After having to replace all the speakers during the warranty period and now having to replace one of saddle bag speakers on my own dime (Factory warranty expired and ESP doesn’t cover speaker), thought it best to replace the sound system with something that will last and maybe sound better.
I could only find two venders that offered amp/speaker systems for the Rushmore CVO street glide as a plug and play. Soundz Customz and Biketronic.
I first approach Soundz Customz due from the feedback on this forum. But in talking to them about the installation it came apparent to me that they would really prefer to do the install. In fact, the price was $2400 for the kit or $2400 for the kit and installation. I pleated for discount since I wanted to install myself but they would not budge. I then started to ask some questions about how they interface with the radio and would I get error codes…ect….and was not giving any real answers, other than it is a complicated install which is why they prefer they do it themselves.
I then call Biktronics and was transferred to Mike, the owner who to my surprise, spent about an hour on the phone with me discussing in detail what he felt the issues were with the CVO system and the components. We discussed his amps, speaker and why he designed a bracket to replace the speaker pods. The purpose of his Line Levelers to recondition the radio signal outputs. Re-flash the radio configuration to “zero amp, four speaker and fader enabled”. The importance of resetting the radio to factory defaults. How his breakout harness integrates with the Harley wiring harnesses. Then after all this, he stated, “After you install it, if you don’t like it, send it back and I will give your money back.”
The only modification needed for the Biktronics system was to run a wire from the battery to the amp and to cut the speaker baskets out of the saddle bag lids. The basket had to be cut to make room for the larger 5x7 speakers.
All the parts fit like a glove. The machining/fabrication of the adapter bracket were spot on and all hardware was of top quality.
The payoff is that the sound quality is better than I had expected and everything comes with a lifetime warranty.