If you're tired of hearing nothing but wind noise and engine roar once you hit highway speeds, it's probably time to look into some better harley 5x7 speakers for your saddlebag lids. There's something specifically frustrating about cranking your volume all the way up only to hear a distorted, tinny mess coming from the back of the bike. Most stock setups just aren't built to handle the environment of an open road, especially when you're pushing seventy miles per hour against a headwind.
Upgrading the audio on a Harley-Davidson is a rite of passage for many riders. While the fairing speakers do the heavy lifting for the rider's ears, those 5x7s in the bags provide that much-needed "fill" and low-end punch that rounds out the soundstage. Without a decent set of speakers in the lids, your audio feels thin and front-heavy. But, as anyone who has messed with bagger audio knows, it isn't always as simple as just dropping in any old car speaker and calling it a day.
Why 5x7 is the Magic Number for Many Lids
You might wonder why we're talking about 5x7s specifically when 6x9s seem to get all the glory in the custom world. The truth is, many factory Harley-Davidson Boom! Audio lid kits and several popular aftermarket lids are precision-molded specifically for the 5x7 footprint. If you have those lids already, you know the struggle. You don't necessarily want to go out and buy brand-new lids and pay for a custom paint job just to fit a slightly larger speaker.
Sticking with harley 5x7 speakers allows you to keep your current setup while drastically improving the audio quality. The 5x7 shape is actually pretty great for mid-range response. It has enough surface area to move some air—giving you that "thump" you can feel—but it's compact enough to fit into the lines of the saddlebag without looking bulky or out of place.
The real challenge with this size is finding a speaker that can actually survive the environment. Your saddlebags are vibrating constantly, they're exposed to the sun, and unless you're a fair-weather-only rider, they're definitely going to get wet. You need something built for the "marine" or "powersports" world, not just a pair of speakers ripped out of a 1998 sedan.
The Struggle with Power and Volume
Here's the thing: speakers are only as good as the signal you feed them. If you take high-quality harley 5x7 speakers and wire them directly to a factory head unit without an external amplifier, you're likely going to be disappointed. Factory head units usually put out a very low amount of wattage, and when you try to push that tiny built-in amp to compete with a loud exhaust, it starts clipping. Clipping is the enemy of your ears and your equipment.
To really make those 5x7s scream, you need an amp. Most riders find that a solid four-channel amp—bridged or running separate channels for the fairing and the bags—makes a night-and-day difference. When you give a 5x7 speaker the 75 to 150 watts it's actually asking for, the mid-bass suddenly wakes up. You stop hearing just the high-pitched vocals and start hearing the actual drums and bass guitar.
When you're shopping around, look for the "RMS" power rating, not the "Peak" or "Max" power. Peak power is basically a marketing fairy tale. The RMS tells you what the speaker can actually handle consistently while you're cruising down the interstate for three hours.
Weatherproofing Your Audio Investment
Let's talk about rain. It happens to the best of us. You're two hundred miles from home, the clouds turn black, and suddenly your expensive harley 5x7 speakers are acting as little buckets for rainwater. This is where "marine-rated" or "weather-resistant" labels become vital.
Standard paper-cone speakers will turn into mush the first time they get soaked. You want speakers with treated cones—usually some type of poly-carbon or synthetic material—and rubber surrounds. Some of the best Harley-specific speakers even have "bridge-mounted" tweeters. This means the tweeter isn't just sitting on a pole in the middle of the woofer where water can leak down into the voice coil. Instead, it's suspended over it, keeping the internal components sealed and safe.
Even with waterproof speakers, it's a good idea to look into "grill cloth" or hydrophobic mesh. It's a thin material you can put over the speakers that lets sound out but keeps water droplets from soaking through. It's cheap insurance for an expensive audio setup.
Installation Tips for the DIY Rider
If you're planning on installing your harley 5x7 speakers yourself, there are a few things that'll make your life a lot easier. First off, check your clearance. Saddlebags aren't just empty voids; you might have liners, tools, or gear in there. Some high-end speakers have massive magnets that can dip deep into the bag. Make sure the speaker won't hit your stuff or, worse, prevent the lid from closing properly.
Gaskets and Sealing
Air leaks are the enemy of bass. When you bolt that speaker into the lid, make sure there's a solid foam or rubber gasket between the speaker frame and the lid itself. If air escapes around the edges, the speaker loses its "back pressure," and your bass will sound hollow.
Wiring Matters
Don't use thin, cheap doorbell wire. Use a decent gauge oxygen-free copper (OFC) wire. Since the bags open and close, you also need to make sure you have enough slack in the wire so it doesn't snap, but not so much that it gets caught in the latch. Using "quick-disconnect" plugs is a pro move. That way, if you ever need to take your saddlebags off to wash the bike or change a tire, you aren't stuck cutting wires.
Bridging the Gap Between 5x7 and 6x9
Sometimes, people get "speaker envy." They see their buddy with 6x9s and think they made a mistake going with harley 5x7 speakers. Honestly? Don't sweat it. A high-quality 5x7 that is properly powered and tuned will sound way better than a cheap, underpowered 6x9 any day of the week.
If you really feel like you need more, some companies make adapter rings that allow you to fit a 5x7 into a 6x9 hole, but usually, it's the other way around. If your lids are 5x7, embrace it. Focus on the quality of the driver. Look for speakers with a high sensitivity rating (measured in dB). A higher sensitivity means the speaker is more efficient at turning power into sound, which is exactly what you want when you're fighting wind noise.
Tuning for the Open Road
Once everything is bolted in and wired up, you've got to tune it. Tuning a bike is different from tuning a car. In a car, you have a quiet cabin and controlled acoustics. On a Harley, you're essentially in a wind tunnel.
Most pros suggest turning the "bass" down slightly and focusing on the "mid-bass" and "highs." Why? Because deep, sub-bass frequencies are the first things to get lost at 60 mph. You can't really hear a 40Hz sub-note over a Milwaukee-Eight engine anyway. By cutting the super-low frequencies, you free up the speaker to play the stuff you can hear much louder and clearer. Using a high-pass filter (HPF) on your amp, set somewhere between 80Hz and 100Hz, will keep your harley 5x7 speakers from distorting and help them last much longer.
In the end, it's all about the ride. There's nothing quite like hitting a long stretch of highway with your favorite track hitting just right, perfectly clear over the roar of the road. It takes a bit of research and some elbow grease, but getting the right speakers in those bags is one of the best upgrades you can give yourself. Stop settling for stock and start enjoying the soundtrack to your trip.