XM Radio... Is it worth purchasing ?

[Sterling Turner]

Go directly to the source for the right answers !!!

I need some imput from fellow motorcycle riders. I have a zumo 550 on my RSV (love the GPS), I can buy an antenna/receiver (GMX-30) to get satellite radio music/sports, Accessing and controlling it through the GPS unit. However this thing cost over $200... Anyone using one ? And is it worth it ? I don't mind spending the money for the unit if it is a good product and works well. (FYI...I've never had, or heard satellite radios)

This would keep me from mounting a seperate xm radio + antenna... Anyone using one of these ? and how do you like it ????

Thanks

Sterling T.

[qdude]

I love it. I have a radio with a FM transmitter, which are hard to find now. You can run it direct in the input on the radio though. Traveled across the country on the bike with no loss of signal

[bugfish69]

I subscribe to sirius and love it! Someone asked me the other day if it was woth it and I gave a resounding yes. I would give up my cell phone before my satellite radio.

 

I don't have the money for the zumo, but it does look convenient to run the radio through the GPS. One question I would have is if the radio can be controlled while navigating. I bought a cheapo gps with mp3 and you have to leave the navigation area to play the mp3s. kinda defeats the purpose.

[Midrsv]

I have the Zumo with the XM adapter and it is great. GPS, XM and telephone are all integrated into a very easy to use control. The XM unit is a bit pricey, isn't everything related to bikes, but I think it is worth it. I also opted for the XM traffic and weather package. I like being able to see the forecast and wether data while I am on the road.

 

DT

[SilvrT]

Go directly to the source for the right answers !!!

I need some imput from fellow motorcycle riders. I have a zumo 550 on my RSV (love the GPS), I can buy an antenna/receiver (GMX-30) to get satellite radio music/sports, Accessing and controlling it through the GPS unit. However this thing cost over $200... Anyone using one ? And is it worth it ? I don't mind spending the money for the unit if it is a good product and works well. (FYI...I've never had, or heard satellite radios)

This would keep me from mounting a seperate xm radio + antenna... Anyone using one of these ? and how do you like it ????

Thanks

Sterling T.

 

I can't comment on that hookup arrangement; however, I recently got an XM receiver for $30 and with the subscription of $15/month (that's the highest rate coz I only took it for 3 months), I get somewhere around 150 channels and I think it's great! the XM receiver communicates with the built-in stereo via an FM channel and the antenna is a very small device that sits on my dash, barely noticeable.

[Guest Highway]

have sirus system, went 4,400 miles on a trip this past summer and kept my favorite station all the way. Do not listen to fm anymore...

[Redneck]

I have 5 or 6 xm's I don't go anywhere with out it best thing sense sliced bread.

[BEER30]

Yes , getting the Zumo and the GMX-30 was a bit pricey (hee-hee) but it's worth it. With a FM modulator you can transfer to the cage . Now if you use on the scoot , transfer to the IC using BuddyRich's wire connector and use the AUX and get uninterrupted prompts , cell , and tunes .

In the past , I was the type of guy if you could get free radio , why pay for it . But riding in and out of radio station's ranges , I got tire of the poor reception and constantly having to find some good tunes all the time . It's an alll-n-one setup and has the benefit of a huge amount of resources. Go for it , you will not regret it !

 

BEER30

[MAINEAC]

Not to me... I have an mp3 player built into my GPS with 5 gigs of space,,, I also have over 4000 songs on my PC

[halfwitt]

We love our XMs. We have XM on bike and in two of three cages. The third cage came with Sirius. On the bike I have a GPS and XM as separate units. I would much rather have them both in one but this will do. We haven't listened to commercial radio in three years. I like the XM over mp3 because at least once a day I hear a song that I hadn't even thought of in 20 years. No surprises w/mp3.

[Mariner Fan]

Yep, I have XM in my truck and on my bike. I'm hooked, and it's great not having to search for channels when you travel long distances.

[Skid]

I think it is worth every penny. I listen to the Bluegrass channel about all the time. Since this is election year, I really enjoy the idea of not having to listen to all the campaign speeches this year that are on FM.

[YamaGeezer]

I have XM Radio in my car, and love it. But I don't think I'll put it on my bike for one reason: reception in the mountains. I do most of my riding in the Blue Ridge, and believe it or not, you lose reception depending on what side of a mountain you're one and where the satellite is.

 

Wonderful everywhere else, though.

[Dragonslayer]

I didn't like XM and had a bad experience with the service. I had XM and signal was so hit or miss the receptiuon would come and go so much That I rarely heard a whole song while in motion. I also had a problem with the durability of the receiver and had to replace it three times. I found the station programing so repetative and monotous I let the subscription expire. Once the subscription expired they harrassed me to death by cell phone, home phone and e-mail to re-subscribed that after three months of me continueally telling them to take me off thier call list I had threaten to report them or sue them before they stopped calling me.

[Dragonslayer]

I have XM Radio in my car, and love it. But I don't think I'll put it on my bike for one reason: reception in the mountains. I do most of my riding in the Blue Ridge, and believe it or not, you lose reception depending on what side of a mountain you're one and where the satellite is.

 

Wonderful everywhere else, though.

My experience Too!!!

[Snarley Bill]

satellite radio is the only way to fly. i have three of them one in my truck one on my vstar and a new one for my new gold wing. pick the music or program type you like and it will stay the same from coast to coast. my first sirius radio is $12.95 per month and each additional one is $ 6.95.

[Hagmaster]

love it

[dragerman]

Go directly to the source for the right answers !!!

I need some imput from fellow motorcycle riders. I have a zumo 550 on my RSV (love the GPS), I can buy an antenna/receiver (GMX-30) to get satellite radio music/sports, Accessing and controlling it through the GPS unit. However this thing cost over $200... Anyone using one ? And is it worth it ? I don't mind spending the money for the unit if it is a good product and works well. (FYI...I've never had, or heard satellite radios)

This would keep me from mounting a seperate xm radio + antenna... Anyone using one of these ? and how do you like it ????

Thanks

Sterling T.

If you subscribe don’t forget to ask for a discount code. Before you call to subscribe Google XM discount code and see what you come up with, I received $120 off a one year subscription (be persistent when talking to the rep).

 

This is the cheapest I’ve seen the XM antenna http://buyeretail.com/product.asp?i=GARGXM30

 

Another good site for info is http://www.zumoforums.com/

 

It’s a pricy unit but it does what I want and I enjoy it. Gota have those tunes!

[Freebird]

I had XM for several years. I switched to Sirius a few months ago simply because there were some talk shows that my wife wanted that were not on XM. Otherwise, I find them to be pretty close to the same. There are a couple of stations on each that are not available on the other. I really like "Coffee House" acoustic on Sirius though.

 

As for the Zumo, I don't have one but may end up with one someday. If I do, I will not buy the XM unit for it. Even if I still used XM I wouldn't buy it because I will not use the Zumo in my work car. I use my laptop mounted on a Ram Mount stand with my customer base loaded on Microsoft Streets with the GPS system. It works very well and to move the Zumo to the car would be redundant. So, I would have an XM unit and subscription that is used only on the bike. The way it is now, I have a Sirius in the house, one in my wife's car and one in my work car that I move between it and the bike.

[Midrsv]

I have XM Radio in my car, and love it. But I don't think I'll put it on my bike for one reason: reception in the mountains. I do most of my riding in the Blue Ridge, and believe it or not, you lose reception depending on what side of a mountain you're one and where the satellite is.

 

Wonderful everywhere else, though.

 

I think the Garmin XM receiver must have much better reception. I've ridden through some very dense forests and never lose reception. I've been through some fairly long tunnels without a signal loss. I do recall once riding along some tall stone walls and lost the signal momentarily. Prior to the Garmin unit I had a Roady XT and I did find that the reception was not as good with it.

 

DT

[Sterling Turner]

Thanks so much, to everyone who posted a reply. Looks like just about everyone that has satellite radio (xm or sirius), loves it.... I like music and I love to ride, so it looks like I need to empty the piggy bank again and add another goodie to the bike !!!

 

We Kentucky "Hillbillys" do like other music besides Bluegrass, but Bluegrass ranks pretty high with me...

 

Thanks again to everyone !!!

Sterling T.

[bongobobny]

I wasn't super happy with XM mostly due to random drop out. Came free for 6 months with Mr Monte and when ther trial was over I didn't subscribe. Instead I have a 30G IPOD and a CD colection of over 600 CD's so I'm good...

 

Did like the comercial free non stop music aspect of XM, but I can do that with my IPOD. Could care less about talk radio. If I want that I'll listen to AM!

[Al Bates]

Had Sirius for about three years now and we like it so much we are life time members now.

We use the same unit in the house, garage and on the bike.

[Mariner Fan]

I've noticed that I can loose the signal easier on the bike than on my truck. I believe it has to do with my antenna position. It mainly happens in the city with tall buildings. I also noticed it when I rode down to Rabbit Hash Kentucky. It's pretty easy to just switch over to FM radio or my MP3 player. Really nice to have options.

[Smokee]

I nearly bought a Zumo 550 just to have the XM feature last year, but since I had 2 or 3 XM receivers just laying around the garage, I opted for the Zumo 450 (which I LOVE!!!) which doesn't have the XM feature. I installed one of the older Delphi Roady2 receivers that has the FM transmitter built in. Even so, I hooked up a direct aux. input connection for it so I wouldn't have to fiddle with tuning radio stations on the FM to hear the XM.

The other added benefit from having the Roady2 with the built-in FM transmitter is in areas where AM/FM reception is non-existant or only in Spanish, like in the Big Bend region of far west Texas. On my last trip out there, I took along a little $10 Sony AM/FM radio that runs on 2 AA cells, and is smaller than a paper back book, and I took a 120VAC power adaptor for the Roady2. So, at night, I could plug in the Roady2 in my cabin or hotel room and listen to it over the portable FM radio! Worked great, with the only down side being having to also connect an XM antenna and deal with the cable, but hey, the whole mess fits into a little stuff sack and packs right into my saddle bag luggage. It's sure nice to have XM when you don't have any other link to the outside world.

Now, if I can just afford to upgrade to that Zumo 550 with XM, traffic and Weather!