Part 2 Of course this leaves the question of what to do with the rear speakers. There's 3 solutions: 1) super easy, 2) moderate difficulty and 3) hard solution. I tried all three.
1) The super easy solution is to remove the rear amp and disconnect the rear speakers altogether. To be honest, you’ll not going to hear much from them if you upgrade the front speakers, but your passenger won’t have the advantage of the rear speakers which might be an issue if you do a lot of 2up riding.
2) The moderate difficulty solution is to unbolt the rear amp from the TP. Don’t waste your time trying to find a way to bolt the rear amp back to the detach kit. I tried every way and it simply won’t fit between the detach TP frame and the fender.
Once it’s unbolted from the TP, the amp can be placed in the right saddlebag (no need to fasten it as it fits nice and snug along the inside wall of the saddlebag). The stock power plug to the rear amp is long enough to reach from under the seat, and then under the right saddlebag lid where you can plug it into the amp. There's enough space for the wiring harness to slip under the lid, even when it’s latched. This “moderate” approach allows you to power the rear speakers when the TP is on by placing the amp in the saddlebag. The downside to this approach is the storage space you’ll lose and the heat the amp generates in the saddlebag. But this approach does work and it’s easy enough to unplug the amp and store it in the TP when you remove the TP. The radio's Fader will function even with the separate amp up front but only the rear speaker volume will be modified when using the Fader.
3) The hard solution is the approach I ultimately went to. I just got tired of dealing with the amp in the saddlebag. So I wanted to eliminate the rear HK amp altogether and power the rear speakers using the radio’s internal amp. The pins on the radio’s large connector are empty for the 4 +/- wires to the rear speakers. Essentially the stock wiring harness uses the audio from the front channel to power the rear amp which in turn sends out 2 channels. The rear amp in turn powers both the front and rear speakers off the radio’s front channel in the stock setup.
To power the rear speakers from the radio’s amp, you’ll need to tap into the empty rear speaker slots on the back of the radio’s plug. You’ll run 4 speaker wires (2 for each side) from the back of the radio, under the gas tank and back to the speaker connectors that were wired with plugs when you made the TP detachable. You’ll bypass the leads coming from the rear amp and replace them with these new leads off the back of the radio. The radio's Fader will work as it should taking this approach. I strongly recommend if you are planning to go this route, give the guys at Iron Cross Audio a call. You’ll need their assistance to get the correct color codes to make the right connections. They will definitely be able to help you out.
http://www.ironcrossaudio.com/I’m sure there’s other ways to go about making a 2010 SEUC TP detachable, however I’m very pleased with the result and the ease of taking the TP on/off. I can now take the TP on and off in about 10 minutes including taking the seat on and off. It’s not an easy project to install but I think the result is worth it. For the record, my dealer charged 7 hrs to do this install although I handled the CB antenna bracket myself and Iron Cross handled the rewiring of the rear speakers to bypass the rear amp.
Hopefully my approach is helpful to other SE Ultra owner’s looking to make their TP detachable. Here's another picture of the final result.
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Topic: How to make a 2010 SE Ultra Detachable TourPak (Read 11811 times)