I got a set of these speakers mounted on my ride yesterday. The original plan was to wire them internally on my bars, but the cables were not long enough due to the way the wires had to be run from where the speakers mount. They mount off the clutch perch and brake lever perch portion of the hand controls and that took up too much wire with my 16" Carlini's.

So after removing the bars and discovering this I decided to wire them externally much to my chagrin. The brake lever side is not big deal as the wiring got zip tied to front brake line, but since I have no clutch cable due to my foot clutch that side had to be zip tied to the bars. Oh well, there goes my super clean looking bars. But...it was all worth while and the speakers Rock!

These are 40 W each with built in amps in each speaker. I t does not sound like much, but with the height of my bars the speakers are just about even with my ears. When I turn the speakers to half volume and the ipod up to about the same they get so loud that I feel I could be deafened with this setting very easily.

So how is the sound quality? Nothing short of what I would expect from J&M. They sound great. If you are expecting thumping bass like you would hear from a subwoofer, forget about it. These speakers are 4" in diameter and ahve great sound quality for their size. I would not say the bass is completely non existent, as it is not,but if you are a true audiophile and expecting them to sound like a car with a full system you might be let down.

Now for the first Road test I took. I had to go to Hollywood right after the install to take some pics o f a shopping center I am leasing. It was rush hour so the traffic was heavy. I took the freeway part of the way and with the heavy traffic and slow speeds i could hear the speakers perfectly. In fact it was so loud at half volume that it was bordering on distracting as I am not used to riding with tunes. On the streets, it is more than plenty loud. I have not had a chance to take it for a full shakedown on a wide open freeway yet due to my rush hour timing.

Everywhere I went people were craning their necks to see where all the noise was coming from. It was not just the pipes they were hearing. I stopped next to quite a few cars at stoplights and got the thumbs up which is not unheard of around here, but the speakers sound great to me. Like I said before, I will really have to get used to having the tunes so I can stay focused as they are LOUD! I followed J&M's instructions as far as adjusting the volume (speakers on half volume and use the ipod volume until before it starts to distort) and it was more than sufficiently loud for the riding I was doing. All in all I am a very happy camper with this system and look forward to many happy miles with my new sounds on the ride. I can't believe I waited so long to do this. As far as a comparison to other speakers, when I find others with other speaker setups we will have a good old Pepsi challenge and see who wins. Once I take a nice freeway ride I will report back on that too.

Now for the install. These speakers mounted easily and hooking them up to the power very simple. Once the speakers were mounted on the hand controls, I ran the wires through the hole in the middle of the triple tree and into the fork tins. I plugged each speaker into each other, the power line to the fused and ground leads, and the ipod 3.5mmjack to the other plug. I ziptied all the excess wire together and stuffed it in the fork tins so it is a clean install. for power I tapped into the red and gray wire off of my ignition so i can have power with the ACC setting or the power setting and discovered that my ignition is improperly wired as it works with the ignition on but on ACC. I think my switch is wired backwards. Hmmm...

I am using my Ipod shuffle until I get my Ram mount for the my Iphone, although the shuffle is ideal as it is tiny and there is no sliding on the touch screen to turn it on and change songs. I used heavy duty velcro on to top on one of my risers for to mount the ipod shuffle. Who knows if the vibration will kill the hard drive, I know all about the Ipod and vibration issues for those with the hard drives.

When I park I grab my shuffle, stuff it in my pocket and off I go. I do not have a charging solution for the shuffle yet as it charges through the 3.5mm jack too, but I will get that sorted out soon.

Is this product worth the price? If you insist on having tunes and want high quality sound absolutely. My initial thought was why didn't I do this years ago.

I will add some pics from the install later on once I get some of the speakers mounted on the bike. As always, I can get you these speakers at a discounted rate and am proud to sell them.

Thanks!

Drew

 

Nice review Dr. As you know I have the Kuryakyn Speakers....

just a quick note.....make sure that the height of the speakers is not directly facing your ears......I found that if I lowered my speakers a bit...the sound travels UP......so when they were facing (even) with my ears....the sound wasn't as loud because the sound was going "over" my ears......

waiting for pics

 

Will do. thanks for the tip. Here are a few pics of the install.
Here is how I routed the power under the dash. It is wired to the Red/gray wire off the ignition and grounded on the grounding point off the frame above the battery.


Here are the plugs coming out of the hole in the triple tree on the left side in front of the fork tins. As soon as I get outside I'll have pics of the speaker mounting points and the wiring off of them.

 

Okay guys, I am reluctant to post pics of the speakers as my buddies are calling my speakers Mickey Mouse ears, but i will post them today regardless.

Drew

 

Yeah, I didnt want to say anything, but this is the first mod of yours I'm in shock you actually went through with. The design and look of these things just make me laugh. The only way I could possibly see using the, is if they could be mounted down on the crashbar, which then proly wouldn't be heard.

but as the saying goes, to each his own! As long as you are happy.

 

Once you hear them, your mind will change. I am still thinking about mounting them with clamps lower on the bars, but on thing at a time. They really do rock. I guess I am losing my style in my old age. LOL.

Drew

 

I have just figured out an alternate mounting for these. Two cable clamps and run the speakers either inside or outside of the bars. Inside or outside people?

Drew

 

We need pics to make the call!

 

The Ipod shuffle get's mounted on the left riser cap.

 

Now there's a phrase I never would have thought I would see on this site. And yes, in my other life I AM an audiophile.....

Shakey