***IMPORTANT INFO on Flashes*** ---- MUST READ!!!

Spazz

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Feb 22, 2014
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I went to Chester's HD Reno today to talk to Tom... the 'go to' for Digital Technician to talk about flashes. I am much more informed now.

The 'updates' that HD puts out can be MAJOR or MINOR... but should ONLY be done by those having issues with their systems.... or STOCK SYSTEMS

When they went from *17 to *18... it was a MAJOR rewrite. The best way to describe it is like a Windows Update for your home computer.

Sometimes... USER CUSTOM SETTINGS will get corrupted AFTER a MAJOR update and they have seen this plenty at the dealer ( I didn't know this ). Most of the time, after an update, if you are having issues on your STOCK setup, you can boot into Diagnostic Mode and CLEAR USER SETTINGS to correct issues 95% of the time by turning RUN ON... PRESS AND HOLD MUTE.... turn ign ON... confirm msg screen and you're in....

Now...

For those of us that are running AFTERMARKET AMPS, SPEAKERS and CUSTOM FLASH.... for our sytems....


DO NOT UPDATE YOUR RADIO SOFTWARE!!!!

(Without knowing this... you have a very good probability of messing up your flash)

When Harley pushes updates out... they have a tendency to give brief descriptions of what they updated, but not everything! Tom ( HD Tech ) told me he has had several customers return 2-3 times for issues relating back to software updates that actually modified things it shouldn't.. and WON'T BE NOTICED by STOCK systems, but 95% of the time, it's those 'FLASHED' systems that lose the correct information and go crazy.

I just wanted you all to know that I won't be updating my software anymore on my 6.5GT.... I love what I have done and don't want to lose ANYTHING in regard to performance from it.
 
Good to know. It does make sense. Good to be stock still, for now anyways. LOL

Thanks for posting!

David
 
Spazz- Thanks for doing the investigating for us. That really does make sense and unless there is a really important/major update later on I'll pass on them too. I like my sound system just the way it now is.
 
After having numerous (more than 10) radio flashes performed at our local Harley Dealer over the last 14 days, & now with more than 15 ROKKER audio system installs/flashes at the J&M audio trailer over this past weekend at Daytona Bike Week, I actually have more questions, along with quite a few answers.

However this is almost a flashing information nightmare for the normal guy/gal who just wants to have their 14-15 Harley radio flashed properly and their audio system perform at its peak level, regardless of amplifier or speaker brand.

So I am going to attempt to simplify this for the average Joe and by no means do I consider myself an expert.

1) J&M Brand ROKKER series & Performance series amplifiers are preset from the factory for Harley radio flash ((2 or 4 speakers, amp 1 OFF, amp 2 OFF)) which is how most if not all of the 2014-2015 radios have so far been delivered stock from Harley, (with the CVOs being the exception to this), so there is NO reason to have the stock Harley radio re-flashed when installing the J&M brand speakers & amplifiers.

2) When installing other non-Harley brand speakers/amplifiers, simply adjust the amplifier input gain & frequency response curve settings to optimize the available volume and clarity, just as you would do with a standard automotive type radio, regardless of how the Harley radio is flashed, and if you change the radio flash at a later date, then simply re-optimize the amplifier input gain/frequency response settings.

3) For the new J&M ROKKER XX Extreme installation KITS http://www.jmcorp.com/SeeProducts.asp?PF=55 as of this date, are going to be offered pre-set for the BoomBox 6.5GT premium radio ONLY, with the required Harley radio flash as ((4-speakers, amp 1 ON, amp 2 ON)) and this Harley radio flash will automatically activate the front/rear fader control.

4) These new special J&M ROKKER XTP amplifier DSP software programs designed for the Harley BoomBox 6.5GT premium radio ONLY WITH the Harley radio flash as ((4-speakers, amp 1 ON, amp 2 ON)), will be available on the J&M ROKKER XTP software download webpage http://www.jmcorp.com/static/rokker-downloads.htm within the next 14 days, for those of you who already have a J&M ROKKER XTP amplifier and wish to re-flash your Harley radio and update the amplifier settings.

We will be providing further updates as they become available. JMJOHN – john@jmcorp.com
 
That is good info on flashes... but mainly for J&M products that don't typically require a flash. Other systems on the market do require a flash of some sort to optimize performance ( and add speakers )and flatten the EQ curve of the factory HU the best it can be.

But that is NOT what this post is about.....

This WARNNG is meant for ALL custom flashes done to ANY 14 or 15.... that individuals may corrupt the custom flash with a software update to the HU. I was told this from an HD tech that has had personal experience with this issue more than few times on major updates.

I don't care what system you have... just heed the WARNING
 
John- So you are going to make the flash available ON your website?? Is that the Harley flash or is it a flash for your Amp. When I installed my Rokker XX & Amp 2 weeks ago Your instructions sayto flashthe ECM (4 or 8 SPEAKERS, AMPS 1&2 OFF, Enable Fader).

I'm a bit confused by the wording (item 4)
 
Is there a visual way we can check to see which flash our dealer did? Or do we have to take there word for it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Is there a visual way we can check to see which flash our dealer did? Or do we have to take there word for it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Unfortunately not... you can only check the bin file which can sometimes be traced back to the spreadsheet I posted


Sent from my Note4 using Tapatalk
 
and please remember some important things about the special J&M/Harley radio flash ,,,,,,,

it is NORMAL when the Harley radio is flashed correctly, that the maximum volume level from the system will be much lower, if everything else stays the same ,,,,,,,

during all of the spring rallies that I have been to so far, we have had hundreds of Harley radios flashed while working closely with the local Harley dealers at each of the shows ,,,,,,

we have learned that when flashed correctly by the dealer, the 4.3 radio itself has MORE output to the amplifier than the same J&M/Harley flash in to the 6.5GT radio ,,, and this is critical as WE set up our amplifier gains based on the OUTPUT level of each Harley radio AFTER the special J&M/Harley flash ,,,,,,,

so the J&M ROKKER XTP/XXR amplifiers that we supply, that have been tuned for this special J&M/Harley radio flash, which is DIFFERENT than the J&M amplifiers supplied for connection to the STOCK 2014-2015 Harley radios ,,,,,,,
 
this is a pretty big deal for all riders of 2014-2015 Harley Baggers ,,,,,,

what I do know from supervising the radio flashes now on more than 250 Harleys at the spring & summer rallies ,,, is that if the dealer simply follows the instructions EXACTLY here http://www.jmcorp.com/pdf/HarleyRadi...04-02-2015.pdf ,,,,, we can then adjust the amplifier's internal gain controls to give you the very best sound available ,,, or at least that "I" have heard ,,,,,

right before the Laconia rally "I" personally was able to get software programs & the exact cables to plug into the bike thru the left sidecover, so that I could manipulate the SPEAKERS TAB on the Harley digital technician software program ,,,,,,,

this allows me to now configure the speakers on the bike, turn on the front/rear fader etc on the Harley Rushmore Baggers ,,,,, with my own laptop computer ,,,,,,

next month I am supposed to be getting additional software updates, to allow me to access and configure the OPTIONS TAB thru this same software ,,,,,,

the company is DiagBike and they are out of CZ I think ,,,,,, but the initial software set-up pack and cable/driver kit will set you back about $1300 ,,,,,

once I get it ALL ,,, I am going to set up a test/programming fixture at J&M in Tucson, so that I can flash radios and basically eliminate the Harley dealer in this sequence of radio programming ,,,,,,,

now what we all need to do inside of our own cranial tissue is SEPARATE the on-line Harley radio updates that you perform with the USB stick download ,,, from the actual audio system configuration changes that are being done with the Harley technician radio FLASH, as it is a different deal all together ,,,,,,

we just updated all 4 J&M demo bikes last Friday via USB stick, from the Harley website, and it did NOT alter the critical audio system configuration settings in any way that I can find ,,,,,,,

our 4 J&M Harley demo bikes that will head to the Sturgis rally tomorrow ,,,, still sound great and are ready for all of you to listen to ,,,,,,

that is what I know ,,,,,,, more to learn I am sure ,,,,,
 


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