CycleGadgets.com

877-7-GADGET
(877-742-3438)

TechNotes Index Click for Printable Page

TechNote #2 - 12/4/2007 - Cell Phone on a Gold Wing?

After my previous TechNote on Bluetooth I got several Emails asking about cell connections on a Gold Wing motorcycle. That's really a subject unto itself, so I'm devoting TechNote #2 to this issue.

We have a number of solutions to allow you to make and receive phone calls on a Gold Wing. These solutions can work with Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth phones. The product links below will show solutions pre-selected for the GL1800 Gold Wing, but we do have equivalent solutions at similar prices for GL1500 and GL1200 Gold Wings, or for the Royal Star Venture, Suzuki Voyager, and pre-1998 Harley-Davidsons. 1998-Present Harleys use a different style of intercom so these particular solutions won't work on them, but we do have some products that will - take a look at the "Harley Gadgets" section of our Web site.

Our cell phone solutions can be divided into 3 categories. All three allow you to make and receive phone calls using your existing Gold Wing intercom headset:

Stand-alone cell phone interfaces
(cable from the interface plugs directly into the headset jack on the cell phone)

Stand-Alone interfaces are available from J&M Corporation, and Kennedy Technology Group. If your cell phone has a small, round headset jack (a bit smaller than the earphone jack found on an iPod or Walkman) then these will probably plug right in. We have adapters for some phones that don't have this jack, but some of the newest phones can't be connected this way. Generally we shy away from the plug-in interface for a couple of reasons:

You might not know when a call is coming in, because many phones don't send a "Ring" sound out their headset jacks
Even if the phone you have now will plug into one of these, if you replace your phone there's a good chance it won't work any longer. This is more a problem with the Kennedy solution, since it doesn't share most components between the Wired and Bluetooth products so the conversion from Wired to Bluetooth is rather expensive with Kennedy. The J&M solution is easily upgradable to Bluetooth in the future.

If you have a phone with a headset jack that is NOT Bluetooth compatible, and don't expect to replace that phone for a long time, this may be the solution for you.

The J&M "CFRG" Interface connects the phone directly to the rider's headset, and includes an isolation switch so that you don't have to turn off your music, CB, etc. to prevent them from interfering with the phone call, and the intercom does not need to be on to take or make a call. Only the rider can hear and talk on the phone with the J&M solution. This is most popular with riders who ride extensively or exclusively without a passenger, or who conduct business calls on the bike and want their passenger to be able to continue to hear music. It does also have the ability to connect GPS or radar detector audio. One nice feature of the J&M solution is that it's directly upgradable to Bluetooth by just adding a module (see the Bluetooth information below).

Kennedy Technology Group's CellSet MC/SP4 Interface works a little differently. It's quite a bit less expensive, partly because it is phone-only (radar and GPS can be added as separate products). The unique thing about Kennedy's solution, though, is that it connects the cell phone into the intercom instead of the rider's headset. This means you'll want to turn your music down or off when you're in a phone call, and the intercom must remain on. However, Kennedy's solution will allow your passenger to participate in the call, which makes this a popular solution if you usually ride with a passenger and want them to be able to use the phone also. Of all the solutions on the market (including those we don't carry), Kennedy's interfaces are the only ones I'm aware of that allow both rider and passenger to talk on the phone:

Bluetooth cell phone interfaces
(the cell phone is not physically plugged in, but connects to the Gold Wing audio system wirelessly)

Bluetooth interfaces work with any cell phone that is "Bluetooth capable", which includes most phones that you'd buy today. The benefits of Bluetooth are:

The phone can stay in your pocket, since nothing has to be plugged into it
You will hear the ring tone for sure, because the interface is generating it - the phone doesn't have to
You're assured that future cell phones you buy will continue to work because Bluetooth is a standard supported by most new cell phones.

As with the wired interfaces, both J&M and Kennedy have solutions. J&M's CFRG plus Bluetooth module is actually the same product as linked above, plus the addition of a $119.99 Bluetooth module. It ties directly into the rider's headset, so only the rider will hear the phone and be able to talk on it. It does have additional inputs for GPS and radar audio as well.

Kennedy Technology Group's CellSet MC/BT2 is intercom-based, which means the intercom must remain on in order to use it. As with the wired solutions, Kennedy's product is quite a bit less expensive (it's a cell phone interface only; GPS and/or Radar can be added by purchasing a separate interface). Both the rider and the passenger can participate in calls using this solution; a feature exclusive to Kennedy products.

Cell phone in combination with GPS
(the cell phone is connected through an intermediate Bluetooth-compatible GPS, which gives you Caller ID and touch-screen dialing through the GPS)

Even if you have the Honda GPS in your GL1800, you might consider adding a Garmin Zumo 550. Why would you do that? Several reasons:

Honda's GPS doesn't allow you to look up destinations, etc. while in motion but the Zumo does
Honda's GPS has no capability for pre-planning or sharing routes like the Zumo will
The Zumo will give you on-screen caller-ID and touch screen dialing of your Bluetooth phone.

The Zumo is also capable of playing MP3 music, and you can add XM Satellite Radio to it. It's quite a device, and I've had several riders add it to their Gold Wing just for the cell phone features (though they always end up loving the GPS features as well). The Zumo does require an interface to the GL1800, and as above, we have solutions from both J&M and Kennedy Technology Group. J&M's solution does not support stereo audio from the Zumo, so it's not meant for use with the XM or MP3 features of the Zumo.

In the "Packages" section of our Web site, I have three GL1800 packages for the Zumo 550. The Zumo 550 GL1800 package with MP3 and XM Radio features the Kennedy interface, and there are GPS/Phone only options (no music) featuring either Kennedy Technology Group or J&M solutions.

I hope you find the information contained in this TechNote useful. As always, please contact us if you have any questions.

TechNotes are occasional articles that we write to help people identify products and solutions that will work well for them, or for other technical subjects. If you have a suggestion for a future TechNote topic, please let me know.