Thinking of upgrading the 4.3 unit on 17 SG, debating between the Sony or a used 6.5. Was going to order from Biketronics, but they have raised their price too much, anyone have experience with fathead? Thanks

 

The biggest question is why do you want to upgrade?

Is it the sound quality?
Is it the GPS function?

Then what type of riding do you do? Cross country or bar hopper?
Are you concerned with Water issues or do you get caught in the rain alot?

Juice

 

No regrets with mine so far but l haven't been out in the wind yet. Minnesota ya know.

I bought mine from 77Customs.

 

I ordered mine through fathead. Got it in a few days, very good service. The unit had some protection put on it, wiring is ready to go and looks professional and done right. Very plug in ready. I ordered the shimmys water cover for it. Since I just got the Sony and am going to be installing it. I can't comment on how well it works yet.

 

I ordered the Sony 5000 from Audio Advantage in Newberry SC. 803-537-0804 It came pre wired and with the Scosche handlebar control module and mounting bracket $450 to my door and had it in 48 hours, living in Northern Illinois i have not had a chance to get out and get it wet yet but it sounds incredible (thanks to BabyBoy), I have also seen several 6.5 boom HU on FaceBook groups selling for about $500 but you are buying a used unit so beware i guess,

 

I just picked up a 6.5 HU supposedly out of an 18 RG for $650 on Ebay. Should arrive tomorrow. I/ve tossed this same decision around since Nov because of my 4.3 fogging, and Moco going through 4 more radios to get one that even worked and it fogged in the first three minutes of use. I've just never had anything I owned Sony that worked more than a month or two before they developed some kind of weird problem. TVs, stereos, etc but that just seems to be my luck with electronics. Haven't checked with my dealer yet to see how much it will cost to flash the 6.5 to my bike.. Really didn't want the 6.5 because of glare issues but I've seen few if any reports of them fogging up.

 

I'm getting the Sony installed on my 16 RGS along with a a few other goodies as we speak it offers better audio quality via Car Play or Android Auto and a better maps as well as faster boot up time.

 

The reason is both Nav and SQ, if I do the Sony, I will order Shimmys cover to help with water intrusion. I ride all weather.

 

I replaced 4.3 half year ago. Love it, no regrets. Did my own water protection with 3M window film around front glass.

You lose some right thumb handle bar functions, but I don’t miss it. I upgraded to get NAV with Android. Have a dedicated Tracfone on one of the two USB ports for NAV and a mem stick on the other USB port for music.

Added an amp and upgraded the fairing speakers. Now have great audio that I can easily hear at 80mph+.

There is glare on it with the RG angle. I included TruShield layer under the 3M, not sure how much that helps.

 

Others with much more bike audio experience claim that Sony has way better SQ than boom. With the Sony, I didn’t need lone levelers and didn’t get DSP.