|
|
Puddle Jumper
Posts: 27
Owings Mills, MD | I did a search and didn't see anything positive. Has anyone been able to fit 6 1/2 speakers in the front? |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | I have looked at the feasibility of that many times. I have not found a way without heavy modification. Someone put speakers where the mirrors are and used normal motorcycle mirrors threaded into the master cyclinders. I do not know what size the speakers were. Pics were on this forum. I will search a bit to see if I can find the post. |
|
| |
|
Puddle Jumper
Posts: 27
Owings Mills, MD | 0kay thanks. |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 1066
Peru, IN | HMD was working on it. I think he gave up as there wasn't enough room to mount the speakers flush. They were 6.5"ers. |
|
| |
|
Tourer
Posts: 499
Chattanooga, TN | I contacted HMD recently to inquire about this and was told there wasn't enough room to do it. The vision I saw with 4 speakers in the fairing were all 5.25 speakers. Personally, I wouldn't mind if the speakers weren't flush with the instruments on the fairing. If they came out a bit, I'd still be happy. Anybody interested in developing a speaker housing which would mount to the existing location and accommodate 6.5s? |
|
| |
|
Puddle Jumper
Posts: 27
Owings Mills, MD | I don't care if they are not flush. I just need more sound, not many options with the 8 Ball version. |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| I just installed an alpine pdx-f4 amp after battling with three rockfords. I will try to post pics this week, it is in my left saddlebag which i wanted to avoid but couldn't. My 5.25 polks do not like this amp very much... So i just received some infinity 612m's and was going to try and remove the grill and do a little cutting but unfortunately the tweeter is installed in the grill. I had thought about surface mounting them but it will not look great.
I may be modifying the mounts on a pair of MB Quarts i have and do some sawing on the vision to have a flush mount. It will be the following week before i will have time but i am determined to make it happen. It looks like i can cut a 1/4 slit in the outer edges and slide it in. I have foam baffles to replace the stock enclosures.
BTW, the Alpine is incredible, yes i put in a fan.
I will let you know.
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 259
Land O Lakes, FL | I have SERIOUSLY considered the speakers where the mirrors are option. Would love to see a pic of that again if someone can find it. |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | If anyone finds a way to put 6.5"ers in there I would really like to know. I wud be willing to pay a bit for a nice looking adapter. I really like the adapter J&M has for HD to install 7.25" spkrs. Those things rock for a motorcycle speaker.
http://www.jmcorp.com/ProductDetail.asp?ProductID=HCSK-7252GTM |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| Here are a couple of pics for size perspective.
First is the MB Quart 6.5. I marked the speaker flange where it needs to be trimmed and i think it will sit behind the vics plastic grill.
Second is the infinity 612m that would have to top mounted on the vics grill. It is a great looking speaker, it is hard to tell from my amateur photography but it has a nice looking chrome grill. I am sure if the sun is behind you it will drive you nuts.
It is probably not gonna work for me but some may be ok with the look. These speakers have excellent reviews and can be bought on Amazon for $80 or if you want to pay more you can get them at Crutchfield for $150.
Edited by Ditch 2013-03-25 8:55 AM
(IMG_0083-1.jpg)
(IMG_0084-1.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
 IMG_0083-1.jpg (86KB - 5 downloads)
IMG_0084-1.jpg (92KB - 2 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 142
| no pics  |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| Ok, pics should be up now.
I tried to edit some of my post and it would not let me so here is the edited version, sorry for double post.
Here are a couple of pics for size perspective. (See Above)
First is the MB Quart 6.5. I marked the speaker flange where it needs to be trimmed and i think it will sit behind the Vics plastic grill. The plastic on the outer sides where the speaker mounts would have to be trimmed on the Vic. I think this will allow it to sit behind the raised outer edge on each side.
Second is the infinity 612m that would have to be top mounted on the Vics grill. It is a great looking speaker, it is hard to tell from my amateur photography but it has a nice looking chrome grill. I am sure if the sun is behind you it will drive you nuts.
It is probably not gonna work for me but some may be ok with the look. These speakers have excellent reviews and can be bought on Amazon for $80 or if you want to pay more you can get them at Crutchfield for $150.
Edited by Ditch 2013-03-25 9:01 AM
|
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | Ditch - 2013-03-25 9:26 AM
Here are a couple of pics for size perspective.
First is the MB Quart 6.5. I marked the speaker flange where it needs to be trimmed and i think it will sit behind the vics plastic grill.
Second is the infinity 612m that would have to top mounted on the vics grill. It is a great looking speaker, it is hard to tell from my amateur photography but it has a nice looking chrome grill. I am sure if the sun is behind you it will drive you nuts.
It is probably not gonna work for me but some may be ok with the look. These speakers have excellent reviews and can be bought on Amazon for $80 or if you want to pay more you can get them at Crutchfield for $150.
I would love to cut a hole in the grill for a 6.5". I have examined this and figured it would make the grill too flimsy. There are not enough mounting points (grill to bike) to keep it ridgid (at least in my opinion). It looked like I would have to make a donut and glue it to the grill for structural support.
Anyone have another perspective? |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| I agree with that as well. I was planning to support it from the rear with small aluminum bar strips 1/4-1/2 width whichever would fit for stability. There is also the option of some speaker adapters to keep the cutout in the grill smaller. I am going to spend some more time today on it and will keep you posted. |
|
| |
|
Puddle Jumper
Posts: 27
Owings Mills, MD | Ditch please keep us in the loop, I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Did all of your rockfords quit on you? where did you have it mounted? |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| kbrown211 - 2013-03-25 5:32 PM
Ditch please keep us in the loop, I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Did all of your rockfords quit on you? where did you have it mounted?
No problem, I will definitely keep posting. The amp was on top of the left gas tank.
I was messing around with the speakers some more and I found that a 6.5" will almost fit in from behind the surface mount. It looks like I can trim a very little bit of the area where the gauges are recessed into for a nice fit. I took some pics but I'm not sure how well you can see it. FWIW
Here is a link titled Amp Install (to prevent double posting) that has alot of info on the Rockfords including my issues. I am not knocking the Rockford amps as that is all I have ever used, but I am afraid they may be short cutting some important things like quality. IMHO
I can tell you that the Alpine and the Infinity 612s sounded incredible!!!! Crystal clear amp with a ton of power!
http://www.vision-riders.com/bb/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=8007&sta...
Edited by Ditch 2013-03-25 7:00 PM
(IMAG0222.jpg)
(IMAG0223.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
IMAG0222.jpg (88KB - 0 downloads)
IMAG0223.jpg (84KB - 0 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | I have always been an Alpine amp fan. Infinity speakers have always sounded crisp and clean to me. Sometimes lacking a bit in low frequency, but very clean. This might help in the case of the Vision because you are not going to hear lows at 70mph on a motorcycle anyway. You might have found the right combination. I am very interested in how this turns out. As stated above, please keep us informed of your results.
Edited by victoryvisiontour 2013-03-25 8:12 PM
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| I agree with your assesment of the infinity speakers completely. Unfortunately the 612's do not have a removable grill due to the tweeter being mounted in it.
I just ordered some Polk Audio DB6501 6.5-Inch 2-Way Component speakers from Amazon ($105). They are marine certified and may stand up to my amp for a year or so, hopefully....
Here is a link to a review and specs.
http://caraudionow.com/product-reviews/6-5-component-car-speaker-re...
Specs from crutchfield:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-bWDITJmIcHt/p_107DB6501/Polk-Audio-db6...
I will not be in town to deal with it until the middle of next week, but i will definitely let you guys know whats going on with the install. My front turn signals are out awaiting the new clear lenses so its a perfect time to deal with the speakers too.
Take care!
Edited by Ditch 2013-03-25 10:21 PM
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| kbrown211 - 2013-03-25 5:32 PM
Ditch please keep us in the loop, I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Did all of your rockfords quit on you? where did you have it mounted?
Yes they did, the first one lasted 6 or 7 months. The second for 1.5 hours, the third didn't make it through tweaking. There is a thread with alot of info:
http://www.vision-riders.com/bb/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=8007&sta...
I just found out something was wrong with one of my Polk speakers though. I am sure this contributed to the issues. When I tested them they read 3.35 ohms on each side and there were no visible broken wires, or capacitor connections that I could see. But when I was tweaking the new amp it would shut down in protect mode for some reason. The problem with the Rockford is that it cannot be reset after a fault. Then I started getting alot of attitude from Rockford about warranty issues so it didn't sit well with me. It's not that I don't understand but it was admittedly a weak protection circuit according to the Rockford Tech. In addition to the only testing I could do was with an ohm meter and it seemed normal.
The amp worked pretty well until there was a fault and you cannot reset it.... Good Luck!!
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| victoryvisiontour - 2013-03-25 11:32 AM
I would love to cut a hole in the grill for a 6.5". I have examined this and figured it would make the grill too flimsy. There are not enough mounting points (grill to bike) to keep it ridgid (at least in my opinion). It looked like I would have to make a donut and glue it to the grill for structural support.
Anyone have another perspective?
Here are some more pics for size perspective. The cardboard is 6.5" as labeled. From the pics you can also see the speaker really is not centered in the largest part of the grill. It is more of a demo of what we have to work with potentially. There would be some cutting involved but I personally don't mind that for better sound (yes, I know a lot of people do not like this idea). Provided of course it doesn't impede structurally on the bike.
I am sure you know the mounting flange protrudes 3/8" or more the entire diameter of the speaker. So that makes our 6.5" speaker cone somewhere between 3/4" and up to 1.25" smaller. With that in mind it is not unreasonable to purchase a plastic spacer ring and push the speaker out of the hole 1/2" to 3/4" in order to cut a smaller hole in the grill due to the slope of the woofer basket. I think it would be a task but a plastic ring built up and smoothed out with fiberglass bedding that was worked properly and painted would look very nice. Unfortunately that is one of the things I have never done.... yet. I think it is time consuming but not that hard (not to discredit anyone that does this professionally).
I am sure your idea would work as well or to save time you could just go to ebay (if you wanted) and purchase any size speaker ring you want to save time as they are cheap.
Let me know your thoughts....
Edited by Ditch 2013-03-29 8:20 AM
(IMAG0193.jpg)
(IMAG0210.jpg)
(IMAG0190 1.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
IMAG0193.jpg (76KB - 4 downloads)
IMAG0210.jpg (83KB - 4 downloads)
IMAG0190 1.jpg (69KB - 3 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| I got the 6.5" speakers in the fairing today. Alot of cutting and a long day, I will post pics asap. Sounds great but if I were to do it over I might just surface mount on the grills. |
|
| |
|
Tourer
Posts: 499
Chattanooga, TN | Was it a big difference in the sound? Worth it?
|
|
| |
|
Tourer
Posts: 499
Chattanooga, TN | Was it a big difference in the sound? Worth it?
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| It is a great improvement for sure! It sounds really good. Yes it was worth it to me. However, it was an exercise in patience and took quite a while. I will post details and pics tomorrow. |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| Here are a few pics. I had to hack the crap out of the plastic but it is done. You cant see them but I used the 5.25" boom mat enclosures also. These are the Polk Audio DB6501 6.5-Inch 2-Way Component speakers from Amazon ($105). I mounted the crossovers in the left baggage compartment with the amp and line level convertor.
(IMAG0268.jpg)
(IMAG0280.jpg)
(IMAG0287.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
IMAG0268.jpg (78KB - 9 downloads)
IMAG0280.jpg (73KB - 6 downloads)
IMAG0287.jpg (71KB - 7 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Visionary
Posts: 1290
Ruskin, Fl | Great job! I'm sure a speaker that is 20% larger must make a huge difference.
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| Thanks CW! |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| Well, here are most of the challenges I dealt with during the install:
First, if you are not reasonably proficient using cutting tools and comfortable cutting plastic off of your bike then don't do this project.
Second, I do not claim to be an expert in any form or fashion. Im just an audio guy and good sound is very important to me.
Third, you can easily damage your bike doing this install.
Fourth, If I were to do it over again I would probably just do a surface mount on top of the grill and call it good.
Last, I am not responsible for any aspect of this that goes wrong.
Now that that is out of the way. It sounds really good with the Polk DB6501 fronts, Polk DB5251's in the rear and the Alpine monster cranking 100 watts per channel. Hmmm, I wonder if i can get 5x7's in the rear???
Yes, it was definitely worth it to me but it took all day. I had the turn signals out via Dains instructions ( which were spot on!) because I also installed clear turn signals. That was good anyway for working space during this install. I removed the stock speaker enclosures and replaced them with 5.25" boom mats off of Amazon. First I placed the speakers on the vics cutouts wrong side out to trace the outline with a silver marker. Always know what is behind any area you are cutting and clear away wires, fuel lines, etc.. I tried to cut a slot near the flange hoping to wedge it in the slot instead of butchering the enclosure. That did not work, so i got out the Rotozip and started carefully cutting and fitting each step of the way. I wound up cutting all but about a 1/2 - 3/4 inch out on the outer sides of the opening. You will need to cut all tabs and protrusions off the flange area.
There are some very important things to keep in mind during all of the cutting.
1. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT IS BEHIND WHERE YOU ARE CUTTING!!!!
2. Make sure you leave enough structure to bolt the speaker into.
3. Take your time, be patient, cut a little then try the fit. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
4. Make your outside cuts are on an inward angle to help seat the speakers near the gauges.
5. Make sure you have enough clearance for woofer excursion. You dont want the rubber surround on the speaker to slap the rear of your plastic speaker covers. This will sound bad and eventually trash your rubber surround.
I used a rotozip multibit for the rough cuts and a Dremel with a quick locking collet and cutting wheel made for plastic for the finer cuts. I forgot about my Ridgid multi-tool and I am sure it would have worked well. Then I had an air sander to smooth the edges out.
It is helpful to re-install one side of the plastic vic speaker cover to see what kind of clearance you need to work toward. You will have to keep checking the speaker fit during the cuts to see what needs to be trimmed.
I will have to check the exact size of these woofers but this is absolutely the biggest speaker that you can get in here. I am pretty sure it was roughly 6 1/4 to 6 3/8. I cut all the way to the tank fairing on the bottom and all the way to the bottom of the gauge visor on the top (no idea what its called). There was not any more room vertically. I had to expand toward the outside on both sides a bit. I also found it helped to make sure I cleared the supporting web structure more behind the outer opening.
I had to rotate the speakers around a little prior to installing the boom mat to get an idea of where to screw it in. Install the boom mat after you drill a drain hole then pull your speaker wire through. Make sure you solder the connections on the speaker terminals. The inside two screws were pretty easy but the outsides were not. On the outside I used some 1.5" screws with washers and nuts. There is some webbing structure that I went between with the screws to put a large washer for the webbing gap then stepped it down to the right size. It worked fine and should hold the speakers well. If you can do fiberglass that would be ideal for a winter project. Just cut most of it out and glass it in with a ledge to screw into. You will need to find a happy medium when tightening the screws and/or bolts to find the best flush location. What I found was that I had to have the outside edge of the speaker frame flush with the flat area on the Vic that is surrounding the speaker.
I am sure I am missing some things but that is the majority of what it takes to chop off a bunch of plastic and drop in some bigger speakers.
I hope this helps the few people that may attempt it, let me know if I can help you along in any way.
Other than all of that just put it back together and start rocking!
|
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 216
Danville, CA | Nice work... Are those tweeters too? What kind? |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 125
| Thank you, Polk DB6501 component speakers. |
|
| |
|
Puddle Jumper
Posts: 27
Owings Mills, MD | Wow. Good job. |
|
| |
|
New user
Posts: 1
| I've done some research on the car speakers, because mine blew out and I needed new ones.
Found out that the Rockford Fosgate Punch P1683 fit pretty much anywhere, so they might suit your needs. They have the FlexFit Basket design which lets you do lots of adjustments to the mounting position.
If you want to read more about it, here's what I've found: https://tomlikesbest.com/best-car-speakers/
Hope this helps!
|
|
| |
|
Visionary
Posts: 1290
Ruskin, Fl | Hi everyone. I have not posted in a while. Life is good, and I have lots to post. For now, a quick post from my phone. I just finished squeezing 6.5" up front. I had Polk MM 521s all around an Alpine KTP-445. It was great at first, had many speakers go bad. I decided I was going to get 6.5 in for better bass. I chose Polk DB-652 due to low cost to test with. Plus they marine certified and rated at 100W continues. My plan was to bridge the amp to 90W x 2. I found 5.25 to 6.5 adapters for the Vic XC. I thought it was going to be fairly easy. Complete nightmare. They are in. Dremmeled the sh*t out of a lot of stuff. Ended up pulling the whole bike apart, I have photos, I need to resize tomorrow. Required amp and fired it up awesome to about 60% volume, then amp started cutting out. On frustration, wired back to 45Wx4. Loud as hell. Bass is crap. Finished getting bike assembled, on more part, the access panel. Won't snap in. Great! Top off dash hitting on speakers and pushing up 2 mm. Ugh. Over it! Trimmed avat contact points so now, I think I need to switch amps. I want to put in the 300W RF, PBR300X4. Anybody know if this fits on top of tank where I have the Alpine? Pics and more details tomorrow. Sorry for typos, on iPhone.
Edited by cw1115 2017-07-23 8:45 PM
|
|
| |