[Redeye1620]

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I am the new owner of a 1997 GL1500-A with 12,454 miles on the odometer. The scoot is in great shape whose previous owner was a little 70 year old man who rode it only on Sundays to & from church.



Besides needing a new windshield, the factory speakers are completely blown out (he was hard of hearing too I guess).



How would I start the process of replacing the front speakers with a new pair of J&M speakers?



Thanks in advance for your expertise.....-Rich

 

[SETHAN12]

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Someone will be along soon to help, but while you're waiting;

Welcome from the state of Pennsylvania!

 

[Bamaeagle]

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Welcome to the site.

 

[T.Hambley]

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You need to take off the wing mirrors (three screws behind the rubber mounts) this will allow you to remove the housingprotecting thethe speakers and the instrument cluster, not to difficult. You will then have access to the speakers.

Hope this helps

Terry

 

[Ed1955]

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After you have the mirrors off, the hardest step will be removing the air vents. There are two snap locks on each vent and what I found that works is to take a small paper clip and after you straighten it out, make a very small "L-Bend" at the tip, very short though. Either use this or purchase a dental pick to get behind the snap lock to get the vents out. Believe me that this is the most challengiing part of the speaker replacement and yes, you are better off replacing the windshield at the same time. I strongly suggest the F4 Speedglass windshields sold by Wingstuff. They are incredibly tough and hold up very well.

Respectfully,

Ed

 

[nightwizard40]

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This was posted by Rudy on your subject. Hope it helps!







To get there you have a series of not too hard steps.

Here is how I do it.

Remove the seat.

Remove the two fairing trays under the handlebars.

Remove the key ring and bridge piece.

Take out the two acorn nuts that hold the upper shelter at the front of the seat area.

Lift up the upper shelter and remove the green ground wire from one of the 4 radio mount screws.

Get into the back of the radio boot and unplug the Radio plug, the CB plug and the FM antenna. These will have catches you need to release in the middle of one side. The big one is a rough one.

Remove the upper shelter with the radio still attached and set it aside. (I recommend using towels to protect your paint when putting this part back on later). (This is a good time to change the air filter)

Remove the headlight adjuster knob.
Remove the nut for the adjuster and it's washer. Leave the rest sitting there.

If you have an adjuster knob on the other side for air vents, remove that side too.

Remove both fairing boxes.

Put the windscreen latches at half mast.

Pull the rubber mirror boots out and remove the mirrors (3 long phillips screws) and get access to the screw that holds the windshield cover piece on each side and take those screws out.

Remove the windshield cover piece.

Either loosen or remove the windshield. (good time to add better headlamps)

Remove the levers and the special wide head screws that act as a pivot for the windshield levers and also remove the spring steel plate. Do not let the adjuster mechanism drop behind the plastic. Put those wide head screws back in but just slightly.

This will allow you to push back the mechanism safely to clear a part that must go in to allow the front bezel to come forward.

Remove the two vents in the dash. These are a little tricky because they are 4 plastic catches molded into the frame of the vent itself that ratchet in past two layers of plastic per vent. They must be compressed inward of the frames to release. To make this easier on myself, I made a tool out of a 1/8" blade mini screwdriver. I bent the shaft of the screwdriver 90 degrees so the blade looks like a hoe on the end of a handle. This allows me to slide in between the vent frame and the dash surface and compress each tab one at a time. It also lets me pull outward on the vent at the same time and get a corner sticking out. I hold that corner while I do the other tab on that same side. Now holding the whole side out a little, I go after the bottom side tabs. Once you get it all out, do the other vent.

Now the dash panel will come free.

You now have access to your speakers. You also have access to your instrument cluster in case it is time to change all the bulbs in that.

Going back together is easier because the vents just snap back in.

 

[Dusty]

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When you replace you head lights spend the extra money and put Silvana silver star lights in you will be happy with the results.

 

[Ed1955]

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Dusty,

I certainly have to second changing the headlights to Silverstars. I did the same and the difference is nothing short of incredible. One step down from the Balast type.

Ed

 

[T.Hambley]

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OK so maybe I simplified it !!!!

 

[Redeye1620]

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nightwizard40 wrote:

This was posted by Rudy on your subject. Hope it helps!







To get there you have a series of not too hard steps.

Here is how I do it.

Remove the seat.

Remove the two fairing trays under the handlebars.

Remove the key ring and bridge piece.

Take out the two acorn nuts that hold the upper shelter at the front of the seat area.

Lift up the upper shelter and remove the green ground wire from one of the 4 radio mount screws.

Get into the back of the radio boot and unplug the Radio plug, the CB plug and the FM antenna. These will have catches you need to release in the middle of one side. The big one is a rough one.

Remove the upper shelter with the radio still attached and set it aside. (I recommend using towels to protect your paint when putting this part back on later). (This is a good time to change the air filter)

Remove the headlight adjuster knob.
Remove the nut for the adjuster and it's washer. Leave the rest sitting there.

If you have an adjuster knob on the other side for air vents, remove that side too.

Remove both fairing boxes.

Put the windscreen latches at half mast.

Pull the rubber mirror boots out and remove the mirrors (3 long phillips screws) and get access to the screw that holds the windshield cover piece on each side and take those screws out.

Remove the windshield cover piece.

Either loosen or remove the windshield. (good time to add better headlamps)

Remove the levers and the special wide head screws that act as a pivot for the windshield levers and also remove the spring steel plate. Do not let the adjuster mechanism drop behind the plastic. Put those wide head screws back in but just slightly.

This will allow you to push back the mechanism safely to clear a part that must go in to allow the front bezel to come forward.

Remove the two vents in the dash. These are a little tricky because they are 4 plastic catches molded into the frame of the vent itself that ratchet in past two layers of plastic per vent. They must be compressed inward of the frames to release. To make this easier on myself, I made a tool out of a 1/8" blade mini screwdriver. I bent the shaft of the screwdriver 90 degrees so the blade looks like a hoe on the end of a handle. This allows me to slide in between the vent frame and the dash surface and compress each tab one at a time. It also lets me pull outward on the vent at the same time and get a corner sticking out. I hold that corner while I do the other tab on that same side. Now holding the whole side out a little, I go after the bottom side tabs. Once you get it all out, do the other vent.

Now the dash panel will come free.

You now have access to your speakers. You also have access to your instrument cluster in case it is time to change all the bulbs in that.

Going back together is easier because the vents just snap back in.

Nightwizard & Rudy, :clapper::clapper:THANK You for your post. I printed it out & dove into the project yeaterday morning. Doing the job step by step I had a pair of new J&M speakers & a new windshield mounted on the bike4 hours later. I took your advise & replaced the air filter too. I didn't have any problems with the vents, but the levers for the windshield were a b!tch. Removing & putting them back on took over an hour by themselves. Did an oil change & coolant flush too. After a complete cleaning with lemon pledge, The bike really shines now. Thanks again.....-Rich

 

[Steele]

imported post

Redeye1620 wrote:

I am the new owner of a 1997 GL1500-A with 12,454 miles on the odometer. The scoot is in great shape whose previous owner was a little 70 year old man who rode it only on Sundays to & from church.



Besides needing a new windshield, the factory speakers are completely blown out (he was hard of hearing too I guess).



How would I start the process of replacing the front speakers with a new pair of J&M speakers?



Thanks in advance for your expertise.....-Rich

 

[Steele]

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Did You find out how to replace the speakers? If so can you tell me. I bought the speakers 2 months ago and no one can tell me how.

[email protected]

 

[im2tallinaz]

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I would like to thank very much i did step by step and you where spot on back to jammin you know when you get older its harder to hear so turn it up see you in az keep the rubber down and the shiny side up

 

[Redeye1620]

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im2tallinaz wrote:

I would like to thank very much i did step by step and you where spot on back to jammin you know when you get older its harder to hear so turn it up see you in az keep the rubber down and the shiny side up

Chandler AZ is where I found my bike back in 2009....

 

[coolrunning]

The Silverstars are brighter, but also run much hotter and can melt plastic. They also draw a lot of power from your electrical system. Safety is worth it, since the standard OEM halogens are inadequate. Still, I went ahead and spent about $160.00 on a TruHID kit for my GL1500. It was a plug and play install and the light output is about 300% brighter than halogens, and they run cooler than stock bulbs. It is amazing!

 

[Aloha Tom]

attn. coolrunning
Please note: this thread is from 2009 and is front speaker replacement
There are current HID threads where your experience with a particular product will be appreciated
thanks!