A client from North Dinwiddie recently stopped by looking for an audio upgrade for his 2011 Kawasaki Vaquero. We’d done stereo system upgrades to his friend’s Harley Davidson StreetGlide, as well as his Indian Roadmaster, and he’d
been very happy with our work.
After going over some options, we decided that components from ARC Audio were going to suit his needs and space requirements best. The existing speakers were a 5 1⁄4” like his friend’s Roadmaster. We installed a set of the Arc
Audio Arc502 5 1⁄4” co-axles, the same ones we’d used in his install. Once taking the front fairing off the Kawasaki, we found there was enough room to fit the ARC Audio KS125.2BX2 Mini amplifier. We fabricated a couple brackets to bolt onto the existing radio mounts, and it fits right above the radio like it was equipped that way from the factory.
The OEM Vaquero radio was retained as the audio source, but we added a JL Audio MBT-RX Bluetooth receiver to the existing auxiliary input. Now he simply starts the bike up, and his phone pairs automatically and starts playing music
right where he last left off.
We also upgraded his OEM headlight bulb to a GTR Lighting Ultra Series LED Bulb. With bright white output and a lifetime warranty, he’ll have better visibility for the life of the motorcycle!
Interested in upgrading your motorcycles audio system? Swing by one of our Richmond area locations in Mechanicsville or Midlothian! You can also contact us here.
How did y’all add the Bluetooth to the auxiliary cord on the vaquero
We added a separate JL Audio bluetooth receiver, that output to the AUX input.
Did y’all use a connector to connect to the aux input cable
The best I recall it was just an 1/8″ jack to RCA cable, the RCA’s connecting to the JL Audio bluetooth.
I have the same bike and am looking to connect my bluetooth helmet to the system. I would like to connect my phone as the input, control it from the bike and hear it through my helmet. Any ideas?
Unless Kawasaki offers the helmet connection through their radio, I don’t think this could be done. the radio doesn’t have any sort of Bluetooth transmitter in it to send audio to the headset. It’s possible, but doubtful, that the radio and helmet could use two different Bluetooth protocols that may allow your phone to connect to both simultaneously?
do you think you could do this to a 2022?
We definitely could do that sort of upgrade to the 2022. There’s substantially more speaker and amplifier options to fit it now as well.