Hey, was wondering if anyone else was as frustrated with their CB as I am?
I bought my 4th Unlimited last October and have (mostly) only been totally disappointed in the CB radio. I ride a lot in HOG Chapter rides and several of us use the CB to communicate the group's status at stop lights and such. On the new Rushmore the CB power totally blows! I'm in the middle of the group (maybe 12 to 15 bikes) and I can barely understand the Lead and cannot understand the Sweep at all. Too much static and seems like no (very very little) signal strength. I've adjusted all the controls and the squelch many times and many ways - to no benefit. Additionally I use a hand-held mic, that I've had on the 2013 that I traded for the Rushmore. I loved! the mic on the previous bike but, with the 2014 I now need to key the mic AND push the PTT button in order to transmit. With the bike turned off the CB works just ok, across a large parking lot adequately but with the bikes on - junky reception. The hand-held mic has always gotten rave reviews from other rides while I was on my 2013, and the mic works PERFECTLY with my cell phone to talk while riding on the Rushmore! (love that feature!) While on cell calls I don't have to press the PTT button and that is VERY cool! I wish the CB worked the same way! It used to on the 2013 but not on the 2014, I now have to push another button (with my right hand) while keying the mic with my left hand... You can imagine the challenges! AND who the heck thought about putting the PTT for the CB interfaced with the squelch adjustment?!? I'm always accidentally adjusting the squelch while intending to talk on the CB - to me this is the most annoying feature on a (mostly) otherwise great piece of technology. This is a case of poor design, not poorly refined technology.
Other thoughts please. I suspect that very few use the hand-held mic but it's great! No unplugging the helmet to get on and off the bike and it looks cool!

Thanks for any help!

 

Agreed, i use mine all the time and believe the MoCo assumes very few use it. I have no static but range is shorter. J&M has a kit for this problem and says the 14's suffer from high SWR readings and poor ground to the tourpak. Mike

 

Same issues here except I do get a little better reception but not by much the 13's owners are certainly not jealous. So many Infotainment issues and passenger comfort issue I am recommending others wait, buy used or think about switching brands. O

 

I added the bike-to-bike communication kit (CB) on my '14 street glide special and purchased the J&M hidden CB antenna for the fairing, and have the same issue. I went on a 3 day weekend ride for about 2000 miles with 6 bikes, and the lead bike could not hear me when I was in the back. Very frustrating, but it is handy when it works.

I wondered if the Ultras had better reception with the whip antenna, but it seems like it's a '14 issue, not a fairing antenna issue.

 

Does anyone have a report on the J&M kit?

 

Seems like the Rushmore CB radio focus team were all "asleep at the wheel" when Harley was listen for improvements & suggestions. What they should have done is switched to the FRS radio VHF or UHF FM frequencies instead of the antiquated CB 27mhz AM frequencies...or even bluetooth...

HD probably did not want to alienate the hundreds of CB equipped pre-Rushmore bikes...I bet they will at one point move away from the CB...

One other feature they should have added is the TPM for the tires...BMW & other bikes have this feature dating 10 or more back...and while they are at it, should have added MPG usage, but to me the TPM is a must safety feature that should have been added and offer some sort of dash early warning if the tire pressure goes to zero PSI unexpectedly.

 

The 6.5 infotainment will calc your MPG, but I can only figure out how to display when you're on a route, and it shows the trip summary. Handy, but would be great to just see if along with the mileage, trip A, trip B, etc.

 

I agree about the monitoring system , way more important for a bike than a car. It would have been so easy to add this feature. I get surveys from the motor company & in the most recent one they asked if I would like to see this incorporated into the bike. A day late & a dollar short for us but I bet the 15's will have this. The parts & accessories catalog will be sure to offer it at a price north of 500 is my guess, made in China of course

 

The FCC regulations only allow for FRS frequencies (UHF) to be used in hand held radios and require an output power of under 1/2 watt with the antenna permanently attached to the radio. There a similar regulations covering the VHF channels that have been set aside in the MURS service. These and 27 MHz CB are the only unlicensed services allowed by the FCC. CB is the only choice they have for mobile systems.

They could move to bluetooth but the range would be very limited.