Great Deal on XM Radio!!!

[HiOSilver]

If you've ever thought about getting XM radio for your bike, this may be the time. I just ordered the Delphi Roady2 with car kit for $49.95 and got a $45.00 mail in rebate. That's a net cost of $4.95 + $5.00 handling + $1.99 shipping which makes it a heck of a deal.

If you're interested, here's the link:
http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecsplash/sho ... 194102.asp

I know that there are a few folks out there that can speak to the value of the service better than I can so let's hear from some of them.

I'm thinking of using velcro to attach the receiver and antenna to top of my Marsee tank bag so it can connect to my bag based Autocom Active-7. I'm interested in any other suggestions someone may have (I know we've done the XM install thread a couple of times already).

[R4R&R]

Funny, I just came in from the garage from working on my bike - just mounted my Sirius receiver. I'll have to 'road test' the antenna location tomorrow. I'll try to snap some pics later.

[soggybottom]

I wonder if you need to activate to get rebate? I need spare antenna and power plug and some other hardware that comes with it. I use a bracket that mounts to either brake or clutch res. it is powder coated steel and has a spot for antenna, hide wires behind, $30, try http://www.cyclegadgets.com. I'm using the autocom cheapest model, haven't got it fully servicable yet, looking to have it ready for fall rides. I need to figger where to put the autocom and a power port.

[Valueman]

I love the XM radio. I would never have made it thrugh my Iron Butt ride without it.

By the way, I just put the antenna on the headlight housing and used plastic cables to secure the excess wiring.

VM

[beekstersocal]

im sure you've all heard it from me before ,i love xm ,and i dont leave home without it

[wncbmw]

I don't have it on the bike yet but have it at work and it is great! I couldn't think of going back to commercial radio. Hooked it up temporarily to my wife's car for a trip to Florida and loved going 18 hours roundtrip without a commercial!

[bakernks]

I finished my XM radio install last weekend. Mounted the Roady2 with Velcro on an old radar detector holder from WAY back, handlebar clamp style, to the far right side, so I can still see my tach ok. Hid the 20' of extra wire on the antenna by zip tying through a couple pairs of holes I made in the GS handguards, also right hand side, you'll not see the extra wire unless you really search. Antenna attached to front brake master cylinder cap, no blind spots found yet.
12V cigarette lighter outlet and bracket added to top of airbox lid, left side, fair weather protection, can just fit the XM lighter/transformer doo hicky into the add on outlet. (K&N filter, doesn't come out that often, but will require removing the lighter bracket, held in with 2 screws and dabs of Silicon rubber as sealant) Carry a snack size Freezer Bag Ziplock in the tankbag or City Cases for the sudden rainstorm, to whip out and protect the Roady2.
Radio Shack add on Volume Control supergel'd to under side of radar detector mounting plate, as the Roady2 has none.

Here's the sweet part...I found a pair of TINY earbuds from Sony, something like $40, but they sound fabulous and have a tremendous range of volume. Then, I take a pair of old paper punch pliers, flatten a NEW pair of -30db white foam earplugs, slide them into the paper punch, boink, perfect 1/4" hole down the center, 2 drops of Supergel and they're attached to the ear buds, I cannot tell them from straight ear plugs, which I would be wearing anyway. When they get too dirty, boink, make a new set, peel the old ones off with the swiss knife, dab o'gel, and we're back in business. I love McGiver-un stuff.

I 'm XM on the R1150R. I'm dead and gone to Jazz heaven, in the middle of the Kansas Desert!! LOL

[MidlifeMark]

The services are now virtually identical in pricing & features, distinguished only by their respective exclusive sports deals. If you are a baseball fan, you want XM. If you are a football fan, you want Sirius. My new car came with factory-installed XM, which I activated because I get it for $6/month (it is a second receiver on my wife's account). Although I enjoy the XM (mostly because of baseball) I am a rabid football fan, and so I had an aftermarket Sirius receiver installed in the car as well. The only pricing difference to speak of between Sirius and XM is that you can pay a one-time $500 lifetime subscription fee that is good for the life of your radio. It works out to a little over 3 years of subscription fee; with a new car that I intend to drive for a long time, it should pay off.

It does seem like the XM receivers are smaller than the corresponding Sirius receivers, and thus are more suitable for motorcycle installations. I haven't put either XM or Sirius on either of my bikes yet, and probably won't do it until somebody comes out with a good Bluetooth helmet.

[R4R&R]

My ride to work today proved that my antenna on my headlight is not the most ideal location. I'll try moving it up to one of the reservoirs today.

To get things going yesterday I had to remove my sport screen. The ride in today was nice - it seemed to give the bike a different attitude. I'll leave it off for a few weeks.

[sjbmw]

I have been a XM Subscriber since Feb of 2002, before Sirius launched.
Sub #240,000+- and XM is now at 4.7 million.

Been exposed to both satrad services and are they not exactly the same with thier music programming.

XM has 5 times the song library as Sirius, and they play more of it.
So you get deeper playlists on XM. (Hits channels aside)

Sirius takes a more hits based approach to the bulk of their programming.

oh, my cyclegadgets setup for the Roady2 survived my crash

[sweatmark]

We're big fans of XM! Saw beekstersocal's setup in Torrey, and bought his & hers XM Roady2 kits for this summer's road trip when the "buy 1 - get 1 free" deal was in effect. XM was huge blessing during summers journeys.

Installed them on homemade aluminum mounts that we cut & bent to fit with Big Mak tank bags; the whole thing tilts for fueling, and we can easily remove all the electronics during stops, including Garmin Rino GPS/GMRS and the Autocom systems.

We've placed the antennas on the R1100R & R1150R headlights for now with OK results; sometimes it's necessary to move the antenna to one side of the headlight or the other, depending on direction of travel. Still considering other antenna location options.

Bought a shortened mini-antenna from MyRadioStore... the 2 ft. length works great for tankbag/headlight configuration. I use the full-length antenna for my company car XM setup, and transfer the Roady2 back & forth.

http://www.myradiostore.us/antennas-cables/for-roady/

Bought a Roady rain cover from CycleGadgets, but have used the ZipLoc technique with good success.

Terrain has a big impact on satellite radio reception: I drive & ride through the Cascades and Coast Range weekly, and sat reception is spotty, especially when riding along the Pacific Ocean coastline, with steep bluffs to east. Caveat emptor.

Rode my 1k Iron Butt with only wind noise... can't wait to ride the 1.5k with XM!

Mark
Oregon

[Promethean]

I've had the Roady for about 8 months now and love it.


Try this.

Go to http://www.xmradio.com/friends

Enter email id as [email protected]

It should show you all the current promos available.

I bought mine for $49 in Jan 05. It's now going for $34 with the promo (home and car kit included).

Just thought I'd share this piece of info.

Regards,
Promethean

[garylspolar]

We've got Sirius in our new Jetta. It's great... but I thought it would let us know what group is playing the song. Maybe I just need to hit a certain button? Let me know if you've tried both, and know any other differences between the two besides those mentioned so far. The wife chose Sirius because Howard Stern is going there.

[R4R&R]

Howard Stern is Sirius's ace in the hole. That's part of the reason I got Sirius. I feel that their song selection/rotation could use some work, but no real complaints. I've heard that XM has better rotation.

Oh, BTW, Sirius does transmit the artist and song name - you may need to RTFM to get your displaying properly.

[rdsmith3]

I posted this recently under another topic, but my wife says I repeat myself.

I am an XM fanatic, too. I just installed a Roady 2 on my R. I took pictures but smug mug was not working the day I went to upload them.

I was going to get a bracket and extra antenna to take my car unit and transfer it to the bike. But the Roady 2 is now < $40, including all brackets, antenna, etc., so I just bought another Roady 2 from myradiostore.com. I use the Hoon Hardware bracket to mount it
http://www.hoonhardware.com/RoadyHolder ... dyalts.htm

I already had the RAM handlebar mount from something else, so I only needed to buy the Hoon Hardware Roady holder. You could also put it on the clutch reservoir cover.

I bought a cigarette lighter socket from Radio Shack that I spliced into a switched power source. I use the Roady's cigarette lighter plug because it has the 12v to 6v transformer built into the plug. I plugged that into the Radio Shack socket, duct taped them together, and placed it near the battery. I could have used one of those fancy little 12v to 6v converters, but I like my solution better. The new generation Roady XT uses 5 volts, for example, so I have more flexibility with my approach for future upgrades.

I also bought an in-line volume control at Radio Shack for $6 or $7. It dangles from the Roady. I put the ear buds on, put the helmet on, plug in and I am ready to go.

For a total of about $85 I now have a cool satellite radio set up on my bike. That price includes the Zip Loc bag I carry around in case it rains.

I have been doing more interstate commuting lately because of a new job. I love having XM for that.

On the back roads, I like just the noise of the engine.

P.S. I recommend Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator Earphones. They are now available for $85 from Amazon w/ free shipping.

[jimbo]

i am an xm radio moron, know nothing. but i would like to consider putting it on my Roadster and would like to know what it entails. i see discussion on antenna placement, and wiring, etc. I currently use a small mp3 player, with my etymotic earplugphones but would like to consider one of these satellite radios. my questions?

1. How/where to mount unit?
2. Does it need to be wired for power to the bike or use batteries?
3. What are the downsides of using this?
4. What is the cost for the service?

[bakernks]

Service starts at about $12 a month.

I mounted mine on a radar handlebar mount, so I can change channels with my left hand.

The Roady2 requires 6v, thus I used the car kit cigarette lighter plug in doo-hickey, which is also the 12v to 6v transformer. I put the cigarette lighter OUTLET under the tank, on the airbox lid, actually. Different XM radios have different power requirements, I understand a new model is coming out that will require 5v. I don't know why they would do such a thing, but whatever.

Downsides? I still want to hear my R1150R engine. The radio gets used out on the highway more than around town.

[rdsmith3]

Here are three bad pictures of my installation of an XM Roady 2.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/pict ... t3DVmxZv8g

I used a Hoon Hardware bracket to hold the Roady 2 and the antenna. The extra antenna wire is bundled behind the holder.

I attached a Radio Shack in-line volume control, which is velcroed under the holder. You can see it sagging in the second picture. I have since discarded the velcro and just used double-sided tape, which works much better.

I listen with Etymotic er6i in-ear headphones, which work very well.
http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i.aspx

I put the gas tank back on before I got the camera out
so you can't see the power attachment. Basically, I used the Roady's cigarette plug and I bought a female cigarette socket at Radio Shack. I attached this to a switched power source, wrapped it in duct tape, and stuffed it next to the battery.

Everything works very well.

[rph802]

I've had the Roady for about 8 months now and love it.


Try this.

Go to http://www.xmradio.com/friends

Enter email id as [email protected]

It should show you all the current promos available.

I bought mine for $49 in Jan 05. It's now going for $34 with the promo (home and car kit included).

Just thought I'd share this piece of info.

Regards,
Promethean

Thanks dude!!

Looked at the Ecost site initially but since I am infamous for not sending in rebates (why? cuz I'm an idiot) and this comes with the home kit for less than the home kit alone, figured what the hell!! Least with the home set up I can use it night and when down working on the bike too. Where I live I got no cell service and crappy radio at best in the house. Love the sound of Bluesville and Franks Place.

Next comes the install!!!

[Grumpy]

So all you need is a Roady2 unit and an Autocom hooked together, there is no need to run it through a regular radio?