I have a 2010 but I kept the stock head unit so I would not lose my Ultra features like CB, AVC, Intercom and such so I can't recommend a head unit for you but there are others here who will chime in that know exactly what you need there. It will most likely require a BikeTronics kit or something similar to get installed and they will also recommend a unit to get your handlebar controls working as well. All in all about three hundred give or take will need to go into just the head unit and control accessories if I understand correctly. I think SBates went that route so if you don't hear from anybody else hit him up.

I would definitely recommend lowers for a fuller front sound stage. A lot of us have had good luck with the Fairing Factory lowers for budget parts. I didn't even paint mine just waxed them and stuck them on (I can't afford nice things).

If you are looking to go all out after a while maybe consider starting out with one good amp in the fairing and then if you want to add 6x9s to your lids next year go with a second amp for just the rear speakers. When I was on the first stage of my build like you are I had the batwing speakers on the front channel of my amp and I had the lower speakers and rear pod speakers running in parallel for a two ohm load on the rear channel. That got me by for the first while OK, but when I wanted more from the rear and more flexibility with speaker choices in the lowers I got a second amp and mounted it in the clutch side bag and put 6x9s in the lids.

That way the fairing amp powered the front four speakers all on the front channel of the fader and the rear four speakers on the rear portion of the head units fader. To blend the batwing and lower speakers to where I liked the balance I just used a cheap RCA level control wedged under the switch plate cover and put that thick grey 3M double sided tape on both sides of the control. When I screwed the cover back on it held it tight.

Amps are always a balancing act as far as what to purchase though. For sound quality without spending a ton of money I was pleased with the Rockford TM400x4ad. It's got an EQ adjustment for each channel that is really neat. That is almost $400 though. For a budget amp with guts the SoundStream PN4.1000d has always been a favorite. It is only about $140 and can take a beating and will go into protection mode if you get too crazy with the gains and help save your speakers. The SoundStream is a super tight fit though which will require you to trim a little bit of plastic off of your speedo and tach housings and doesn't sound as good as the Rockford, but it does run cooler and doesn't have any fans you have to worry about failing down the road.

I think there is an amp out by a company called Stinger though that sits somewhere between those two. I'm sure someone can list the model number if you have enough money left over. If you decide to go without the lowers on the first stage that would free up some money for a better amp. In my case though I was glad I went with the lower speakers early on. I just wasn't overly impressed with the sound with just the factory four speaker locations. It got plenty loud but loud isn't always easy to enjoy. With the lower speakers I could hear the music more clearly at lower volume levels without having to crank it up.

For budget minded lowers the Mmats 601-4 can be had for less than $150 a pair marine treated. They are a midrange speaker so if you went that route you could cap off the high frequencies cheaply with a set of FMODS from Harrison Labs. They look like RCA patch cable couplers but can block whatever frequencies you want them to based on your selection on their website. I had coaxials in my lowers at first but I found I liked the warmth of the Mmats better at higher volumes. I already was getting plenty of highs from the batwing speakers. The Mmats can be run without capping the high frequencies but I found that I couldn't crank them as hard when they were being fed the higher frequencies they weren't designed to reproduce. Those FMODS are only about $30 a pair so you could try them both ways and see which way you liked them.

I'm not real smart on what type/brands of speakers sound best for the money because I stuck with marine rated speakers and they quite often don't sound as good as some of the untreated stuff. The smart folks can recommend good brands/models that will fit your budget when they drop by. For my current water resisted front speakers I am running WDX6 Motos in the batwing fairing ($170 or so) with the marine treated Mmats in the lowers. The Motos can sound bright though but if you use an aftermarket head unit you can probably use its EQ functions to tame them. If you are more concerned with sound quality than water resistance then the sky is the limit. The gurus around here have spent tons of time and money finding speakers that sound great at any price range. You should get some good replies about them.

These are just things that I have done with a bike similar to yours, they are by no means the most popular way to do it that's just what I found that I liked after tinkering with it for several months.

Good luck.

 

 

Aftermarket hu-$200 ish sony, kenwood or pioneer, look for a marine model
Stinger 700/4 amp -$250 ish or a soundstream pn4-1000d - (under $200) (additiona
handlebar interface module and radio cradle - $100 ish
wires, inline fuses, etc - $30 ish
that leaves almost $425 for speakers, and thats a lot to play with for 4 speakers.
I m sure you will get plenty of suggestions for viable coax or component type speakers in that price range from the guys on here.

 

Agree with above. With this HU you have another $40 to play with.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158MEX...MEX-M71BT.html

 

I'm a fan of the Polk mm652 in tour pack pods. Fit with no spacer and sound pretty good. Around 150 a pair I believe. I have a 13 ultra also

 

Man, I want one of those head units so bad for my old truck, but if I did the stereo would be worth more than the truck...

 

my first question would be is do you want to keep the cb stuff? if so you work with the stock HU, if not, get a good SQ head unit as mentioned. Then buy the best quality, highest output 4 channel amp that you can afford that fits under the hood. once you've made those choices, what do you have left for speakers? Read up here, as there are lots of posts that offer very valuable info and opinions on all the models and brands. And if you can try to get out and actually hear some of this stuff, from what i read there are a lot of things that happen out your way, so try to get out and meet people and hear stuff.
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