We are seeing more and more motorcycles come to Pinnacle Autosound for audio upgrades. The owner of this Harley-Davidson Bagger came to us for a bass upgrade. He already had upgraded Rockford Fosgate speakers; now he just needed some bass. The two available areas in the bike for bass would either be the bags or the tour-pak. We first suggested using the tour-pak, because it would allow us to fit one of our favorite subwoofers, the JL Audio 10tw3. The client shared with us, however, that he often used the tour-pak storage on trips and would rather us use the bags. With that in mind we formulated our plan, which centered around two Rockford Fosgate P3 8″ subwoofers.
Bag Enclosure Construction
To maximize the space and bass possible on this Bagger, we planned on squeezing a Rockford Fosgate P3 series 8″ subwoofer in each bag. This would require us to build two uniquely shaped enclosures. This custom Bagger had bag lids with speakers in them, so we also needed to leave clearance for the back sides of the existing speakers. We took the necessary measurements and began constructing each of the nine-piece enclosures. To ensure a lifetime of great bass, we used marine-grade plywood for the construction. After each enclosure was fabricated we then upholstered them in durable black carpet. We wired the enclosure and used hi amperage connectors, so they could be easily removed, if necessary.
Bag Grille Fabrication
Now that we knew where the subwoofers would sit in the bags, we could create the grilles to vent the bass from the bag to the outside. We made the grilles as large as would fit so that the bass could freely vent. We designed the grilles on our laser-cutting design software and cut them out of black 1/4-inch acrylic. In addition to the grilles we also cut out a template for the hole shape and screw locations.
Harley-Davidson Bass Upgrade Installation
The first step in installing the enclosures was to cut grille openings in the sides of the bags. We first taped up the location of the bags where the holes would be cut. Then we carefully measured the location of the hole and used our template to mark the necessary cut lines and screw holes. We used an air saw to rough cut the openings into the fiberglass bags, and then cleaned up the cuts with an angle grinder. Once the hole was cut, we then trimmed the inside upholstery to match the hole opening. With the holes cut and screw holes drilled, we could then bolt the grilles onto the bike with stainless steel hardware.
JL Audio Amplifier Installation
The power for the new subwoofers would come from one of our favorite motorcycle audio amplifiers, the JL Audio MX280/4. We bridged both pairs of speaker outputs to provide each Rockford subwoofer with 140 watts. The small size of the MX amplifier allowed us to fit it under the front fairing.
Cleanup and Delivery
With all of the new gear installed, it was time to adjust the settings on the amplifier to maximize the output from the Rockford subwoofers. Once it was sounding its best, we were able to reinstall the fairing and clean up the bike for delivery.
We have lots of audio options for motorcycles. If you need to add or upgrade the audio on your bike, stop by with it so we can discuss the options, you can also contact us here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.