Has Anyone tried this on their Interstate?

[BIG--T]

I've been looking at the Polks 501 and the specs are very similar but more power and a Lot cheaper, I just don't know about the fit...or sound. Anyone running them?


http://www.amazon.com/MR50W-5-25-Inch-2-Way-Marine-Speakers/dp/B000JP37JC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1376371099&sr=8-3&keywords=marine+speakers+boss

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

 I maybe wrong but I think the front speakers on an interstate are 4.5in and the rear are only 4in. it would be hard to fit. they do however make the 501 in a 4in size.

[BIG--T]

I maybe wrong but I think the front speakers on an interstate are 4.5in and the rear are only 4in. it would be hard to fit. they do however make the 501 in a 4in size.

I did a search here and it seems the Polk 501 will work with minor mods both front and rear. It is advertised as 5-1/4" but must be actually smaller. One fellow said if he had known about the 501s he wouldn't have bought the 401s because the size is the same.

I was just curious about the Boss speaker's actual size and how they sounf- if they work! lol. They seem to have good reviews especially for like $22 a set! 

[Jeff K]

Speakers don't make power they consume power.
I believe the ones I put in my front are 501s they work fine but do require some mods. If you do a search you can find threads about the mods.

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?action=search2

[BIG--T]

I guess I'll just stick to the Polk 501 that have been proven here to work. I think I'll order now and maybe I'll get lucky and get them in time so I can ride with some Good sound this weekend.

[BIG--T]

Speakers don't make power they consume power.
I believe the ones I put in my front are 501s they work fine but do require some mods. If you do a search you can find threads about the mods.

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?action=search2

Yes I know speakers don't make power and later on may add a small amp. Anything has got the be better that the stock tinny oems! I can't hear it at highways speeds. Yes i did the search last night and it looks like the rear has to be cut some, but but not two bad. It realy Would be nice to find some without any alterations.

[cookiedough]

I may be wrong, but the rear on an I/S is 4" so why not just the 401's?

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-4-Inch-Coaxial-Speakers/dp/B000P0R6GQ/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1376408381&sr=8-12&keywords=4%22+speakers

I would think they would fit very well but not 100% sure.  Trimming pieces doesn't sound fun to make them fit. 

[cookiedough]

Or, if price is an issue, these got decent ratings as long as you don't crank and need the bass much:

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PL42BL-180-Watt-Two-Way-Speakers/dp/B000230LBI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376409071&sr=8-2&keywords=4%22+speakers

The price is right.

[tank_post142]

it's been a few years , but, when I installed 501 in the trunk, rather than cut the offending bracket off I just cut a slot in the plastic with a hacksaw and they slid right in.

[BIG--T]

I may be wrong, but the rear on an I/S is 4" so why not just the 401's?

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-4-Inch-Coaxial-Speakers/dp/B000P0R6GQ/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1376408381&sr=8-12&keywords=4%22+speakers

I would think they would fit very well but not 100% sure.  Trimming pieces doesn't sound fun to make them fit.  

Actually the 501s are a tad smaller believe it or not- According to specs! lol  

[BIG--T]

it's been a few years , but, when I installed 501 in the trunk, rather than cut the offending bracket off I just cut a slot in the plastic with a hacksaw and they slid right in.

Thanks for the tip Tank, I need all the help I can get!  Did you put a new wiring harness on for the rear? Just from reading the posts that seems like it would be aggravating and require a lot of patience in which I lack!  .  I really don't think I have to have it but I'm far from an expert. When I add an amp I might order it.

[BIG--T]

Or, if price is an issue, these got decent ratings as long as you don't crank and need the bass much:

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PL42BL-180-Watt-Two-Way-Speakers/dp/B000230LBI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376409071&sr=8-2&keywords=4%22+speakers

The price is right.

Well the price IS right, but i just ordered the 501s as they seem popular and have good reviews. I just hope they last a while and sound good as ppl say. Thanks for the help! 

[Gavin_Sons]

501's sound good to a point. you can easily hear it at highway speeds, a little tougher on the interstate. i have 2 in my fairing that are powered by a rockford 300 watt amp, the amp is a little much for these speakers. have been looking at speakers to replace my polks. I like my radio and i like to hear it.

[Mr Whiskey]

501's sound good to a point.

Ditto! Jus' put 501's in the front & rear on Old No. 7. (2K/IS)
No mods were required to install the 501's in the rear.
Did hafta cut the rings off the front oem's to use as a "retainer" of sorts for the front speaker mounting. The holes on the polks wont line up & you gotta slot them out & use the old, cut off speaker ring as a mounting bracket. Fits right over the polk speaker.
As for wiring, I cut the ends on the factory speaker wires & soldered in place. (Had a friend at a bike shop that's done alot of 'em & he assured me this was the way to go if I didn't want the connections vibrating loose all the time.)
Sound? Like Gavin said, to a point! They are louder, & crystal clear, but when you're burnin' down the highway with moded pipes you have to push the volume further than these speakers can handle. (They're only like 45w, but still better than the factory 15w.) I think they distort too easily.
Gonna keep my eye out for somethin' better that will fit &/or a small amp, maybe a 100w.
Hope this helps.
Peace, Whiskey.

[~ Timbrwolf]

...back in 2001 when I first bought my State... Circuit City was having a sale on Polk 2 ways...buy one get one free....I bought a set for the front and back and installed em and they sounded like crap...


....you hafta remember that head is pushing less then 12 watts and it doesnt matter how good
the speakers are if you aint pushing enough juice to run em...I went to a custom car stereo place and
asked the guy how much to install an amp and run my system through it...he had never done a bike before and after making a few phone calls he tells me around 600 bucks plus equipment....I walked.....took the Polks back and been runnin factory ever since.. 

[BIG--T]

...back in 2001 when I first bought my State... Circuit City was having a sale on Polk 2 ways...buy one get one free....I bought a set for the front and back and installed em and they sounded like crap...


....you hafta remember that head is pushing less then 12 watts and it doesnt matter how good
the speakers are if you aint pushing enough juice to run em...I went to a custom car stereo place and
asked the guy how much to install an amp and run my system through it...he had never done a bike before and after making a few phone calls he tells me around 600 bucks plus equipment....I walked.....took the Polks back and been runnin factory ever since..  

Back in 2001 the oem then had to sound better than my old 14 year old speakers! lol. Yeah I don't blame ya for walking- that was way too much $$ IMO. I think I'll just put in a 100 watt amp and that should be good...I hope!

[BIG--T]

501's sound good to a point. you can easily hear it at highway speeds, a little tougher on the interstate. i have 2 in my fairing that are powered by a rockford 300 watt amp, the amp is a little much for these speakers. have been looking at speakers to replace my polks. I like my radio and i like to hear it.
[/quote

What kinda speakers ya got in mind? Like you I want to be able to hear my tunes!

[BIG--T]

501's sound good to a point.

Ditto! Jus' put 501's in the front & rear on Old No. 7. (2K/IS)
No mods were required to install the 501's in the rear.
Did hafta cut the rings off the front oem's to use as a "retainer" of sorts for the front speaker mounting. The holes on the polks wont line up & you gotta slot them out & use the old, cut off speaker ring as a mounting bracket. Fits right over the polk speaker.
As for wiring, I cut the ends on the factory speaker wires & soldered in place. (Had a friend at a bike shop that's done alot of 'em & he assured me this was the way to go if I didn't want the connections vibrating loose all the time.)
Sound? Like Gavin said, to a point! They are louder, & crystal clear, but when you're burnin' down the highway with moded pipes you have to push the volume further than these speakers can handle. (They're only like 45w, but still better than the factory 15w.) I think they distort too easily.
Gonna keep my eye out for somethin' better that will fit &/or a small amp, maybe a 100w.
Hope this helps.
Peace, Whiskey.

 When you say "Did hafta cut the rings off the front oem's to use as a "retainer", what do you mean? I guess I'll find out when I tahe it apart. I think a 100-150 watt amp would be great. I hope to have mine in by Friday evening. Yeah, I think I'll solder mine in too...I hate to do rework. Lemme know if you get different speakers or the kind of amp. I'm doing a search on a amp now.

Thanks

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I guess I'll just stick to the Polk 501 that have been proven here to work. I think I'll order now and maybe I'll get lucky and get them in time so I can ride with some Good sound this weekend.

My ridin' buds and I all bought the Polk 501 speakers ( 4 ) sets ( 8 ) speakers. I work on the road and they all installed theirs while I was working. When I got home I heard their new speakers and they sucked just as bad as my stock spearkers so I sold mine in the classifieds here. I cannot tell any difference as stated their's still suck . Want to hear a nice system check out the new Harley's they ROCK the POS on the Interstate sounds like its in a coffee can compared to HD 

[Andy]

Forgive me for butting in here guys, haven't been on the site for years. Several years back I installed 501's front and back. Cut the mounting ring off the OEM speaker and JB welded it to the 501. The front took very minor alterations, the back took more but not much. Installed a Sony XPlod 500 watt amp to drive them with an 8" Polk sub in the trunk. Not knowing the output of the head unit I never did properly set the gains on the amp to match the radio. The sub in the trunk was a bust. I built an MDF box of appropriate size for the sub but the sound didn't come out of the trunk like I thought it would, even cut four 2 in diameter holes under the trunk backrest to allow the sound to exit. I would have had to eventually change to a higher output alternator to drive all the speakers but I gave up. With only the piggies cut and baffles drilled I still can't hear the music the way I want at highway speeds. But don't give up, maybe one of you will figure it out and I can have mine the way I want it finally.

On a side note, here's a website (no affiliation) that will answer all your stereo questions:

http://www.bcae1.com/

[Gavin_Sons]

Been thinking about modifying my speaker pods to fit 6" kickers. I have some ideas, ill write up a report when I do it. Might be a winter project.

[BIG--T]

Forgive me for butting in here guys, haven't been on the site for years. Several years back I installed 501's front and back. Cut the mounting ring off the OEM speaker and JB welded it to the 501. The front took very minor alterations, the back took more but not much. Installed a Sony XPlod 500 watt amp to drive them with an 8" Polk sub in the trunk. Not knowing the output of the head unit I never did properly set the gains on the amp to match the radio. The sub in the trunk was a bust. I built an MDF box of appropriate size for the sub but the sound didn't come out of the trunk like I thought it would, even cut four 2 in diameter holes under the trunk backrest to allow the sound to exit. I would have had to eventually change to a higher output alternator to drive all the speakers but I gave up. With only the piggies cut and baffles drilled I still can't hear the music the way I want at highway speeds. But don't give up, maybe one of you will figure it out and I can have mine the way I want it finally.

On a side note, here's a website (no affiliation) that will answer all your stereo questions:

http://www.bcae1.com/

Andy it sounds like you had one big headache! Thanks for the info that was exactly what I was looking for. I'm thinking a n Alpine 180 but not sure yet, but I know I'll have to have something. Thanks for reminding me of the output of the head unit! I'll let you know how it comes out.

[BIG--T]

I guess I'll just stick to the Polk 501 that have been proven here to work. I think I'll order now and maybe I'll get lucky and get them in time so I can ride with some Good sound this weekend.

My ridin' buds and I all bought the Polk 501 speakers ( 4 ) sets ( 8 ) speakers. I work on the road and they all installed theirs while I was working. When I got home I heard their new speakers and they sucked just as bad as my stock spearkers so I sold mine in the classifieds here. I cannot tell any difference as stated their's still suck . Want to hear a nice system check out the new Harley's they ROCK the POS on the Interstate sounds like its in a coffee can compared to HD 

Well they say sound is subjective so I hope my ears hear different than yours! lol. I know I won't even be in the league of the Harley's Harmon Kardon system, but anythings gotta be those tin cans- I can't hardly hear them over 50 mph!! Guess I'll have to cave and buy a Ultra Classic.....NOT!   

[BIG--T]

Been thinking about modifying my speaker pods to fit 6" kickers. I have some ideas, ill write up a report when I do it. Might be a winter project.

Yeah keep us posted, I'd like to go to 6".

[Jess from VA]

Admittedly the IS radio amp/speakers are not great (a little better than a transistor radio), but I can certainly hear mine at any speed... and the supervalk only has the fairing speakers. (my pipes are quiet however, and I wear a half helmet)

I am wondering if you need to fiddle with the radio handlebar controls a bit, which I have never learned very well.  I thought I had mine set as well as it could be, but a buddy fiddled with it and got me about 20 percent more volume than I could ever get.  It was not the vol control, but some other setting(s).

[BIG--T]

Admittedly the IS radio amp/speakers are not great (a little better than a transistor radio), but I can certainly hear mine at any speed... and the supervalk only has the fairing speakers. (my pipes are quiet however, and I wear a half helmet)

I am wondering if you need to fiddle with the radio handlebar controls a bit, which I have never learned very well.  I thought I had mine set as well as it could be, but a buddy fiddled with it and got me about 20 percent more volume than I could ever get.  It was not the vol control, but some other setting(s).

Jess you might just have something there. When I first got her in April, it took forever to figure out how to cut the dang CB off when the radio was on. I finally figured than out but have NO clue what most od those controls do!! I do know the input, volume and radio station selector.  So I have 0 info on it and that might be a lot of it!

Maybe someone can help. 

[cookiedough]

As far as good radio reception in large volume and clarity, that will all depend on location I only get 5-6 somewhat decent sounding stations to come in around me.

My mp3 player I have to crank the player's volume up all the way and at hwy. speeds, turn up to volume 21 or 22 on the left handlebar to be able to hear my stock quiet I/S with stock fairing with 3/4 helmet.  I think if I had a full helmet,  I'd for sure have to get better quality speakers to be able to hear the tunes at hwy. speeds.  I agree, sound quality sucks overall Honda should've been ashamed to put such sub-par speakers in the I/S fairing and not sure, but don't think rear speakers were even an option new and if they were, the stock Honda rear speakers were not worth the price.

[BIG--T]

As far as good radio reception in large volume and clarity, that will all depend on location I only get 5-6 somewhat decent sounding stations to come in around me.

My mp3 player I have to crank the player's volume up all the way and at hwy. speeds, turn up to volume 21 or 22 on the left handlebar to be able to hear my stock quiet I/S with stock fairing with 3/4 helmet.  I think if I had a full helmet,  I'd for sure have to get better quality speakers to be able to hear the tunes at hwy. speeds.  I agree, sound quality sucks overall Honda should've been ashamed to put such sub-par speakers in the I/S fairing and not sure, but don't think rear speakers were even an option new and if they were, the stock Honda rear speakers were not worth the price.

I've noticed that big ole antenna can't pull inthe stations my vehicles can which I would've thought the opposite! I wear no helmet or a half and on 30 can barley hear it at hwy speeds. Honda stinks on their stereo!! Even the GL1800 board they are complaining on the oem!

[Mr Whiskey]

Sorry man! It took me a min. to find this info!
Here's the link to the pic's I used for my install.
Shows everything pretty good.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=valkyrie&nav=messages&msg=12890.1&prettyurl=%2Fvalkyrie%2Fmessages%3Fmsg%3D12890%2E1&gid=2035540361
Peace, Whiskey.

[BIG--T]

Thanks Whiskey!! There's a wealth of information there!

[Steve K (IA)]

I put Alpine speakers in all around.  I believe they are 4" and 2-way.  And put in an amp pictured below.

The first thing is to remove the speaker housings in the fairing and throw 'em away.  Then remove the fairing and Completely cover the inside surface with DynaMat.  Also cover the back sides of the speaker panels. 

I have a glasspack exhaust and cruise down the road with the stereo volume set a 6.   

[BIG--T]

I put Alpine speakers in all around.  I believe they are 4" and 2-way.  And put in an amp pictured below.

The first thing is to remove the speaker housings in the fairing and throw 'em away.  Then remove the fairing and Completely cover the inside surface with DynaMat.  Also cover the back sides of the speaker panels. 

I have a glasspack exhaust and cruise down the road with the stereo volume set a 6.   

Do you know what model are the speaker? Also is that an Alpine amp also?  Man I wouldn't know how to act running it on 10 muchless 6! Where could I check locally for a DynaMat?

Thanks for the tip!

[Gavin_Sons]

What is the dyna mat for?

[Mr Whiskey]

I put Alpine speakers in all around.  I believe they are 4" and 2-way.  And put in an amp pictured below.

The first thing is to remove the speaker housings in the fairing and throw 'em away.  Then remove the fairing and Completely cover the inside surface with DynaMat.  Also cover the back sides of the speaker panels. 

I have a glasspack exhaust and cruise down the road with the stereo volume set a 6.   

Okay, now you got our undivided attention!
More pic's please, & any other technical info we can "squeeze" outta ya Bro.
Peace, Whiskey.

[HayHauler]

Dynamat is sound deadening material used in automobiles. 
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00020CB2S/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=3866784561&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6725592471287610238&hvpone=130.98&hvptwo=51&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_62a8tob7zu_b

Hay
Jimmyt

[Gavin_Sons]

Does it really help? I could see using it in a car but not so much on a bike

[BIG--T]

Does it really help? I could see using it in a car but not so much on a bike

For that price it better work! 

[BIG--T]

Steve K, I'm with Whiskey on this- We need some info! I'm getting my Polk 501 today and might want to return them after hearing what you said!  

[Flrider]

[/quote]

Okay, now you got our undivided attention!
More pic's please, & any other technical info we can "squeeze" outta ya Bro.
Peace, Whiskey.
[/quote]

Yeah......................   What he said  

[BIG--T]

Well Steve, I've got the speakers in my lap wondering whether to send them back....Let us know about your about your set up!

Thanks