HarleyTechTalk

I have my first bike with an audio system. Pretty cool up to 50 mph then I have to turn up so loud that it hurts my ears. What is your preferred way of listening to the radio at highway speeds?

More power.
Really, the best way would be with ear buds, it knocks down the wind and puts the sound directly into your ears. But, using two buds is illegal here.
Next would be speakers in your helmet. But even then, sometimes wind noise becomes an issue.
Ear plugs help cut down the wind, and the radio can be turned up without the pain. Try some light duty plugs, rather than max protection.
An amplifier will help, it allows it to be turned up without the distortion, and wouldn't need to be turned up as loud to hear the fine details of the music. An extra couple speakers in the lowers also help.
My preferred way? Loud! But I'm a freak for loud music.
What model motorcycle are you riding?

One more here for ear buds. Kills the wind noise and you can listen to tunes at a low volume.

I sometimes use ear buds, great taking out the wind noise too, even with a modular helmet.  The only downside I have seen is that sometimes I am cruising along in the wrong gear.

Quote from: chaos901 on April 09, 2020, 06:04:46 AM
The only downside I have seen is that sometimes I am cruising along in the wrong gear.

I've done that, especially when the stock exhaust was still on. And without earplugs, sometimes not even the radio.

Hossamania, I have a Road Glide.

I have heard that the speakers on the Roadglides aren't quite as efficient as the batwings, as they point up a bit more than right at the rider, and ar further away. Not that I will ever know... Others may be able to chime in on sound system solutions for you. Like I said, try a light duty earplug, doesn't cost hardly nothin'.

In my attempt to lessen the amount of rain/mist that gets on my glasses, I have installed just about every Electra Glide wind deflector on the market. Bat fangs on the fork legs, deflectors on the bottom of the fairing, baffle under the triple tree, and a 4" wider windshield. I still get mist, but have noticed a much quieter cockpit. I can listen to the audio system at reasonable levels with little wind noise. I also have an amp and aftermarket speakers.  I am not much of a music lover, but I got this bonus while trying to see better in the rain.

You really need an amplifier to hear the music at speed.  I put 6.5 Kappa speakers in my bike at first and it was better at speed but not great.  When I changed the head unit and added a small amp then I could listen easily at 75-80mph without distortion. 

Strange? I can hear the music on my 2016 Limited just fine at highway speeds, stock radio. The wind noise is a killer so I wear custom ear buds.

fit-ear.com

which I see is https://sport.inearz.com/ now.

Are you guys using ear buds to cancel wind noise or are you listening to the stereo through them? If you are listening to the stereo are you using bluetooth or a wired connection. I didn't think it was possible to get a bluetooth signal from the stereo to ear buds.

I am using the custom molded ear buds with speakers from the previous post. Not inexpensive, but worth it if you ride a lot. With the Limited having intercom connections it was simple to do. I have two ways to connect. I run a J&M headset with a cable that has a jack built in to connect ear buds. I also soldered in a jack, wired into the intercom speaker wiring that I can plug into.

If you don't have intercom it gets a bit messy to do, but you can buy a speaker level input and preamp level output converter and connect your ear buds to it. I run one on my BMW to connect to my J&M CB radio.

Does your RG have intercom?

Quote from: Sinker on April 09, 2020, 02:58:52 PM
Hossamania, I have a Road Glide.

What I have noticed.

The issue with the Roadglide is not that the systems are inferior (i mean they are a base system). But, the distance forward of the rider compared to a Batwing. A lot of of the radio sound is distorted due to wind buffering and angle.

As Hoss said, POWER and a Speaker than can take it will improve it. But, even in this case a lot is lost. Speakers in Bags, Lowers, Tour-Pak (if equipped) will help stabilize the reverberation and produce a much better sound.

IMO: Do not waste money on the Harley-Davidson Up-Grade. These systems work well with Batwings but not Shark nose. I've installed a 100 over the years and always was disappointed for what the customer got versus the expectations.

While I don't endorse any product I will say that of all the systems I have installed and was blown away by performance was Soundz. But, often cost prohibitive for many. Even their systems without Bag Speakers aren't what I consider a "value added" for the customer.

So, My advice would be to expect to make a substantial investment to get what you will be happy with. Do a bunch of research and if possible, find people who have systems and listen. Ride it if possibe. Remember everything sounds good sitting in the Parking Lot.

Hope this helps.

QuoteAre you guys using ear buds to cancel wind noise or are you listening to the stereo through them? If you are listening to the stereo are you using bluetooth or a wired connection. I didn't think it was possible to get a bluetooth signal from the stereo to ear buds.

My helmets have speakers, but when I do use earbuds they plug into a jack on the J & M helmet cord.  Likely the same cord previously mentioned.

Poor UB, My bike does have an intercom. Can you further explain how you are connecting?

I bought a 3 foot long 3.5mm(1/8" for us old guys), found the harness that goes to the intercom jack, carfully stripped bach the wies, cut off the male end of the extension  cable and soldered in the wires. If you are adept at soldering it is not a very hard to do.

A couple companies make an adapter to go from the Harley jack to a 3.5mm jack but they are crap.

You could buy a J&M headset cable and use it, but you would  have more cable to deal with.

Just to add in something that may/may not help. There are a lot of cheap ($20 from China) BT transmitters and receivers that use 3.5mm headphone jacks. You can attach the transmitter to your bike and then plug regular earbuds/speakers into the receiver and eliminate the wires between you and the bike.

I've got one of the BT receivers that has a female 3.5mm jack and a male-male jack adapter. So, I can plug earbuds into the receiver and put the receiver inside my jacket inner pocket to make my wired earbuds have BT. My bike doesn't have stereo, but I can connect to my phone in my pocket or on my bars..... I also use the same receiver to stream music from my phone to the RCA-input on my home stereo and to my guitar amp making it into a nice BT speaker. The receiver charges via micro-USB and lasts about 8hrs of continuous use. Just a cheap option that has multiple uses.

The  wind  factor has  a  lot  to do  with  it , I  have  a  12 limited  stock  exhaust  and  windshield  can  hear  fine . If you  Change  exhaust  or lower windshield  or remove  lowers the  wind increases and  you  got  to  crank  it, I  rode  a rg  the  speakers  are  farther  away  too.

Quote from: PoorUB on April 10, 2020, 08:30:38 AM
Strange? I can hear the music on my 2016 Limited just fine at highway speeds, stock radio. The wind noise is a killer so I wear custom ear buds.

fit-ear.com

which I see is https://sport.inearz.com/ now.

i agree..i used to use one bud in my left ear now im starting to have hearing problems in that ear.. so new bike i got one with a radio but couldnt hear at fwy speeds so well. i listen to podcasts and couldnt hear conversations so well.. i changed speakers,head unit and added a 45w x 4 amp now i can hear relatively clearly up to 85mph

Sorry guys, but I do't know why adding more power and better speakers is the answer, it just adds to the loud noise and beats up your ears. Block the wind noise with good ear buds and listen to music with them. I listen to satellite radio all the time on my motorcycles. With good ear buds they block the wind noise and I can have the volume barely turned up. At the end of a long day I don't feel as beat up, my head is clearer from not having the wind roaring in my ears.

Protect you ears, you only get two.

Or.....  for something entirely different; just realize that listening to the road sounds is better.  At least for me. 

just did a stage I harley upgrade to my ultra limited and it is like night and day