Went to the dealership today and they confirmed the CB module is toast. Cycle 7447 I checked all the connections and they are all tight. They also flashed my Infotainment system, lost all my Sirrus presets but the intercom is working now. Of course they don't have a CB unit in stock so it will be in next week and I can make the hour and a half trip there again to get it swapped out.

 

Well at least you're making progress. Was you're bike still under warranty or did you use ESP?

 

Under warranty until April 1st then it switches over.

 

Pastor Ron - thanks.

Glad they found the problem and the bike will be repaired.

 

The CB module was replaced last Friday. On the ride home, about 45 miles, I could hear and transmit. When I got home sitting in my driveway and with the radio on channel 19 I could not receive anything and of course received no response to a radio check. I removed the cowl and put a SWR/Power meter inline and first performed a SWR test then a power test. With the factory antenna the SWR was 3:1 and the power output was just under 2 watts. So I removed the Harley factory antenna and installed the 4ft black FireStik FireFly antenna and tuned it getting the SWR down to just under 2:1 and the power increased to just under 3 watts. With the new antenna I could receive calls from the highway, about 2.5 miles, nice and clear but when I called for a radio check the reports were that they could hear me but it was weak.

So I now have a good radio, good antenna, the AM/FM antenna removed which can steal up to 30% of the power and influence the SWR and the J&M bonding straps installed. I also have the short J&M coax that goes from the seat to the antenna but I think that does little to improve the overall performance. The next and last logical step is to replace the coax from the radio to the antenna with a high quality tuned coax. This will be a 18 ft. long piece of coax so I will have to stow the extra coax properly. It can't be shortened or rolled up in a coil and stashed somewhere. This should bring the SWR down to 1.5:1 (I hope) and get me close to 4 watts. The cable is ordered and the bike opened up to run the new cable that will be here Wednesday. Stay tuned for the result. Yes I can be a little excessive.

 

Please keep us undated - interested in seeing how this works for you.

FYI -I purchased a portable cb so I could talk to my self and see how my bike cb was working. Just seemed easier to me to connect while in the garage instead of waiting for someone to respond to my calls.

 

OK the new FireStik coax is in and the bike put together and the SWR/Power fully tested and the SWR tuned. The final result is:
channel 1 SWR = 1.25:1 output 2.5watts
channel 40 SWR= 1.4:1 output 2.5watts

It is curious that the power across the 40 channels is 2.5 watts even though the SWR is not. My thought is that 2.5 watts is all she has to give. So to recap this is what has been done.

1. Harley replaced the faulty CB module. (Likely burned out the finals as a result of a SWR in excess of 4:1 on channel 40.)
2. Installed the J&M CB cable upgrade. Note: The bonding straps that bond the 3 sections of frame together is righteous. I have no doubt it increases the ground plane. However the short piece of coax they include to replace the section from the back of the seat to the antenna while made using quality coax and nice connectors is not to likely to have much of an impact. That is why I replaced the entire coax as noted later.
3. Replaced the factory CB antenna with a FireStik FireFly 4ft. 5/8 wave top loaded fiberglass antenna.
4. Installed the hidden AM/FM/Weather band antenna under the fairing and removed the factory antenna. I also removed the cable for the AM/FM antenna from the back of the rear seat to the antenna and removed the grounding wire that attaches to the steel pan in the tour pack.
5. Replaced the entire CB coax with a FireStik 18ft K8 coax. Note that I had to purchase a PL-259 to TNC adaptor to connect to the CB module.

The result is very nice. Received calls are clear. Transmissions are reported to be clear and strong out 3+ miles. I can live with this. It took a lot research and work but not a lot of $$$. For those who like I have a need to communicate in a large group it can be done. You don't have to settle for the miserable CB performance out of the factory setup.

And one last point. After seeing my lady in a state of nudity, I feel like our relationship is now much more intimate. (The Harley guys)

 

Nice write up...thank you!

 

Question. Looking at this product online and how its connector is male and the ones on the bike are female, how did you do this? Did you have to use an adapter of some kind? Can you please elaborate on this?

Also, seeing you are only seeing 2.5watts output, do you see any reason their 3ft antenna wouldn't give the same results?
http://www.firestik.com/Catalog/FL3-FL4.htm

Thank you!

 

Pastor Ron,

The new tuneable J&M shorty CB antennas for the back of your Harley are being released on or about March 25th 2016.

Full details are shown here. http://www.jmcorp.com/ProductDetail....ctID=HBSA-1416