You will want to listen to what Haze just said.
Do you have the BT4180?

 

I'm guessing it's because the geometry difference would make tuning both sets essentially impossible?
Haven't purchased anything yet. Just asking some questions before I do.

 

This is good. It's much easier to start with a clean slate.
My first suggestion would be to take your time and read through some of the forum posts to get some ideas on what others have put together and how they like it.

We can assume you are upgrading the 2015 Ultra Classic and you want to upgrade the fairing and TP speakers and add speaker lids?
Does the UC have the 6.5 or 4.3 radio and do you plan on keeping it?
Do you have a budget in mind?
And what are your expectations?

 

Bertk, I have the 6.5 radio which I want to keep and my plan is to start with the fairing and tour pak speakers/amp. I've installed the tour pak detach kit so I can take the tour pak off during the summer so I was thinking I might possibly want to add lid speakers down the road mostly to make up for the loss of the pod speakers when the tour pak is off. However, it may be cost prohibitive to do the lids because my bike has one of the custom paint colors and getting color matched kids may be a non-starter.

I'm not an audiophile by any means but I did read the entire "Official 2014 Audio Upgrade" thread and several of the other threads on speakers, amps and packages and wanted some feedback on possible options.

 

I think starting off with a fairing / TP setup is a good approach. As you have most likely read the Rushmore models require extra attention. Keeping the stock HU will require a device such as the BT355 Line Levelers or other devices available to flatten the stock EQ that HD uses to make there cheep speakers sound better. The LL's are the most cost effective and easiest to use. On the Rushmore Ultra models there are not rear speaker connections under the fairing so a BT Breakout harness is required to keep from cutting into the stock wiring. Another problem area is the stock front speaker pods. I would highly recommend replacing them with the BT speaker brackets. This will allow many more choices of speakers and will allow the speakers to breath and increase overall SQ. They also give you more room for adding devices such as component crossovers. A lot to consider before even choosing speakers or an amp.

If you want a close as possible to Plug & Play system then I would suggest the BT amp and a good pair of fairing speakers. I really like the BT amps but being non adjustable and the stock HU limited to only bass and treble controls there will be no way of tuning the the system. If you want to ability to make adjustments then you will want to go with an amp that has gain and crossover (HPF) controls.

For speakers, the fairing speakers are the main source of SQ on a bike and where you want to put the best speakers that will fit your budget and your listening needs. There are a lot of choices to consider. First would be do you want to go with coax or components. Coax are the easiest to install and satisfy most users needs. Components bring crossovers and in most cases separate tweeters into the install. They also bring better SQ and will in most cases be louder.

As you have most likely already read the Rushmore TP pods are shallower than in previous years. There are some good drop-in speakers and others that will require spacers as we touched on previously.

Now come the hard or I should say fun part. Finding an amp and speaker combo that will work well together and hopefully satisfy your ears and listening needs.

 

Bertk, one more question. If I go with the BT 4180 and 7.1s in the fairing what would be a good tour pak pod speaker to use with that amp?

 

The Polk Audio MM651 would drop in for the TP pods. They come with a crossover which can be routed through the vent into the TP as shown here.
The Hertz HCX 165 with 1/2" spacers and you would need grills
Or the Mille Pros with the V-Twin adapters. The Mille pros are a higher tier speaker than the 7.1's. They get pretty loud in that location and you may have to fade to the front.

 

Ur gonna need the best warmth possible to balance those 7.1s out so on a budget the MM651 or possibly the warmth of a Hertz Millie Pro?

T

 

T, do you have a better recommendation in lieu of the 7.1s up front? I'm worried that with the TP off in the summer the 7.1s might be too bright so maybe a warmer fairing speaker and a complimentary TP speaker would be a smarter approach.

 

I would say the best all around speaker I have tried in the fairing is the Hertz MLK. Got them from BAB.

Now there is a catch to that statement. I'm currently not running those as Haze, Gan and myself have been testing the shix out of some other fairing stuff but until that shix has been run thru the ringer, is on the Area 51 list. I have about 20 hours on them and they blow away the MLK and far cheaper. Stand by.

T.