polished gem

[Pat Kelly]

After running the "$60 Gem" naked all summer, I finally got the fairing repaired and back on the bike.
Everything is painted now, though a 'rattle can' paint job, Royal Blue with gold pinstriping.
The fairing was cracked where it mounts. I picked up another Pacifico fairing off Ebay. It was cracked at the winshield. My local plastic welding guru did some cutting and splicing and I now have a perfect fairing. The P.O. had a stereo installed (didn't work) so the hole had to be filled with an AM/FM/CD player. 6" three-way poly speakers filled the round holes left by the paper ones. System sounds great! Plenty of volume to hear it at highway speed with full face helmet. The front channel goes to the speakers, the rear channel will go to a 1/8" stereo jack so I can use earbuds or plug it into my Chatterbox. The downside is that this is a car stereo and the bike transfers more roadshock so the CD skips too much. I'll use my personal CD player in the tankbag and plug straight from there or into the aux. input on the stereo.
I also added some running lights on the back by the saddlebags. These were designed as turn signals so being left on all the time wasnt a good thing .... they (and the wiring) melted .
All in all it looks good. Someday I'll buy some real paint and do it right. This was my $40 experiment to see how it will look.

[chad3971]

Just a thought on the CD player...If your looking to go with something for a cheap price, Sony is the way to go. I have been installing custom car electronics for 8 years or so, my sug is to get a sony. I've put one in the center councel of my car ( granted a car has a smother ride) I had a cheap Kenwood skipped like crazy until I got tried of it and bought a Sony. Never any complaints about Sony. Thats just my two cents...

[Pat Kelly]

Since this stereo, 160 amp/channel "Rampage" bought at Kragen (Checker, Shucks) for around $80, accepts a remote CD changer, I was thinking about getting a 6 disc changer and isolating it in open cell foam rubber and putting it in a side compartment of the fairing. (how's that for a run on sentence?)
The other problem I encounter is the bikes' anorexic charging system. With the bike at idle the stereo cuts out. Get the RPMs up and it comes back to life. I'm considering a capacitator to help with this.

[chad3971]

Well, CD changers do have better skip protection but the your loosing the pockt use for what ever. Just my opinion, I think you should sell your Rampage, and buy the cheap Sony for Wal-mart. I'm thinking it's only $130 or so...better yet buy it and see if it still skips. If the Sony skips...take it back. At least you'll know if the problem is the road vibe or a cheap CD player. As for the CAP, I would first measure the voltage at the battery. There should be 12V or so. Your radio only draws probably 5amps to 7amps, the bike battery alone should be able to handle that draw for at least 1/2 an hour or so. Do you have the radio the a "factory" harness? If so may be you should run power straight from your battery, you could the put a relay in your ignition so the radio would still only come on when the key is on. If you want a diagram I could draw one up in a matter of a couple of min.

[Pat Kelly]

My '78 E model has the Auxiliary terminals by the fusebox. This terminal is 'switched' (key operated, not straight battery). I may try hooking to this. I notice the whole thing cuts out when I use the turn signals....interesting.

[Pat Kelly]

My '78 E model has the Auxiliary terminals by the fusebox. This terminal is 'switched' (key operated, not straight battery). I may try hooking to this. I notice the whole thing cuts out when I use the turn signals....interesting.