Triumphrat

boocat

I'm going for a trip into france with a mate (Fazer Thou). We both have autocom for pillions but thought that some radios would be pretty good fun as well as being useful. We are looking for a radio with push-to-talk buttons which can be mounted on handlebars.

Can anyone recommend some - preferably quite cheap with a range of a mile or so.

chrisn

You need to add the Autocom "Push-to Talk" part no. P136 at £38 for each bike. Then add a pair of two way radios - I use Motorola from Maplins and they work fine for £59 per pair, although you can spend a lot more if you want a bigger range.

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Chris

cornishtomo

The best bike to bike radios I've found are from intaride.com they cost a little more but have a lot more range as they can be unlocked to increase power to 2watts, and come with complete ptt buttons and headsets, and even with the option of being powered from the bike, if you give then a call they are really helpfull.

CATUCK

A mate of mine sourced some Kenwood's via Ebay from a far eastern source, these are the same as Autocom Kenwood's, they are on the same frequency as the UK models, but a bit more power. Price was about £150 I think.

With regards to the autocom, I have just bought the Pro 7 kit with Pillion. I do not intend to add the walkie talkie at present, has anyone installed one of these, and if so would you mind sharing the details, i.e. where to mount the unit etc.

boocat

Hi Catuck,

Mounting the autocom is easy. Look in the album section for places to put it under the seat. I prefered placing it just behind the metal strut which has the information plate on it. To wire it in -which is the hardest part- you need to locate the rear light wire under the rear fairing. on my bike it is blue but some owners report it to be other colours. either solder or scotchblock the autocom wire the brake wire. Then connect the negative directly to the battery. This way the autocom only works when the lights are on, which is no bad thing.

If you do take the rear fairing off look at how the pannier mounts are attached to the frame.Very neat and simple.

Ensure that you lay out all the wires and cables before securing the unit. If you hand to the right watch out for the exhuast melting the thick black cables which poke out under the seat which will attach to your helmet.

Also watch out for the audio cable dangling down when not in use. I loop mine through the rear seat strap.

To secure the unit I used velcro and zip-ties.

The helmet bit is awkward. Just ensure the ear pads are really comfy against your ears otherwise they will annoy you. Don't be afraid to cut the lining to tuck wires behind but of course, don't cut into the helmet foam.

There are probably more detailed instructions on the back pages of this site.

Good luck.

chrisn

I put mine under the rear seat section - easier to get at if you need to make adjustments. Take the power supply from the rear brakelight switch. The terminal nearest to the rear of the bike is a live feed when the ignition is on.

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Chris