I finished my install about an hour ago. JL MHX 280/4 and Hertz HCX165's in the fairing. I ran it bridged and installed the speakers in the stock pods. The install went good, about 5 hours start to finish. The speakers went in the pods like they were made for them, even the screw holes lined up.

A little word on the pod removal. They are an engineering nightmare. Whoever designed the mounting of them needs beat within inches of their life. This install requires patience and a small arsenal of tools. After the first one removed, the second one got easier. I ported the back of the pod to help with pressure, as I've read here it can be an issue.

The amp install was pretty straightforward. I've heard the fuel tank is easy to remove. As it worked out it was easier than I imagined. I will say a less full tank would have made it that much easier. (3/4 full). Running the power supply wires was easy in the wire tunnel. Removing the tray under the ecm and over the battery was more work than the fuel tank.

All of the wire connections were made without issue. If I had to do it over (and I probly will) I'd buy the 2 wire molex connectors for the factory speakers and attach them to the amp outputs, to make it easy to plug and play. I wire tied all the wires neatly and used velcro to mount the amp and Line Leveler to the tray.

I adjusted the gain to 25v and the HPF to just above 80. I could actually back that off and be fine, I think. It is loud!!! I took it for a backroad ride and I could see the sound almost getting irritating after a while. It's what i would call "bright" to rob a word that i learned here. I turned the volume down and our was better.

I know it's a bike, but I'd like more bass response. I don't see that happening. I won't give up the bag or trunk space. It's way better than the stock stuff i was running, though. I see how you guys start chasing the elusive sound you want!!

Before I end this post, I want to say a BIG thank you to all of you guys, for what you do. Your combined experience and knowledge is invaluable (if not costly).

Special thanks to Babyboy, Gann,Tailwind, Alex, Bunker and Springerfan. Thanks a lot, if it weren't for you guys I'd have more money right now. Lol.

 

Always like to read success stories. Now ge out, ride, and enjoy the tunes!

 

I've now been out about an hour or so, playing with the bass and treble. It's gotten better and i can crank the bass up to almost full on most songs and full on others. No distortion yet. I'm liking it more and more!!

 

Congrats on your new system and for taking it on yourself. Some of it is a pia but in the end you can't beat the feeling of accomplishment. The Hertz sound a little bright at first but those speakers are not broken in yet. That brightness is clarity at highway speeds where you can't hear the bass anyway. Enjoy.

 

Brotha, don't be shy about popping the hood and lowering ur HPF a bit or even running full pass to see the bass response. If the speaks are loud as hell for ur ears u can trade that a bit for the lower freqs. Just be real careful about the distortion creeping in.

Awesome instal brotha!!! Very nice job!!!!

T

 

I'll try that, it has plenty of volume. That and rain just came back in. Good time to pop the hood.

 

Which configuration did you bridge the amp to? The 2 channel or 4 channel option on the amp?

 

It won't matter if you use 4 or 2. Unless you listen to Pink Floyd "Money" on repeat and get a kick out of hearing the sound change sides with the cash register, it TRULY will not matter. On a bike you won't hear the difference between left and right. I run mine 2 channel because it gives a consistent signal to both speakers and it's one less RCA under the fairing which eliminates one spot there could be a problem.

 

So when I'm setting the gain with DMM how do I do that
With all the speaker wire inputs? Which ones do I hook up to DMM

 

Check out the gain Sticky at the top.

T.