I'm always looking for ways to improve the sound of the stock stereo without over-spending and have been watching the various threads that come and gone over the past year. Hogtunes speakers are a very popular low-cost upgrade for fairing bikes and I took the bait about a year ago, never once second-guessing that decision. They enhanced the sound of the stock radio enough to make them easily worth the $91 I paid for them. Other alternatives are available, but I haven't heard any of them and can't speak for their value compared to Hogtunes. There are threads on this too with plenty of opinions, however.

There have been fewer reports on conversions to a two-speaker Hogtunes system for those of us without rear speakers, installing the speakers and amp together. Even fewer testimonials exist for those who've had Hogtunes speakers with the stock amp and upgraded to the Hogtunes amp, which is what I was looking for. Finally a few arose in a recent thread and most gave the amp a thumbs-up for value. I had actually been looking to buy a low-cost car amp and thought I had found the ideal unit until I considered clearance inside the fairing. All of the car amps I looked at were too big too fit over the stock head unit, and I'm not into sacrificing storage space by installing one in a saddlebag, much less the Tour Pak since mine is detachable and rarely installed on the bike.

So, based on a few favorable testimonials I bought the Hogtunes amp for $200 + 17.50 shipping. Described as a plug-and-play device, I determined that it wasn't quite so after looking at the manual. Running the harness (two wires and a fuse holder) under the tank isn't my idea of plug-and-play. To do this is not an easy task on an '07, unlike earlier bikes I've owned, and there was simply no way I could figure out a way to shoe-horn that fuse holder under the tank from front to rear, short of removing the tank. As a work-around, I cut the two power wires (12V and ground) on the fairing side, snaked the cut end under the tank from rear to front, and soldered/heatshrinked them back together. No problem. Pez told me later that he was preparing a downloadable video for this operation, so maybe he'll reveal an easier way.

After that the install is a piece of cake, mostly just plugging in connectors as per the excellent manual. The first photo below is stolen from Pez' PDF manual, as I forgot to take one of my setup while the fairing cap was off. It shows the position on top of the stock head unit, secured by Velcro. In photo #2 you'll see the gain pot set to the proper position (+3). Check this, as mine was in between 0 and +3, which I'm told can cause problems. Photo #3 shows the connectors for power, secured by two small screws (similar to video, parallel, or serial cables on your computer), and for the speakers, secured by a snap. I can't see either working their way loose.

First the "smoke test," which is any first attempt after installing an electronic device. If it doesn't smoke it passes. This revealed no smoke and increased bass and fullness, even with the fairing cap off. Once put back together for a test ride, I was impressed with the improvement. Now bass frequencies actually get back to the rider. With the extra gain (+3db overall and +10db for bass), you can use lower head unit volume to achieve the same output that you had before, which means that you have more headroom before distortion from the head unit sets in. Since the Hogtunes amp only amplifies what it is being given from the head unit, it also transfers distortion. Pez told me the amp is rated at 24w, presumably with 4Ω speakers, but is actually 32w/ch. RMS with 2Ω speakers. He also said the stock head unit provides 18w/ch RMS output at 2Ω, which amounts to a meaningful increase.

Overall I would give it a

 

nice review - I really like the amp and have it powering my lowers speakers

To get the harness under the tank on mine I took the fuse out and cut the cap off. That made a much smaller piece that went through fairly easily. Once through I put the fuse back in and ziptied the cap back on.

 

Thanks for posting a very well written review. I have the Ultrasound kit installed on my 07 RG. I agree about running the power wire. I actually chose to remove my tank completely for the install so I could run the wire inside the plastic wire run. A friend of mine who has a SG simply ran the wiring down the top of the tank under the console. I didn't want to do that since I have the ugly gap between the seat and console and I didn't want the wires showing.

Is the Hogtunes system a good system for the price? - absolutely YES.
Are there better sounding systems out there? Probably . . but they cost considerably more.
I give the Hogtunes system a solid 7 out of 10.
Just my 2 cents.
Steve L.

 

Not only that, but running it under the console means if you remove the tank later on down the road you must deal with the wire. You could install blade connectors, which would solve that problem.

Removing the tank as you did is the more elegant solution, but I have always hated removing gas tanks. New '08 models don't have the crossover, I'm told, so that eliminates one big hassle in removing the tank.

 

What's your opinion of adding the speakers to the lowers? Is it worth the money? How much if you already have two speakers and the amp?

I don't know if there's a difference between the '06's and '07's, but clearance under my tank is so tight I can barely run a coathanger wire under it, even with the rear jacked up. I've run several wires under the tank, and they only fit under the right side.

 

Just incase anyone is running XM and has the antenna on top of the radio... There is plenty of room (at least with a street glide) to install the amp Vert rather than horiz, leaving room on top of the radio for the XM antenna.

I installed my wires under the console & am very happy with how it looks.

 

I have '04 roadglide. Stock windshield, Rhinehart exhaust. J&M top of their line speakers . Wand can't discern any music or vocals at highway speed. Would these, in your opinion, or others, be the solution instead of Hawg-Wired for optimal sound?

 

Don't know the cost of just the lowers kit without amp - you'll have to talk with Pez about that one.
Having said that the FLSK lowers kit is a huge improvement. They are now listed on the Hotunes web site by the way.
More speakers give more volume and coverage, and with the Hogtunes kit the speakers aim up toward you rather than at your knees like the other kits I've seen. That alone makes a huge difference. The interesting thing about it is that the combination of fairing and lowers speakers will get super loud, but you are not aware of the lowers as a 2nd sound source, they just blend right in. So at first you aren't sure how much they are adding to the audio image. But if you use the quick disconnect and pull the lowers you'll be amazed at how much they are giving you. And they look great too! : )

 

Ron, is there an increase in bass? It seems the glovebox enclosures would enhance bass, especially if some accoustic packing material is installed. I'll email Pez, but I assume it'll require four 4Ω speakers wired in parallel. Also, does the install require any permanent mods like drilling? The kit is $200 for my setup, according to the Hogtunes site. Would you say it is worth it over the two HT speakers and amp?

 

Last year, when I bought my '07 Ultra Classic, I purchased the Hogtunes speaker replacements and was amazed at the difference in sound. Just this last week, I added the new Hogtunes FLSK w/Amp kit in my lower fairings and WOW! I am absolutely amazed at how much the sound has been improved. Its actually hard to believe when you hear the difference with and without the fairing lower speakers, especially at interstate cruising speeds.

As always, Pez was extremely helpful in getting everything up and running and the install was very simple. Installing Hogtunes speakers is definitely a worthwhile investment if you enjoy your music while on the road.

Mark