Listen Up | Biketronics Bagger Audio Upgrade

18. The HogTenna was installed next. The antenna was zip-tied to some existing wiring just above the amp towards the top of the fairing. The AM/FM antenna is compact yet powerful and fits inside the fairing, eliminating the need for an unsightly antenna sticking up at the back of the bike.

19. James tied the antenna's power lead into the hot terminal on the cigarette lighter and then connected the antenna to the back of the stereo. In this photo you can also see the red and white RCA jacks from the amp.

20. The last thing James had to do was run the amp's power lead under the gas tanks, along the backbone to the battery

21. ...and then connect the lead to the battery, and the audio upgrade was complete.

22. Here's a glimpse how the new radio, speakers, amp, antenna, and RetroRadio module were all able to fit within the tight confines of the inner and outer Street Glide fairing shells. At this point James decided not to install the CribClicker (we hope to bring you an install article in an upcoming issue). With everything being plug-n-play, installation was easy and really quick. All told, it took maybe an hour to install everything.

23. The real truth came when James switched on the power and the radio and speakers came to life. The face of the Sony head unit radiates a cool blue hue but can be changed to other colors (possibly even matching your gauge lighting). The radio has a three-band equalizer and seven preset equalizers. We've been around a lot of baggers with stock audio systems, and we can say we immediately noticed a difference in clarity and quality between the speakers and amp upgrade.

24. After James took a testride, he informed us that he didn't need to crank the radio all the way up when on the freeway to hear Eddie Van Halen pleasurably plucking away on Eruption. James said the sound was crisp with good bass and that he could really crank it loud without hearing any distortion or popping. James was very pleased with his new personal concert hall; wish we could say the same for his neighbors.