Motorcyle and Biker Ride Reports and General Info

** Update 5/22/07 See Below!

** Update 5/25/07 See Below!

Well I finally took the plunge and installed my Hogtunes speakers today. These speakers are supposed to be vastly superior to the stock Harley Davidson speakers that come with the Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System.

You can check out the Hogtunes Speakers which are specifically designed for Harley Davidson Baggers by clicking here now.

I guess some would call this a simple installation, however for me, it was a new experience. I am a lawyer, not a mechanic. I really freaked myself out thinking about removing the front outer fairing on my Electra Glide for the first time, but I knew that in the end it would be a good learning experience, and that I would save tons of money rather than having a dealer do it.

I went to Sears to buy a really cool Craftsman socket screwdriver set that has 9 sizes of Torx bits, and a whole bunch of other bits, so I could remove the outer front fairing on my Electra Glide.

Before I started to remove the outer faring for the installation of the speakers, I put socks on the spot lights, and a soft cloth on the front fender to protect the paint on the faring and the fender, just in case it fell.

The front 3 screws on the outer front fairing use a number T27 Torx bit, and the inner 4 screws of the outer fairing use a number T25 Torx bit.

Before I proceeded to remove the fairing for the Hogtunes speaker install, I hit the kill switch on the bike so that the inner part of the fairing was not electrified. It is recommended that you disconnect the negative off of the battery before doing work; however, I knew the kill switch shortcut would work.

Removing the Electra Glide fairing was much easier than I thought. When I removed the top three screws in the front, I noticed that a washer was missing from the center screw on the top front of the fairing, and I also noticed a small crack on the lower part of the windshield. No big deal because you can’t see it, but it does piss me off that someone at the dealership forgot to put the washer on the screw, which resulted in a cracked windshield. I assume this was done when the Harley Davidson Advanced Sound System was originally installed on my Electra Glide by the dealer. I will eventually have to replace the windshield because of this stupid mistake!

Anyway, I got the fairing off. I immediately noticed that an inner fairing support bracket on the left side of the inner fairing, from the speaker to the center was cracked. (Harley Davidson Part Number 58938-96B) I have heard about a bug with these brackets cracking, but I really did not expect it on mine. Sure as shit the left bracket was cracked. Another part I now need to replace. The support bracket gives the fairing stability and is an important part. I really wish Harley Davidson would fix this known bug with the bracket. This is for another story. Pissed off again!

With the fairing off, I noticed a bunch of fine sand and dust on the inner parts within the fairing, probably because I live and ride near the Beach quite often. I used a California duster to clean out the inner fairing. I will use a high pressure air hose the next time I take the fairing off to replace the bracket, to make sure everything is nice and clean. I also checked all of the electrical connections to make sure they were tight while the outer fairing was off.

I removed the stock speakers with a T25 Torx bit on the socket screwdriver. I noticed that the dealer only installed the speakers with 3 screws instead of 4 screws. The 4th screw that was missing was on the bottom of the speaker, opposite to the bracket screw. I will ask my dealer about the missing screw on both of the speakers! They may not be necessary.
It took me a few minutes to figure out how to get the damm stock speakers out of the plastic bracket that holds them, and mounts to the inner fairing. The only way to get them out was to use a Flathead screwdriver and pry the side so it would pop out. I finally got the speakers out of the plastic bracket with a little effort.

I installed the left speaker first. Once I got the new Hogtunes speaker into the plastic bracket, I mounted it onto the bike. For some reason the top left screw was a bitch to screw in, so that the speaker box was flush against the fairing. I could see that if I used too much force I could break the plastic piece that the screw goes into, and need a new inner fairing! This could have been a very costly problem. Luckily I got it in ok. I did make sure that the speaker bracket was lined up against the inner fairing correctly. I did not have this problem on the right side. It went right on.

I then put the kill switch to run, and I put the bike in Auxiliary mode to make sure the speakers worked, which they did, so I proceeded to re-install the outer faring. Piece of cake!

This is the kicker, as far as sound; the Hogtunes speakers are definitely louder than stock, and have a better quality I think; “I think.”

Maybe I have listened to too much loud rock and roll in the past and my ears are not what they used to be, but to be quite frank, I really cannot discern a noticeable difference.
I was thinking that the speakers would give me an unreal quality sound like my home or car stereo system, but they did not. I increased the bass, and rode around for a while with the stereo cranked up. They sound better than stock for sure, but I really will not know for sure how I feel about the speakers, until I get on the road with these things and crank up the tunes.

With all of the rave reviews about these speakers, I was expecting home or car stereo quality, but you really don't get that with these speakers. They are better than stock, but I am not sure if the 100 bucks plus shipping is worth the difference.

If anything, at least I found a broken bracket when I opened the fairing.

At this point I cannot say one way or another how I feel about the speakers. So long as they hold up to the weather I will be OK with them. Maybe it is just me, but I did notice that the left side may be louder than the right side. I will check the connections again when I remove the fairing to replace the broken bracket.

Overall, I cannot really rate these speakers yet until I get them out in the weather and see how they hold up. The Hogtunes Speakers do come with a 20 year warranty, which is a plus.

The proof will be in the pudding. Let me get some miles on these speakers and I will tell you what I really think!

**5/22/07 UPDATE: I replaced the broken bracket in the fairing today. While I was replacing the steel bracket, I noticed that the magnet from the speakers was really holding onto the bracket, while I was installing it. If you look at the above pictures, you will notice that the Hogtunes speakers are beefier and have a much bigger magnet than the stock Harley speakers. I also installed a pair of Kuryakyn Premium ISO Grips.

After the installation, I put the Hogtunes Speakers through a little test. I turned the volume on the Harley Davidson Advanced sound system all the way up, and these speakers are very loud, much louder than the stock speakers. There was no distortion in the music whatsoever. I took my Harley for a spin around the neighborhood, and these speakers do sound good. They are in fact better than the Harley Davidson stock speakers. I have yet to take the motorcycle on a real long distance run since installing the speakers. That will be my last test to see if these Hogtunes speakers really are much better than the stock speakers.

I have not yet washed my motorcycle since the installation, nor have I ridden in rain or moist weather. Let's see how these speakers hold up in the weather. Look for further updates as I gather more information.

**5/25/07 Update: I cruised Hollywood tonight with the new speakers. I have changed my opinion of the speakers. They rock and are much louder than stock. Obviously with a full face modular helmet on, the sound is not the same as it is without a helmet or a beanie helmet on, but these mama's are much better than stock. No distortion at maximum volume. I will be riding again this weekend. If my opinion changes, I will let everyone know. As of now, I think the speakers were worth the 99 bucks!

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007