Just a little info for anyone who wants to install a GTS radio into an "older" street glide. Couple of things:
-My buddy put a different radio in his 21 FHLXS and i was fortunate enough to get his radio (like brand new) for $250 shipped...he wanted to give it to me for free but after i saw how much they cost, i made him let me give him some $$.
-Lots of conflicting info on the internet about what is or isn't needed.
-I called my local harley dealer, told them what i was doing and asked how much it was for them to flash the radio after install and anything else needed. They said it would be half hour of labor to flash, i would need new wiring harness, and new hand control button to be used as the back button. Let me just say all of this was total horseshit....i did not need any of it.

-So radio shows up at my house, i take the fairing apart, remove old 4.3 boom radio, install new GTS 6.5 radio. Turn ignition to accessory, it turns on, immediately reads the thumb drive i have plugged into the usb in the cubby, and starts playing my music. No need for flash to eliminate this beeping that was supposedly going to occur constantly with bike on or off until it was flashed, no need for new wire harness, everything uses the same exact existing connectors/cabling, and no need to change out the info button currently on my bike for the back button. just use the info button as the back button..it just has an i on it instead of an arrow pointing back like the new button has.

-Everything works as intended, gps, radio, etc. The only info i don't get is some of the engine telemetry because my older streetglide wasn't setup to send that info to the radio. if i want to get my oil pressure and air temp like i could when i used to press the info button on the right controls, i just press the info button on the touch screen of the radio.

That's it, no need for a bunch of extra crap or add on modules or any of it. Even if you are looking at a used 2019 or 2020 GTS radio, as long as it has the latest harley firmware on it BEFORE it gets removed from the original bike, you are good to go. Those two years originally required you to jump through a bunch of hoops but the later firmware updates addressed all that nonsense. I have not tried to use android auto yet from my phone and have read some places that say it must be plugged into the usb for it to work and that it will not work over bluetooth. I did not replace my existing usb cable with the "new" one but i will report back if i find that the original usb cable doesn't carry enough amperage to support passing android auto through to the radio head unit.

For $250 bucks, i couldn't pass up doing the upgrade especially after i saw that these GTS units are over $1000 used on ebay and are $2000 to buy new from Harley. It ended up being a really nice, affordable upgrade, to replace the crappy stock 4.3 boom radio it came with.

Just wanted to share my findings and hopefully can help anyone else looking at doing this to a 14-16 street glide.

LAST THING, you can't take a radio out of a road glide and put it in the street glide. The street glide radios have a small cut out/notch in the bottom of them and the road glide radios are apparently flat across the bottom and do not have this cutout. Without the cutout in the radio housing, it will not fit in the streetglide.

 

I had similar experience, got a GTS out of 2021 bike I believe from a member here. Everything worked flawlessly right off the gate. No beeping or other issues. Flashed at the dealer and it is working fine so far.

I was concerned too after reading so many older posts, but if you are installing newer GTS with updated software, It's not a big issue.

It feels like a new bike . I love Apple CarPlay feature, I'm using Bluetooth dongle to get wireless CarPlay. It connects my Pandora and google maps. Totally game changer for me.

When HD decided to not have Sirius XM modules available on newer bikes, I was disappointed but after using CarPlay, I cancelled my XM subscription just this month.

 

The beeping means its software hasn't been updated (early model GTS's in pre '19 bikes), Otherwise it shouldn't be an issue now days. FYI, the SiriusXM module from the GT6.5 works great in the GTS...
Also, for some a trip to a dealer/Indy may still be needed to set the radio up for the receiving bike, depending on what it came out of -vs- what its going in to (amp -vs- no amp, 2 speakers -vs-4 speakers, etc).
I put a GTS in my '16 RGU in the fall of 2019, it wasn't near as simple back then as it is these day

 

So if you get a GTS with updated software it will replace your GT radio with no issues but what if you get one with older software? Do you then have to go to the dealership before it will work, theres no way to power up the unit and update the software without hooking it to a bike? Most people will be looking at used units that are already pulled out of their bikes so trying to see what options people will have since not everybody is 100% trustworthy or might not even know if they had the most updated software before removing haha

 

I purchased my GTS for my 2015 FLHXS new and had to have the dealer flash it. That said....it has been one of the best upgrades I have made to my ride. If you can get one cheap....highly recommend!

 

Make sure before you take off from original bike to update your software to latest Version and factory reset . After that it should move to your bike and then dealer flash. This is what I gathered when I was looking for gts. If it is 2019 and up then it already has updated version so in that case easy swap.

 

Or... look at the part number on the radio and be sure it has an "Revision" letter after the part number. Per HD, revision "A" and after came from the factory with the updated software. So other than the software issue with a first year GTS, the only issue you should run into is whether or not you're going to have to have it programmed for your specific bike's setup (amps, number of speakers, pax controls, etc).

Even a first year GTS can have its software updated in a '14-'18 bike by an individual, but you're gonna need to "borrow" a friend's ECM (from a 2019 or newer bike) long enough to do the software update, or find somebody with a used Soundz GTS module that's collecting dust on a shelf somewhere, that will work too, just to get the software updated (it has to be a used Soundz module too, so that it has already cloned and stored what is needed to fool the head unit until you get the GTS's software update done).

 

this is what i've gathered as well. if it has the latest firmware on it BEFORE it is removed from the original bike then everything should just plug and play. IF it's a 19 or 20 model take off a bike then more than likely it doesn't have the updated firmware and that's when the flash by harley could be needed OR do the ECU swap as suggested to upgrade firmware, factory reset, then install. There are some videos on the internets about having to do this.

 

I wanted to also share that i finally got around to testing out android auto. It works, 100% BUT only if the phone is plugged into the usb port in the dash cubby and not via bluetooth. I did NOT replace my original 2015 usb extension and it still works. Harley had said that a new usb cable would be required and i saw others on the internet saying the same. No need to replace that factory usb cable in the cubby on a 14-16 model bike, it works just fine and puts the whole android auto screen right up on the motorcycle gts unit.

 

Quick question Blankline9........ Can you plug in your Android phone, pull up Google Maps on the infotainment screen, and listen to your Spotify or Pandora music on your bluetooth headset or earbuds? That's the set up I'm trying to accomplish so that I can see my preplanned Google Maps route on my screen, listen to my playlist in my earbuds, and still get turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps in my earbuds at the same time. I do it now with my cell phone mounted to my bars, but that's not where I want my phone when riding in 120 degree heat or a torrential downpour.

I almost bought this Soundstream radio but their tech support told me I can't do what I want with that radio...........

https://www.denniskirk.com/soundstre...YaAuNOEALw_wcB