Best Motorcycle Speakers by Bike Year: 2014–2023 vs 2024-Present Harley Touring
By Chris LoweHarley Touring Speakers · By Model Year
Best Motorcycle Speakers: Buy for Your Year First
The best speaker in the world is junk if it doesn't fit your fairing or talk to your radio.
Harley split the Touring line in two. 2014–2023 and 2024-Present take different parts, so start with the year, then pick the speaker.
Your Year Picks the Parts
Riders shop by brand. Parts fit by year. Here's where the lines fall on Harley Touring bikes:
| Years | Fairing speaker | What you're working with |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–2013 | 6.5" with adapter rings | Older fairing openings. Our 6.5" pro coax installs use Metra 82-9601 rings here. |
| 2014–2023 Street Glide / 2015–2023 Road Glide | 6.5" drop-in | Factory 6.5" locations, analog speaker wiring. The biggest aftermarket selection. |
| 2024-Present Road Glide, Street Glide, CVO | 6.5" drop-in | Redesigned fairing, Skyline OS, A2B digital audio. Grilles, racks and harnesses are year-specific. |
2014–2023: Best Fairing Speakers
This is the easy bracket. The fairing has factory 6.5" locations and the wiring is analog, so speaker swaps and plug-and-play amps go in clean. The real decision is how much amp you're putting behind them.
Cicada Audio CHX65 PRO
Pro coax with a compression horn. Built for highway volume when you put real power on it.
- Power: 300W RMS / 600W max (CHX65.2PRO)
- Impedance: 2Ω and 4Ω versions
- Response: 75 Hz–20 kHz ±3 dB
- Sensitivity: 92 dB, 1W/1M
- Tweeter: aluminum dome, 1.75" voice coil, threaded removable horn flange
- Mid-bass: Carbon Matrix Composite cone, 2.0" voice coil
- Crossover: 12 dB at 4 kHz, -3 or -6 dB tweeter attenuation
- Mounting depth: 2.6"
Cicada Audio CXX65
A true coax with a high sensitivity rating. Gets loud on modest amp power and fits tight spots.
- Power: 100W RMS / 200W max (CXX65.4)
- Impedance: 2Ω and 4Ω versions
- Response: 55 Hz–20 kHz ±3 dB
- Sensitivity: 93 dB
- Cone / magnet: Kevlar cone, neodymium motor
- Tweeter: PEI dome, 1" voice coil, built-in 6 dB crossover
- Mounting depth: 2.26"
- In the box: 6.5" grilles and hardware
Want it done in one box? Our 2014–2023 Harley plug-and-play kits pair 6.5" speakers with an amp, harness and rack so nothing gets cut or spliced.
2024-Present: New Fairing, New Rules
Harley rebuilt the audio for 2024. The new Road Glide and Street Glide run Skyline OS, and the factory amp talks over A2B, a digital audio bus. You can't just tap speaker wires behind the radio like on a 2016 Street Glide.
That leaves two honest paths: a direct-fit speaker on the factory system, or a plug-and-play system with its own amp and an A2B interface. Not sure which one fits your plans? Read Keep the Stock Amp or Remove It? before you buy anything.
Rockford Fosgate TMS24-65
Built for the 2024-Present fairing. Ships with grilles for both bikes.
- Power: 150W RMS / 300W max
- Impedance: 4Ω
- Response: 50 Hz–20 kHz
- Sensitivity: 90.6 dB, 1W/1M
- Voice coil: 1.5"
- Crossover: 3.5 kHz, 12 dB/octave
- In the box: pair of speakers, Road Glide and Street Glide grilles, mounting screws
- Needs: Skyline OS
Plug-and-Play System: Cicada 24FLXPCH-4X2
Speakers, amp, A2B harness and rack in one kit. Made in Street Glide and Road Glide versions.
- Amp: FLX700.4PRO, 175W x 4 DSP
- Speakers: CH65.2C 6.5" coax horn, 2Ω pair
- A2B side: NAV-TV ZEN-H + Cicada A2B harness kit
- Power: 6 AWG power/ground kit
- Also in the SG kit: rear output harness, 2024 Street Glide grilles, amp rack
Building your own? The CHX65 PRO also drops into 2024-Present fairings. Cicada designed it for all 2014-and-newer factory locations. Pair it with an amp and an A2B plan, or see every 2024-Present Harley 6.5" speaker.
Best Motorcycle Speakers With Bass
Here's the part nobody selling speakers wants to say: a 6.5" in a fairing is not your bass. It gives you punch and vocals. It won't shake the bike at 75 mph, no matter what the box says about low frequency response.
Bass on a bagger comes from three things:
- Amp power: clean RMS watts keep the mid-bass from flattening out when you open it up on the highway.
- Bigger cones in the back: 6x9s in the lids or 8s in the lowers move more air than any fairing speaker. Rockford notes that bikes with factory lid speakers need the TMS24-69 for the rear.
- A real sub: the only way to get true low end. See our breakdown of whether a 6x9 can be a subwoofer.
Mistakes That Cost Riders Money
- Buying by brand, not year. A 2014–2023 kit on a 2024 Road Glide is a return label.
- Shopping max watts. Size the amp to RMS. Max is a peak number, not what the speaker sees all day.
- Pro coax on stock power. High-power speakers need high-power amps. Without one, a high-sensitivity coax often plays just as loud for less.
- Skipping the tune. Crossovers and time alignment beat another hundred watts every time.
- Forgetting the grilles and rack. On 2024-Present bikes, these are year-specific too.
Pick Your Route
| Your bike and goal | Best route |
|---|---|
| 2014–2023, louder and clearer on a small amp | Cicada CXX65 in a plug-and-play kit |
| 2014–2023, max fairing volume | CHX65 PRO on a real amp |
| 2024-Present, keep it factory-simple | Rockford TMS24-65 |
| 2024-Present, real volume and a tune | Plug-and-play system with A2B harness |
| Any year, wants bass | Fairing speakers plus lids, lowers or subs |
FAQ
What size speakers are in a Harley Street Glide or Road Glide fairing?
6.5". That holds for 2014–2023 Street Glide, 2015–2023 Road Glide and 2024-Present models. The grilles, racks and wiring change by year.
Do 2014–2023 speaker kits fit a 2024 Road Glide?
The speaker size matches, but the kits don't. 2024-Present bikes use different grilles, racks and A2B audio, so buy the 2024-Present version.
What are the best motorcycle speakers for bass?
No fairing 6.5" is a bass speaker. For bass, add 6x9 lids, 8" lowers or saddlebag subs, and power them with a real amp.
Do I need an amp for new motorcycle speakers?
For pro coax speakers like the CHX65 PRO, yes. A direct swap like the Rockford TMS24-65 is built for the factory system, but an amp is still how you get real highway volume.
Pro coax or regular coax?
Pro coax with a horn plays louder and cuts through wind on a big amp. A regular coax like the CXX65 is easier to drive and the smarter buy on modest power.
Shop by Year
2014–2023 Touring
Street Glide 2014–2023, Road Glide 2015–2023. Speakers, amps and harnesses that plug in.
Shop 2014–2023 Kits2024-Present Touring
Road Glide, Street Glide and CVO. Systems built around Skyline OS and A2B.
Shop 2024-Present KitsSend Us Your Year and Model
We'll tell you exactly which speakers fit and what it takes to power them. Built and tuned in Taylors, SC. Kits ship nationwide.