I finally got around to installing a RF PBR300X2 amp in my Reckless fairing.

There is very little room in the Reckless for the amp. I had to fabricate a bracket for the install. The amp would not sit on top of the radio because the rain cover door rotates up on top of the radio. If you tried to fit it toward the rear of the radio the top of the amp would hit the outer fairing. There is also not enough room under the radio for the amp.

The amp mounted on the bracket closely follows the slope of the outer fairing. There is about 1/4 inch clearence at the front of the outer fairing and about 1/2 inch or more at the rear, just below the windshield. The rain cover door has about 1/4" clearence under the plate. I left the aluminum plate wide at the sides to hopefully work as a heat sink. I applied a little silicone to the bottom of the MM691 crossovers and mounted them under the radio.

All I like is running the power wires and the install will be complete. After reading about all the problems with the RCA inputs I used the high level speaker input instead of the RCA's.

Can't wait to get it fired up.

 

I haven't heard of any of the problems using RCA's but if you spent all that time and money just to hook your amp up thru speaker level inputs you're not going to get the sound you want. Nice bracket, but a good RCA cable is the way to go. I've probably spent close to $50K on car stereos over the years and only had one bad RCA cable.

 

Use the search function to read about the issues with PBR amps and RCA hookups, it's been discussed a few times.

 

For some reason the PBR300's do not like the RCA inputs. Many, many people have reported low volume levels using the RCA's. They switch over to the speaker inputs and it fixes the problem.

 

Nice looking install!

 

nice write up. I am about to put a alpine head unit and the alpine power pack in mine. What head unit do you have? Mine came with a sony and its giving me trouble. I got to say for the money I am very happy with the fairing even with the head unit acting like it does.

 

The head unit is a Sony DSX-MS60 marine radio. So far it has been great, no problems. It actually sounded pretty good without an amp. I had Polk db691's before adding the amp. I have now changed the speakers to Polk MM691's thinking they would sound better with the amp.

 

That looks like a great install. I may be interested in your setup one day. I just installed my fairing the other day. I ran the J&M Corp self amplified handlebar mount speakers for years. They sounded so good for two little speakers. Nice power and crispness of sound even at highway speeds. I haven't adjusted any settings on my Sony head unit on my fairing, but I am not impressed with the two 6.5" Polk speakers I had Reckless add. I only went with the two because I was thinking of adding a pair of speakers to my lower fairings. I hope tweeking the settings will help or I am going to need an amp here pretty quick!

 

Just got back from a long Labor Day weekend at the beach and finished wiring up the RF PBR300X2.

Sounds Awesome !!!! Why didn't I do this sooner. After playing around with the settings I ended up with the gain set at 5. Man is it ever LOUD, and clear.

I called Polk today and the guy I spoke with knew all about the RF PBR300X2 and running it with their MM691 speakers on a motorcycle. He suggested running the amp on high pass and to set the crossover at around 80 - 100hz. The speakers are spec'd at 30hz. I set it at 80hz. Even set at 80hz the bass will still thump pretty hard.

He said by setting the crossover at around 80hz - 100hz it will really clean up the sound at high volume levels. Plus, a lot of bass gets washed out while riding down the rode anyway.

He also told me the MM691's will require about 80 hours of playing time to break in. The closer to 80 hours the better they will sound. Thats a lot of riding time.

I didn't have time to ride it tonight, but I can see a noise ordinance ticket in my future if I am not careful. LOL

By the way just for reference, I kept a check on the temp. of the amp while tuning it. The highest I recorded was 131 degrees at the heat sinks.

 

ihave the alpine power pack adapted to my pioneer headunit and man does it jam ! i cant imagine needing anymore power , and the guys that ride around me say the same thing haha!