5 1/4" Speakers

[Purple Guy]

I'm going to be doing the mod a few have done and replace the rear speakers with 5 1/4" speakers on my 2014 RT-Ltd.
A couple years ago I replaced the front speakers with JBL GTO528's and the rear with oem size J & M speakers.
I just added an Kenwood KAM-1814 amp. The JBL GTO528's sound amazing but would like comparable sound out of the rear.
Sadly I can't find another set of the JBL GTO528's so wondering what anyone that has done an audio upgrade recently is using.
I do want to use a 2 ohm speaker to match the JBL GTO528 output.
Thanks for any suggestions!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I'm going to be doing the mod a few have done and replace the rear speakers with 5 1/4" speakers on my 2014 RT-Ltd.
A couple years ago I replaced the front speakers with JBL GTO528's and the rear with oem size J & M speakers.
I just added an Kenwood KAM-1814 amp. The JBL GTO528's sound amazing but would like comparable sound out of the rear.
Sadly I can't find another set of the JBL GTO528's so wondering what anyone that has done an audio upgrade recently is using.
I do want to use a 2 ohm speaker to match the JBL GTO528 output.
Thanks for any suggestions!

" GoldenSpyder " asked me about doing the Swap .... He couldn't find them either ....however He did find " Kicker marine speakers in 2 ohm " model# 10PS5250 ...... When swapping to 5.25 in in the rear .... the hole needs to 4 5/8 in. it's easy to do with a dremel and a coarse stone .... I made a template from cardboard with a 4/58 hole .... I taped over the OEM speaker hole and marked where to remove material, that was all I needed to do .... good luck , keep us posted ..... PS, another member " beadaholic " did this a few years back and added pics and a video to one of Her Mod pages ..... do a search .... Mike

[Purple Guy]

Thanks for the speaker info Mike!
I have checked out her post, yours and a couple others that have given me the confidence to do this mod.
I will post once I have completed with pics & most likely a step by step video to help the next person!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Thanks for the speaker info Mike!
I have checked out her post, yours and a couple others that have given me the confidence to do this mod.
I will post once I have completed with pics & most likely a step by step video to help the next person!

Good on you ..... Helping folks is what Spyderlovers is all about ...... Mike

[Purple Guy]

Hey Mike,

I am eagerly awaiting my set of 5 1/4" Kicker PS5250 speakers to arrive! Thanks for the tip, I think they'll sound good with my GTO 528's.
Just looking for some advice on how you went about securing the larger speaker to the speaker box after enlarging the hole.
I've looked at the pics from another post, https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...-Rear-Speakers
Since enlarging involves cutting through the stock holes did you drill new ones? Did you reinforce them with anything or just use washers like the oem setup and use a nut/bolt combo to hold them in place?

Thanks for your input!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hey Mike,

I am eagerly awaiting my set of 5 1/4" Kicker PS5250 speakers to arrive! Thanks for the tip, I think they'll sound good with my GTO 528's.
Just looking for some advice on how you went about securing the larger speaker to the speaker box after enlarging the hole.
I've looked at the pics from another post, https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...-Rear-Speakers
Since enlarging involves cutting through the stock holes did you drill new ones? Did you reinforce them with anything or just use washers like the oem setup and use a nut/bolt combo to hold them in place?

Thanks for your input!

Wow I'm sorry but I did mine 5-6 years ago .... I remember doing a bit of relief work for the Mounting TABS , because the speaker was a bit larger. But mine fit pretty easy ..... Since you are using KICKER brand ( and yes they are listed as 5.25 in ... I believe that measurement is the CONE size .... the metal surround could be slightly larger than the 528's ???? .... if it's tight in a small area grind down the metal surround a bit ..... You will love the new sound ..... PS I didn't add an AMP, to me it's not necessary , under 60 mph I'm at 1/2 volume at 3/4 volume I can hear it fine at 85 mph ..... Mike

[Purple Guy]

Ok, thanks!
Amps already installed, sounds great, so much cleaner!
Well worth the effort to install.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Ok, thanks!
Amps already installed, sounds great, so much cleaner!
Well worth the effort to install.

Well if you have the money and ability to install an Amp .... I'd be the last person to say it won't help .... I don't recommend doing it, because most folks can't or won't, and for me it already plays louder than I listen to..... Mike ..... Mike

[SpyderConvert]

The Harman/JBL website has the GTO528's on sale for $50.00. Having a helluva time, though, getting anyone that will take my order. I chatted with someone and rather than taking my order, he gave me a link back to the page that I saw the speakers on. No one to take phone orders due to Covid 19.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

The Harman/JBL website has the GTO528's on sale for $50.00. Having a helluva time, though, getting anyone that will take my order. I chatted with someone and rather than taking my order, he gave me a link back to the page that I saw the speakers on. No one to take phone orders due to Covid 19.

Interesting ...... the GTO528's were superseded a few years ago to a 3 OHM model, the GTO 529 ..... I have been following the availability of the 528 because folks here were looking for them ..... they were available on E-bay from sellers that had bought quantities from close-outs or stores that went out of business ( ie. new item from old stock ).... but the 528 had pretty much dis-appeared in the past two years..... I don't understand why that site still has them listed ..... I have heard that KICKER makes a Marine model in 5.25 using 2 Ohm's ...... good luck .... Mike

[Purple Guy]

My Kicker's will be delivered tomorrow, going to install them on the weekend. I will report my opinions.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hey Mike,

I am eagerly awaiting my set of 5 1/4" Kicker PS5250 speakers to arrive! Thanks for the tip, I think they'll sound good with my GTO 528's.
Just looking for some advice on how you went about securing the larger speaker to the speaker box after enlarging the hole.
I've looked at the pics from another post, https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...-Rear-Speakers
Since enlarging involves cutting through the stock holes did you drill new ones? Did you reinforce them with anything or just use washers like the oem setup and use a nut/bolt combo to hold them in place?

Thanks for your input!

To anyone who wants to add these Kickers .... Sonicelectronix has them on sale for $129.96 ( really good price ) ....however sale ends in two days .... I read a bunch of user reviews and they really like them - quite a few commented they didn't add an Amp to their system .... Mike

[Purple Guy]

Hey Mike or DJFaninTN

Were you guys able to get the rear speaker grills back on over the 5 1/4" speaker?
From the pic DJFaninTN posted (below) I can't see how it's going to fit. The speaker is hanging over 2 edges...
I have it on my work bench right now and haven't started cutting yet as I can't see this working with the oem grill...
Side note, the Kicker PS5250 are to big for the back so I will be swapping the front GTO 528's, kickers in the front, JBL in the back depending on the response I get about the grills.

Thanks!

IMG_5570.jpg

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hey Mike or DJFaninTN

Were you guys able to get the rear speaker grills back on over the 5 1/4" speaker?
From the pic DJFaninTN posted (below) I can't see how it's going to fit. The speaker is hanging over 2 edges...
I have it on my work bench right now and haven't started cutting yet as I can't see this working with the oem grill...
Side note, the Kicker PS5250 are to big for the back so I will be swapping the front GTO 528's, kickers in the front, JBL in the back depending on the response I get about the grills.

Thanks!

IMG_5570.jpg

I did mine about 5 years ago ..... I took the OEM plastic grills out and replaced them with a shaped ( curved ) piece of aluminum ( with a large hole ) and then added the JBL speaker grill .... as I recall, the only reason I did this was for access to the RED LED strips in the housing..... I didn't think the speaker fitment was an issue ( and I used JBL 508c speakers that had a separate Tweeter WITH a crossover box ) ...... So I just removed a grill .... I don't know where or how you mounted your speakers but mine are at a minimum 1 inch from the back of the grill .... I put the 5.25 in speaker in the same place as the OEM one was .... I enlarged the hole to 4 5/8th inches, they fit fine .... did you look at " beadaholics " pics and video ... ??? .... Mike .....I'm headed out now the visit my son .... later ....

[Purple Guy]

I did mine about 5 years ago ..... I took the OEM plastic grills out and replaced them with a shaped ( curved ) piece of aluminum ( with a large hole ) and then added the JBL speaker grill .... as I recall, the only reason I did this was for access to the RED LED strips in the housing..... I didn't think the speaker fitment was an issue ( and I used JBL 508c speakers that had a separate Tweeter WITH a crossover box ) ...... So I just removed a grill .... I don't know where or how you mounted your speakers but mine are at a minimum 1 inch from the back of the grill .... I put the 5.25 in speaker in the same place as the OEM one was .... I enlarged the hole to 4 5/8th inches, they fit fine .... did you look at " beadaholics " pics and video ... ??? .... Mike .....I'm headed out now the visit my son .... later ....

I did look at beadaholics but the video is very dark and I can't see if she left the grills on or not.
I'm not interested in removing the stock grills...
I have read another post where they grinded down the sides of the speakers to make it fit, not really sure what that would do to the integrity of the speaker...

As always, thanks for your reply!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I did look at beadaholics but the video is very dark and I can't see if she left the grills on or not.
I'm not interested in removing the stock grills...
I have read another post where they grinded down the sides of the speakers to make it fit, not really sure what that would do to the integrity of the speaker...

As always, thanks for your reply!

After learning about the KICKER speakers, I looked at them on the Sonicelectronix web site ..... the metal frame of that speaker actually looked smaller than my JBL's and the only reason I removed the OEM grills was for the reasons I stated in my last post ..... The OEM grills had no interference with mounting or fitment of the speakers .... Mike ........I went back and looked at His pic of the speaker .... it doesn't show the entire housing .... when it's all assembled the speaker isn't even near the grill ...if your speaker size is 5.25 in., it will fit as long as you enlarge the hole to 4 5/8th in. with adremel ..... good luck .... Mike

[PMK]

Unfortunately when they size speakers, kind of like tires, they may be sold as a certain size, but each manufacturer seems to measure differently. Likely why you appear to be having clearance issues with the speaker frame.

When I installed the smaller JBL speakers in our RTS, I made sealing rings to close up the air gap between the speaker frame and oem plastic. Never went with larger rear speakers, but recall those that did were trimming plastic and if I recall correctly, may have even trimmed the speaker frames too.

Since we ride with full coverage helmets that are well insulated against sound, I later went with Sena setup for both of us and that works well. Speakers get used when parked with helmets off.

Should sound better though with an amp and larger speakers.

[Purple Guy]

After learning about the KICKER speakers, I looked at them on the Sonicelectronix web site ..... the metal frame of that speaker actually looked smaller than my JBL's and the only reason I removed the OEM grills was for the reasons I stated in my last post ..... The OEM grills had no interference with mounting or fitment of the speakers .... Mike ........I went back and looked at His pic of the speaker .... it doesn't show the entire housing .... when it's all assembled the speaker isn't even near the grill ...if your speaker size is 5.25 in., it will fit as long as you enlarge the hole to 4 5/8th in. with adremel ..... good luck .... Mike

In the photo attached you can see that the speaker hangs over 2 edges. The sides of the speaker grills lay flush against these sides...
IMG.jpg

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

In the photo attached you can see that the speaker hangs over 2 edges. The sides of the speaker grills lay flush against these sides...
IMG.jpg

My understanding is the pics were posted by DJFanin (?) ..... and they are mounted .... so I would PM Him and find out how He did it..... the only thing that I can see in the pic that's different from mine is .... I removed a little plastic from that housing piece ( with a Dremel cutting disc ) so the speaker frame edge could move left under the vertical pieces of plastic as shown in that pic ...... Mike

[Purple Guy]

My understanding is the pics were posted by DJFanin (?) ..... and they are mounted .... so I would PM Him and find out how He did it..... the only thing that I can see in the pic that's different from mine is .... I removed a little plastic from that housing piece ( with a Dremel cutting disc ) so the speaker frame edge could move left under the vertical pieces of plastic as shown in that pic ...... Mike

Yes this is from DJFanin, I have sent off a PM to him to see if he put the oem grills on...
I haven't given up yet!
I've also had the thought that cutting a slot into the vertical pieces enough for the speaker edge to slide under would give a little more clearance.
Rainy day here today, can't ride might a well modify!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Yes this is from DJFanin, I have sent off a PM to him to see if he put the oem grills on...
I haven't given up yet!
I've also had the thought that cutting a slot into the vertical pieces enough for the speaker edge to slide under would give a little more clearance.
Rainy day here today, can't ride might a well modify!

When all the speaker housing pieces are assembled that speaker ( or any other ) doesn't come close to the grill, so the grill has no effect ..... What PMK said about tires is true - the tire charts are Mathematical, however when the actual tires are made there are differences from the mathematical numbers ..... I don't think this relates to speaker size .... the metal frames may not be EXACTLY the same .... but any differences are going to be measured in " mm " way less than even 1/8th inch ..... also as I said earlier, there was enough room to add a 1 in. tweeter with an attachment bracket into the housing with the 5.25 in JBL .... Since you have the GTO 528 measure it against the Kicker ..... I doubt the size difference ( if any ) is what's causing your concerns ...... again good luck , keep us informed please ...... Mike

[Purple Guy]

Success!
This is a post to a quick video of the steps I did to upgrade the rear speakers on my Can Am Spyder RT to 5.25" speakers.
https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...d-on-a-2014-RT