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[TIF2]

Just fired up the new system the other day and it completely exceeded all of my expectations. I have been testing it at various stages along the way and new it would be good, but when I finally got the lid speakers installed (final piece) I was simpy blown away with the sound quality. I could go on and on with descriptions, but it really needs to be heard in person. Although it can't replicate the deep bass of a dedicated 10" subwoofer - bass extension is extremely deep and I'm not missing the lack of a sub.

It took a long time to complete, and mounting two RF300/4 amps on top of the factory H/K was quite challenging. Tolerances are very, very tight to get them to fit. A lot of it was "learn as you go" so that increased the amount of time to complete. I did the entire install, including building all the custom wire harnesses required. It was fun, frustrating, and ultimately very rewarding. I now have the audio I always thought the bike could deliver. Total output now is just shy of 700 watts.

These are some final shots, right before I buttoned everything up. Here is a listing of equipment:

Fairing:
Rockford Fosgate RF300/4 amps (x2) in fairing
Hybrid Audio Technologies "Legatia" Pro SE 7.1" woofers
Hybrid Audio Technologies "Legatia" Pro-2 SE tweeters
Hybrid Audio Technologies "Clarus" cross-overs

Lowers:
Hybrid Audio Technologies "Clarus" 6.5" woofers (fed with full-range audio, no cross-overs)

Lids:
JL Audio C5-570 component 5x7" (how I built them can be found here)

Pods:
CDT Audio EU-651 component 6.5" (I built these into a "componiaxial" arrangement as well)

Let me know what you think on how the install turned out. Not sure I would recommend someone doing this setup as most of it had to be custom "tweaked" to install. When drilling, cutting, and modifying speaker components a slight mistake can be VERY costly. Usually winds up with the component ruined and thrown away.

Final fairing shot - my SESG2 has iPod module, XM Radio, RT-665, and NIM installed.

[TIF2]

Another shot of the inner fairing

[TIF2]

CDT Audio EU-651 component speakers. These are the best quality speakers I could find that would fit in the stock HD pods. I had to purchase a "braxial" kit from CDT that they make for other speaker sets. Unfortunatley, I had to cut the woofer suspension and drill the woofer baskets for the brackets as CDT does not make the EU-651 in a "braxial" setup.

Here is a shot of the completed speakers waiting to go in the pods. I added the bar and shield logo to the tweeter. Tedious work but looks cool when you can see them through the grills  

I also shot the woofer frames black before final mounting.

[TIF2]

Wiring got a tad "involved" at times (understatement). I swear I have redone every harness on the bike.
I literally thought the wiring would never end. Probably well over 200 terminations.

[TIF2]

And it just kept getting fuglier and fuglier ....

[TIF2]

As I said ... getting 2 RF amps on top of the factory radio is VERY tight.

[TIF2]

Rear pod speakers done and installed with the painted grills and CVO grill emblems.

All wiring entering into and leaving from the TP is carried in the harness on the left in the pic. All wiring coming out of the TP and heading for the pods are carried in the right harness in the pic. This is per the stock harness routing for rear speaker pods.

[TIF2]

Shot of the custom made JL Audio C5-570 component speakers installed in the lid prior to putting the grills on.
Cross-overs for these are installed under the saddlebag tether.

Here is how I "made" the speakers:

http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=69544

[TIF2]

Shot of the 4 rear speakers. Good lord these sound good.

[TIF2]

Shot of the wiring under the seat. Two main connectors and the TP pops off. The harnesses for TP connectivity remain with the TP, so no coiling or stuffing of wires under the seat. Also, I have a provisional power for a third amp if I ever want one.

[TIF2]

Some shots of the inside of the Tour Pak with the cross-overs mounted and wired for the pod speakers.

[TIF2]

'Nother shot of the Tour Pak interior

[TIF2]

I ultimately went back and revisted the mount for the RF amps. Decided to build a bracket and hard mount them to the H/K. Very strong mount now.

[TIF2]

Shot from the top showing the amps screwed to the bracket

[TIF2]

Last shot of the Pro-2 SE tweeters installed. If you look closely at the right woofer, you can see the polished copper dust-cap on the driver. Looks killer when the light hits it  

[Cvostu]

I'm sure you will have one heck of a kick a$$ system when it's all done.  Looks great!  lots of stuff to make room for. I really like it. Trying to make room for all the equipment is a huge talent.  

[Black Diamond]

WOW!  Great job and post.

JW

[mjb765]

Great job Rich...that inner fairing wiring looks better than mine did straight from Harley.....


I will leave tomorrow and head over your way with some Pappy van Winkle so you can do my install

Mike

[Buy early]

All I can say is WOW! Very impressive. And you would acquire all of the necessary parts and install them on someone else's bike for how much?

[TIF2]

All I can say is WOW! Very impressive. And you would acquire all of the necessary parts and install them on someone else's bike for how much?

As the old saying goes -

"if ya gotta ask  .... " 

I've got quite a bit tied up in the speakers ... dunno how much I've got in the entire system.
Gotta say ... I'm now a HUGE fan of Hybrid Audio speakers ... some of the best I have heard (including Focal Utopia's).

[Twolanerider]

Love the detail and how tight/tidy is the installation.  That is a very very impressive installation.  Congratulations on a beautiful job very well done.

[Mano]

Way to go Rich.......good job.

[rrussow]

Nice work TIF2, I am updating my sound system as well.  Complete J&M Rokker system, can't wait.  Wish I had the time/skill to do it myself and save a couple bucks.

[Harleypingman]

Rich's (TIF2's) posts in this thread are ground-breaking--noone else  (on the Harley forums that I regularly participate on) has mounted two RF PBR300X4 amps on top of the HK head unit (yielding 8 channels and 700+W of audio power through eight channels)--and mounted XM and Ipod modules on this '11 CVO SG or other Harley model.  Imagine, fairing speakers, fairing lowers speakers, HD saddlebag lid speakers and Tour Pak pod speaker--all driven by 75+ watts of audio power.  And Rich did it all by himself--props to Rich.

In addition to the "break throughs" by Rich  to mount two of these amps on top of the HK radio, add to the list:  (1) modifying the commercially available 6.5" fairing speaker adapters to the 7.1" HAT fairing speakers; (2) modifying the CDT tour pak pod speakers to accept a "braxial arm" to mount the tweeters; (3) removing the tweeter bridges from the HD saddlebag lid speakers to adapt them to the JL 5x7 speakers and tweeters; (4) installing the aftermarket tweeters in HD 2.5" cups to create a "factory look"; and, (5) wiring everything to look "factory."

Better, Rich is very generous in sharing his information on his install specifically, and audio knowledge generally, since he and I have been engaged in very similar projects as my project to install two of the RF 300X4 amps on top of the HK head unit to drive the previously installed 6.5" fairing and fairing lower speakers, and newly added 6x8" speakers to HD's saddlebag lids, and 6.5" speakers to tour pak speaker pods and is about a month behind Rich's project.

In my case, being able to drive 8 separate 6.5" or larger speakers w/o sacrificing tour pak or saddlebag space to install amps is a big plus; and to ride w/o the tour pak and still have the fairing, fairing lowers, and saddlebag lid speakers is another plus.

Thanks to Rich for blazing the trail.

Carl









  

[TIF2]

Great job Rich...that inner fairing wiring looks better than mine did straight from Harley.....
I will leave tomorrow and head over your way with some Pappy van Winkle so you can do my install

Mike

That bottle will get you through tear-down ... install and build-up may need to be "negotiated" (lol)
The inner fairing floats right on. Had a minor clearance issue initially with the depth of the Legatia drivers, but it was an easy fix. I'm going through final tweaking now - and with every nuance of adjustment it just keeps getting more and more unbelievable with sound quality. The ability to adjust gains for each set of speakers (lids, fairing, pods, lowers) individually realy makes the effort to get it in worthwhile!

When you come over for the install, I'll pull the fairing - after a few discussions with Pappy - maybe you both can enlighten me on how to get an Audison "Bit One" in the fairing.  

If you and Pappy can figure it out ... I'll have crimper in hand!

[TIF2]

Rich's (TIF2's) posts in this thread are ground-breaking-- ....

Well ... I don't know about all that, but I certainly appreciate the comment. It is a FANTASTIC sounding setup - it really does defy belief that it is a motorcyce! If I could figure out a way to instruct others on a "how to" I would. Unfortunatley, there is simply too much risk involved for ruining drivers to get these exact speakers mounted (for now anyway ... hint - hint). If you ARE industrious enough to attempt, glad to help if I can ... just PM me.

Better, Rich is very generous in sharing his information on his install specifically, and audio knowledge generally, since he and I have been engaged in very similar projects  .....  and is about a month behind Rich's project.

It's been my distinct pleasure to work with you on this Carl. You are a treasured asset to the HD forums you visit and the fact that I was able to help ... well ... consider it my way of pay-back for all you have done for others.

Rock On! - but of course, do it very, VERY, well.  

[timo482]

do you have the cb module in there somewhere? is the xm through the gps or is it a harley xm somewhere hidden in there? usually its OBVIOUS where stuff has been added but the wiring is so neat and clean that its just invisible.

did you remove all the stock audio wiring from the entire bike harness and then put it all in new to suit?

what wire did you use and from where?

just plain cool - i never use the speakers on my bike just the intercom unit but i really appreciate a really good wiring job.

to

[TIF2]

do you have the cb module in there somewhere? is the xm through the gps or is it a harley xm somewhere hidden in there? usually its OBVIOUS where stuff has been added but the wiring is so neat and clean that its just invisible.

I don't have the CB module installed (athough I could add the wiring easily). I thought about this a lot while I was wiring everything up and decided that I would never use it. I'm just not one to use a CB while on the bike. Both the H-D XM module and the H-D iPod module are mounted on a bracket that fits below the radio. It is a VERY slick setup that will probably be in production soon. I wanted to use the Road Tech 665 XM capability but decided it was worth the purchase of the Harley XM module for my install.

did you remove all the stock audio wiring from the entire bike harness and then put it all in new to suit?

Well ... kind of.
The SESG2/3 platform is unique in the factory wiring so I removed all of the stock wiring unique to the SESG2/3 audio setup and started from scratch for audio. Removing the stock setup was easy (I was familiar) ... designing a new system based on installing the 2 RF amps was challenging in that the wiring had to be planned out in advance. This was, of course, after the "proof of concept" was completed that the 2 RF amps could physically fit (and the outer fairing could go on).

what wire did you use and from where?

I used a combination of H-D wiring and a 9-wire bundle from Streetwires. I went through about 75ft of the bundle from "Streetwires" mostly to keep the color-codes in tact. I stripped the Streetwires bundle down to individual wires prior to install. Remember - when wiring up component speakers, it requires 3x the number of wires (per speaker) of a "regular" coax speaker.

I appreciate the fact that you use phones on the road ... I've tried it ... just didn't care for it.

[Skillet]

Well that's an install you should be proud of. Very nice work.

[Harleypingman]

do you have the cb module in there somewhere? is the xm through the gps or is it a harley xm somewhere hidden in there? usually its OBVIOUS where stuff has been added but the wiring is so neat and clean that its just invisible.

did you remove all the stock audio wiring from the entire bike harness and then put it all in new to suit?

what wire did you use and from where?

just plain cool - i never use the speakers on my bike just the intercom unit but i really appreciate a really good wiring job.

to

An absolutely immaculate wiring job, especially considering Rich removed and redid all of the factory audio wiring, as well as adding significantly more wiring for additional amp and four rear component speakers in the lids and tour pak.

I'm doing a very similar project as Rich (two RF 4-channel amps on top of the HK radio; mounting the CB module and Ipod module below the radio; installing HD saddlebag speaker lids w/ aftermarket speakers; and, speaker pods on a detachable Ultra tour pak), and in doing so he's become a friend after many, many phone conversations over the past 6 months (has it really been that long?).  As neat as I think my wiring is, it's "sloppy" compared to what Rich has accomplished.

Also, he custom fabricated the tweeter mounts for the tour pak and saddlebag lid speakers; modified the JL saddlebag speakers to fit; modified the shape of the saddlebag speaker lid opening to provide a better seal using JB Stik; and, etc.

A great feature of what Rich has done is that he has 8 separately powered audio channels providing 75+W of power w/o sacrificing significant storage space.  In my project, since I'm using coax speakers, the only storage space I lose is the modest space used by the speakers in the lids.  Rich, using components, has the crossovers to deal with in the lids and tour pak.  But considering the audio quality and power, the installation of the crossovers is a modest trade off for Rich.

Again, props to Rich for an outstanding, and ground-breaking project.

Carl

[miker]

3 phase alternator to power all that stuff?...

[Eagle Eye]

Dang, a rolling boombox!  Nice.

[sammyj]

Kudos Tif..

Very nice work.

Sam

[TheLoneWolfPack]

Rich,
Thanks for the post -- Right when I thought I have seen all that can be done on a batwing, you have just raised the bar – the most amazing thing to me is how you were able to keep the stock head unit.

All the crossovers and the wiring of the dual amps is way above my paygrade to comprehend.  But I do recognize craftsmanship when I see it – and a picture is worth a thousand words.  Great job!

Gary

[SMSgt B]

Tif,

Huge congrats as that is one impressive task to tackle and with such professionalism.  Gotta ask though when will your 2X RF mount be ready for production?  I just picked up my first RF amp and now looking to get #2, then on to 8 pair of speakers ... slowly piecing it all together for the finale.

[TIF2]

3 phase alternator to power all that stuff?...

Hahaha .... you know?
I actually looked at current draw when designing it out  

The Rockford amps are pretty efficient - I think both when pushed draw about 11 amps each so should be good to go.
I've got each one fused at 20 amps and so far no issues. Thought about dropping each leg to be fused at 15 amps (just to see if they blow) but haven't yet.

Power draw is certainly a consideration for any upgrade to audio and needs to be factored in.

[TIF2]

Tif,

Huge congrats as that is one impressive task to tackle and with such professionalism.  Gotta ask though when will your 2X RF mount be ready for production?  I just picked up my first RF amp and now looking to get #2, then on to 8 pair of speakers ... slowly piecing it all together for the finale.

Thanks to all for the positive comments and feedback.
The bracket is pretty easy to make ... I just don't see much of a market for it (lol).

If you are really going to attempt 2x RF300/4 on top of the factory H/K then get with me on the small (seemingly minor, but pretty important) details. If you want to keep the stock head-unit the first thing required will be to lose the mount tab for modules. The mount tab is the part of the radio top cover that holds the grommets that add-on modules "push" into. It has to go  

There are several other details that need to be done - I posted the "cliff notes" version of the install. Carl (Harleypingman) tells me it is akin to "War and Peace" reduced to 10 pages  

I still wonder if he chose that specific title of work for reference due to the amount of reduction, or the battle with the project (hahaha).

Good luck ... and let me know if I can help

[2015 FLHXSE]

Rich
Looks AWESOME buddy, and thanks for your help on mine.

Kurtis

[Harleypingman]

There are several other details that need to be done (An understatement for sure) - I posted the "cliff notes" version of the install. Carl (Harleypingman) tells me it is akin to "War and Peace" reduced to 10 pages  

I still wonder if he chose that specific title of work for reference due to the amount of reduction, or the battle with the project (hahaha).

Rich, it was for BOTH reasons--not bad, huh?

Rich is extraordinarily generous in not only offering help, but in providing detailed and knowledgeable assistance.  So, anyone interested in undertaking this or a similar project is well-advised to take him up on his offer to help.

Carl

[TIF2]

Got the final wiring done for the JL Audio crossovers in the lids and thought I would post a pic.

Couple of tips here .... I purchased an additional iPod lid tether for the left side bag (I have a 2011 SESG so I have one in the right bag) as it provides a means to route the wire neatly to the cross-overs mounted in the lids. I also purchased additional wire clips that come stock on the SESG2/3 to hold the wiring down one side of the bag, around the back, and up the outside wall for the lid.

The clips are much easier to deal with than the sticky-backs and ty-wraps that come as part of the rear saddlebag speaker kit. With the clips you can simply "pop" the wire bundle for the speakers under the clip - no having to be a contortionist to run a ty-wrap through the sticky-back and reach it with a pair of dykes to snip off the tail. Well worth the .99 cents a piece retail for the OEM clips. The part number for the clips is 10120.

The part number for the iPod tether is 90200002.

This is a shot of the cross-overs installed and wired but before the tether is attached.

[TIF2]

And a shot of the same lid with the iPod tether installed and attached. Notice that the iPod tether provides a clean method of keeping the speaker wires in place for routing to the cross-overs. I would also use this tether with standard speakers (no x-overs)  - it's just looks cleaner to me.

[mjb765]

This just keeps looking better and better Rich...


Mike

[Harleypingman]

Rich does amazing work.  What you see are JL component speakers with an HD 2 ohm saddlebag lid tweeter bridge (removed from the HD kit) installed on the JL chassis for the JL tweeter.

Thanks to Rich, I've ordered the "clips" to use instead of the zip ties.  I haven't (yet) bought the saddlebag tethers, though it's worth considering for routing the saddlebag lid speaker wires.

Carl

[FAST380]

I've got quite a bit tied up in the speakers ... dunno how much I've got in the entire system.

Man no lie there, I started looking into those speakers, they are nice, don't know that I want to sink that much into my bike stereo though.....

[TIF2]

Man no lie there, I started looking into those speakers, they are nice, don't know that I want to sink that much into my bike stereo though.....

I hear ya ... I saw the polished copper rings on the tweets and the polished copper dust-caps on the woofers of the HAT Legatias and it was a done deal (it matched the copper in the Autumn Haze SESG2). That was my first intro to HAT speakers - just because of the copper and it matching the paint on the bike (lol)!

Glad I found them ... terrific company ... fantastic speakers.

You can still get amazing sound without going that high $$$ in speakers. Hertz HSK's, JL Audio C5's, HAT Unity's - all are sweet sounding. I'd say the HAT Clarus line but they are $550/set retail. And while they compete with speakers in the $750 - $1K range they are still over five bills ... so that creeps into the "too much to spend on a set of speakers" category for most folks. Not that they can't afford it or anything - just that they don't see the need to do it.  Also - the Clarus line from HAT are VERY heavy speakers, so putting them in the fairing isn't ideal. I'd probably go with the either the Hertz HSK's or JL C5's over the Hat Clarus for a fairing mount.

The HAT Unity's are $350 retail (I think) and offer just slightly less sound quality than the HSK's and C5's. You may want to audition a set of those as well. If you can audition all of them then you'll be able to make the best decision on what set sounds the best to your ears. Mike (mjb765) put  the Unity tweeters in the stock SESG2/3 tweeter housing so they will instal w/o compromising the look of the bike. SammyJ put a set of JL C5 tweets in the stock tweeter housing as well - might want to shoot them a PM on install tips should you want to go that route (after-market tweets mounted in stock SESG2/3 tweeter housing).

Let me know if I can help - mod on!

[mikegiotto]

Well I heard Rich's system and damn impressive does not due it justice. It is crazy loud and clear. The attention to detail on the craftsmanship is amazing.

[TIF2]

Well I heard Rich's system and damn impressive does not due it justice. It is crazy loud and clear. The attention to detail on the craftsmanship is amazing.

Great meeting you Mike!!

We'll definitely need to do some riding this season.
Can't wait!

[LETS_ROLL]

All I have to say is AZZ KICKING !, Awesome.  Let's Roll

[TheLoneWolfPack]

All I have to say is that Rich should be working at HD in the engineering department -- its like a Salvador Dali painting crossed with a Rembrandt, and infused with Led Zeppelin.   Great job Rich!

[ducatidesmo]

Now all we need is an HD video!