When it comes to motorcycle audio improvements, J&M knows their stuff! From their High Performance Fairing Speaker Upgrade Kits and Deluxe Handlebar Mounted Speakers, to helmet headsets, J&M has the audio choices your customers want and need. Talk to your Drag Specialties rep for more information.

f there’s one thing the folks at J&M Corp. know about it’s sound. Since 1978 this Tucson, Arizona, company has been serving up quality sound to bikers everywhere. Motorcycle audio is the only business here, and from helmet headsets to handlebar-mounted speakers J&M has it all. When it comes to upgrading the speakers for a Harley bagger-bike, well, it doesn’t get much better than the J&M High Performance Fairing Speaker Upgrade kits.
     The goal at J&M has always has been to make the bike’s stock audio system sound great without having to add on giant amplifiers that overtax the OE electrical system. The J&M upgrade fairing and backseat speakers deliver maximum output at a given amount of OE amplifier power and they’re designed for each specific motorcycle model/year application. These aren’t just automotive speakers adapted to motorcycles, and there is a difference…a big one! On a motorcycle the first speaker frequency you lose riding down the road is the bass. Wind buffeting, as it turns out, is right in the bass frequencies and blowing across a fairing it can completely eliminate the bass at speed. On the other hand, wind doesn’t affect the higher frequencies as much. J&M, therefore, has concentrated on boosting the bass in motorcycle audio, doing it with custom injection molded polycarbonate cones for the woofers and enhancing the treble with grill-mounted tweeters (on certain models). The polycarbonate woofer cones are thin, stiff, lightweight and with superlight Neodymium instead of a giant ferrite magnet hanging on the back, they really rock. J&M uses Neodymium to get the same amount of flux strength (a term for magnetic strength) normally served up by a large ferrite magnet to provide a lightweight, yet powerful motorcycle speaker.
     Important as all this is, it’s just as important to properly match a speaker to its amplifier. J&M has done that, too. If the speaker resistance is too low more current passes through the amplifier heating it up and causing it to pop and cut in and out. No chance of that happening with the J&M upgrades. The speakers for the ‘98 to ‘05 Harleys are spec’d at 8 Ohms impedance and 140-plus watts power. For the ‘06 and later applications the specs are 2 Ohms/140 watts and for the earlier 1989 through ‘97 Harley-Davidsons J&M has the correct 3-4-Ohm speakers. All of this technology when added together makes a very dramatic change to the music quality and audio power delivered from an OE Harley audio amplifier system. Of course there are also speakers for the back of the bike, and everything–front and rear–is waterproof and a direct bolt-in replacement. Even the mounting hole patterns and electrical spade connections are exactly the same as the OE factory specification, making replacement a snap.
     All of this audio know-how also shows up in the J&M Deluxe Handlebar Mounted Speakers with built-in amplifiers. It’s the perfect addition to a favorite Softail, Dyna or Sportster. The amplifier circuits are installed right into the base of the speaker housings, everything is sealed in epoxy to provide complete weatherproofing and the system puts out well in excess of 25 watts from each side. Plug in a Walkman, MP3 player or an XM Satellite radio and you’re good to go with quality J&M sound.
     Motorcycle audio systems aren’t simple, not when you’re striving for the best possible sound and quality. J&M does it and lets you keep the OE amp and head. Now that’s simple. Drag Specialties carries it all, so check with your rep for more info.