I'm thinking about adding XM to my bike and HD offers two ways.

One is the module for the radio (~$500) and the second would be to add it to my Zumo (~$250).

I was leaning towards the Zumo option for three reasons.

It's less expensive by about half.
It looks like it would be an easier install.
If I ever decide to sell or trade my bike, it would be easier to move to a new bike.

For those of you that have installed XM, which way did you go and if you had it to do over again, would you do it the same way?

Thanks in advance.

 

one + for the zummo route is u plugg in to the aux port u can then hear the xm and the zummo will atoumaticaly mute the music to give u directions.if u go harley modual u will not hear the zummo while listening to xm.

 

I went with the XM hockey puck for the ZUMO 550 and I'm pretty happy with it.
Just put the puck under the front fairing and the install is pretty easy. Reception is
pretty good, but I'm sure would be better if the puck was mounted out from under the
fairing. On a trip to Nova Scotia last year, I saw a guy on a BMW with a metal bracket mouting his XM puck on the handlebars of his bike and his reception was a bit better than mine. You can also get the XM a bit cheaper if you shop around. I ordered mine from
Chicago Harley for 199.00.

Joe

 

I went with the Harley XM Module. I went back and forth on this also and decided that I didn't like the idea of having to mount my GPS just to listen to XM when just riding around town. and yes, I would do it again. As far as moving it to another bike, just pop off the fairing cap and unplug it.

 

+1; and you can operate the XM with the handle bar controls.

 

I had the HD xm on my 06 Ultra. I took it off and put it on the new Limited. I like it. It is not as strong as say a cd but pretty good. Oh and it does just unplug however, there is a wire harness that has to go with it. My dealership was good enough to let me get it out of my old bike.

 

I went with the XM module. It plays through the radio and controlled by normal handlebar switches.
I'm not running a GPS to allow the other option (zumo) but I think I'd still go for the radio module for the convenience of the controls.

 

I have the radio module on mine.. wish I had gone with the zumo XM instead.

I use the zumo both on the bike and in the truck, just diff mount. If I had the XM in the Zumo, I wouldn't have to have 2 separate subscriptions. Especially since the bike sits inside for the winter, wasting the subscription fee.

I don't change channels that often, so using the handlebar controls wasn't that big a deal

RamMount offers a bent plate that attaches to the back of the zumo mount so you can put the antenna right there.. there is also an antenna with a short 12inch lead so you don't have the big coil of wire zip tied.

 

I went with the Zumo 550, bought the XM antenna on Ebay DIRT cheap. One you set the internal Zumo volume, the radio volume controls work fine. To me, It was the way to go. Besides, the GPS is priceless if your are looking for an address in a unfamiliar area, or the closest gas, food, bar etc.

 

Although not installed yet, I went with the XM module. It's not suppose to be much a deal to install. I'm only a bit concerned with handling the outer fairing by myself.