nice detailed and picture captured write up. great paint job! how did you like the sound set up, since it has been sometime that you installed. would be nice to have your feedback on the system and components selection. thanks,

 

I love this setup and I keep coming back to this thread. If anyone is interested, the lower vented fairings are being sold on ebay for $59.00 a pair. I think it was a great deal and I got me a set.

 

Jay, your bike looks great!!! Now, is the Street Glide seat more comfortable or is it just a different shape?

 

Thanks. I sold this bike and regret it very much. The new Rushmore bikes lured me in, haven't been too happy with all the bugs in them. My wife is tired of hearing me whine about missing the Road King.

The Street Glide seat was just my bar hopper seat. I don't think I would do more than 100mi on it.

That sound system kicked ***. Especially for the price, can't say enough good things about the Rockford Fosgate stuff. I ride year round and I just couldn't see having $250+ speakers exposed to rain. Just make sure to get the butyl rubber surrounds. I liked the system so much I pretty much duplicated it on my '14 Ultra, HD Boombox radio with 2 Rockford amps and 8 coax speakers.

 

Jay,

Not a lot of Road Kings out there with fairing lower speakers. I've considered it ever since I saw the 13 CVO models. How is the sound quality of the lower speakers with and without the windshield? I want to do the same setup, but don't want to get a fairing also. Just the lowers and maybe lid speakers if necessary, but haven't ever talked to anyone who has them and can tell me if the quality is any good. Thanks for the help and the in depth write up. Great stuff.

Drew

 

I recommend lids and lowers. It's not a matter of sound quality, it's about the off-axis response from the lowers. Also, as frequency increases the sound becomes more directional. Although the lowers and lids are slightly angled toward the rider, a lot of the sound coming out of speakers are off axis to the listening position. If you had just a pair of handlebar speakers pointed straight at the rider, you might get away with no lids. I found that with the lowers, the lids were necessary at highway speed to really enjoy the music to my liking.

Also, it really makes a difference what kind of helmet you wear and whether or not the windshield was on. I wear a half helmet. With windshield on, half helmet on, and both lids and lowers I could hear the music just fine at 75mph. With no windshield and half helmet, no way - nothing but wind noise. With no windshield and a 3/4 helmet (no ear holes), I could hear a decent amount of music at hwy speeds. I've read some people wear special acoustically flat foam ear plugs that still allow you to hear music (and cages), but decrease the wind noise. You'll just have to experiment.

I don't like the look of the handlebar speakers, so for me the lowers and lids made sense. To answer your question directly, yes, you need lids and lowers. The location of the speakers is fairly easy to figure out, but the equipment changes all the time. I used Rockford PBR300x2 series, but there are fancier units out there. Check out the audio section on this forum. A lot of really smart guys in there that may have reviewed the latest/greatest equipment for you.

 

Thanks for the info. I generally ride with the windshield, and if I do have it off it's for under 50 around town stuff and I want that flexibility. Sounds like the plan should be to start with lowers and speakers and go from there. Should be a good winter project!

 

Do you by chance have any part numbers for what you used for the fairing lowers, speakers and the saddlebag lids as well? This is about the slickest setup I've seen. Been trying to wrap my head around a fairing, but I just can't do it to my RK. Thanks.

 

Part numbers were on page 2:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touring-models/922597-2013-road-king-stereo-lower-fairings-batwing-etc-2.html#post11995801

Some updates. There are some really good speakers out there to upgrade this setup. On a budget, I now highly recommend looking at the Infinity Kappa line. 62.11 coax is a phenomenal sounding speaker at hwy speeds and has become widely available on internet discount sites for not much coin. With a little more budget, look into the Hertz HCX line (slightly more bass than Infinity). Also, I have never heard a bad review about Biketronics.

I still recommend the PBR 300x2 amp because of the outstanding durability and because not much else fits the Road King. Worth a try, however, is the Cerwin Vega B52. Slightly larger than the PBR, a lot more power. Would be interested to know if anyone can make it fit.

It is worth visiting the Audio Systems forum here at hdforums. Really smart folks there that have tested just about every brand out there worth testing.

 

Nice!