So, I finally finished up with my audio upgrade this weekend and WOW! Took a few weekends and a few combinations of speakers to get the sound I wanted, but I am more than happy with the end result. I already had the Rokker amp and 7.25 speakers (with the mid and high tweeters in the grill), and added two pair of 6x9s and another pair of tweeters. Here is the final outcome of the system...

1. J&M Rokker 500w 4 channel amp
2. Pair of J&M Rokker 7.25 speakers
3. Pair of J&M Rokker gauge pod tweeters
4. Two pair of Pioneer TS-D6902R 6x9s in the saddle bags
5. Alpha-Nav AN5700NV flip out navigation head unit

First thing was to send the bags to the local custom shop to get the 6x9s installed in the bags facing the rear wheel. This was a straight forward installation that is very popular here in Atlanta.

While the bags were getting modified, I began the installation of the tweeters. As you can imagine, installation was straight forward with these. One thing I can say with a ton of confidence is that the products from J&M are always a breeze to install. These gauge pod tweeters took all of about 10 minutes to install. Once I got them installed, I tuned the amp frequency and gains. I basically ended up with the gains turned all the way down and the frequency set to about 300hz.

Once I got everything tuned properly, I went and picked up the bags and began wiring up the 6x9s. The Rokker amp puts out 125 rms per channel @ 2 ohms which allowed me to run each pair of 6x9s in parallel to drop them to 62.5 watts each rms @ 2 ohms.

Once the 6x9s were wired up and power was send to them, they sounded just ok. That was until I closed the lids. At that point, these things really sounded off. Again, I had to adjust the gains and frequency on the amp. The gains ended up being turned all the way down for the rear channels and the frequency was turned up about 1/4 turn from the lowest setting. At this point, I was able to get my stock radio up to about half before everything started to sound like sh*t. This is when I knew that I HAD to install an aftermarket radio to get the best possible sound.

The Alpha Nav is a pretty decent unit. I had never heard of it before so I did some research prior to installing it. Apparently, one of the former Clarion execs decided to go off and do his own thing and started this company. He supposedly used a lot of the same designs and suppliers that were used at Clarion. The radio seems pretty decent to me, but had I not got it on a trade I definitely wouldnt buy it. Not saying anything bad about it, but it's just not my idea to be the test dummy for new products and new brands. Now on to the install...

Installation of this was pretty straight forward as well. I used the Scosche HD7000B installation kit with wiring harness ($55 at Amazon) and the PAC SWI-RC steering wheel interface ($40 at Amazon). Grand total of both components was $95 shipped, compared to $200+ for the Biketronics retro radio install kit. Wiring was a breeze (only had to cut and splice 7 wires from the Scosche harness to the radio). The brackets from Schosche lined up perfectly and installation took maybe 10 minutes. The PAC SWI-RC radio control was also a breeze to install. It simply plugs into the Scosche harness and into the back of the aftermarket radio. The only wire fabrication I had to do was to cut the pink/white wire that comes from the handlebars and ground it to the bike. As of right now, I am having issues with getting the unit to work correctly, but I am about 99% certain that it is an issue with the head unit than the actual Scosche/PAC products. The head unit has a built in steering wheel radio control function and responds to the inputs from the handlebar controls, but doesnt respond in the manner that it should. So, because of this, I disconnected the handlebar controls and will just wait until this head unit takes a crap (its a flip screen so it shouldnt take long) before I get another one.

All in all, installation was a success. I was able to get everything tuned properly and had no issues playing around with speakers in the garage. In the end, my amp gains were set at 1/4 turn from minimum, and the rear bass boost was turned up about halfway (I believe that the aftermarket radio allowed me to add a little more to the gains and not have distortion). All radio adjustments were set to flat and now it was time to ride.

Once out on the road, thats when I knew that this was going to be fun. I turned the radio up to about a 26 (max is 50) and set up the bluetooth streaming from the phone and at 80 mph, I was able to hear highs and mids loud and clear. It was truly amazing what an extra pair of tweeters did to my highway riding. After arriving at the local clubhouse, that's when the system really began to shine.

The Pioneers thump extra hard in those bags. I was able to turn up the system to 26 (the loudest it will go before being obnoxious) and was more than impressed with the clarity and bass response. One of my fellow bike buddies was parked about 20 feet away and decided we should have a soundoff competition. His bike sounded good, but he couldnt really turn it up without distortion. I was easily able to drown his music out mostly because I was able to turn my music up a lot higher than his. The biggest surprise was that I had zero distortion from the speakers in the front, and good clean hard hitting bass from the bags.

Overall, I am more than happy with the performance and the cost of everything that I have in my sound system. I have a grand total of around $1000 into this setup and could not be happier. Anyone who is interested in upgrading their system should seriously take a look at the Rokkers and Pioneers. Next up for me will be an additional 4 channel amp and a pair of 6.5s in the front inner fairing.

 

Congrats on the install !!! WHen you replace the REAR amp, you will be AMAZED at how the Pioneers come alive. My Pioneers test out at almost 750 watts of power feeding, and they love every watt !!

Don't discount your flip-out to fail you,...this will be my 6th summer with my KENWOOD KVT-819DVD , ..and it has NEVER even hiccupped !!

 

Yea I was thinking the same thing about adding the second amp to the rear channel. My plan is to use the JL audio xd400/4 to power the pioneers and leave the Rokker to the fronts only. I didnt feel like going thru the hassle of wiring up a second amp when all I was adding at the moment was the tweeters and the rear 6x9s. Since the rear channels were already open and these pioneers can take a ton of power, I just decided to with a parallel setup which would allow me to turn up as loud as I want and not worry about anything. I think when I drop my bags off to get the inside of them dynomatted (currently there is some rattle), at that point, I will do the 6.5s in the fairing and the extra amp.

As far as that head unit goes, if it were a major brand like Kenwood, Sony, Alpine, etc then I wouldnt worry about it. But, since its a secondary brand that is new to the industry, im just gonna prepare myself for it to take a crap. It is doesnt then thats an added bonus. Thanks for your write up and advice by the way in previous threads.

 

That JL AUDIO amp is only 75 watts at 4ohm. If you like the JL Brand, get the 600/4,....it'll DOUBLE your POWER.

 

Will it tax the charging system? Where would it fit?

 

I run 2 of the Alpine PDX 4.150's.......which are about the same amp as the JL 600/4, and I have the stock charging system on my '06 Ultra. No issues for 5 years.

Not gonna get it under the fairing,..the JL 400/4 will fit , but the 600/4 is larger.

The 600/4 is HEAD & SHOULDERS better than the 400/4,....taking into consideration, watts, background noise, and total harmonic distortion,.......but it's twice the price too !!

PS,........if you like bass,.....you'd LOVE to hear my playlist , playing on my bike !!!

 

Hmmm...ineresting. Also, I have done some searching for this 600/4 and can't find it. I see the 600/6 for sale, and even a 600/1 but no 600/4. Help?

 

Cheapest price I've seen is here !! JL 600/4

 

Wow...I think I will go ahead and get the soundstream.

 

Eshaw301, I listen to mostly R&B and if you feed those Pioneers more juice you'll flip out. If you have the option to filter pass in your head unit use 50hz and you'll really be able to make them thump without a ton of distortion. I have my Sony set there and it works perfect for all the types of R&B I listen to. That's going to be a PITA not to be able to use your hand controls. I guess the extra money for the retro radio kit isn't looking to bad now. I'd suggest starting a thread about it (maybe in the touring section because it will be seem by more people) and see if anyone can chime in on a solution. Good luck and definitely get a bigger amp for the Pioneers.