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[FAST380]

Here is what I installed:

Kept Stock head unit
Hertz HSK165 Component speakers in dash
Hawg Wired Mounting rings
Hertz HV165XL Mid/Bass Drivers in lowers
1 RF 300x4 for front
1 RF 300x2 for lid speakers (not installed)


Overall impression so far.... Not that impressed

[tlr]

Kudos for giving it a whirl.  I bet to most it would sound very good, but i get your point.  Not many can compare to what Tif2 did and I wish he lived closer too.  I am sure others will chime in with some helpful suggestions

[Badger Mike]

You could always PM Tif2, and set up a time to talk with him.  I did that and he was very generous with his time and talents over the phone.  I ended up with a great system because of his knowledge on this topic.

[mjb765]

I agree....A conversation with Rich will yeild a lot of info and should give you some direction to go to get what you are looking for. Getting good bass is going to be a little harder without sacrificing saddlebag space.  Did you use any type of acoustic filler in the lowers to try to get a bit more bass?

[mrmagloo]

With Rich's help, I was able to optimize my J&M Rokker System quite nicely, but the reality is, while these upgraded systems might sound great in an enclosed car, on a bike without any perimenter to hold the sound in, everything get's disbursed, especially the lows. When I'm in my garage, the sound is stunning, but once I roll it out and start the bike, and get rolling to highway speeds, there's a lot of environment issues that come to play. I'm actually concerned that while I could certainly do better, it will cost a ton of money for incremental improvements, and at some point you definitely get diminishing returns. Further, you will eventually start risking your hearing as well!  I think I will live with what I have for this bike and start over with the next. Hopefully by then, Harley will have a more modern head unit to work with.

[Badger Mike]

x2

[barefoot3zk5]

With Rich's help, I was able to optimize my J&M Rokker System quite nicely, but the reality is, while these upgraded systems might sound great in an enclosed car, on a bike without any perimenter to hold the sound in, everything get's disbursed, especially the lows. When I'm in my garage, the sound is stunning, but once I roll it out and start the bike, and get rolling to highway speeds, there's a lot of environment issues that come to play. I'm actually concerned that while I could certainly do better, it will cost a ton of money for incremental improvements, and at some point you definitely get diminishing returns. Further, you will eventually start risking your hearing as well!  I think I will live with what I have for this bike and start over with the next. Hopefully by then, Harley will have a more modern head unit to work with.

Magloo .. I would be interested in knowing what you did to the Rokker system if you and Tif would care to share .. Thanx

[Harleypingman]

FAST380,

In view of your heavily edited original post, I've deleted the substance of my reply posted earlier today.


Good luck with your project.

Carl

[TIF2]

Glad you finally have an upgraded system Scott.
Can you post a pic of the HT 25 tweeters installed?

Lids will help bass tremendously, but it will never sound like a 10" dedicated sub in a car.
It's a motorcycle  

Acoustically challenged to say the least.

[Skillet]

Glad you finally have an upgraded system Scott.
Can you post a pic of the HT 25 tweeters installed?

Lids will help bass tremendously, but it will never sound like a 10" dedicated sub in a car.
It's a motorcycle 

Aoustically challenged to say the least.

 

[mrmagloo]

Magloo .. I would be interested in knowing what you did to the Rokker system if you and Tif would care to share .. Thanx

I originally had the J&M black series 7.25's and 5.25's in the rear running off the stock amp which I thought was a pretty nice upgrade back then. Ran it this way for ~2 years.

Then at Sturgis last year, I had them install the 125.2 Amp and the Rokker 7.25's in the fairing and lowers, with the 5.25 Rokkers in the back.  The way they set it up, the stock amp was running the lowers in front and the pods in the rear, with the 125.2 running the fairing. For the extra $1,100 I dropped, I was expecting alot more. Ran it for the rest of the season.

I spoke to Rich over the winter and he suggested right off the bat that John is pretty well know for running the gains very low. I found mine set at approx 9:00 from 7:00. Bringing it up to a more reasonable 11:00-11:30 made a world of difference and the system then started to come alive. From there, Rich also suggested that I change the wiring so that the 125.2 amp runs the fairing and the front lowers in series, and bump the gains another 1/8 or so to compensate going from a 2 to 4 ohm load.  Now I can actually hear the lowers as well, and overall these tweaks made a pretty nice improvement.

I think overall, the nice thing about the J&M system is it's pretty much plug and play and a straight bolt-in. You don't have to hack anything, do a bunch of research, source misc parts, etc. You get the kit with everything you need, the install is very straight-forward, and you end up with a decent improvement. I do however think if you have the time, money, and ability, you can definitely do much better. The general consensus I'm hearing is, the ARC amps are pretty good, but the J&M speakers are the weak link. I haven't had the pleasure of hearing an ARC amp running different speakers for a side by side, but I'm inclined to believe this.

Like I said, I think at this point It sounds pretty good and I'm finally getting my money's worth now that it's set up correctly. While you always want more, I think this is all I care to invest in this particular bike, and this ancient head unit. Harley has got to have something coming down the pike in the next year or two and that will bring an entire new slate to work with.

[tlr]

Overall impression so far.... Not that impressed

How is the system now? I was thinking of a similar set up. what about the system is not impressive?

Thanks

[FAST380]

I kind of bounce around, but below are some thoughts......

Well, I have mixed feelings on the project. I think I was expecting more than I got. I have not done the saddlebag speakers, which I am sure would make a significant difference. I really haven't done much to it since I finished it except played with some sound deadening material. This actually really helped the fairing, but did little to the lower speakers. The fairing actually produces pretty decent bass. The lowers produce little to no bass, but are great mid range speakers. I have thought about trying different speakers, or even playing with porting the enclosures.  I wear a full face helmet, parked and around town I can notice the difference, driving at speed all I can tell is it gets louder. I am questioning the weight added to the fairing. The amps don't seem as critical as the speakers, because they are much closer to the center. I think both  Polk and Alpine make speakers that have very small magnets, I would be curious to hear them side by side. The old baggers had the death wobble, if you have ever felt it, you will never forget. At 80 mph, on a grooved highway, you start feeling a little twitch, you start to question if the speakers way outside could add to the twitch, and if it could turn into a wobble. As of now, no issues, just in the back of my mind. Another thing I question is the heat, these little RF amps produce some heat!! Again, no issues as of now, just in the back of my mind. As for the install, it is pretty straight forward. If you work on your own stuff, and have ever installed a stereo, there is no reason you can't do it. Tif2 kind of mapped it out in his thread, takes some of the questions about fitment out. I chose to eliminate all the factory wiring, didn't want all the extra wiring/connections in there. It would be very easy to put back to stock, although I don't know why you ever would. So in summary, if I had to do it again, I think I would start with the saddlebag speakers first. I found one model 6x8 Rockfrod Fosgate speaker that the tweeter was on a bridge, so the woofer was sealed, and under $100. From what I have read, it takes some modifications to install them, but it is possible. I think you could add an amp, lids, and speakers for about the same as I have into the front. I just looked back and see you have a '12, you are ahead of the game from the start. Oh, another thing, I would probably just do 2 of the 2 channel amps, I did 1 4 channel so I could adjust the level between the fairing and the lowers, but it turns out I have them adjusted equally. Anyway, I am ALL over the place here, just some random thoughts.

[tlr]

Stop scaring me.  wobble? I try and not think about it.  But seriously, it seems to me that you are reasonably happy with the quality of the sound, minus the bass which we know is tough to get.  I was thinking about the HSK 165XL's for the fairing and the HSK 165's for the lowers.  Not sure if that makes sense or not, but thats current thinking.  Powered by the Arc Audio but i am interested in understanding the benefit, if any to the RF 300/2.  Very confusing and alot of choices.  I am trying to leverage all the opinions and experiences of the many folks here that have tried various options.  I wish you luck with your system.  after spending some serious bucks we want it to be just right. 

[TheLoneWolfPack]

With Rich's help, I was able to optimize my J&M Rokker System quite nicely, but the reality is, while these upgraded systems might sound great in an enclosed car, on a bike without any perimeter to hold the sound in, everything Gert's disbursed, especially the lows. When I'm in my garage, the sound is stunning, but once I roll it out and start the bike, and get rolling to highway speeds, there's a lot of environment issues that come to play. I'm actually concerned that while I could certainly do better, it will cost a ton of money for incremental improvements, and at some point you definitely get diminishing returns. Further, you will eventually start risking your hearing as well!  I think I will live with what I have for this bike and start over with the next. Hopefully by then, Harley will have a more modern head unit to work with.

I totally concur!