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Dear Honda,
We need your help fixing a problem with the intercom amplifier on the GL1800. As has been reported numerous times, the amplifier in the audio unit acts like a microphone and amplifies bike, engine, and wind noises. Since the audio unit is attached to the bike's top shelter, the entire top shelter begins to act like a microphone when the intercom amp is turned up past about 8.
Even if you completely disconnect the microphones in the headsets, you can hear any noises the top shelter picks up, like moving in the seat, or tapping on the top shelter. If you turn the intercom up past about 14 you can actually hear the exhaust pipes and the engine running, even with the microphones disconnected. At levels above 16, the intercom become useless due to the added noise.
This problem can be duplicated on virtually any GL1800 and numerous owners have complained about it. It takes what could be a great intercom/audio system and makes it almost unusable. The added noise in the audio system causes rider fatigue on long trips and degrades from the bikes overall performance as a touring motorcycle.
I have called the customer service line several times in an attempt to get someone at Honda to look into to this problem. I have also spoken to Sierra Electronics and other vendors about this issue, and I know that several of them have spoken to your reps about it. Yet nothing seems to happen.
I realize that Honda probably won't want to go back and fix this problem in 2001-2003 GL1800's, but you should at least make an effort to find the problem and fix it on new 2004 and 2005 models that you are selling. Continuing to produce a bike with an intercom system that has serious issues like this is not going to be good for your future sales. It is in your own best interest to fix this problem.
To make matters worse, no one has been able to get their hands on the schematics for the GL1800 audio unit. Apparently they have not even been imported to the United States. Several of us in the GL1800 community with Electrical Engineering degrees have the ability to design a fix for this problem, if we could only see the circuit diagrams for the intercom amplifier. It is very possible that a filter network could be installed on the microphone input leads that would not require opening the audio unit to install. But without the schematics, it is nearly impossible to design one that will work properly.
It would be extremely helpful to those of us that have 2001-2003 models if you could at least let us see the schematics to try to find a way to fix it ourselves. The aftermarket community is fully capable of resolving this issue, if you will only let them help.
** Add to these problems a total lack of any kind of wind noise filtration in the intercom amp. The stock Honda intercom does absolutely nothing to try to reduce the amount of wind noise from the microphones. It seems that a $17K motorcycle ought to have an intercom system that is at least equal to a $400 Autocom, which can be used at 140mph without picking up wind noise. Even a simple roll off filter network would be better than nothing. The OEM intercom system becomes unusable at 75mph due to all the wind noise. C'mon Honda, put some ACTIVE filter circuits in it.
There are also additional problems with the GL1800 audio unit and how it interfaces with the CB that should be addressed. As has been reported over and over again, the horns can be heard through the CB due to a harmonic frequency of the horns themselves bleeding into the CB's receiver circuits. There is also an issue with the CB transmissions bleeding into the speakers due to a malfunction of the audio unit not muting the amplifier circuits when the CB transmits. All these problems could easily be fixed as well.
And while you are looking at the CB, why don't you investigate the possibility of incorporating an FRS radio into the GL1800 as an option (instead of CB). FRS is becoming widely popular among riders of all different types and brands of bikes, and is proving to be a far superior technology than CB. It also is much cheaper, with many FRS radios selling for under $50.
Thanks for listening,
Fred Harmon
Fort Worth, TX.
We need your help fixing a problem with the intercom amplifier on the GL1800. As has been reported numerous times, the amplifier in the audio unit acts like a microphone and amplifies bike, engine, and wind noises. Since the audio unit is attached to the bike's top shelter, the entire top shelter begins to act like a microphone when the intercom amp is turned up past about 8.
Even if you completely disconnect the microphones in the headsets, you can hear any noises the top shelter picks up, like moving in the seat, or tapping on the top shelter. If you turn the intercom up past about 14 you can actually hear the exhaust pipes and the engine running, even with the microphones disconnected. At levels above 16, the intercom become useless due to the added noise.
This problem can be duplicated on virtually any GL1800 and numerous owners have complained about it. It takes what could be a great intercom/audio system and makes it almost unusable. The added noise in the audio system causes rider fatigue on long trips and degrades from the bikes overall performance as a touring motorcycle.
I have called the customer service line several times in an attempt to get someone at Honda to look into to this problem. I have also spoken to Sierra Electronics and other vendors about this issue, and I know that several of them have spoken to your reps about it. Yet nothing seems to happen.
I realize that Honda probably won't want to go back and fix this problem in 2001-2003 GL1800's, but you should at least make an effort to find the problem and fix it on new 2004 and 2005 models that you are selling. Continuing to produce a bike with an intercom system that has serious issues like this is not going to be good for your future sales. It is in your own best interest to fix this problem.
To make matters worse, no one has been able to get their hands on the schematics for the GL1800 audio unit. Apparently they have not even been imported to the United States. Several of us in the GL1800 community with Electrical Engineering degrees have the ability to design a fix for this problem, if we could only see the circuit diagrams for the intercom amplifier. It is very possible that a filter network could be installed on the microphone input leads that would not require opening the audio unit to install. But without the schematics, it is nearly impossible to design one that will work properly.
It would be extremely helpful to those of us that have 2001-2003 models if you could at least let us see the schematics to try to find a way to fix it ourselves. The aftermarket community is fully capable of resolving this issue, if you will only let them help.
** Add to these problems a total lack of any kind of wind noise filtration in the intercom amp. The stock Honda intercom does absolutely nothing to try to reduce the amount of wind noise from the microphones. It seems that a $17K motorcycle ought to have an intercom system that is at least equal to a $400 Autocom, which can be used at 140mph without picking up wind noise. Even a simple roll off filter network would be better than nothing. The OEM intercom system becomes unusable at 75mph due to all the wind noise. C'mon Honda, put some ACTIVE filter circuits in it.
There are also additional problems with the GL1800 audio unit and how it interfaces with the CB that should be addressed. As has been reported over and over again, the horns can be heard through the CB due to a harmonic frequency of the horns themselves bleeding into the CB's receiver circuits. There is also an issue with the CB transmissions bleeding into the speakers due to a malfunction of the audio unit not muting the amplifier circuits when the CB transmits. All these problems could easily be fixed as well.
And while you are looking at the CB, why don't you investigate the possibility of incorporating an FRS radio into the GL1800 as an option (instead of CB). FRS is becoming widely popular among riders of all different types and brands of bikes, and is proving to be a far superior technology than CB. It also is much cheaper, with many FRS radios selling for under $50.
Thanks for listening,
Fred Harmon
Fort Worth, TX.
