kit should go and the Autocom under the seat.)

I shall have a proper look at the number plate carrier to see if that's something I can utilise. Thanks.

Kevin
 
...<snip> If you don't have an alarm there is space under the rear cowl but you have to dismantle the rear end and unless you hack some plastic away you cant get at the controls on the Autocom....<snip>

I took the rear cowl off and put an AMPLink in there so that's one issue resolved. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm going to try Fred's suggestion to get the Cardo working for us and if that fails I suspect I'll put an Autocom in the top box. That'll mean drilling a hole in the top box to run the wires through which I'm not over keen on doing but good comm's is important to us so if that's what it comes to that's what I'll do.

Kevin
 

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In case it's of any help, here are a couple of pictures of where I fitted my Autocom. The blue knob is a mod I made to move the sensitivity adjuster to a more accessible position. The two dummy plugs are to prevent water getting in.

Unit velcroed to bracket:

A6K-3047129-7092-X2.jpg



Fixings for bracket:

A6K-3047129-7089-XL.jpg
 
Thanks Fred, I shall have a poke around the bike there to see what I can do. We've also noticed a space behind the rear seat where we could put a box to hold it.

We went up to the Peak District yesterday and have just got back. That gave us the first real opportunity to give the Packtalk a proper try and for what we want it to do it's pretty useless in its current configuration.

How did you get on with the dual radio transmitters on your satnav?

Kevin
 
Hi kevin.
I am new to the GS thing (5 weeks) and am coming from a full spec harley tourer with all the music you could ask for.
So i bought the same kit (packtalk) and linked it through my iphone 7.
Initially i had the same issues as you and it drove me mad.
What i have found is turn the bike on early and the packtalk (3-4 mins before you start the bike and set off).
Mine then links in as it should and “sorts itself out” before we begin moving.
Me and the mrs can now talk and listen to the same music off the iphone ok.

One more thing, open the music app on your phone and select a song before it links to the tft - that seems to help as well. You can then use the jog wheel as normal.
Small things but they worked for me.:)
 
This might help, there was a post on fitting a small box below the rack. I hope this is the link.

https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showt...-build-LC-TE?p=4334618&viewfull=1#post4334618

I was envisaging a slightly smaller box than that, and reading further in that thread, that one won't fit under the GSA's rack but it is what I had in mind so it's good to see someone has done something similar; thanks for the pointer. I've no idea where I'd get something like that off the shelf - it needs to be lockable and waterproof - so I was planning to ask Cymarc if they could make me one. I'm also after some custom light protectors and a custom satnav mount but they're busy making PPE at the moment.

As for the bluetooth problem, how about the Interphone Avant, its a dual Bluetooth unit, so 4 connections.

We've now tried two Bluetooth devices the Packtalk Bold and, last year, a Sena 20S. The Sena went back but I it's probably too late to return the Packtalk. Neither of them can do what the Autocom does and, having just spent nearly £500 on the Cardo units, which will probably end up on eBay, I'm rather loathe to try another one. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Kevin
 
<snip> Initially i had the same issues as you and it drove me mad.
What i have found is turn the bike on early and the packtalk (3-4 mins before you start the bike and set off).
Mine then links in as it should and “sorts itself out” before we begin moving.
Me and the mrs can now talk and listen to the same music off the iphone ok. <snip>

Hi Rowle,

Please read 'the Autocom doesn't do that' after most of what's below :).

The unit seems to mostly work OK for music and comms except the music still stops occasionally and the volume level of the music and speech seem different. I'm getting wind noise from my wife's helmet nearly all of the time which is annoying and as soon as I introduce a satnav into the mix it all goes to pot. The music stops, starts and speeds up as if it's trying to catch up with the iPhone output. The volume control seems to be for all inputs (if there's a way of altering the inputs separately I haven't found it) so I have a choice of hearing VERY LOUD output from the satnav and my wife is audible or I can have the satnav at a more tolerable volume and I can't hear what she says. As she can't hear the satnav she doesn't know when what she's saying is being masked by the satnav instructions.

I eventually got so sick of the hassle and wind noise that I asked her to turn her unit off but the music (from an iPhone 8+) still stopped and started occasionally and whenever the satnav 'said' something the initial volume was very loud for a split second before the Cardo unit appeared to turn it down. The first few syllables of the satnav's instructions were often not transmitted.

If I disconnect the satnav, as I said in my opening paragraph, it mostly seems to work but volume can be variable - sometimes I can hear her clearly, other times it's like she's at the bottom of a deep well. I was convinced she wasn't speaking into the microphone properly but when it's connected the satnav can do the same thing so I'm pretty sure she's innocent.

We really wanted these units to work as it's nice to be free of the wires and, when we stopped at a garage, my wife and I were able to have a conversation while she was in there.

Going back to the Autocom seems a retrograde step and there are bits of the Packtalk I really like. The ability to make a call using Siri, turning music on and off without having to touch anything and being able to talk to my wife when she's not on the bike are all good features the Autocom doesn't have but if the Packtalk can't get the basics right we need to use something else.

We like to chat, listen to music and I want to hear what the satnav is telling me to do without having to look at the screen (we wanted my wife to hear those instructions as well but her not being able to was a compromise we were willing to make). We do long distance rallying and it's imperative the kit we're using is completely reliable. The Packtalk falls well short of that.

I'm sure we are a niche use-case - most people don't want to chat, many are happy to not listen to the satnav, they have different music tastes so want to listen to different things or not listen to music at all and wouldn't dream of singing along together (which can be a great pick-me-up in the early hours of the morning!) but the advertising promises the unit is capable of facilitating all of these things. Our experiences says otherwise.

I'll try one more conversation with Cardo support but if that doesn't resolve the issues I'll fit the Autocom.

Kevin
 
Kevin, are you talking to your wife via Bluetooth or mesh?

Hi Ian, we're using mesh - DMC. You probably know they have to be connected via Bluetooth to facilitate audio sharing and we did consider trying Bluetooth for comms but that introduces the need to push to talk which we're not keen on.

Kevin
 
Have you considered using Cymarc's toolbox? I had one of these fitted on my 1200GSA to hold the Autocom and a UHF radio. It sat behind the pannier rails so the panniers could still be fitted. Mark doesn't show one fitted to the R1250GSA on his webpage, but I'm assuming the fitting is the same.

Bob
 


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