86 Aspy Radio Question

[ritalz]

The 86 I'm working on has a OEM AM/FM Radio with Cassette built in. Not the greatest outfit by today's standards but it was working. A couple days ago the FM side is mostly static while the AM side works fine. I need to pull the seat to check the antenna connection but after that I will be scratching my head. The head unit does come off and the connections there are very clean. I would almost rather try to fit a more modern unit with bluetooth but have not explored that yet. Any ideas?

[Whiskerfish]

I just accepted the obsolescence of the one on my 78 and replaced it. Other than cleaning I really do not know what the average guy can do. Does it change with the bike running verses not running?

[julimike54]

Have you tried contacting Sierra, they might be able to provide some information.

https://www.sierra-mc.com/

[ritalz]

Digging around in the left fairing pocket looking for any connection issues and the radio cleared right up. That lasted for for a couple of minutes while I tried to isolate what I might have touched and it went out again. I'm guessing that the antenna wire has either failed or has come loose behind the radio mount. Need to figure out how to get a hand in there.

[ritalz]

Could not duplicate getting the FM side to clear up. Wiggled and pulled on every wire I could find in that area and it would not clear up. I was able to confirm continuity from the antenna to the plug so I'm guessing that is ok. Still scratching my head.

I thought sierra was not working on radios anymore.

May look into a more modern radio with bluetooth to attach my phone for music.

[ritalz]

Did a test fit of a head unit I had in the basement and it looks like it would fit where the original unit sits. It will be interesting to find some suitable wiring but that doesn't scare me. With a very small amount of trim work I can have a nice looking install of a more modern stereo.

[redglbx]

I sent the oe unit from my 86 Sei to Sierra 3 times, unfortunately they’d fix one thing and then something else would go bad (not their fault) and after the 3rd trip it was great and worked properly. I would definitely recommend Sierra !

But I would add that there are a lot of options that are mostly cheaper and some a lot better.

[ritalz]

Picked up a basic Pioneer today and the fitment looks good. I'll be starting the wiring soon.

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[ritalz]

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Radio install went well. I left almost all of the original setup intact in case someone wants to make it original. Only thing I'm not too happy with is the display is fairly dim and hard to see in daylight. Reading more details to see if it can be brighter.

[Track T 2411]

I have almost the identical head unit in my bus, and it is nearly impossible to read in the daylight with sunglasses on. I've not found a way to make it brighter... It may be wired to dim when the headlights are on, which is a pretty common setup. Just a thought...

[ritalz]

There is no connection to the dash dimmer, it's all menu driven. I guess that being a more basic model the dimmer is either on or off. Doesn't seem to have a full function dimmer control as some models do. I'll keep looking around but don't expect to find anymore info.

[pjlogue]

For a radio that is going on 40 years old, I am surprised it functions at all. Many times, if an electronic component isn't used often the electrolytic capacitors will fail/leak. Best to replace the unit with a new (er) unit than to try and reserect the old one.

-P.

[ritalz]

That is the thought process that led me to install a more modern unit. Was fortunate enough to have kept another unit from a previous project to do some test fitting before purchasing the Pioneer. It sounds much better, has more features with only a few drawbacks. I'm happy with it and that is all that matters.

[Whiskerfish]

I forget what make mine is but I installed it about 15 (or more) years ago and the dim display is the biggest issue. No way to tune it while riding. Have to be stopped and place one hand over it shielding it from the ambient light while tuning. But combined with some Marine grade JBL's she will crank out some tunes!!

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