If you are looking to branch into audio for Honda motorcycles, you may want to know about Electrical Connection, TN, an audio, lighting and electrical shop/online vendor for Gold Wing bikes.
Owner Lewis Preston was originally an IASCA car audio competitor. He is also an avid long-time Gold Wing rider, and he opened a Gold Wing specialty shop in 1994. Electrical Connection soon began selling its own Gold Wing products, including “The Battery Monitor,” which was awarded “Innovation of the Month” by Motorcycle Consumer News.
Electrical Connection makes its own parts, speaker pods, plug and play harnesses for amplifiers from Cicada, AudioTec Fischer Match, and Elite by Boss products. The shop says it is Cicada’s biggest Gold Wing audio dealer.
Electrical Connection sells to both retailers and the public.
“We’re life-long Gold Wing riders. We understand the bikes better and it gives us ability to produce products that no one else can. We really try to produce products that live up to the plug and play moniker. We don’t use the term loosely,” said Preston.
His most popular item is a replacement front speaker pod called the PowerPod, often used with Cicada’s 6.5-inch CXX series speakers and Cicada’s all-new CXX4 for the rear. It’s a 100 percent bolt-in pod that accommodates a 6.5-inch speaker, including Cicada PRO Coax Horn 6.5’s that are deeper due to the horn portion on the backside.
The next most popular item is a plug and play wiring harnesses to tow a trailer. “Then we make a plug and play Bluetooth receiver kit so a stereo on a 2001 to 2017 Gold Wing can stream audio from the phone. That unit, we sell 3,000 a year,” Preston said.
Among other items, the company offers packages with Match, and Elite BE series 4- and 5-channel amplifiers, making them fully plug-and-play with Gold Wing’s source connectors. It also has a plug-and-play interface kit for the Cicada FLX700.
Preston also partnered with Jon Rabe of Sky High Audio to include that retailer’s house brand 6.5-inch speaker in a loaded pod at about $50/a pair. He’s also currently working on a drop-in/bolt-in 8-inch speaker adapter for Gold Wing saddlebags.
Electrical Connection has a 5,000 square foot facility and a staff of 5. About 75 percent of its products are produced in the US.
While the motorcycle sales are down at the moment, the Gold Wing is attracting younger riders, said Preston. It’s newest 1800 model is basically a sport bike, he said.
Preston has worked in his family shop or his own shop since graduating from school, apart from working as an air traffic controller for six years.
“I rode a Gold Wing in high school. It just kind of stuck,” he said.
