The radio I just installed is rated at 45x4. I just wonder what would give me more bang for the buck, better speakers or more speakers or an amp.

 

Well if you can't hear the current speakers at hi-way speed, and your volume is turned up full blast, throwing more speakers at it isn't going to make it any louder.

If your speakers are distorting the sound, then you would need better speakers.

If you radio is cranked up, and the speakers are not distorting the sound then they should be OK, but if they are old/cracked/worn and sound like crap then you need new speakers.

If your radio's volume is cranked up, and there is barely any sound coming from the speakers such that you cant hear your tunes on the road, you need an AMP or a radio with a built in AMP.

Then you may still need new speakers anyway to handle the volume.

 

Like I posted above, the radio is 45x4 and I adjusted the tone controls to be able to achieve a volume of 37 out of 40 totally distortion-free and it's loud. It's just not not quite loud enough for me at 55+mph. The speakers are Scosche 4" from walmart and actually sound pretty decent. I don't really want to cut my fairing and I also don't really want to have to go buy an amp and install it. I will do what I have to do, but I would prefer to do it once and be done instead of doing one thing and then having to do something else, then something else... Know what I mean?

 

I'd upgrade to the Polk. The DB / decibel rating is about the highest I've seen in the 4".

I couldn't tell if you repositioned the speakers like I mentioned above?

You can easily add a power amp to the existing system. Sometimes the power rating of a mobile stereo isn't as truthful as it should be. If you check the unit may have recommended 2, 4 or 8 ohm speakers to be the best match. Even if you get an additional amplifier and run it a the same 45 watts you may hear better clarity because the radio is straining to get it loud. With the amp the radio gets backed down to a less distorted level and that is what will be boosted with a secondary amp. The radio has no "headroom" run at maximum. The secondary amp will, so when it's volume is in the middle it'll be clear sound.

You best bet to add other speakers on your bagger is to consider pod speaker mounts next to the trunk, like the new bikes have. Then it'll be like riding inside of a big speaker with sound all around you.

Or maybe it's time for some quieter pipes ... yikes!

 

I haven't moved the speakers yet, the mids are center-mounted in the speakers, so I can't get them any further apart. The right speaker has the tiny tweeter already to the outside, the left speaker will need rotated 180 to move the tiny tweeter to the outside. I understand what you're saying about the amp and having more power with a cleaner signal. I guess I will look into that.

As for pipes, I'm already running stock touring take-offs, engine noise is NOT an issue at all, it's mainly overcoming wind noise.

I don't really think the rear speaker pods on the sides of the tour pack would help much being as they would be obscured by my wife's hips. Do they really work that well? I guess I would be cranking up the music more solo anyways, so that wouldn't really be much issue in that case...

**on an unrelated note, when I dropped my bike off to the dealer, they had a customer's 86 Tour Glide in the shop, same paint scheme as yours. It had a clear plastic bubble shield over the headlights and looked to be in good shape... Made me think of you.

 

Hey I've seen a few myself, two not too far away. Even know the owners. These are the guys that tell me with very little work they are rolling in the 200,000+ mile range now. Saw one on e-bay over the summer with the matching sidecar. This guy had all his take off parts including the whole fairing. I thought wow it'd be worth it to have for "parts" lol. I'm lucky to have what I got.

Back to your ride ... I have stock pipes and the speakers I showed back on an earlier page and they play very loud ... at times. Some recordings are great sounding and some lack good tone, and some sound too crispy for my ears. Have to rememebr they're only 4" and any bass will distort them. I know you mentioned you did adjust the tone to your ear, and have been able to turn it up to almost max. That takes us back to the speakers DB output. With the same power and volume, matching the amps required range of OHMs for the speaker is important, and the ability for the speaker to produce higher DBs gives you volume. Same set up with higher output speakers = louder sound for your ears.

My wife also outlawed the pods as taking too much of her space. I bought some marine speakers in boxes and had hoped to locate them on the highway bars. I should have considered the marine units that mount to a rail. They might have been better to put on the highway bars.

 

Get the Polks they sound great with my Jensen head unit. I'm going to add rear speakers, I'm leaning towards mounting them in the lids. If you have the non batwing faring you could mount a set if 5.25" in the faring along with the 4"

 

I have the FLTC shark-nose fairing. Unless I give up the storage pockets on each side, where is the room for 5-1/4" speakers? The flats where the gauges are will only support maybe 4" speakers, and that will require relocating the gauges. I kinda like the idea of adding another pair of speakers to the fairing, twice the surface area of the cones should = twice the air moved by the sound, which should = twice as loud, right? I will probably look into the Polk's first and see how they sound off the head unit alone, then go from there.

 

Should this concern someone thinking of buying the Jhd1120? I found this on http://www.heavydutyradios.com/jhd11...ers_manual.pdf
Its the owners manual pdf for the head unit:

CARE AND MAINTENANCE
• Keep the product dry. If it does get wet, wipe it dry immediately. Liquids might contain
minerals that can corrode the electronic circuits.
• Keep the product away from dust and dirt, which can cause premature wear of parts.
• Handle the product gently and carefully. Dropping it can damage circuit boards and
cases, and can cause the product to work improperly.
• Wipe the product with a dampened cloth occasionally to keep it looking new. Do not use
harsh chemicals, cleaning solvents, or strong detergents to clean the product.
• Use and store the product only in normal temperature environments. High temperature
can shorten the life of electronic devices, damage batteries, and distort or melt plastic
parts.

 

I saw that disclaimer in my manual as well. I thought it was pretty funny. One thing I did discover about this radio, the radio has to be on for at least a full minute before you plug in a flash drive to the usb jack, otherwise it wont load right or play from the usb jack. It doesn't say anything about that in the manual.