Best Sirius XM Radio

[dcarver]

Retiring the 550 Zumo which had XM. Current GPS don't have XM capability. Cell data for XM app via iPhone is sketchy most places I ride.

So it's either get an older GPS or purchase XM receiver.

Any advice oh great collective?

TIA

 

[BigOgre]

Don, for years I ran with a SkyFi docked into a car mount which had a Ram ball attached. Between the ball and mount I had a bracket which held a flat-mounted mcy specific XM antenna which gave almost perfect reception compared to the regular square car antenna. Had it all mounted on my clutch reservoir side Ram ball and then protected by a XM-specific clear elastic cover which not only kept it somewhat dry but also held it securely in place. Last I looked you can find used SkyFi's on Ebay fairly cheap (found that out after my first one went bouncing down Rte 17). A quick look at the antenna shows the price went up a bit from what I remember. I was nicely content with the set-up and only changed after going with a Garmin 590 and the XM app.

Not my pics but you'll get the idea.

Link for bracket giving you a flat mount for the antenna.

 

[puppychow]

I had that SkyFi and XM antenna setup several years ago, when I was first setting up for touring on an FJR.

The SkyFi I had wasn't waterproof, but that antenna is.

The antenna works very well, and is waterproof, and dustproof, I didn't offroad on the FJR, but if you are off-roading and getting wet or dirty - the skyfi setup, at least the one I had, would not live or live up to expectations, without clear plastic bags covering everything to keep it from frying.

I sold that setup to someone on this forum and went Garmin, which has worked seamlessly through some storm cells.. now I would no longer settle for anything less.

 

[dcarver]

Thanks guys. It's too bad Garmin and others no longer offer XM on GPS. Off to research skifi.

 

[BigOgre]

It was irking me that I couldn't find that cover.

Link

 

[sullivan]

Going to follow this post. Wanted to get a 595 but disappointed about the discontinuance of XM. Not one to have a playlist of hundreds of songs, I rely on Pandora or my Silverado's XM, but would be happy with some FM, plugged into my helmet speakers. Need to get into a more modern era of electronics for next season.

 

[RBEmerson]

IMHO, better to find tunes you like than hear Pandora wander way, way, way away from what you want to hear. Trying to coerce Pandora to hunt around in surf music, or reggae, or many other areas was so frustrating I gave it up. FM? For long distance riding, why bother. After you leave your home coverage area, fiddling with tuning while riding is ...um... unwise?

Some YouTube browsing will turn up play lists, concerts, collections for anything you can think of. I'm currently obsessed with Euro-Techno (go for Worakls or N'to or the Melodic Techno Mix series) but I'm also partial to Bach, Scarlatti, etc. It's all in there. (I have large CD collection, too) There are a number of download tools to get videos or only the audio. I use Video Proc from Digiarty Software (look for a "newbie" discount) which also grabs videos. Put whatever you have onto your phone's chip, use a player app (Player Pro is good, PowerAmp is quirky but my go-to app), and rock on! (think about stepping up your chip a notch - 16G to 32G, etc.)

 

[Steel_Gin]

I agree, disappointing that Garmin isn't making a motorcycle GPS with XM builtin any more. I will keep my 665LM just for that reason until it drops. What I am little surprised about, when looking for a waterproof unit that just does satellite radio, I haven't found one yet. All that I have found so far for a motorcycle, they give you a waterproof pouch to put over it.....not exactly sold on that idea.

 

[RBEmerson]

My guess is it's all about marketing. Garmin and XM probably gave up because the GPS/XM market isn't big enough to support XM-capable products. Maybe XM doesn't see waterproof receivers being worth the effort. That's a surprise. I expect marketing to the two-wheel market and the boat market whould be worth the effort. Guess not...

 

[blassoff]

You've got a couple of options: 1) buy another zumo 550 2) go old school and grab a streetpilot 2730 or 2820. You can either plug in earphones or use external speakers.

Otherwise you need to upgrade to a GXM-40 receiver and pickup a Zumo 665.

If you go to a bluetooth headset, sena 20s has fm radio builtin.

If you want to pursue internet radio, find a station you like. I like radio Vietnam (rock hits 1967 to 1975), yea, I'm an old fart.