Upgrading the old stereo
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,952
Likes: 15
From: Senoia, Ga., by way of Miami, Fl..
Here's a pic of my '95... I cant imagine they'd be too different, but my speakers are installed through the "backside" of the inner fairing. The grills are glued to the face of it.. Might give you some reference..
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,199
Likes: 3,087
From: NW AR
You don't need waterproof or marine speakers. When you have it apart, look at what the HD speakers are. Just plain (and very cheap) paper cone speakers. I replaced mine with 4" JBL GTO425 speakers. Whatever head unit you go with, I strongly suggest a separate amp. I now have an Alpine amp in mine (again) and it is good. You can get them on Amazon cheap and I have it double sided sticky taped to the inside of the fairing.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 957
Likes: 2
From: Carlsbad Springs Ontario
old school... me too.
My bike is a 1988, FLHTC. I ride it a lot. It still has the original HD stereo in it. That stereo is OK, quirky as heck but OK. Sometimes all the controls just freeze and what ever volume, channel, setting your own is what your stuck with till the ignition switch gets reset. The sound is OK, not fantastic but it does the job OK.
I haven't seen any replacement stereos that allow for the handlebar controls to be used on a bike that old. I have considered just getting a car or marine stereo and putting it in there. I suspect that the thing to do would be just get some decent 4 inch speakers for the fairing.
Has anyone done this? Will a standard size marine stereo fit in the hole?
Personally, I'm pretty old school so the handlebar controls isn't something I would miss all that much. The last tourer I had with a radio was a 1983 Gold Wing Interstate with a car stereo/cassette player. I think the stereo was a 40watt and worked just fine. It had a weather cover on it to keep the rain out and it worked most of the time.
I haven't seen any replacement stereos that allow for the handlebar controls to be used on a bike that old. I have considered just getting a car or marine stereo and putting it in there. I suspect that the thing to do would be just get some decent 4 inch speakers for the fairing.
Has anyone done this? Will a standard size marine stereo fit in the hole?
Personally, I'm pretty old school so the handlebar controls isn't something I would miss all that much. The last tourer I had with a radio was a 1983 Gold Wing Interstate with a car stereo/cassette player. I think the stereo was a 40watt and worked just fine. It had a weather cover on it to keep the rain out and it worked most of the time.
After 20 years as a car stereo installer i can tell you that open speakers on a bike is just nuts !
Road Warrior
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,959
Likes: 2
From: Florida
Then the sound of the horn the guy is blowing just before he nails you will just blend into the music. I had an awesome stereo in a Cutlass I had in Colorado, the train horn sounded like part of the music, good thing I was watching.
Novice
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: MinneSnowta
i am in the process of changing my 93 FLHTC over right now, bought a Kenwood marine stereo on Ebay.... one of the posts above mentioned the stock rubber boot was slightly larger all the way around, and I ran into the same problem. I pondered whether to tear the old HD radio apart and render it worthless... then i thought, its an old cassette deck... it aint worth much.
a handfull of small screws and the black HD faceplate was removed from the radio. Using the metal sleeve frame supplied with the Kenwood, I carefully trimmed out the center of the HD faceplate so the kenwood would slip into it.
I also found the Kenwood was slightly smaller when sliding it into the HD sleeve, But... with a little finesse I got the Kenwood sleeve pushed into the HD sleeve and the radio is perfectly snug! Then just tweak the rear support at the back of the radio.(under the fairing)
a handfull of small screws and the black HD faceplate was removed from the radio. Using the metal sleeve frame supplied with the Kenwood, I carefully trimmed out the center of the HD faceplate so the kenwood would slip into it.
I also found the Kenwood was slightly smaller when sliding it into the HD sleeve, But... with a little finesse I got the Kenwood sleeve pushed into the HD sleeve and the radio is perfectly snug! Then just tweak the rear support at the back of the radio.(under the fairing)
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