XM Report
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Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 673
Likes: 29
From: NE Ohio
I looked at the HD web for more info.
http://www.harley-davidson.com/app-c...ts/-J03640.PDF
Take a look at this HD page, from what you explain, it appears someone took a shortcut when your antenna was installed.
Also note it shows HD using adhesive rather than a mag mount.
The antenna on it's side as you describe is not even close to decent, let alone optimum.
I use 4 different styles of XM antennas and new ones are being developed all the time.
I thought a new model was introduced.
http://www.harley-davidson.com/app-c...ts/-J03640.PDF
Take a look at this HD page, from what you explain, it appears someone took a shortcut when your antenna was installed.
Also note it shows HD using adhesive rather than a mag mount.
The antenna on it's side as you describe is not even close to decent, let alone optimum.
I use 4 different styles of XM antennas and new ones are being developed all the time.
I thought a new model was introduced.
It appears the FLHTK has a different bracket for the antenna. The bracket illustrated on the instruction sheet your link points to makes sense, & I'll bet has decent, if not optimum reception.
Take a look at the attached pic; this is what the kit for the FLHTK looks like. That bracket is mounted above the radio, so the flat surface the magnetized antenna sticks to is in a vertical orientation.
Also, from the pic, rotate the bracket about 90+ degrees or so in a counter-clockwise direction so that the top edge of that vertical surface is pointing north-south instead of northwest-southeast as it is in the picture. That's what the orientation when you remove the outer fairing & look at the setup. As it is stuck to the side of that surface, the top of the antenna is pointed to the side - to the rider's left side.
It is a strange setup for a satellite antenna, knowing that optimum is on a flat horizontal surface with a clear view of the sky. I can understand trying to hide it under the fairing - that's what I did on my last bike - but the logic of mounting it sideways is hard to understand.
Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 570
Likes: 6
From: Left Ohio for the middle of no where in Fla.
It would be difficult to have an antenna in that vertical bar that would work sufficiently, not enough physical space.
Vertical orientation, no matter which bike, just doesn't make any sense.
I do have my FM/WB antenna mounted on the unerside of the vent inside the fairing.
Works great.
Kevin I get 97.5 in my garage with it, I'm near Hopkins. My car doesn't get 97.5 outside in the driveway.
I have a question and comment. Don't the Limited's come with XM standard? That's what I was told by a salesman and what I "thought" I understood from the HD website. Yet I see some of you mentioning having the module installed at extra cost? On a Limited?
I've had XM on three HD's now (The HD module type). All three have had substandard reception compared to every other XM radio I've used. And I've had it in many vehicles. First on my '07 Ultra (I paid extra for), then my '09 Limited (standard), and now on my '11 Road Glide Ultra (standard). I've never gone to the trouble of relocating the antenna on any of them. Although I've heard many times that would make a big improvement. In the summer, I can't really get XM on 2 lane roads. It's just too much aggravation. What I pretty much use all the time is my iPhone connected to the Aux input. Then I run the XM app on the iPhone and listen that way. Using the cell phone service gives much better reception. As in, pretty much never drops. And I believe the iPhone app has a longer buffer as well.
I've had XM on three HD's now (The HD module type). All three have had substandard reception compared to every other XM radio I've used. And I've had it in many vehicles. First on my '07 Ultra (I paid extra for), then my '09 Limited (standard), and now on my '11 Road Glide Ultra (standard). I've never gone to the trouble of relocating the antenna on any of them. Although I've heard many times that would make a big improvement. In the summer, I can't really get XM on 2 lane roads. It's just too much aggravation. What I pretty much use all the time is my iPhone connected to the Aux input. Then I run the XM app on the iPhone and listen that way. Using the cell phone service gives much better reception. As in, pretty much never drops. And I believe the iPhone app has a longer buffer as well.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,878
Likes: 164
From: Northern California
I have a question and comment. Don't the Limited's come with XM standard? That's what I was told by a salesman and what I "thought" I understood from the HD website. Yet I see some of you mentioning having the module installed at extra cost? On a Limited?
I've had XM on three HD's now (The HD module type). All three have had substandard reception compared to every other XM radio I've used. And I've had it in many vehicles. First on my '07 Ultra (I paid extra for), then my '09 Limited (standard), and now on my '11 Road Glide Ultra (standard). I've never gone to the trouble of relocating the antenna on any of them. Although I've heard many times that would make a big improvement. In the summer, I can't really get XM on 2 lane roads. It's just too much aggravation. What I pretty much use all the time is my iPhone connected to the Aux input. Then I run the XM app on the iPhone and listen that way. Using the cell phone service gives much better reception. As in, pretty much never drops. And I believe the iPhone app has a longer buffer as well.
I've had XM on three HD's now (The HD module type). All three have had substandard reception compared to every other XM radio I've used. And I've had it in many vehicles. First on my '07 Ultra (I paid extra for), then my '09 Limited (standard), and now on my '11 Road Glide Ultra (standard). I've never gone to the trouble of relocating the antenna on any of them. Although I've heard many times that would make a big improvement. In the summer, I can't really get XM on 2 lane roads. It's just too much aggravation. What I pretty much use all the time is my iPhone connected to the Aux input. Then I run the XM app on the iPhone and listen that way. Using the cell phone service gives much better reception. As in, pretty much never drops. And I believe the iPhone app has a longer buffer as well.
Novice
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: Austin, TX
Lots of good information in this thread. I recently bought a '14 Ultra Limited and have been weighing the pros and cons of using the Zumo 665 I was using on my '08 Ultra Class on the new bike. Granted the GPS capability of the Zumo is way ahead of the Infotainment maps but I'm willing to give Harley a little slack as they get the maps in better shape.
I do listen to satellite radio probably 75% of the time i am riding so I want to get that fixed up pretty soon and was hoping to just use the SiriusXM module from Harley since it is natively supported by the Infotainment system. It sounds like I should be ok provided careful attention is applied to the location of the antenna that comes with the module since it is significantly smaller than the one that comes with the 665.
I do listen to satellite radio probably 75% of the time i am riding so I want to get that fixed up pretty soon and was hoping to just use the SiriusXM module from Harley since it is natively supported by the Infotainment system. It sounds like I should be ok provided careful attention is applied to the location of the antenna that comes with the module since it is significantly smaller than the one that comes with the 665.
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