What XM satelite unit is waterproof

[motocephalic]

I am thinking about going to XM. Has anyone had experience with this on a bike? I want something that is robust, can take a good down pour and a little vibration. Is there such an animal out there? Is XM worth hooking up on a bike? I have used a regular radio and have had good luck with it for years. I was using an XM receiver this past week and really liked it. What say you's.

 

[bloke]

garim zumo 550 ::008::

 

[3putt]

I had the Garmin for a couple of years, but with autocom speakers in my helmet, was unable to listen to music over 60 mph. I use ER6s earbuds now, but still do not listen to music, sold the XM puck. They are like $200, plugs into the garmin GPS.

 

[motocephalic]

I'll check if my street pilot has it, I think it might...

 

[fredz43]

Mi Sirius sat radio isn't waterproof, so I remove it when it starts raining. I only bring this up to mention that I have used it for about 3 years and enjoy it. It has a FM transmitter and I use a Cardo Scala Rider G4 headset that has a built in FM receiver that I tune to the output of the Sirius radio. The G4 also has bluetooth that I can use for phone calls, directions from my Garmin 2820 and can do bike to bike communication for up to a mile to my son who also has a G4.

 

[motocephalic]

nice, I forgot that the 2820 had all that capability. I really liked it this week when I had a rental that had it in it, and I used it on bluesville. I lived there for hours.

 

[fredz43]

nice, I forgot that the 2820 had all that capability. I really liked it this week when I had a rental that had it in it, and I used it on bluesville. I lived there for hours.

I should clarify that my Sirius radio is a separate unit from my Garmin 2820. The 2820 has bluetooth. My sat radio has a FM transmitter. My Cardo Scala Rider headset has bluetooth and FM receiver and does bike to bike intercom.

 

[motocephalic]

what model for the sirius radio?

 

[newventurer]

Garmin Zumo 665, with Scala G4 (and iPhone) the XM Nav weather and Nav traffic (extra cost) is very cool too. I love seeing those thunderstorms on live radar...and going the other way. The traffic tells you when there is construction and if you have a route programmed in it will suggest a detour route. Nice stuff. I do find that there seems to be two distinct camps - those that would never think of plugging in while riding and those like me that want every option available for any unforeseen circumstance. To each his own.

 

[fredz43]

I recall that in the spring of 2008, a friend and I were headed back to IL from the MSTA national rally in the TX Hill Country. Our planned route would take us near Dallas. I was listening to my Sirius radio and heard reports of severe weather, including tornado warnings in the Dallas area. Because I heard that, we did a big detour and avoided that. Without that news, we would have been in the thick of it.

Plus, I got to then change the station to listen to some cool music as we rode out of harm's way. ;D

 

[Firefight911]

Garmin Zumo 550 with GXM-30. Works perfect in over 100,000 miles of use. I have run it direct to in ear speakers as well as through my Autocom. Never missed a beat.

 

[motocephalic]

nice set up Phil, I'm still back in the street pilot days, never got to the Zumo's. I think GXM30 is compatible though.

 

[Spider]

Ditto on Zumo 665 with XM radio and weather. I use mine with Sena SMH10, which has enough volume even with earplugs in and at speed. Recently survived and thrived a trip of 2,700 miles in a week that included much heavy rain and even a hailstorm.

 

[BaldEagle]

I am thinking about going to XM. Has anyone had experience with this on a bike? I want something that is robust, can take a good down pour and a little vibration. Is there such an animal out there? Is XM worth hooking up on a bike? I have used a regular radio and have had good luck with it for years. I was using an XM receiver this past week and really liked it. What say you's.

I use one all the time on my Wing. Non-waterproof radio with a snack size ziplock over it before snapping it into the mounting bracket. Have ridden through monsoon type frog stranglers with it with no problem. Was using Ed-sets speakers with it. They recommend using earplugs (I had custom molded Big Ears) with it to block wind noise and having the speakers positioned close to the ears inline with the ear canals to get best sound. You still had to crank up the volume really high to overcome the wind noise and earplugs at speed, and even then the sound quality was not very good to my ears. I switched to Big Ear custom molded ear plug/speakers and the sound is great at very low volume levels because the speakers are inside the ear plugs which are blocking the wind noise. I do long multi-day/multi-week trips where I am riding 8-10 hours to get to good riding areas out West and the XM is great. Much better than hunting for and then losing a good FM station in every city you pass by. I also suplement the XM with an IPod from time to time. I plan on getting a Zumo 665 for the XT with the XM built in.
Brian

 

[motocephalic]

"I plan on getting a Zumo 665 for the XT with the XM built in."

Brian, that may be my plan wait a while and get the 665. You still need to buy the antenna separately I imagine ? Or does the 665 come with it?

 

[newventurer]

665 comes with one. If you want to move the GPS back and forth to other vehicles you may want another one though as is is a pain moving wiring harnesses once they are installed and tied in.

 

[BaldEagle]

"I plan on getting a Zumo 665 for the XT with the XM built in."

Brian, that may be my plan wait a while and get the 665. You still need to buy the antenna separately I imagine ? Or does the 665 come with it?

I think you still have to buy the antenna/XM receeiver seperately and it's not cheap.

 

[newventurer]

Here is the description from the Amazon website:

"What's in the Box
zūmo 665, preloaded City Navigator NT for North America, motorcycle mount with integrated power cable and mounting hardware, GXM 40 antenna and magnetic base, carrying case, dust cover for motorcycle mount, battery pack, automotive suction cup mount, automotive power cable, USB cable, dashboard disk, and quick start manual"

The XM functions are built into this unit and the included antenna.

 

[Bill310]

If you just want XM and have a method of amplification on your motorcycle, Harley Davidson makes a superb, waterproof, large button (easy for gloves) XM unit.

My wife had one on her FJR for 100k and it was never a problem. I just gave it to a friend the other day for thier boat.

I always thought it was hilarious o see the HD radio on the handlebars

Link

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=gsis,i18n%3Dtrue&cp=17&gs_id=2o&xhr=t&q=harley+davidson+xm+radio&pq=louis+ck&biw=1024&bih=660&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=7485123814201524023&sa=X&ei=om5vTqfcM4PYiAKCsfWPBw&sqi=2&ved=0CC0Q8wIwAQ


Some folks don't want a gps but want music and this unit is excellent for them

 

[motocephalic]

Here is the description from the Amazon website:

"What's in the Box
zūmo 665, preloaded City Navigator NT for North America, motorcycle mount with integrated power cable and mounting hardware, GXM 40 antenna and magnetic base, carrying case, dust cover for motorcycle mount, battery pack, automotive suction cup mount, automotive power cable, USB cable, dashboard disk, and quick start manual"

The XM functions are built into this unit and the included antenna.

that's good to know thanks for the info.