XM Report
Thread Starter
|
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 673
Likes: 29
From: NE Ohio
XM Report
At my 1K service done a week ago, I had my XM module installed having paid for it when I bought the bike. The first opportunity I had to get the subscription changed from my Zumo 665 to the 6.5 was 3 evenings ago but I did not have a chance to ride it until last night. After returning from being out of town all weekend, I took the bike out for about an hour riding the roads in maybe a 10 or 15 mile radius around my home.
My initial reaction: disappointment. I was riding mostly 2-lane roads, in many places wooded on both sides. The signal would go down to 1 bar very often at which point the sound would drop out (the max is 3 bars); there were a few times when the message "XM Signal Lost" would appear on the screen & it would be a while before it returned - a while being measured in minutes. If I had not been testing the unit out, I would have switched sources because it was very uncomfortable to listen to. As soon as I entered one of the local parks, it dropped out completely & did not recover until I exited on the other side.
When I travelled a little further from my home & rode on some residential / light retail 4 lane roads that were more developed, the unit performed much better but still not up to the performance I experienced with my Zumo 665 mounted to the handlebars of my previous bike. It too had the XM antenna mounted inside the clamshell.
To be far, in my area I lose the signal sometimes when streaming music over my smart phone. We have factory XM in one of our vehicles & it drops out occasionally too, but no where near to the degree my 6.5 does. While that's probably not a fair comparison, I would expect performance to be similar to the 665. Even though a different brand of bike - it was a Yamaha RoyalStar Venture - my antenna was still under a piece of plastic & mounted at a slight angle from horizontal.
Does anyone know who manufactures the XM module for HD - is it Harmon? I have to wonder if a different antenna would help, if that is possible with this unit. I'm reserving judgment until I've lived with it a little longer; I'm really hoping it's just a case of location / weather / etc. & performance is better as I have opportunity to ride into more areas. I used to subscribe to XM weather; I found it very useful in avoiding rain or, when not possible, being prepared for it by donning rain gear without having to stop under the next overpass soaking wet. I haven't entered a subscription to weather for the 6.5 yet; it would be of little use if it can't pick up a signal.
I'm in NE Ohio, about half way between Cleveland & Akron, near the OH turnpike. If anyone here is from the same area & has the XM module, I'd like to hear about your experience. For me, the verdict is still pending.
My initial reaction: disappointment. I was riding mostly 2-lane roads, in many places wooded on both sides. The signal would go down to 1 bar very often at which point the sound would drop out (the max is 3 bars); there were a few times when the message "XM Signal Lost" would appear on the screen & it would be a while before it returned - a while being measured in minutes. If I had not been testing the unit out, I would have switched sources because it was very uncomfortable to listen to. As soon as I entered one of the local parks, it dropped out completely & did not recover until I exited on the other side.
When I travelled a little further from my home & rode on some residential / light retail 4 lane roads that were more developed, the unit performed much better but still not up to the performance I experienced with my Zumo 665 mounted to the handlebars of my previous bike. It too had the XM antenna mounted inside the clamshell.
To be far, in my area I lose the signal sometimes when streaming music over my smart phone. We have factory XM in one of our vehicles & it drops out occasionally too, but no where near to the degree my 6.5 does. While that's probably not a fair comparison, I would expect performance to be similar to the 665. Even though a different brand of bike - it was a Yamaha RoyalStar Venture - my antenna was still under a piece of plastic & mounted at a slight angle from horizontal.
Does anyone know who manufactures the XM module for HD - is it Harmon? I have to wonder if a different antenna would help, if that is possible with this unit. I'm reserving judgment until I've lived with it a little longer; I'm really hoping it's just a case of location / weather / etc. & performance is better as I have opportunity to ride into more areas. I used to subscribe to XM weather; I found it very useful in avoiding rain or, when not possible, being prepared for it by donning rain gear without having to stop under the next overpass soaking wet. I haven't entered a subscription to weather for the 6.5 yet; it would be of little use if it can't pick up a signal.
I'm in NE Ohio, about half way between Cleveland & Akron, near the OH turnpike. If anyone here is from the same area & has the XM module, I'd like to hear about your experience. For me, the verdict is still pending.
Road Captain
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 518
Likes: 27
From: PA
I'm in NE PA with the same or worse reception issues and I have a handlebar mounted stalk antenna (google MC xm antenna for pics) on my 14 FLHTK. I've gone down 4 lane divided highways and get dropouts. It's BAD!!
I had the same setup on my 12 FLHTK and did not have the reception issues. This module is crap. My guess is the older units had some kind of a buffer on them and this one does not or has a very small one.
My free trial is up on September 7th and then it's going on ebay. Ill use pandora or my DL songs on my iPhone
I had the same setup on my 12 FLHTK and did not have the reception issues. This module is crap. My guess is the older units had some kind of a buffer on them and this one does not or has a very small one.
My free trial is up on September 7th and then it's going on ebay. Ill use pandora or my DL songs on my iPhone
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 759
Likes: 75
From: Vegas Baby!!
Granted, I'm not in the PA or OH area I have no problems with my xm module. I bought from Kutter and installed myself inside the fairing as near the top starboard side as possible. I ride a lot from the Vegas area to Northern Idaho and don't have any reception problems with it except when going over Lookout Pass from Montana to Idaho. Perhaps the problem is not with the receiver but rather the transmitter in the Satellites. Seems most of the problems I've read about are from the eastern half of the US. Not sure how many satellites xm/siruis has up there. Perhaps the sun is giving off more solar flares than usual this year that could be affecting radio transmission? Damn if I know.
Thread Starter
|
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 673
Likes: 29
From: NE Ohio
I don't really have any trips planned for this year, so testing outside of my home area will be difficult. I do travel to SW PA a good bit but doubt reception will be any better there. I'll cancel the subscription while the bike is up for the winter. Next year I'll be going to D.C. for Rolling Thunder & I believe I'm heading for Sturgis; I'll renew the subscription & it will be interesting to see how it performs then. I know my Zumo, which had better performance to begin with, worked fantastic when I rode to the west coast 2 years ago.
I've seen the handlebar mounted antenna & wondered if it was compatible with the HD module. I guess it is, but Smittyjf doesn't seem to be having much luck with it either.
I've seen the handlebar mounted antenna & wondered if it was compatible with the HD module. I guess it is, but Smittyjf doesn't seem to be having much luck with it either.
Tourer
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 355
Likes: 7
From: Georgia
I was having similar issue with my '14 Limited, not nearly as bad as the OP but worse than I was experiencing in my car. A friend relocated his antenna onto the inside of his fairing and said it improved reception. I did the same and it made a noticeable difference. It was attached with double sided tape so was easy to remove from location inside fairing. I used a small file to slightly enlarge channel for antenna wire coming from inside of the fairing. A small bit of double sided tape and it is very solid.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,060
Likes: 157
The problem with the Harley XM Module is that it has 0 to maybe a 1 second buffer in the system. So it loses reception real quick. Most other satellite radios have at least a 7 second buffer built in. Harley obviously took the lowest price when they put the module out for bid.
Trending Topics
Road Master
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,151
Likes: 328
From: Southern Utah, USA
The whole buffer thing has to make you wonder. I had an old Sirius back when they first started and it had a short buffer, but it was a early generation...Flash forward...I just got a new Ram 2500 with 1 year free Sirius/XM (what did we get with the FLHTK's, 3 months?? WTF), anyway, back to my story...This thing will essentially buffer like 5 minutes of music and not on just one, channel but several!
Give me a frigg'n break HD, damn...1 second of buffer?? Memory and electronic components are so cheap anymore, why screw up your flagship rollout with a dumb move like this...
ANOTHER THING...
The RAM nav system is NAVTEC, and frigg'n kicks ***. Never hiccups...So how do we explain that...
The RAM Navtec map set is 4th Q 12 but says an update is going to be available in October. JFYI
Give me a frigg'n break HD, damn...1 second of buffer?? Memory and electronic components are so cheap anymore, why screw up your flagship rollout with a dumb move like this...
ANOTHER THING...
The RAM nav system is NAVTEC, and frigg'n kicks ***. Never hiccups...So how do we explain that...
The RAM Navtec map set is 4th Q 12 but says an update is going to be available in October. JFYI
Last edited by plongson; Aug 18, 2014 at 06:28 PM.
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,060
Likes: 157
I'm going to contact the motor company tomorrow about the problem with the buffer on the XM modules. I'm sure the first thing they will say is that they never heard of the problem. If enough of us contact them, then maybe they will do something about it.
Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 570
Likes: 6
From: Left Ohio for the middle of no where in Fla.
Earlier this year, XM had the Onyx Receiver on sale $50.00 with a $50.00 rebate. My INNO had just died the day before they delivered the 14 Ultra, so I ordered the Onyx.
I did have to order a power unit for the HD 12v down to 5 from an online retailer, the antenna, Onyx mount and a few misc. parts. I made the mag antenna mount out of a piece of scrap stainless that was magnetic. I believe I have less than $80.00 in the whole unit as pictured.
KevinCH.... When I'm riding the Metroparks between Strangsville and Lakewood, I'll get drop-outs, other than that it's solid.
Six7One, anywhere near Las Crucas?
Last edited by 01XLH; Aug 18, 2014 at 07:37 PM.