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[bakon]

My XM does not act anywhere near as good as the XM in my truck. Same road and signal will sometimes be "dropped" according to the display. Most of the time it just cuts in and out every couple of seconds. Anything I can check? The antenna location in the fairing?
I took it on 600 mile trip and this only happened near the beach, figured it was because there was less signal being pointed at the area but now I am thinking maybe I got something loose when it happens in Pittsburgh area. SOmetimes it seems there is some tree growth, or I am in a valley, like signal could be blocked, but I don't see the same problem in my 2014 Ford truck radio reception.
AM/FM work fine in same area, as does MEDIA source, so Its an XM radio problem only.
Thanks

[tpb857]

I am now on my third HD with XM.  None of them had reception that was as good as the XM/Sirius in my cars.  Maybe it's the antenna that they use on the bikes, but I'm just guessing at that.  I got better reception once I moved my XM antenna from in the fairing to outside of the fairing next to the vent behind the windshield.

[J-Carr]

Dealer I know takes the antenna out of the fairing and mounts it on the dash pad on his batwing CVOs and somewhere else on his RGs before they pull it out of the shop (I haven't notice where but my son used to work for him and told me he did it on those too).  They're notorious for being useless in the factory location.  Cars/Trucks put that Nascar race cam looking hump somewhere on your roof which is why you get better reception with them.

My '08 is practically unusable in the Pennsylvania mountains and forest lined roads.  Which isn't a problem because their customer service sucked so bad I told them to stuff their service for my car, my wife's car, my bike and my father's car up their exhaust pipe.  For the price of one satellite radio I can add enough bandwidth to play internet radio as much as I'm in a moving vehicle.  The service is more reliable and a better mix.  And when someone claims their cell phone company has better customer service than another company... 

[grc]

Another vote for moving the sat antenna out in the open as opposed to leaving it buried in the fairing.  If it really was a good idea to bury it inside something, don't you suppose the car folks would have saved the considerable expense of mounting theirs on the roof and running a long cable to it?  They could do like Harley and just stuff it in the dash with the radio, but they don't do that for a very good reason.

Jerry

[Chains]

I just moved the one on my old bike for my buddy that bought it.  He lives way out and there are a lot of woods and mountains so he was not getting very good reception. Took about 25 minutes to pull fairing and notch dash so the wire wouldn't get pinched. Used 3M trim 2 sided tape, cleaned dash pad and stuck it on.

He called me when he got home and said it was 200% better than what he had. Just a few cut out areas and his truck had them in the area swell.  Exposing the antenna does improve reception.

My 09 gets 5 times better reception than the 06 did. It actually picks up in the garage, the 06 never did.

[J-Carr]

Another vote for moving the sat antenna out in the open as opposed to leaving it buried in the fairing.  If it really was a good idea to bury it inside something, don't you suppose the car folks would have saved the considerable expense of mounting theirs on the roof and running a long cable to it?  They could do like Harley and just stuff it in the dash with the radio, but they don't do that for a very good reason.

Jerry

Yep.  Dead on.  But I'm not a big fan of the fugly little thing stuck on the dash like an afterthought.  It would be really easy to make it part of a the TP luggage rack or a fairing windshield trim piece.  But that would require forethought and care.

[Chains]

If I were relocating my antenna this is what I would use on my tour pack. Would need a longer antenna wire as well.

[dayne66]

In my neck of the woods, reception is aggravatingly spotty at best....in my Jeep GC as well as any and all of the demos my wife drives. Way too many trees and hills in BC.

[bakon]

Thanks for info...whats the hump antenna thing? how big is it?

[Chains]

Thanks for info...whats the hump antenna thing? how big is it?

Its off a late model car.  Look on the roof of a lot of new cars and you will see it. I believe they are called a shark antenna.

[grc]

Thanks for info...whats the hump antenna thing? how big is it?

Try a Google search for "XM radio antennas for cars".  You should get most of the available varieties.  Personally, if I were doing it I'd go for one of the more stealthy types.  I've seen rectangular ones as small as 1.25" by 1.4" by 0.5" tall.  Many come in a flat or satin black, and most can be painted to match whatever you want to mount them on.  If you just want to mount it on top of the dash area of the bike, look at just moving the small rectangular stock antenna to the dash if the wire is long enough (paint it to match). 

Jerry

[Chains]

Here's a picture of the XM unit and the amount of wire, plenty of room to put on dash if you like/want to.

[bakon]

will be pulling fairing tomorrow and have a look...thanks

[jermwhl]

Just got back from a ride from San Diego to San Francisco.  I noticed horrible reception while northbound (constant cutting in and out) and when I turned back southbound reception was nearly perfect.  Obviously a flaw in antenna placement (somewhere in the front fairing).  I can't believe HD didn't opt for a shark antenna somewhere instead of hiding inside the fairing.

[CVORick]

Check this old thread.                       http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=49487.0

This worked for me and others, but some think it is ugly. Can get perfect XM reception in the garage with no view of the sky.