Help Needed with Biketronics Install
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Tourer
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From: Dallas
Help Needed with Biketronics Install
Help!!!!
Tuesday I installed my BT2180 and 7.1's, but it was late and I was pooped so I did not trim it out and install the outer fairing until last night. Tuesday it sounded really great, but I was hoping for more bass than I was hearing. In talking to Biketronics Tech Support Tuesday (on a separate issue) I mentioned that the bass was a little flat and the tech said the bass and imaging would improve a lot when I put the fairing back on. He also said to NOT wrap the speakers in polyfill. He said Biketronics does not recommend it because it can cause the speaker to overheat, thus reducing the life of the speaker (even tho they have a lifetime warranty), but mainly because the polyfill can absorb and retain water and it can also collect bugs. So............I took the polyfill off of the speakers per BT's recommendation.
After getting the fairing back on the sound quality itself is still great, but when I crank it to just a moderately loud volume, I hear so much distortion not from the speakers but from the fairing cavity trying to deal with the enormous amount of back pressure. I got everything good and tight and got a good seal around the perimeter rubber seal except one small spot where the fairing comes up and meets the windshield. When holding my arm over that spot, the escaping air blew the hair on my arm.
I know a small part of what I am hearing is due to I'm still using the OEM HU, but is this kind of pressure noise common to what you guys hear or did I "fudge" up by not leaving the polyfill on the speakers? It seems like with or without the polyfill installed there's still going to be a lot of pressure in that fairing.
Tuesday I installed my BT2180 and 7.1's, but it was late and I was pooped so I did not trim it out and install the outer fairing until last night. Tuesday it sounded really great, but I was hoping for more bass than I was hearing. In talking to Biketronics Tech Support Tuesday (on a separate issue) I mentioned that the bass was a little flat and the tech said the bass and imaging would improve a lot when I put the fairing back on. He also said to NOT wrap the speakers in polyfill. He said Biketronics does not recommend it because it can cause the speaker to overheat, thus reducing the life of the speaker (even tho they have a lifetime warranty), but mainly because the polyfill can absorb and retain water and it can also collect bugs. So............I took the polyfill off of the speakers per BT's recommendation.
After getting the fairing back on the sound quality itself is still great, but when I crank it to just a moderately loud volume, I hear so much distortion not from the speakers but from the fairing cavity trying to deal with the enormous amount of back pressure. I got everything good and tight and got a good seal around the perimeter rubber seal except one small spot where the fairing comes up and meets the windshield. When holding my arm over that spot, the escaping air blew the hair on my arm.
I know a small part of what I am hearing is due to I'm still using the OEM HU, but is this kind of pressure noise common to what you guys hear or did I "fudge" up by not leaving the polyfill on the speakers? It seems like with or without the polyfill installed there's still going to be a lot of pressure in that fairing.
Last edited by Marks57; May 14, 2015 at 02:01 PM.
Help!!!!
Tuesday I installed my BT2180 and 7.1's, but it was late and I was pooped so I did not trim it out and install the outer fairing until last night. Tuesday it sounded really great, but I was hoping for more bass than I was hearing. In talking to Biketronics Tech Support Tuesday (on a separate issue) I mentioned that the bass was a little flat and the tech said the bass and imaging would improve a lot when I put the fairing back on. He also said to NOT wrap the speakers in polyfill. He said Biketronics does not recommend it because it can cause the speaker to overheat, thus reducing the life of the speaker (even tho they have a lifetime warranty), but mainly because the polyfill can absorb and retain water and it can also collect bugs. So............I took the polyfill off of the speakers per BT's recommendation.
After getting the fairing back on the sound quality itself is still great, but when I crank it to just a moderately loud volume, I hear so much distortion not from the speakers but from the fairing cavity trying to deal with the enormous amount of back pressure. I got everything good and tight and got a good seal around the perimeter rubber seal except one small spot where the fairing comes up and meets the windshield. When holding my arm over that spot, the escaping air blew the hair on my arm.
I know a small part of what I am hearing is due to I'm still using the OEM HU, but is this kind of pressure noise common to what you guys hear or did I "fudge" up by not leaving the polyfill on the speakers? It seems like with or without the polyfill installed there's still going to be a lot of pressure in that fairing.
Tuesday I installed my BT2180 and 7.1's, but it was late and I was pooped so I did not trim it out and install the outer fairing until last night. Tuesday it sounded really great, but I was hoping for more bass than I was hearing. In talking to Biketronics Tech Support Tuesday (on a separate issue) I mentioned that the bass was a little flat and the tech said the bass and imaging would improve a lot when I put the fairing back on. He also said to NOT wrap the speakers in polyfill. He said Biketronics does not recommend it because it can cause the speaker to overheat, thus reducing the life of the speaker (even tho they have a lifetime warranty), but mainly because the polyfill can absorb and retain water and it can also collect bugs. So............I took the polyfill off of the speakers per BT's recommendation.
After getting the fairing back on the sound quality itself is still great, but when I crank it to just a moderately loud volume, I hear so much distortion not from the speakers but from the fairing cavity trying to deal with the enormous amount of back pressure. I got everything good and tight and got a good seal around the perimeter rubber seal except one small spot where the fairing comes up and meets the windshield. When holding my arm over that spot, the escaping air blew the hair on my arm.
I know a small part of what I am hearing is due to I'm still using the OEM HU, but is this kind of pressure noise common to what you guys hear or did I "fudge" up by not leaving the polyfill on the speakers? It seems like with or without the polyfill installed there's still going to be a lot of pressure in that fairing.
The stock head unit does put out a ton of distortion, that might be some of the vibration in your fairing.
Bill
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I don't mind if someone uses polyfill as long as they don't have it packed so tight or tied to the speakers in a way that effects the airflow needed to keep them cool. I worry when I see pictures of polyfill zip tied to speakers or taped around them. And I didn't see a big enough difference with it installed to balance out the worry of a bad installation so we don't usually recommend it. We have seen parts that had been wrapped in polyfill that had gotten wet a couple of times, not good.
The stock head unit does put out a ton of distortion, that might be some of the vibration in your fairing.
Bill
The stock head unit does put out a ton of distortion, that might be some of the vibration in your fairing.
Bill
Bill,
Thanks for the reply. Love the product, love the warranty and everyone I've spoken with at Biketronics have been super great.
Regarding the OEM HU, I have no point of reference on audio for motorcycles. I didn't think the amp and speakers would make that much of a difference until I actually installed them, just like I didn't think a new HU would make that much difference, but I haven't heard that yet. I really couldn't imagine the OEM HU would cause enough distortion to make the fairing vibrate that much, but maybe it does. I guess if you take a distorted signal at 5-10 watts and keep that same signal into 180 watts, it does stand to reason that could cause this problem.
Regarding the polyfill, if you don't recommend tie strapping it on what would you do, just lay it on the speakers and install the fairing? My bike rarely gets wet so the water saturation wouldn't be an issue. I really do appreciate the quality of fine audio equipment and really do want to upgrade the HU, but the $$ I've invested in this bike is about to spark my 3rd divorce. The lawyer that did my other 2 said one more and I'd get a free set of steak knives. LOL
Mark
I hear you on the $$, didn't mean to imply you need to do anything right now. You should be able to get good sound with what you have, just not the outstanding sound a new head unit gives you.
I would figure out a way to get it tied in, just not super tight around the speaker. Loose is OK. The magnet can get hot on a long ride so I try to let that breathe as much as possible. Your fairing will hold it to some extent so it will not take much to keep it in place.
The other thing is sometimes you just have to chase down all the rattles after an upgrade, might need to add some weatherstrip or tape on anything bumping together or vibrating. Also check to make sure no hardware is loose.
Bill
I would figure out a way to get it tied in, just not super tight around the speaker. Loose is OK. The magnet can get hot on a long ride so I try to let that breathe as much as possible. Your fairing will hold it to some extent so it will not take much to keep it in place.
The other thing is sometimes you just have to chase down all the rattles after an upgrade, might need to add some weatherstrip or tape on anything bumping together or vibrating. Also check to make sure no hardware is loose.
Bill
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,220
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From: chatham il
The head unit will make a significant difference. Your new amp and speakers can only sound as good as the signals they are receiving from the music source (head unit). Biketronics offers great speakers and they are as good as anything out there imo but you have to remember also that your only running two speakers and deep bass is hard to achieve on a bike. The other thing to remember is most of the bass your making won't be heard at 70mph anyway. The 7.1s will give you plenty of volume at highway speeds. As far as poly fill just cut it into a square 12"-16" put it over the speaker from the back and tuck it around the speaker adapter. Like bill said it doesn't need to be tight on the speaker your basically just trying to create a blanket around the speaker. It doesn't need to be super secure it will stay put.
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