Speakers?
And a volume knob on the glovebox?
That's right, I got tired of listening to the little 4-stroke all the way to work, so I set out to add some tunes to my commuter scooter.
I started by finding a suitable amplifier. I wanted something that was small and wouldn't draw too much power, finding a solution in Jaycar's ready-to-wire Kemo 3.5watt amplifier modules. These amps are waterproof and don't need any special cooling, which makes them ideal for outdoor use, as well as being tiny, at only 30mm across.
I wired two of these amps to a pair of 40mm mylar speakers, which are also waterproof and efficient at low power levels. To give the speakers a secure home, I bought two halogen light swivel mounts that were on sale at the local lighting store.
Removing the bulb sockets, I connected the wiring to the speaker terminals before sealing the gaps with epoxy. The sealed enclosure helps the speakers to work at their best by giving them a resonating chamber.
The speaker mounts are secured to the mirror stalks and the wires are tied to the standard instrument wiring and run into the small glovebox below the handlebars. This box contains a 12volt power socket that is wired to the amplifiers.
When I want to use the speakers, I connect the headphone plug to my MP3 player and lock the box. The only external controls are the power switch and the volume control.
Despite the fairly low power, the sound from these little speakers is still audible up to 80km/h, and I can hear my tunes playing through my helmet without having earphones blocking out other sounds.
Bass is somewhat lacking, maybe I should put a subwoofer under the seat...
