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Ariels on 08 Ultra

Rebyl

Rebyl

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Can I change the stock ones with the new ones that are on the 09's without having to unscrew anything more than the ariels themselves. Like so many others I hit my garage door everytime in and out . TIA
 
Rebyl said:
Can I change the stock ones with the new ones that are on the 09's without having to unscrew anything more than the ariels themselves. Like so many others I hit my garage door everytime in and out . TIA
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Yes they can be swapped with shorter ones.
 
Thanks guys. I will change them. Pain in the bum to always have to get off the bike and fold em down to ride into the garage...
 
I put J&M shorties on my ultra. same reception as before, they say the c.b. aerial is calibrated for the harley. It seems to work okay. Dont forget to undo the tiny hex screws in the bottom of the aerial. ask me how I know.:D:D
 
Rebyl said:
Can I change the stock ones with the new ones that are on the 09's without having to unscrew anything more than the ariels themselves. Like so many others I hit my garage door everytime in and out . TIA
Click to expand...

I bought these at Advance Auto Parts, cut the base off, undid the set screw at the base of the antenna put these elements in, tightened set screw. (use locktite) I can tell no difference in AM/FM/WB reception. I have only listened to the CB, was able to monitor didn't try to xmit, so not sure of the range. I am not a radio guru but antenna are different lengths for different freqs. The curlys in the middle of the antenna increase the length of the antenna without increasing the height. About 16 bucks.

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I have an 09 and the shorter antanna's on my ride work great. My buddy went to Auto Zone and paid very little for short antanna's and they work fine on his 06 Ultra. No need to spend the $ on HD unless you want to. As far as changing, there should be no issues at all. I know what you mean about the whips, look goofy IMO.
 
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Rebyl
I have an 08 ultra classic and install kuryakyn shorty antenna. They work just as good as the stock but don't hit the garage door. I have a friend whose antenna caught on the garage and almost pulled the tour box off. The reason I changed mine.
 
Lancer said:
I am not a radio guru but antenna are different lengths for different freqs.
Click to expand...

You're absolutely right. The antenna shaft itself is used for TRANSMITTING the 4 watts of RF energy that a stock CB radio is regulated to by the FCC. On a GROUND PLANE antenna, the bike (frame, forks, fenders, bars, etc.) is used to receive the signal and thus must have a good attachment to the frame. In order to effectively transmit, the SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) must be matched by varying the length of the antenna. This is adjusted with a SWR meter hooked into the antenna system where the antenna attaches to the radio. After calibration you should have as close to a 1:1 SWR (yeah, right...maybe a 1.5:1 is the best you can hope for) as possible on channel 20. It will change as you change frequencies (channels). Transmit with your radio mis-matched to your antenna and you will blow the RF finals out of the radio.

If you do any TRANSMITTING with your radio, I highly recommend you get with a CB shop and have them adjust your SWR to a proper match.

Antenna's have come a LONG way from the 102" twangy-twangy redneck stainless steel whip that I used to drive around with on my 68 LeMans. Now, because of base coil loading, you can use some relatively short antennas and obtain as good a DB gain as with the old 102" whips. Wilson and Antenna Specialists makes a good antenna, as does Shakespeare. There are even NGP (Non-Ground Plane) antennas that can be mounted on fiberglass and don't require a chassis ground.

Modifying your antenna can do some serious eventual damage to your radio if you don't know what you're doing. Radios aren't cheap!
 
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