Hello all,

I am currently in the beginning stages of adding a batwing fairing to my Road king, and am currently using all OEM parts so it doesn't have that aftermarket look. I think I am pretty good with the how to of the install, but I do need to be educated on the sound system. It is like a foreign language to me, how many watts do I want? How many channels do I need in my amp? What size speakers work best in the Batwing? Do I want to buy the conversion and use 6x9's? I am not looking for a show quality sound system. I want something that will sound good going down the road. (I understand that my exhaust, and highway speeds will effect that). So as much I will need some opinions on what works, and what doesnt, if someone could simply explain the components, and their output, that would be great.

Thanks,
Matt

 

We're going to need the usual info. What's your budget for the audio portion of your upgrade? Do you think you'll expand in the future? Do you plan on listening to FM? Once we have that info we'll be able to give you suggestions based on your needs that will work for you.

 

Thanks Little Mike. I'd like to cap the audio at $500 if possible. Is that feasible? I would consider expanding in the future, but have no plans to do so yet. I had assumed that I would have FM capabilities, but hadn't really thought about it. Thanks

 

The general recommendation is to do it right the first time....one and done. We all started off by saying we just wanted wanted something we could hear going down the road. Then is morphed into an addiction, lol. I'll start by answering the questions you asked. A two channel amp is what you'll need to start. If you do plan on expanding in the future with speakers in either the lower fairings, tourpak pods, or saddlebag lids you'd ideally want a four channel to facilitate that expansion without needing to add another amp or change amps. How many watts depends on the speakers. Too many watts into speakers not rated to handle the power could blow them. An amp with not enough power won't drive a quality set of speakers, could introduce distortion which will damage the speakers just as fast.

I know you stated you are using all OEM parts to avoid the aftermarket look but since you're starting from scratch I'd recommend going with an aftermarket headunit. The stock is decent....for what it is. An aftermarket will give you more listening options like a thumb drive or bluetooth and provide a stronger cleaner signal. To keep from making this even longer, most amps effect FM reception due to the way in which they create the power. Now for what would be my suggestion based on your budget, bet that's the last time you ask to be educated, lol.

Based on your budget and wanting to keep FM:
Headunit - Sony MEX-M70BT $200
Amp - Rockford Fosgate PBR300X2 (will allow you to keep FM) $150
Speakers - Infinity Kappa 62.11i 6.5" $130 OR Kicker 41KSC674 $100
The Infinities are 2 ohm and the Kickers are 4 ohm. The amp can handle either but you'll get more out of the amp running 2 ohm speakers.
6.5" Speaker adapters $28-50 depending on which ones you get
Metra Install kit 99-9600 $30
A 10ga amp wiring kit Prices vary greatly but you're looking at about $20

The only base not covered is potential future expansion. I'm sure others will offer additional suggestions. Shop and research them all and decide what will work best for you. Nobody here is likely to steer you wrong.

 

Thank you! My next question is do I need an amp hooked up to every speaker? Or does it just help. Here's what I had in mind- in addition to the regular speakers that a batwing fairing has, i wanted to add 3" speakers where the speedo and tach are. I'm going to keep the RK speedo for now. I also wanted to add the small tweeters to the other smaller holes. Im more concerned with filling the holes than sound quality. I wanted most if not all of the quality sound from the normal batwing speakers. Can I wire these additional speakers to the head unit without going to the amp? Sorry if this is confusing, there's no directions, im figuring it out as i go.

 

Think of channels as speakers, 4 speakers, 4 channels. That said, it's still possible to run 4 speakers on a two channel amp, but you lose the ability to fade from front to back. If it were me, knowing what I know now, I would get a 4 channel amp from the start. It will run you two speakers, and later on down the road when you want to add another set (and you will) you'll be ready to go. Be advised that Class D amps usually kill FM reception. If you get a head unit that is bluetooth enabled the loss of FM isn't usually a big deal, as you can stream it off of one of many radio apps.