OK, we’ll admit it, this mod is a little over-the-top.  But if you enjoy your tunes both on and off the bike you’re gonna love this one.  With the lid closed it looks like any other hard rear cargo box.  Open the lid, flip down the hinged tuner/player and it becomes a juke box on steroids that fills the trail with your favorite sounds.  In addition this system gives you a headphone jack and volume control right at the front of the seat so you can be comfortably plugged in while you’re doing those water-wheelies.  Component variations for this mod are nearly infinite so the price varies accordingly.  One of the most important factors is starting out with a good, solid rear box with substantial hinges, like the Polaris rear box shown here.

Specs for this mod as shown include:

Pure Polaris Rear Box

Panasonic Tuner, CD/MP3/WMA player with remote control

Two Pair Memphis Audio Mylar cone speakers

30 gig hard drive player (MP3/WMA) as an auxiliary music source

Box Lights

Fuse Block

Dedicated Power Source

We begin by modifying the box lid to accept the sound system components.  An 1/8” aluminum face plate, spaced out to the required depth to accommodate the speakers and player covers all the wiring (including a 12v power transformer for the hard drive player).  The entire unused portion of the lid is filled with low pressure expanding foam which is nearly weightless but very solid, making the installation extremely stable and durable.  (It will withstand a roll-over with the machine coming to rest upside down.  Don’t ask how we know).  The individual cavities behind the speakers are filled with acoustic foam providing excellent sound quality.  All electrical components are on separate circuits, fused in the lid’s easily accessible fuse block, protecting them and the vehicle’s charging system.

The hard drive player provides trail tunes while riding via a headphone cord routed under the seat to a volume control attached to the body with Velcro above the fuel tank.  Headphones are plugged in at the volume control, allowing a quick, easy disconnect or volume adjustment for conversation.

This particular installation includes an auxiliary 12 volt, 12 amp hour completely sealed jell cell battery power supply in the lower portion of the rear box.  This allows the use of the sound system during a trail stop without concern of draining the isolated main battery, but thanks to a relay the vehicle’s charging system recharges the auxiliary battery when the machine is running so neither battery will run out of power.  This rear box is still easily removable, the only extra effort required is the disconnection of a three-prong plug and headphone jack connection just under the rear lip of the seat.

Options for this modification are all over the board and can raise or lower the price significantly.  Sound system components can include two speakers or four and your choice of radio/CD players.  If you want to listen to headphones while riding, either the hard drive player or one of the new portable XM Satellite Radio receivers is a must.  The CD player isn’t operable while trail riding and we’re choosing not to make use of the radio function because of the need to run coax and mount an antenna, but a small flexible antenna can be installed if AM/FM is desired.

This system as you see it here has well over $1000 in components.  So even though the price may give you pause, with all the custom work it’s a steal at $1500.  If you want one of these give us a call and we’ll discuss the details.