Ultimate Harley Radio Flash Guide for Aftermarket Speakers and Amplifiers
The following is a complete guide to performing your own radio flash and getting all of the performance you ever wanted out of your factory 2014 or newer Harley Davidson radio. This guide assumes that you already know what a radio flash is and have some idea of why you need to get one done, but I will explain the details of what options you should program for and why. Be aware that there is a ton of misinformation out there about what flash you should get and who should do it. This article sets the record straight. Be careful of the blind leading the blind on forums and Facebook. BE AWARE OF WHAT A FLASH WILL AND WILL NOT DO FOR YOUA proper radio flash will get the best features of your radio turned on but you still need to make the right choices when connecting your new gear to your radio. Always use the proper Harley radio signal harnesses from American Hard Bag so that the radio is properly loaded and balanced, and never use high to low level converters. Skipping the correct interface harnesses will result in a bunch of new problems that you don’t need and ultimately amplifier and speaker failures. You can find all of our factory radio integration harnesses here. https://www.americanhardbag.com/collections/wire-harnesses |
RADIO FLASHING TOOLThe first thing you need to do is decide if you will have your bike taken to a shop to have the flash done for you or if you will be doing the flash yourself. In either case the same software will be used and in either case you should be aware of all your options. Let’s be clear. The factory system that Harley dealers use to flash a radio is not what you should be using. All factory Harley flashes are intended to be used for factory Harley speakers and amplifiers and not aftermarket equipment. There is only one flash tool to use. It’s made by a company called TechnoResearch. Fortunately Virtually all non-Harley bike shops that have a flash tool, have a TechnoResearch tool. This tool has become so popular that many factory Harley dealerships now also have this tool that they use as well as their factory supplied equipment. So in this article I will only be referring to the TechnoResearch tool and software. |
What Do You Want to Accomplish by Flashing Your Radio?Here are some of the things you can accomplish
| LETS SIMPLIFY THIS!If you are going to be using aftermarket amplifier(s) simply load the Rockford Fosgate flash profile as shown in the video. The Rockford Fosgate flash profile works equally as well with all aftermarket amplifiers and speakers (not just Rockford). Though the point of this article is to explain many of the fine details of flashing your factory radio, there is a single flash solution that takes care of multiple settings all at once. So let’s just do that. This Profile Will
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STEP BY STEP | HOW TO PERFORM THE FLASHThe TechnoResearch software is simple enough but it does have one quark that you should know about.When launching the app (PC only), nothing will happen when you click on the yellow Centurion Audio button. This is normal. Don’t go clicking it several times. Unlike an elevator or a crosswalk, clicking this button several times will not make anything happen any faster. The reason that nothing happens right away is that the app has to communicate with TechnoResearch servers via an internet connection for authorization before moving on to the next step. |
WATCH THE STEP BY STEP HARLEY CARPLAY VIDEOIn this video, we take you through each step of enabling CarPlay to your GTS radio using the TechnoResearch flash tool. It is very simple unless you have never done it before. The menu and procedure for adding CarPlay is a bit hidden and not at all self-explanatory. This video makes it simple. Enabling CarPlay can be done on GTS radios (2019 and later) but not on GT radios (2018 and earlier). CarPlay works from the factory on GTS radios but only if you add a headset or if you buy a special wire harness that emulates a headset being attached to the bike. But with the TechnoResearch flash tool, you can enable CarPlay and skip any need for additional hardware. It is just a click of a button and it is free! |
SO WHAT IS NEXT?The next step is to get your hands on the right plug & play adapters so that you can now connect your factory Harley radio to your aftermarket amplifiers and speakers. Here Is What People Often Do Wrong
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DO YOU NEED SOUND PROCESSOR (DSP)?The answer to that question depends on two things.
TO SUM IT UPA Harley sound system with consumer-level speakers and moderate output can often be successfully set up without a digital sound processor, but if you are going big with your audio system you need a DSP. The only exception to this rule that we have ever seen is when using Velocity RZ65H and RZ69H speakers. These speakers though hold no resemblance to other pro audio speakers. We designed these speakers to function exceptionally well without a DSP. As of the writing of this article, we know of no other pro audio type speakers that can accomplish this feat. | CHOSE YOUR DSP WISELYNot All Sound Processors Are Good Sound ProcessorsHere at American Hard Bag we have access to pretty much any digital sound processor ever made but what we have found out over the years though is that many of the sound processors out there have no place in a Harley sound system. So be careful about what sound processor you get into. At American Hard Bag we only sell DSP units that have a high reliability, no noise issues, and that fit properly in the fairing. These Processors Are DSR1 - Simple, Effective, Reliable, No Advanced FeaturesMusway M4+ - All In One Amplifier/DSP Solution, Simple, Effective, Some Advanced FeaturesVelocity 8 - Reliable, Small, Built-In Amplifier for Tweeters, Very Advanced Features |
Ultimate Harley Radio Flash Guide for Aftermarket Speakers and Amplifiers