Front speakers in a K1200LT BMW

I scoured the inverwebs for advice for replacing the blown speakers in my LT, to no avail. Lots of people replacing the rear tour pack speakers (mostly incorrectly). But the front speakers seemed to be some magical process which only PHDs, and scientists at the JPL seemed capable of performing.

So I Cowboyed up, pulled off the tupperware and fixed it. All 4 speakers on all year models of BMW K1200LTs are standard 5.25 inch (160 mm). Don't buy super expensive Road blaster 5000, 400,000 Watt, big dick, big dog, bull shit speakers. I payed $25 a pair for 80 Watt, 4 ohm, 5.25" marine speakers at Autozone, and they sound amazing after proper installation. In fact they blow my buddies $2500 system away.

What you need to know:

#1 Bigger is not actually better. Most motorcycle sound systems are less than 40 watts peak, 9 or 10 watts RMS. Big speakers need big power. Sorry bud you just don't have the juice on a system small enough to fit on a bike to light those big ass voice coils with huge magnets, and you don't need them. Think of it like putting monster truck tires on a Chevy Citation. Match your speakers to the actual output of your radio. Most bike systems are 4 ohm, and the lower the wattage of the speaker the better, just make sure they are marine/outdoor speakers with polyethylene cones, and rubber surround. 80 to 100 watts is twice as much as necessary, any more will actually sound muffled as you do not have the power to properly actuate the audio driver with any fidelity. I have yet to find a motorcycle parts distributor selling suitable speakers. So the bike catalogues are useless, and over priced for over sized (wattage, not physical diameter) speakers. They are marketing to sell expensive speakers, not the correct speakers.

#2 Hermetic seal. You know all that useless gooey, gaskety stuff you ripped off, and threw away. Big mistake. The best speakers in the world are going to sound like dog squeeze without it. The speakers have to be sealed into the designed airspace provided by the chambers built by those engineers who built the bike, and contrary to the opinion of Budweiser Joe, are smarter than you.

In conclusion, any pair of properly sized, correct empedence, correct wattage, marine speakers, properly sealed, and installed will sound amazing. For the LT clip the mounting ears off the speakers, use the factory mounting rings, save(preffered) or copy the original sealing materials, and buy low watt 4 ohm speakers.

My LT stereo sounds many times better now than poor schmucks that paid 10x more to screw their sound system up out of an over priced after market catalogue. It's a pain to get to the front speakers, but replacing them makes a huge difference. The factory speakers were a bit too flimsy, and cost a ridiculous $400 for duplicates while $25 Autozone replacements are far superior.