KDC-X500 on the way from Biketronics. Had a nice chat with Bill Today. I originally was going for the 998 and after talking with Bill the extra options besides internal amp shutoff wasn't beneficial enough for a 2 speaker setup. Time alignment in general isn't effective on a bike with 2 speakers. Still have a 13band eq, q factor, drive eq, crossovers with adj slope,etc. Mainly less display, few other creature comforts, and less quality cd player which I will likely never use. Once in I will update, but this seems to be a good alternative unit for those who prefer a 2 speaker setup.
http://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/excelon/kdc-x500/

 

You know this is a great point.

I grabbed the 998 a while back when I had the 4180 and wanted seperate front and rear crossovers and gain settings. Not many radios offer that and it makes sense if you have 6.5's up front and 6X9's in the bags. Yet, this radio has become very popular her and for the majority of folks it's overkill, especially for folks who all run the same 6.5 speakers. As you know these "extra" settings are intended to for running an active crossover system in a car, and the result is the amount of posts we get here asking how to set it ALL these settings. The X500 may be a better more streamlined option for easier and straight to the point tuning.

 

I too have a 5 series Kenwood and it does all I need it to do and then some.. There are still tons settings to play around with

 

Unit in. Install was easy with the Biketronics kit. Got the xovers, eq, and most settings fairly dialed in. Sound quality improved significantly over the Aquatic unit as I knew it would. I gained a much cleaner sound, better low end response and the tweets are well controlled from the 13band eq. I gained much more volume without the distortion. Very happy. I'll post a video when I can get the bike outside. Sounds good on garage but out in the open I can show how well a ,2 speaker setup sounds if you don't like bad lids with speakers and don't run a crash bar so lowers can't be used. Glad I made the switch. In all fairness the Aquatic still had it pros but just doesn't reproduce the quality of sound I am accustomed to.