GoldWing World    

SPEAKERS FOR MY FUZZY-WING!

One of the things I missed most about my Goldwing was being able to listen to tunes without having to 'plug in' ... so I decided rather then spend another $16K on a Wing I'd go ahead and take the FZY-Wing one step closer and add an amp and external speakers to my stereo setup.  The first problem was WHERE to place the speakers, which of course had to be waterproof hence "marine" speakers.  Luckily I found some 3" 40W speakers that were perfect to fit onto the dash, and decided to make a mounting bracket to fit them in.

I originally wanted to use plastic and form it to fit, but the Ace hardware didn't have any heat malleable plastic, so I settled on some lightweight metal plate with perforations that was thick enough to be rigid but not so thick as to be very heavy.  I made a template out of paper, then used that to cut out rough shapes which I then bent and forced to fit into the appropriate areas.  They will be fastened using the screw that holds the shell in place and velcro at the bottom to minimize any vibration and help cushion that contact point.  Here is what I came up with:

Here is a shot from the side - I thought about painting these black but may wait and see, the metal look is kind of eye catching IMO:

Adding a 150W amplifier to drive the speakers allowed me to make a few other mods too, such as raising the panel cluster 2" to get it up where I could see it, and building a new 'windshield' fairing piece to fit with the overall look and cut down on buffeting.  The 150 watts sounds like a lot, but the speakers are pretty restrictive I think - the result is acceptable but too quiet at anything over 70 MPH to hear with a helmet on - up to that speed though it's fine and it's great for around town!

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