Still need to get those badges lined up




Install in profile




Speaker grill sits slightly proud however I think it presents okay




Speaker Pod ring in profile




Rubber gasket loosely in place




Ring sitting in place in the Speaker Pod




Speaker Pod without ring




Speaker Pod Ring, shaped to fit pod


Yes you read right a set of Biketronics 7.1 speakers in the lower fairings. Now I have only just finished this project this afternoon with a quick sound test so I’m unsure if the pods are going to fill up with water at the first down pour or the first time I wash the bike, however, in the meantime I have a set at least working in my driveway!
Permit me to take you through my motivation and my solution, a situation common to many I’m sure, of getting something and then changing it, because it's not quite right! First I had a Road King and fitted a Tsukayu detachable fairing to the bike which I have been happy with and slowly modifying over time, new amp, new headend soon, revised 6 x 9 speakers, handlebar volume control, GPS audio input, higher screen, external antenna (makes for a good flag pole too) and custom paint job.
I saw the Hogtunes sub speakers that fitted into conventional vented lower fairings, so I purchased a set of vented lower fairings had them colour matched and used the rear audio feed on the original amp to send signal to them. The result was less than expected so I changed the amp and still no dice so I decided to purchase a set of Biketronics 7.1 speakers and see if I could get them to fit into the Hogtunes housings, no joy. So I decided to source a set of 6.5” mounts off eBay to see if they would work. The principle is that screw onto the glove section of the vented fairings. Unfortunately I could make the internal opening big enough to fit the Biketronics 7.1’s without losing the mounting points that hold the speakers to the glove section.
So I decided to give Mutazu accessories a try with their 6.5” vented lower fairing pod and see if I could adapt this somehow. When they arrived I was surprised at how the Biketronics speakers just seemed to fit into the hole with their lip marring up to the external lip really well. The main issue was there was nothing behind the thin contact point all the way around the speaker and the pod; it would be about 1.5mm wide and this wouldn’t be enough.
I thought about a solution and came up with prefabrication a ring of plastic out of high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic as it can be shaped relatively easily to fit into the ‘gap’ behind the speaker and the pod. After a couple of goes the plastic shaping company got it right.
Any I had the manufacture of the rings predrill the mounting holes to marry up to the existing ones in the pods. Thankfully they did this as I would have been ages stuffing around to get these right. I counter sunk these holes with a grinding tip in my drill and used the self-tapping screws that come with the Hybrid Audio Grills (Biketronics use Hybrid Audio Speakers so it all fits) which are a 8G 25mm long with like a 6G head on them. These fit well and the speaker clips into place almost.
I made up some rubber gaskets from some 2mm rubber underlay I had previously and fitted them between the speaker and the ring. I put the speakers in to the pods and drilled holes 45 degrees around from where the screws where that held the rings to the pods. I had also put silicon between the rings and the pods plus between the gaskets and the rings to offer a bit more weather protection.
I screwed the grill holder and the speakers to the rings in the pods, using 6G self-taping screws 15mm in length I think, not before putting some polyfil in the back of the pods. Connected the pods to the amp and run a sound test. First impressions are that it will sound good on the highway I will be interested to see how it stands up to the rigors of being hammered around on some of our rubbish Australian roads. I’ll report back in due course once road testing has occurred.

 

Very creative! Nice Job! Keep us posted.

 

good job,,I will be watching this closely

 

I'm surprised that the aftermarket doesn't produce 7.1 pods. Seems like a no brainer.

 

Well I have done a road test which was well overdue. Unfortunately to much work and very poor weather (winter appears to be here early) has delayed me getting out to test the new set-up.


Well dry weather testing has a big thumbs up. The audio is very clean and can be driven very hard at speed with lots of top end before distortion. I always ride with ear plugs and the system cuts through and delivers a good soundscape in spite of ambient noise.


My next test is to wash the bike or get it wet in a constant downpour and see if the system keeps working. Once time permits I'll conduct this next test and post another update.

 

Very impressive.

 

Just another update. I've washed the bike a few times and done a few kilometres with the setup now and I haven't experienced any issues at. Which I'm very happy about.

I had a bit of a funny situation at a set of stop lights a little while back when I stopped behind a car and I must have had something pumping out a bit 'too' loud. I saw the driver lean forward in their seat so they could see me and the bike in their side mirror, then they put their windows up and rolled their car forward to get away from the music! The thing that got me was they weren't that old and I wasn't playing anything too 'old' or objectionable.

So the mod seems to be working, as the saying goes 'loud audio systems save lives'.

 

So how are the 7.1's in the lowers holding up?