I am looking to up-grade the stereo system on my 2016 Road glide Ultra. I have been reading the stereo section for several weeks and I think I have reached the point of information overload.

So, I've decided to follow the recommendation put forth in many posts I've read and enlist the assistance of the knowledge people on this forum.

I am staying with the infotainment system and down the road I may want to add a cb and maybe even a satellite receiver.

What I'm looking for is to improve the sound quality and sound level of the exiting system. I have a stage one system on the motor and can still hear the stereo but sound level and quality is marginal at best.

At this time I would like to stay with a four speaker system. Two fairing speakers and 2 tour pack pod speakers. However, I would like to keep a path open to possibly add saddle bag lid speakers at a later date.

My Budget, To start with I'd say around $1,500.00. This is by no means a locked in number, I am more interested in quality and longevity. Also I like to travel so the components must be ready to withstand the riggers of inclement weather.

I'm am a retired Coast Guard Chief Engineer 25 years of service and feel I have more than enough capability to complete the installation work I just don't have the knowledge to pick the components required to build the system.

In exchange for the assistance received I will provide a well documented installation for the the Road Glide Ultra.

 

Do you want "drop in" speakers in your rear pods, or are you ok using a 1inch spacer to fit a better speaker back there. You need to consider if the 1 inch spacer will be uncomfortable for the passanger rider. Upside is it opens up tons of speaker options. With that budget you can put together a killer top of the line system.

 

Prefer not to use spacers, got to make sure momma is comfortable. She has five titanium rods in her back. Kind of funny the only time her back doesn't hurt is when she's on the back of the bike. She can stay in the saddle longer than I can.

 

V-Twin Audio makes speaker adapters for the Rushmore Tourpak and here's what they look like. These are as slim as they come.

 

Oh man.. at that price point you can really put together a killer system that will give you more sound quality than you know what to do with! There is def a few questions that you have to ask yourself before you start this though. Shoot me a PM if ya have any questions. Ill be glad to help ya out where I can and point you in the right direction.

 

+1 on these spacers, use them all the time for extra speaker magnet room.

 

so, where do we start. I thinking the amp?

I wanting enough power that there is power enough to add bag speakers down the road. 600 watts RMS. 100 watts per speaker RMS. Peak should be around a 1000 watts peak I'm guessing.

Will I need a special mounting tray?
Would I use high level or low level in's.
Would I use line leveler or re-flash.

I figure that if/when I do add saddle bag speaker down the road at that time I would have to change from 4 ohm speakers in the rear pods to 2 ohm and the bag speakers would also have to be 2 ohms and be run in series to maintain a 4 ohm load on the aft channels. Is this correct? remember I'm just starting to learn this stuff.

 

get a 4180 if you want to use one amp in the fairing to run 6 speakers in the future. It's 2ohm stable so you can run two sets of 4ohm speakers in parallel. Oh and get their line leveler.

 

I can't give you a bit of help but I'm looking for the same setup for my '16 RGU. Will be following this for sure and if you need another set of hands on the install, give me a shout. Your close.

 

From the reading I've done the BT4180 is on the short list. The $695.00 price includes line levelers and all wiring required to complete the install. I like the idea that a Company believes in the product enough to stand behind it with a full lifetime replacement warranty. I had one of there smaller amps in my Road King which did fail and they replaced it no questions asked. so I know they mean it.

This amp does meet my longevity and quality requirements, just a little unsure about the lake of adjustability.

Blue Tick, where are you located? could always use another riding buddy.