Two radios, one amplifier
Both radios bolt into the factory location and carry the same built-in amplifier: 4 × 45 watts at 4 ohms, or 4 × 72 watts into 2-ohm speakers. That's 180 watts into the 4-ohm speakers most bikes use, or up to 288 watts into 2-ohm speakers, across up to 8 speakers. Running off the radio alone, they go equally loud.
The MP5+ (AQ-MP-5UBT-HS) is $859 CAD. It adds a 3-inch colour screen with album art, SiriusXM (tuner and subscription extra), USB playback, native iPhone support and a DSP equalizer.
The MP5 (AQ-MP-5BT-H) is $599 CAD. It has a monochrome dot-matrix display, Bluetooth, AM/FM and an aux input.
Both are IP55 waterproof, have a detachable faceplate, and draw at most 7 amps.
Put them side by side on the bench and the MP5+ sounds better. The reason shows up when you add an amplifier.
Adding an amplifier
The MP5 has one pair of RCA outputs at 2 volts. That's a two-channel signal, but it does not limit you to a two-channel amp. A simple RCA splitter feeds a four-channel amp, and installers do it routinely. If anyone tells you the MP5 can only run a two-channel amp, they're wrong.
The MP5+ has two pairs of RCA outputs at 4 volts, plus a subwoofer output. It feeds a four-channel amp natively, with no splitters, so the install is cleaner.
The higher voltage matters for sound. A 4-volt signal lets you run the amp's gain lower, which keeps hiss down and leaves more headroom before distortion. That, with the MP5+'s DSP equalizer, is why it sounds better on the bench.
Bottom line: the MP5 is a solid replacement radio. The MP5+ is the better foundation if you plan to add an amp.
SiriusXM: two ways to get it
Through the radio (MP5+ only)
"SiriusXM ready" means the MP5+ can control a SiriusXM satellite tuner, but the tuner isn't included. You add a SiriusXM Connect Vehicle Tuner (the SXV300). Its antenna must go on the outside of the fairing with a clear view of the sky; satellite signal won't pass through the fairing. The tuner has its own radio ID, which SiriusXM activates, so it needs its own subscription.
Through your phone (either radio)
Both radios, including the MP5 that isn't advertised as SiriusXM-capable, take Bluetooth audio. If you already have a SiriusXM subscription for your car or home, download the free SiriusXM app, sign in with the same account, and stream it to the radio. No tuner, no antenna, no second subscription.
The trade-off: the app streams over your phone's data, so it drops out where there's no cell coverage. A satellite tuner keeps playing in the middle of nowhere. If you ride remote roads, the tuner earns its place; if you ride where your phone works, the app costs you nothing.
Two plugs on the bike, one on the radio
This is the question we get more than any other. You open the fairing, unplug the factory radio, and find two connectors. Your new Aquatic AV radio has only one. It looks like the wrong radio. It isn't.
The factory radio on a 1998–2013 touring bike connects through two plugs:
- The 23-pin connector carries power, ground and the handlebar controls. This is the plug the Aquatic AV radio uses.
- The 35-pin connector is the larger one. It carries the CB and intercom, and the tour pack speakers.
The Aquatic AV radios don't support the factory CB or intercom, so there's nowhere for the 35-pin plug to go. Leave it unplugged and tuck it away. The radio plugs into the 23-pin connector and works as advertised.
One thing does live on that 35-pin plug that you'll want back: your tour pack speakers, if your bike has them.
Getting your tour pack speakers working
If your bike has tour pack speakers and they go silent after the install, nothing is wrong. Their wires run through the 35-pin plug you just left unplugged. You need to connect them to the radio yourself.
Aquatic AV includes a short pigtail for exactly this:
- Plug the pigtail's white connector into the matching socket on the back of the radio.
- Find the brown and green wires on the pigtail. They're colour-matched to the tour pack speaker wires in the bike's 35-pin connector.
- Splice each pigtail wire to the same-coloured wire on the 35-pin connector.
- Turn the radio on. Your rear speakers will play.
That's the whole job. The radio is plug and play for everything up front; the tour pack takes a few splices.
More: MP5 Tech Docs · MP5+ Tech Docs · Aquatic AV for 1998–2013 Harley