I did bend the grills (thanks for that tip) and countersunk a few screws but it still wasn't 100% flush. So, I started removing screws and nothing helped. Finally just accepted that the whole fairing is plastic and as such would bend a little and bolted it all together...even the PITA bolts on the pods. It's all back together and all fits tight so I just stopped worrying about it.

So, observations:

• All the parts listed work except that the tweeters do hit the grills.
• The grills work if you do Bikerscum's modification but I would double check VtwinSounds.com grills to see if they actually "fit".
• Two POD bolts you will need a 1/4" drive with a 1" extension and you will need to move some plugs out of the way and they are still a pain in the butt.
• Countersinking the screws is hard to do without damaging the speaker surround a bit but can be done, but does not make the pod fit 100% flush. This may be because the grills are about 1/8" smapper than the opening but the speakers fill 100% of the opening. They are definitely pressed against the speaker surround.
• Wiring kits listed are awesome and include "instructions" but you should have some basic mechanical skills because they don't tell you how to do everything.
• Take pictures as you are taking parts off the bike. Trust me, it will come in handy expecially if you don't do this all at the same time.
• Without a flash or a magic box this works for me really well.
• I put a really bassy song on and moved the freq until I noticed some bass change and it was just over 100 so I backed it down to 100, plenty of bass (Turn Down For What really rocking on this thing).
• Gain is very important to set correctly. Mine is a hair above 5, your mileage may vary.
• I can hear a very faint white noise at level zero.
• Use lots of zip ties.
• The CS logo on the grills was not hot glued in (was epoxy)....so I was not able to remove them but the phantom stick-on emblems will fit over them so no problem.
• Since I was playing with less than perfect fitting I went ahead and reinstalled the plug that I moved for the Sirrius LED headlights and was able to get the fairing back on...like I said, stuff bends.

Sorry I didn't get a lot of pics of the install, it's hard to work and document at the same time. Some of the things that I was most concerned about were grills and speakers fitting in the fairing opening. For both cases, it wasn't perfect, the speakers rub at the top of the fairing without the grills and the grills reduce clearance by almost 1/4" so I know they are pretty much crushing the speaker surround. It's not a perfect situation for sure but at this juncture I do not have an option. If/when the speakers fail I will take it all apart and see about getting something that does work better including the grills. For now, this is paid for and works pretty darn good. I can't even hear the exhaust on my SG when going 60MPH and the sound is clear up to max volume on most songs. Bass is set to 50% on most songs and trebel is also set to 50%. I can listen to it comfortably (no screeching) at higher volume than with stock, can hear clearly at half volume.

 

Ebay has "Phantom Skull Emblems" from several different sellers. There are tons of stuff like this online. Figure out what you want and search for it, it's probably out there. I don't have any yet and was waiting to be done before buying anything.

***EDIT***

I just orderd on Amazon, "Chrome Silver 3D Skull Sticker Front Rear Bone Demon Emblem Badge + 3M Adhesive Motorcycle Car SUV Truck (2 pieces)". If you Google that exact phrase it will come up.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure I want to go through all that with the speakers. Sounds crazy. Anybody got a better fitting speaker to use with that amp?

 

It's not really "all that" with the speakers once you know going in what to do.

Now you do

 

True. You have a point. Now I have to decide between this or going custom dynamics led turns in the front and rear along with plasma rods. Decisions decisions lmao

 

Safety first, do the lights, the stereo can wait IMO.

 

That's what I've been thinking as well. Anyways, how are you liking the new stereo?

 

It's much better. That being said, you have 2 - 6 1/2" speakers in an open environment...it's not going to blow you away. I can listen clearly at any speed now and I hear much more of the music, meaning...you wouldn't need to know what the song was to know what it sounds like.

 

Good info man. Thanks a lot

 

BTW, different songs will have different results. I can play "Turn Down for What" and it kicks really hard and clear but put something else on and it sounds like ***. Most songs play well but some have to be adjusted and that is just the file, not the system. If anyone wants to hear it and is in the area let me know. I am usually out on Saturday looking for somewhere to ride.