Hey all. I have the stock audio system in my 06. I have experience installing audio systems in boats and cars, but never a bike. What I am looking for is a complete kit I can buy. I am sure I can install myself.

Goals are - Crisp clean sound even at higher speeds. I do like bass but doesn't need to be extreme, I do want to feel it though. Must support Bluetooth streaming.

I have removed my lower fairings to improve airflow since I am in hot Miami. I am ok with having a small sub in one of the hard bags. It would be nice to be able to remove it in case I want to pack up and go on a road trip.

I am OK with spending some money. I just want most bang for the buck. Any suggestions?

 

Post up a budget you're comfortable with.

Keep in mind, bikes are a different animal that cars. While you can get a ton of bass sitting still and at low speeds, much of it is lost at highways speeds.

Also, removal subs aren't practical in the bike world. I guess you could have a bag for subs, then another bag without them when you need to pack some cloths or something. You'll need to decide what's more important. Or add a tour pack when you need to carry clothes and such with you.

I get the lowers and the heat, but also keep in mind, the best most complete sound on a bike for a rider is from the front stage.

Just some things to consider as you start planning your upgrades.

 

Is a 2k budget reasonable? Also, the BT streaming can be handled with adapters with existing stock head unit. I just find it usually sounds better then the head unit has it built in

If the lowers are a requirement for this, I can put them back on.

 

That's a reasonable budget.

Lowers aren't necessarily required, I just meant for a rider bike, most of the sound the rider will hear would come from the front.

Also when you talk about having subs, there's more to just adding 10" speakers to bags. Having that much bass in a bag means fixing rattles....porting ...bracing....a lot to consider.

Someone with more experience could offer some specific setups to meet your needs. Just trying to get the ball rolling and give you some things to consider. lol

 

I will just add this if it helps. The bass gets totally lost while at speed. Its like its nonexistent until you slow down. Also the 6x9 in this lids get lost as well at speed. If you don't mind the look of lowers that's the best route to go w a set of fairing speakers as the sound is coming at you.

 

Sommert you've gotten some good advice so far. With your budget AND your location I would consider the Rockford Fosgate head unit. It has all the features built in that you want and is about as weather resistant as the stock head unit. It also has good FM reception and clean RCA preamp outputs you will need to feed your amps. It will sound much better than your stock head unit.

The speaker options are many for your scoot. Most folks at this time are chasing after the Ground Zero yellow basket coaxials for the fairing speakers. The lower fairing options are plentiful. I don't know what is the best running these days, I just went with some cheap PA speakers since I have a DSP and the GZs in the fairing already.

One question you need to ask yourself is do you want to keep FM radio reception. This will determine your amp choices as far as what to stuff under your fairing. A lot of amps will completely obliterate the radio with RF interference.

Also ask yourself if you really want speakers in the rear. If you do and you want to hide the amps required to push them in the fairing then most likely your FM reception will be gone as a result.

It's all a game of compromises really. Decide what is really important to you and folks here can guide you towards that goal. I value bag space so I tailored my system around that. To me it is a motorcycle that just happens to have a radio in it. It ain't a rolling sound stage.

 

By speakers in the rear I assume you are talking about the saddle bag toppers and not the stock ones built into the rear seat? I think 4 speakers + some kind of sub for low end is enough for me as long as they are loud and clean. FM reception - I can do without. Never use it. I can stream anything I need to hear or play songs through Iphone. I was looking at the Rockford Fosgate kits. Is a head unit swap going to make a lot of difference in the sound quality or is the AMP and new speakers going to solve these goals? If something in the stock HU is going to drag down the sound quality then I would replace it for sure. if there is some way to get decent bass with speaker swaps alone, even better. I agree with you that I am not looking to build a sound stage here.

 

Any other input needed from me to get some recommendations? If a subwoofer is only going to be useful at low or parked I am not sure its worth the investment (or space). .

 

Are you willing to cut your bags for 8" or 10" speakers?

Why not go with some mid bass speakers in the lids?

Not saying you cant do put subs in your bags, or that you shouldn't. But as I said, there's a lot more to it than that. You cant just drop subs in a bag and be done with it like changing out 6.5 speakers in the fairing.

 

With your budget, I agree you might just want to do the RF HU upfront and be done. I saw that lowers are out, and FM isn't used.

After the HU, I'd suggest to get a solid 4ch amp - perhaps an SD2400 EVOX with some GZ's in the fairing and some Hertz 6x9's in the lids. Toss in a DSP. That will give you a very nice start. Then you can research the subwoofer more later if you think there is a need. My .02 fwiw.