2Whlsrollin Posted November 10, 2008 Share #1 Posted November 10, 2008 Well the wife is going to buy me a satellite radio for my "06" Venture for my birthday. Oh boy. Was thinking on getting the radio and installation kit with the bracket all in one. As usual I come to this great site to see what you guys can recommend. If anyone has pics on what they have on their bikes that would be nice. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyDawg Posted November 10, 2008 Share #2 Posted November 10, 2008 Check out RAM Mounts. I don't have pic of my latest installation of a Sirius radio. I used the car mount that is adhesive backed and mounted it to the windshield on the left side. I have had XM before and now I have Sirius and to be honest I prefer the XM over Sirius. The radio is better and the sound at least to me is better on XM. Also the Sirius antenna doesn't receive as good as the XM. Sirius has better programing options, but falls short in the hardware department. Real soon I am going to get the GXM-30 reciever/antenna for my Zumo 550. Maybe for Christmas. Hint Hint Krome Rose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny-canuck Posted November 10, 2008 Share #3 Posted November 10, 2008 I have a Sirius Starmate 3. Not the most expensive but not the cheapest either. I also have reception issues. Most of the time it is good but some days there is nothing. I have travelled a highway one day and had excellent reception, two days later on same road on sunny day - no reception. The radio itself is fragile. I dropped it about 2 feet and the display broke. It still works but can't read what is happening. Sirius and the store both said no can help. I am considering going to XM but I like the Sirius programming. Good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Whlsrollin Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share #4 Posted November 10, 2008 Check out RAM Mounts. I don't have pic of my latest installation of a Sirius radio. I used the car mount that is adhesive backed and mounted it to the windshield on the left side. I have had XM before and now I have Sirius and to be honest I prefer the XM over Sirius. The radio is better and the sound at least to me is better on XM. Also the Sirius antenna doesn't receive as good as the XM. Sirius has better programing options, but falls short in the hardware department. Real soon I am going to get the GXM-30 reciever/antenna for my Zumo 550. Maybe for Christmas. Hint Hint Krome Rose. Wayne, And what would that do for your Zumo 550? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted November 10, 2008 Share #5 Posted November 10, 2008 Try TSS radio.com they have complete packages,incl MC bracket here is the link http://www.tss-radio.com/sportster-with-professional-motorcycle-install-kit-p-5766.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neanderthall Posted November 10, 2008 Share #6 Posted November 10, 2008 Wayne, And what would that do for your Zumo 550? The GXM-30 adds XM Radio, XM Traffic, and XM Weather to the Zumo 550(all for a nominal fee:innocent:) I have this set up on my bike with all the added features and am very happy with it. The traffic tells you if and where there is a traffic problem in front of you on your route, tells you how much longer it will make your trip, and can offer you a way around it if the slow down will be to long. The Weather tells you what the weather is where you are with a forcast and what the weather is where your going with a 3 (or 5, can't remember right now) day forcast. It can also show you a map of an entire area (in my case So. Cal. inland) and what the weather is around you with temps etc. I use to have Sirius on my bike and was very happy with it, but like said before the reception was not the greatest, but it was never as bad as some of the others have said, never once did I lose reception unless I was in the mountains. I do like the channels way better on Sirius and I am really missing them now that I have XM. For 2Whlsrollin, a RAM mount will work perfectly to mount the sirius, the bolt-on holes on the Sirius unit line up with the holes on the RAM mount and there is ample room on the handlebars to mount it. I ran my wires through the fairing and had the antenae mounted in the small space between the windshield and fairing with velcro. Remember, to get the best sound you will want to add an audio cable to connect the Sirius directly to the sound system, not go through the FM Tuner, there is a tech page on the site on how to add the cable inside the fairing. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugfish69 Posted November 10, 2008 Share #7 Posted November 10, 2008 I have a Sirius Starmate 3. Not the most expensive but not the cheapest either. I also have reception issues. Most of the time it is good but some days there is nothing. I have travelled a highway one day and had excellent reception, two days later on same road on sunny day - no reception. The radio itself is fragile. I dropped it about 2 feet and the display broke. It still works but can't read what is happening. Sirius and the store both said no can help. I am considering going to XM but I like the Sirius programming. Good luck... Like you I was a fan of the sirius programming but their equipment was junk. I went through 3 or 4 radios and each time was charged an activation fee even though they were not new subscriptions. Now that the merger is over I have switched to XM, but I do pay extra for the best of sirius package (NFL, NASCAR, & Stern). I switched to a roady xt which you can find cheap on Ebay. I paid $14 for a brand new one and I am happy with it. I mounted my Sat Raiod to the speaker grill. I used a cheap swivel mount screwed on with some backing plates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyDawg Posted November 10, 2008 Share #8 Posted November 10, 2008 The GXM-30 adds XM Radio, XM Traffic, and XM Weather to the Zumo 550(all for a nominal fee:innocent:) I have this set up on my bike with all the added features and am very happy with it. The traffic tells you if and where there is a traffic problem in front of you on your route, tells you how much longer it will make your trip, and can offer you a way around it if the slow down will be to long. The Weather tells you what the weather is where you are with a forcast and what the weather is where your going with a 3 (or 5, can't remember right now) day forcast. It can also show you a map of an entire area (in my case So. Cal. inland) and what the weather is around you with temps etc. I use to have Sirius on my bike and was very happy with it, but like said before the reception was not the greatest, but it was never as bad as some of the others have said, never once did I lose reception unless I was in the mountains. I do like the channels way better on Sirius and I am really missing them now that I have XM. One thing to add, the traffic works for the Major Cities. It won't work for out in the sticks or small towns. As for reception, well on a clear day I get full bars, but if it's cloudy or overcast I'm lucky to get 1 bar. But wait there's more. LOL There are some refurbished GXM-30's on EBAY for 100 bucks delivered in the box with Garmins 1 year warranty. Seriously thinking about going that route since they run 200 and up at most places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnyButch Posted November 10, 2008 Share #9 Posted November 10, 2008 Didn't Sirius and XM merge recently? I thought someone mentioned they did and the programming would be available jointly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeeMike Posted November 10, 2008 Share #10 Posted November 10, 2008 yeah... they merged, but I think if you have Sirius, you can only get "the best of" XM for an add'l cost. Or if you have XM you can get "the best of" Sirius for an add'l cost.. neither is free with your present subscription. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyDawg Posted November 10, 2008 Share #11 Posted November 10, 2008 Didn't Sirius and XM merge recently? I thought someone mentioned they did and the programming would be available jointly. Currently you can only get the best of as YankeeMike said. Sometime after Christmas they will be offering radios that allow you to buy programming a la cart, but if you look at their sites they won't allow you to get the sports channels that way. Which sucks in my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinto Posted November 10, 2008 Share #12 Posted November 10, 2008 I hopefully have attached a photo of the way the dealer installed the radio. It is velcroed to the cassette pop open door. You can see the antenna attached on the master brake reservoir. The Sirius radio is the FM transmitter type so you need to fined an unused FM station on the bike's FM radio for reception through the bikes audio system. Works very well. Only time reception is affected is when I run through tunnels, viaducts or heavy woods. The plug you see plugged into the auxiliary jack is for my MP3 player which is mounted on the tank bib. I can play any of the devices by flipping through the audio select button. [ATTACH]23676[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
got2mnytoys Posted November 10, 2008 Share #13 Posted November 10, 2008 I have sirius on my bike I have a pic in my album it kinda blends in with the dash in the picture. I have mine so I can remove it and use in the truck just bought another car kit , my antenna is on the top of my master cylinder cover behind the radio controls gets signal there better than everywhere else I've tried. I wonder what xm and sirius merger is going to do with my lifetime subscription Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugfish69 Posted November 11, 2008 Share #14 Posted November 11, 2008 Currently you can only get the best of as YankeeMike said. Sometime after Christmas they will be offering radios that allow you to buy programming a la cart, but if you look at their sites they won't allow you to get the sports channels that way. Which sucks in my book. The starmate 5 is an a la carte radio that is available now. I have not spend a lot of time looking at the a la carte pricing but the a la carte gold package on the sirius site seems like a pretty good deal @ $14.99 per month. They have play by play from both xm and sirius sports coverage. Looks like live sports would take up about 35 channels altogether leaving about 65 for music, talk, etc... By comparison, I pay about $17 for xm plus best of sirius. I am hoping that by the time I break these two new xm radios I just purchased there will be more options on the a la carte radios. http://store.xmfanstore.com/sirius-starmate-5-with-vehicle-kit-st5tk1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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