Harley Right Speaker Popping

By Dennis Santopietro

Question I have a 2006 Ultra Classic, I am having trouble with the Radio. It started with the Harley right speaker popping and then nothing but the left side playing. A few days later, I have power to the radio but NO sound. I have never taken my bike apart but I am willing to learn. Would you know the cause of the problem and where I can send the radio to be fix. I do not have the type of money that HD is asking to fix it.


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Answer Remove your outer fairing and inspect any wiring harness related to your radio. Get a good look at your inner fairing support brackets. It is common for these brackets to break and, sometimes, cut a wire or two. Inspect all of the plugs associated with your radio and with your switch housings. Pull them apart. Check for corrosion, or anything that may look out of the ordinary.



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12 Responses to “Harley Right Speaker Popping”

  1. Dennis Dwyer

    I have a 2012 ultra - right rear speaker pops when bike is on and running - does not pop when bike is not running. Any thoughts?

  2. Michael Thompson

    where can I find the color code for the oem radio wires on my 05 RoadGlide. I recently upgraded my stereo and the installer did a terrible terrible terrible job, After I took my bike back to get it fixed, it literally came back worse than before. I decided to wire the system myself, and although ive added 8 speakers and 2 amps, i want to use as much of the oe harness as possible but those colors dont match up. i literally have everything else wired but the oe harness. So far the only wire I figured out was the ground. Black w/Green stripe.... I also have Dakota digital gauges and i'm looking for some where to tap that orange/white wire.

  3. Bradford

    I have a 2009 Electra Ultra that the radio speakers don't work unless I turn the rado power on and off multiple times. The radio works thru the head set so the problem must be with the amp. located under the tour pack. Any suggestions short of sending the amp in for repair? When I do get the speakers to work the sound great and keep working.

  4. dom sacch

    fairing support bracket breaks causing vibration to radio next thing you know speakers go on and off then comes no sound at all. Harley has a problem with the stock radio.there was a place in new jersey that fixes the radios ,they moved to nc but they do a great job. look on web for radio fix

  5. jerry

    heys guys, workin on buddys 2007 harley sportster xl1200l....was working fine one day, bad the next,....it turns on but is idling like crap then shuts down.....it acting like fuel starvation.....it does turn on but is idling bad....checked fuel pump=good, .....checked injectors were abit dirty....checked sensor on the front part of throttle body=good, .......checked crank position sensor=good, ..........dont know what else to check....any advice or recommendations

  6. Rick White

    Had the same problem sent mine to iron cross and its been working fine they have a flat rate of $200.00

  7. Macdad

    I doubt that this is a wiring problem. Most likely cause is speaker failure or the radio unit itself. Easy test is remove faring and hook up another speaker of similar impedance (I believe the system uses 4 ohm speakers). Since you are just trying to verify if the speaker is dead or the radio anything close will do. Spare speaker does not need to be installed. If the known to be good spare speaker does produce any sound then you know it is the radio if the speaker does produce proper sound then you know it is your speaker. You can now buy and install a decent set of replacement speakers.

  8. Criss worthey

    I'm thinking about buying a bike lift table, I saw on your site the black widow lift advertised, I was considering it but noticed in you videos I resently purchased that you use Handy lifts in your shop. Is the quality of the black widow lift comparable to the Handy lift?

  9. Noel Fendrich

    Just bought a 2016 Ultra Limited. At 1000 mile service right rear speaker was replaced due to a factory defect. Enough said.

  10. Mike Fess

    The removal of the wrap around light bar on the ultras tour Boxes , want to replace with a LED light bar , can you help me ??? Fester....