I am thinking of adding lower fairing speakers to my 2008 ultra classic. My question is, can you really hear them at highway speed and is it worth the cost ?

 

I was wondering that myself. I have a good sounding system now, but I was curious about lower fairing speakers versus saddlebag speakers. I don't want to take the plunge unless I know it will be a real improvement, I hope to hear from people who have been there, done that!

 

I was toldby a dealer that the saddle bag speakers were good for the passager and the lower fairing speakers were good for the driver and could be heard very well at highway speeds. that of course is comiong from a dealer. I have the stock system and the h-d boom speakers in front and rear. I can hear fine but was wanting to add a littel something. Like you I dont want to spend the money if its not going to make a big differance.

 

Prolly not very many people have'em to give an answer. Think demo days let you ride CVO's? Or maybe a dealer would let you test ride a CVO? The CVO SG has'em. I'd say the answer is yes. Why not? The speakers in your fairing are the same size, they are pointed right at you and deal with pretty much the same wind.

They are on my list but I haven't yet decided where they are on my list.
Have you given thought to tweeters? I was going to do HogTunes tweeter pod but think I've decided against it. Think I want to replace air and fuel gauges with tweeters like CVO SG. To do that I'll need a custom dash so I can install a fuel cap with built in fuel gauge. Dash'll need paint so it'd be a good time to paint inner fairing. I hate how these things always tie together.

 

Dealer was correct this time....I have 6.5 Focal PC165 in the upper and lower fairing and 6x9 Focals in the rear saddlebags. When riding you won't hear the rear speakers very well but the upper and lower speakers will sound great.

 

I have JL 6.5 coax in the fairing, 6.5 woofers in the lowers and .75" tweeters in the lower gauge holes. Lots of sound!

 

I have a 2008 Ultra in which I added the lower fairing speakers in 2009. I put the hogtunes system in my bike at that time. I bought a complete kit which consisted of replacing the four factory speakers adding the lowers the hog pod tweeters and the amp. You will hear these lowers at highway speeds. The lowers will also provide you with something that the factory speakers just won't give you.....bass!! I have had zero issues with this system going on three plus years now and the install was all plug and play. No cutting wires or drilling holes. IMHO it is the best mod that you can do to your bike if you like your music loud. People walking on the street will actually turn their heads when you are coming down the street. One riding buddy has a 96 or 97 Ultra and he added the boom audio lower speakers and the hog pod tweeters to his factory speakers with NO amp and IMHO the sound was not much improved and he complains that at highway speeds 70+ the sound is not loud enough.

 

Probably not worth doing w/o an amp for the speakers in the lowers.

Also, the various options currently available provide different costs to consider. I initially had the HogTunes system in the lowers (5.25" speakers and their 70W amp) and didn't notice much difference; sold the set-up.

Later, added the CVO Street Glide speaker boxes; 6.5" Hertz speakers; and the RF 300W, 4-channel amp and can hear them at highway speeds. Probably more costly than other alternatives because of the speakers, amp, and painted to match speaker boxes.

Good luck with your choice.

Carl

PS: Don't know how MichiganDave got the speaker wires to the speakers in the lowers w/o drilling the lowers; drilling is provided in the Hogtunes kit instructions.

 

I have the Hogtunes 7" Woofers on my SG along with the amp. I had the 5" speakers in prior to that. The 7s really do the trick but you also have to have the amp.

 

To each their own but, for me, I think they are a waste of money. I spent a few bucks on Hogtune speakers, front and rear and for the life of me, at anything above 70 mph, it sounds like jibberish. Some love hearing music while riding but I find it annoying after a while. Plus you can not hear traffic close by coming up on you which is a safety issue for me. Just my opinion.