490 mA is way too much for just keeping the memory alive. I had one that drew somewhere less than 10 mA and I wasn't pleased with that, even with the bigger battery. I contemplated adding some rechargeable batteries for it but instead I changed to a cheap stereo with analogue controls (=no memory power needed).
By the time that one died (as all the car stereos I ever used on winter bikes did in a few years) I had bought a "waterproof handlebar stereo" on eBay for the summer bike; They were cheap and barely acceptable so I got another one for Eccles but before I installed it I learned that they were neither waterproof or stereo (the one that stopped working had filled with water and when I looked inside to see if it could be fixed I saw that both speakers connected to the same place) so I mounted it in the fairing under the cover instead of on the handlebars and started shopping for something better.
This one has survived 7 winters and still works fine (probably due to the better cover). I quickly got spoiled by its ability to play MP3s from flash memory so I can't remember the last time I listened to the radio on it or rhe similar one I mounted in the summer bike's sidecar (no fairing) but they do remember the station even after the bike has been stored for half a year with the battery removed. There is no clock so I later added a separate one (the batteries last several years and are easy to change).
www.cx500forum.com
By the time that one died (as all the car stereos I ever used on winter bikes did in a few years) I had bought a "waterproof handlebar stereo" on eBay for the summer bike; They were cheap and barely acceptable so I got another one for Eccles but before I installed it I learned that they were neither waterproof or stereo (the one that stopped working had filled with water and when I looked inside to see if it could be fixed I saw that both speakers connected to the same place) so I mounted it in the fairing under the cover instead of on the handlebars and started shopping for something better.
This one has survived 7 winters and still works fine (probably due to the better cover). I quickly got spoiled by its ability to play MP3s from flash memory so I can't remember the last time I listened to the radio on it or rhe similar one I mounted in the summer bike's sidecar (no fairing) but they do remember the station even after the bike has been stored for half a year with the battery removed. There is no clock so I later added a separate one (the batteries last several years and are easy to change).
New stereo in Eccles' fairing
For the last couple of years I have had a cheap bike radio from eBay on each of the bikes. They worked OK but I always wished the one on Eccles was just a little louder so I could hear it better with a full helmet on. I came across this neat little 12V stereo on eBay Hifi Power Stereo CAR...
www.cx500forum.com
