2014 ultra has a problem with radio reception. i do listen to fm stations when i'm on long trips. wheather its to get traffic reports or other wise i do listen to fm. the problem is that even strong local stations fade out in no time at all. i know that a motorcycle has a small amount of ground plane so maybe thats the problem. took the bike to the dealer to have a recall done and i told them about my issue. they checked and said that the coax wire to the radio was alittle loose. i think they told me that just to get me out the door because the problem is still their, i know its not the same as a car but its anoying that i can't pickup crap. anybody with this issue, maybe a antenae booster would help......looking for ideas.....

 

I lose stations around My house,which is 30 miles from most stations.But,when I am in Florida,I am amazed how far 92.3 Orlando will carry, for 100 miles loud and clear.I wish stations would broadcast like that here.The best thing for music is a thumb drive with Your favorite music and forget about FM.Unless You like country then You can probably get 92.3.lol

 

I've only used mine occasionally around home, or when I've ridden back to the area where I was born & raised which is about 125 miles away. I can say that the local stations fade out sooner than they do in our 4-wheeled vehicles, but not by so much that I would be upset over it. As it is, I usually listen to satellite radio.

There may be a work around for you though. Assuming you have a smart phone & data plan, you can download the IHeart app. Many local stations are available through IHeart; & you can stream it through the bikes Infotainment system either through Bluetooth of the connection in the cubby. We now use it in our home for football. We have NFL ticket, which allows me to watch my former home team when they play. (I'm a Steeler fan living in the Cleveland area...!!) But instead of listening to the network announcers, I plug my phone into the sound system & pull in the Steeler's announcers from the Pittsburgh station. It seems to work very well.

 

I have to agree with Bob. My 14 FLHTK definitely has the poorest FM reception of the last 3 bikes I've owned. When I mentioned it at a Boom Audio workshop that my dealer had, most people told me to either put music on a flash drive or add the XM module. I've checked for loose antenna connections but did not find any problems. I don't think many people listen to FM anymore; they stream music from their phones, use flash drives, or use XM. If anyone finds a cure, please post it so that more of us can enjoy the old style FM radio. Thanks and a Happy New Year to all.

 

my FM radio is useless, I thought it was because i have the QD TPak.

the QD kit moves the antenna to near the exhaust tips.

I "assume" that the OEM antenna cable has several junctions in it (and the QD adds more) and you would need to run a new RG-58 or whatever RF Coax cable from the radio to the actual antenna.

IIRC, you lose 3db at every connector, so if the OEM signal path has several plugs, that is the culprit, if not. it's just junk.

FWIW, a USB drive is much easier than a phone on the bike, because my phone never seems to be at max volume, or it is screen locked, or SOMETHING...the USB drive just WORKS every time, and has enuff volume.

i think a 32gb stick is ~$22 now? that will hold 10k songs?

 

Yep it's junk - my ipod fm radio picks up better stations than the bike. And last time I complained about it they handed me a boombox manual - like that was an issue! >.<

 

I don't know what issues you might be having with your phone, but mine works fine. I have an HTC Droid, it's about 2 years old, and it streams via Bluetooth to the Infotainment system flawlessly even from the TourPak. I make sure the volume is to maximum before I set out & haven't ad an issue - except once or twice, for no apparent reason, I had to pair it again. Other than that, it's worked very well.

 

I'm not sure that's right though I have heard other people quote this connector loss. 3dB loss translates to a loss of 1/2 power. I think the actual loss to expect through a clean connector is about 0.1 dB. It gets worse if corrosion builds up on the connection but 3 dB would be pretty darn bad.

The poor performance of the FM receiver on our bikes is probably due to a short, low antenna with little or no ground plane and probably less than ideal receiver front end components.

On my first ride with a buddy my CB reception was very scratchy and that turned out to be a loose connector inside the tour bag so maybe it is something to check closely. Even after tightening that up, my CB is only good to 1/4 mile or so. Short antenna, no ground plane I believe.

I'm thinking it is what it is on a bike but I never had a bike with any radio gear before so I have nothing to compare with.

I wish Google would make a GPS for autos/bikes. When I use my Android phone in the truck Google Nav shows me traffic conditions on the route and even suggests alternate routes on the fly. Getting traffic from FM here in the DC area basically only tells you that you are already stuck in traffic and doomed to be there for hours.

(Former U.S. Navy ETN and Ham Radio Extra Class license holder.)

 

the bottom line says it all. i guess i will have to just live with what i got. thanks for the replies

 

Oh man, DC is the worst. I've been coming down there for at least 12 years, maybe longer, for Rolling Thunder. Twice I did the Run For The Wall first, starting in California & coming the whole way across (Central Route). Anyway, I have yet to find a GPS fast enough to guide me out of that city. It seems every year, the road closings & parking in town change the day of the Rolling Thunder parade from previous years. I usually stay in Falls Church & if I can find 50, I'm good to go - but getting to it can be an issue!

And while I'm at it, thanks for your service!