I live about 15 min. from the Reckless guys and went to their shop to buy mine. I bought an unpainted blank for a previously owned metric and added everything myself. The owner, Alex, is a super nice guy and took a lot of time to answer my questions and show me around. Good fairing and a good company.

 

I may be wrong so someone please correct me if I am. But I believe the HDRK your seeing on the order form for Reckless as the SKU: when ordering it? I believe the HDRK model is the XS fairing outer with a different inner fairing than the XS. The XS fairing actually has a storage compartment instead of having a cutout for a radio. It still offers you the option of having music because the kit includes (from the Reckless Website) a 100 Watt mini amplifier AUX input for your IPOD or MP3 player, 2x 6.5" Marine speakers (Millennia / Prospec speakers), Quick detach wire harness, 12V Power outlet, 5" or 8" Windscreen. Whereas the HDRK fairing just includes the fairing with cutouts of your choice and then a 5" or 8" windscreen. So I guess technically I do have the HDRK fairing. Sorry for the confusion and thanks for pointing this out to me.

 

Thank you for the clarification. I'm still not sure which fairing to get. Right now, I think I would rather have the storage compartment; I would probably use a USB for music. Then again, I have saddle bags, so maybe a dash mounted stereo would be better. See? I'm still undecided.
I'll probably go with the fairing without the stereo.

 

Should I go with the 5.25" speakers or the 6x9 speakers?
Maybe not a question for this thread, but what would be a good stereo\amp combo?

 

1. I'm not sure how good the setup on the XS fairing is either. Could be great or it could be just alright. I know I've read guys on here replacing the setup that Reckless sends out because they want something louder so that is something to consider.

2. I personally went with the 5.25" speakers because I liked the look of the four smaller speakers compared to the 6x9" speakers. I'm completely satisfied with how loud and clear they are but I also have read a lot of guys like the 6x9" speakers because they produce the same good sound with a little more bass. Haven't heard the 6x9"s in person so cant say how good they would be but either way I think you would be satisfied.

The set up I have currently is one that UltraNutz recommended to me. It is a Kenwood marine headunit, Polk MM521 speakers, and Soundsteam PN4.520D amp. I'll be installing the amp this weekend so I can post pics of the inner fairing with amp and everything hooked up if you would like to see. Only thing that might be an issue for you is if you want to listen to the radio, a class D amp blocks some or all of the FM reception almost making it nonexistent and unable to listen to the radio. If the radio is important to you, Rockford Fosgate makes a PBR300x4 or PBR300x2 amp that a lot of people on the forum use as well and doesn't block FM signals. The audio section of the forum has tons of good information on different setups depending on what your looking for and how much you want to spend. Any more questions just let me know and I'll try to help as much as I can.

 

Bucknit21, please post your pics of the install - I would greatly appreciate it.
Would 6x9s be easier since there's only two speakers, is a 2 - channel amp cheaper than a 4 - channel amp?
Two speakers are less expensive than four speakers, right?
I would definitely want to listen to the radio if I go to the trouble of installing a stereo.

 

Ya I'll definitely post some pics on Sunday when I get home. And yes and no on ease of installation. You only have two speakers to wire instead of four but its not that really big of an issue to hook up two more speakers. If you have to bridge the speakers or run them in series it can get kind of confusing wiring the speakers to the amp so you have the correct impedance (ohms) so that the speakers impedance rating matches what the amp can handle. I made this mistake once of having the wrong amp for speakers, it is very important that they match.

I just checked on Amazon and the 2 channel Rockford Fosgate amp was $150 compared to the 4 channel model that was $160. The 4 channel Soundstream I just ordered was $107 shipped. So just depends on the setup you go with and what you want to get out of your setup.

And if you would go with the Polk MM line of speakers the 5.25" speakers I have are $153 a pair on Amazon compared to the 6x9" speakers which are $160 a pair. So since you'd only have to buy one pair instead of two you would be saving yourself about $146 by going with the 6x9"s.

Since the Soundstream amp I ordered does get rid of FM for me I plan on just using a USB flashdrive loaded with music. Another option I found but haven't yet tried on my motorcycle is an app on my phone where I can play almost any radio station across the US that I want to. I plan on just hooking up phone through bluetooth and listening to the live radio that way. This way I don't have to worry about an antenna and anywhere that I have cell phone reception I will have a clear radio signal. Just something to consider as well.

Check out the audio section of the forum for more speaker and amp setups as well. Lots of useful information over there. I've only had experience with a few brands so there may be a better setup if you go with the 6x9"s. UltraNutz is a forum member and moderator that can answer almost any and every audio question that you would have. He helped me pick out the current setup that I have now. Check out some of the stickies that he started like the installation ones. They could help you a lot. Or send him a PM, he was willing to help me with every question I had and I'm sure would be willing to help you as well.

 

I have the reckless XL fairing with the infinity blue tooth marine radio and amp with 4 speakers. The XL is a little wider than the XS and gives you a little more protection for your hands.I bought mine last fall so I only got 2 long rides in before the weather made me put the bike away for the winter. The radio is plenty loud and clear at highway speeds. I haven't had to crank up the volume more than half way even while running along with semi trucks. I bought a garmin zumo 665lm with xm radio which I plan to install on bike soon. So far I like this fairing very much.

 

How much wider is the XL fairing?

 

About 4 inches wider than the XS and a oem harley batwing. That little bit make a big difference keeping the wind off of me.