D.I.Y. Speaker boxes

Howdy all,


I hope you all had a nice weekend on the bikes?


Having searched the forums for a couple of hours on Sunday night, I can't see any recent threads about an audio install on an ST. I'm finding great OEM parts that were available for these bikes are being discontinued. Making me realise a DIY project might be a nice addition to our new ride the 'Silver Saddle'.


The OEM speaker box is getting hard to find, even at David Silver in the U.K. At $10 each side and having a U.K. address for a delivery it was a no brainer. But I can't find them anywhere. If anyone knows where I can get them from then please let me know. I've read one post saying he knew someone in Japan? These things are starting to sound like mythical parts :bow1: Thankfully I've seen the pictures to verify they exist.


But in the meantime I've been thinking of a way round it. If these parts are really Rocking Horse **** rare, then I thought I'd give it a go myself. On reading a lot of posts about speaker installs on this forum, one user moosulkwanman mentioned a Radio Shack Project Box. But that was all that was mentioned. So I bought two today for $14 they are 4x6x2" They are fairly solid and I'm assuming they'd fit in the same place as the Honda parts. Just thought I'd ask before tearing down the front of the bike.

I actually went to a stereo shop and found a JL 4" speaker that fits in and also comes with a thick mounting board that covers the Radio Shack box about as sweat as you'd want. The depth of the speaker is going to limit which ones are used. I know a lot of people have gone for the Polks, which most are 4x6. I'm thinking the 4" might sound a bit better, I maybe wrong?

So if anyone has any comments, all are appreciated.

Rossi

I'm also looking to do something similar. How far have you gotten? How are you attaching the project boxes to the frame?

prolly not your cup o tea...but here's what I came up with...just made cases out of plumbing PVC fittings....Ram mounted to grab bars .. if you want to do 4 speakers...maybe mount 2 to reflector bracket?.( I was able to use police bracket..made it too easy!)( Will need A LARGE amp to hear it ....was able to fit large amp under pillion ....

forgitaboutut said:

...here's what I came up with...just made cases out of plumbing PVC fittings...

Click to expand...

So for slowing down you simply pump up the volume to "deploy" thrust reversal? ;-)

As for ST1300 speaker CBs (closed box?) I'd probably also go to electronic suppliers and obtain mentioned project boxes which come in various sizes:



I wrote closed box, cause I don't remember if the OEM speaker housings have some kind of "breather" opening to ease the speaker's function...
On a fully air-tight case (like the project boxes), the cone movement might get slowed/hindered by the (then changing) air-pressure inside, resulting in unclean and distorted reproduction...
IIRC the OEM cases for the Deauville had no bottom-wall at all... (can't locate a pic of any right now...)

Rich, saw pic of your bike in YooperSTOC pics. Air Force stickers? I'm retired AF. Where did you get them?

gmast1100 said:

Rich, saw pic of your bike in YooperSTOC pics. Air Force stickers? I'm retired AF. Where did you get them?

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Ebay/Amazon....

Hi guys,

So after doing a little research I went to Radio Shack and got the 6x4x2 project boxes and mounted two Polk Audio DB401 Marine Certified speakers. The whole setup looks huge. I hope it fits in the frame properly.

I'm going to pick up a motorcycle amplifier, hook the speakers to it and run an input jack to the right fairing pocket so I can plug in whatever device I want.



Russ

EDIT: Not even CLOSE... way to big... I'm thinking of other options. Do I have to use boxes at all?

EDIT: I completed the install this weekend. I ended up using these boxes for enclosures:



They are black electrical enclosures. 4x4. Got them from Home Depot and they fit perfectly.

Here's a picture of the finished grille, along with the re-established headlamp switch I installed so I can turn off the light when working on my ST1300. Also the MCL Powerlet and Ram Ball mount on the center of the handlebars and the heated grips kit. This kit has the switch up by the thumb on the left handlebar.



Russ