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Adding a CB Radio To Your Honda Silverwing

By Thom | August 7, 2009

Adding A Hand held CB radio to your GL500

When I took my first real trip my father on my motorcycle we had to resort to using hand signals to communicate. Well, hand signals work great as long as you are out on the open range, without a lot of distractions, possibilities for missed turns or other people. So in essence, they are horrible. I finally decided to add a way of communicating with others that was safer and easier than hand signals.

On a motorcycle, there are several different options to choose from. One is to go with a CB (citizen band) radio setup, another is to use an FRS (family radio system) and the last is a HAM radio setup. Each radio has it’s pluses and minuses. In the end I went with a CB radio because they are cheap, have a decent distance of communication, widely used on the road (mostly by truck drivers) (also FRS’s downfall) and do not require a license to operate (Hams downfall).

I decided on a hand held system that using a wiring harness to bring the microphone and speakers up to my helmet. I went with a hand held system because I just couldn’t find a system that was both built for a bike and cheap enough for me to afford.

Radio setup

The radio I ended up choosing was a Cobra HH38WXST – I thought it was the best for the money because it incorporates a weather band radio along with the CB. Very handy to know if I’m going to get wet during a ride or overnight.

The mic/speaker harness I decided to buy was from IMC Moto – they turned out to be a very good investment. I have no problem hearing others on the CB, even with my ear plugs in. Also, I haven’t ever had any problem with someone not being able to hear me through the microphone.

The harness mounted in my helmet – you can just make out the little foam bump of the microphone and also you can see the connector

A peek at the wafer-thin speakers mounted by my ears – no problem with clearance in this helmet or my old one – they really are thin.

The CB came with just a small ‘rubber ducky’ type of antenna that was good for about a half mile of distance. I decided to replace it with a antenna and mounting kit from a local truck stop. Now, it can get about 5 miles of reception – plenty of enough time to hear about weather/road hazards. The antenna was mounted on the back of my trunk extension using the supplied clamp and also a piece of copper pipe (as it didn’t quite fit) – the copper pipe sacrificed itself to help form a tight fit. I also put a piece of sheet metal around the bottom rung of the trunk extender to prevent the antenna from twisting. I also put  wire running from the antenna mount down to the frame of the bike to act as another ground source.

4 ft Antenna Kit

Antenna mount

Antenna wire being coaxed under the seat

I ran the cable from the rear through the frame, past the gas tank and up to the handlebars where the radio sits in my tank bag.

The ICM kit plugs right into the radio and the other two ends plug into my helmet and a push to talk button on the handle bars. The helmet plug has a series of raised bumps on one side of both of the connectors which make it really easy to plug in without having to look at the plug. I also put ‘white-out’ on one side of the connectors so that it would be easier to plug in without thinking.

One of the connectors – plus the coiled cable that goes to the antenna

Push to talk button installed on handlebar before before being rotated down – my handlebars are long enough that this doesn’t interfere with operation of the bike

Since it’s in my tank bag with a zipper, I put some split wire loom over the wire to stop the wire from rubbing on the zipper

All buttoned up (minus the side covers) ready to ‘put the hammer down’

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