Bought a 2001 Screaming Eagle Road Glide so I could try some 2-up riding with the warden on board (as opposed to her driving me nuts piloting her own bike). Plans are to run from SW Colorado through WY, SD, MN, to the HD 110th bash at the end of the summer. Kind of digging the bagger thing (refering to the bike, not the mrs!) but was totally HATING the factory am/fm/cassette complete with cinder-block 12 disc changer. FM channels only come in on uphill runs, tossed out the cassettes a decade ago, and the cinder-block promptly ate my cd's. Tore it apart to save a classic Howling Wolf cd and scrapped the carnage. Oh, and the aux input isn't really there on this model.

Here is the beat old stereo and speakers/grills...


I had a Kenwood and a JVC head unit both new in the box in my (Jeep) parts pile. I decided on adding the Hawg Wired adapter so I could keep my handlebar controls. And an email to my buddy Dave (Gummybear1 here on HDForums) helped me decide on the Kicker PX100.2 amp and PS5250i speakers. These are available in the Kuryakyn audio catalog.

I love the smell of new electronics!


I decided on the Kenwood unit because it had an aux input and a usb, both in the rear of the unit. Armed with extra wiring, zip ties, velcro, and knowledge from this forum (all hail UltraNutz! Hail, hail, hail ), I tore the fairing off my Road Glide. I took out the 20 lb boat anchor Harley called "top of the line" in 2001, and a set of warped Kenwood speakers that had been previously installed. I'm not sure of the model number of the woodchuck that was used to bite open the speaker grill openings, but with a new set from my local stealership's parts counter (#77021-98B right, #77022-98B left), I was set.

Old speakers/grills & stereo in fairing


Yanked!

 

Kicker speakers & new grills


Installed...

 

Time to figure out the wiring. As per the instructions that came with the Kicker amp, I ran the speaker output wires from the Kenwood unit, then cut off the female RCA ends from the inputs of the amp. I butt connect the radio speaker output wires to the input wires of the amp. I then ran the speaker output wires of the amp to the new speakers. I set the DIP switches on the amp so the crossover is OFF, Signal sense turn-on is ON, Signal level is HIGH and started out the gain control at ˝ way up. By wiring it this way, the amp will turn on when I turn on the bikes' radio.

Yeah, wiring!


Everything shoved into the fairing...


As you can see in the above picture, I have the head unit mounted in the super clean Hawg Wired bracket, and the Hawg Wired unit is velcro'd to the left side of the factory bracket. The Kicker amp is velcro'd to the top of the head unit. You can also see my coveted Sirius SV-1 receiver. What you can't see is the Sirius antenna velcro'd to the underside of the fairing above the head unit. I ran the antenna wire under the rubber gasket for the windshield. I want to hardwire the power for the Sirius receiver, but need to find another power lead as I us this one in my work vehicle as well. So, time being, I will settle for plugging in the power lead for the Sirius unit into the cigarette lighter on the fairing.

 

After getting everything tied in, my initial test run was a failure in that only the FM worked. I could see the other inputs all registering on the display, but no sound. I uninstalled/reinstalled the Kenwood with the same results. I am guessing that the Kenwood unit has something wrong internally that is muting the output on everything but the FM source. Oh well. Not wanting to mess with it and having a JVC unit as a back-up, I yanked the Kenwood out and put in the JVC.

Here is the JVC with the Sirius in test mode. (Note to self; move the bike out from under the house to aquire signal )


So, after a test run, I added my gps and put the fairing back together. For the gps unit, I swapped the fuel gauge with the (constant at 100 degrees) tempature gauge. I then mounted a RAM mount with an adhesive backing to the glass front of the temp gauge. I had a spare usb "Tapp Lite" waterproof port. This has an inline fuse between the battery and the USB port and is rated at 1 amp for the iPhone. I ran it under the tank and into the battery. The other end I attached to the handlebars with zip ties. This allows me to a) charge my iPhone if needed and, b) plug the usb into the gps unit while leaving my cigarette lighter open for my Sirius unit.

Here is the finished product (note; you can see the Tapp Lite usb port on the bars just below the speedometer)...

 

All I can say is WOW!!! The clarity and loudness is so much better than the factory set-up. At 75mph, rocking out to Classic Rewind on Sirius is heaven! The cd player works great, the FM reception is markedly better, and the ability to switch between them and adjust the volume is worth the price of admission alone! I am extremely impressed with the simple and clean execution of the Kicker products! I am equally as impressed with the cottage industry quality of the Hawg Wired products as well.

I am super pleased with the end result. After reading this section of the forum, I am motivated to take my set-up further. Time, money, and some convincing (of the warden) should allow me to do so! My only complaints so far would've that I can't see anything on the display of the JVC. It is due to the angle the head unit sits at as I can see it if I stand up. Same with the display on the Sirius unit, but more so due to the color of the display itself. However, while riding, I can adjust the volume with my left thumb and don't need to look at the display at all. I also have 5 presets on the Sirius that I know and can change them by feel while riding. The gps (like others have reported) works great except when the sun is directly behind me. I would like more bass and plan on doing the poly-fill trick once I have my Sirius power supply issue figured out.

I also replaced the 2001 light bezel and the non-effective HD "wig-splitter" windshield...


with a 2011 headlight bezel and HID bulbs and a new LRS 13" Mako windshield (since I had the fairing off anyways)...


FYI, yes... my "garage" is the front porch of my ranch house...


I may not have an actual garage, but I do have some space and a bit of a view...

 

Nice work and great write-up! Gotta love new audio!

 

Why would anyone recommend a 5.25 speaker ???

• 2-Channel Powersports Series Amplifier
• 4 ohms: 25 watts x 2 chan.
• 2 ohms: 50 watts x 2 chan.
• Bridged, 4 ohms: 100 watts x 1 chan

Congrats on the upgrade, but,...............you received really bad advice on the components !

 

Thanks!!!

I don't think so. My only cash outlay was for the Hawg Wired kit and the HD speaker grills. I wanted to use what I had because; 1) most of it were gifts and I wanted to show my appreciation by using them and, 2) this was a test run into bike stereophonics. I LOVE audio stuff and this Road Glide is a trial to see how the warden and I like 2-up bagger touring.

The 5.25" speaker are properly designed and will work fine. At highway speeds, its all about clarity and definition. There is minimal difference between 5.25" and 6.5" speakers on the highway (which is where I will use them a majority of the time. The Kicker products are designed based on what riders want for use in the real world by real riders and are not re-labeled car stereo products. Their speakers use rare-earth neodymium magnets that can handle up to 250 watts and weigh less than stock HD speakers. The frequency response is smooth and flat to 20kHz. This eliminates the need for sepperate tweeter pods. The Kicker amps have low current draw to prevent from messing with the low output alternators on motorcycles. The PX amps are 90%+ efficient and only use about 5 amps of current while blasting them at highway speeds. Nice thing about the Kicker amp is that it doesn't get hotter than 98 degrees after abusing it. For a sealed fairing like on my Road Glide, that is a huge bonus!

I don't work for Kicker. I've read through every install on this board for the past year and know that brand choice is as heated as what type oil to use. As I stated before, my install was based on what I had and have received as gifts. But, after doing the research, I am really impressed with the Kicker and Hawg Wired products. For "Average Joe" simplicity and ease of installation, I highly reccommend them. They do exactly what I want them to do. They are hands down better than stock in every way and you & I both know there are a million people happy with their stock set-ups.

By season's end, I'll decide if; a) I keep and upgrade the RG, b) sell it and buy her a softail or, c) trade up for a new one. I would like to install an "UltraNutz Special" on a bike one day to compare the difference and would like to get whatever I have up to the level to compete with yours. But, for now, this is tons better than the stock set-up. Learning how it all integrates with the HD wiring loom and thinking outside the box (like you did on several things) is the fun of it for me. I have no fear of ripping everything off a bike just to correctly wire in a stupid USB port! Baby steps grasshopper!

 

I have no problem with the freebie head units. ANy head ubit is better than the stock one.

Where you lose me is : You said that Gummybear, ( who I believe works for Kicker ), helped you decide on the amp & speakers. If he supplied them free, you did GREAT. If you paid any money at all for a 25 watt per channel amp, and 5.25 speakers,......you made a grave mistake.

You could have had the UltraNutz special , for what those 2 units run.

Just hate to see people blow money on inferior stuff.......... However,......a good deal is a state of mind !!

Ride safe !! hope you enjoy the bagger !

 

I see where GP is coming from, but ultimately anything that sounds good to you is what matters.

Simplicity w/o adapters and ability to upgrade down the road incrementally are nice. RMS seems low to me, but with your new windshield - if you can hear it clearly at speed, i'm not sure the extra RMS is really needed?

Nice writeup and congrats on the new tunes!!