I have a 2004 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic with a stock radio and J&M antennas. My radio reception is horrible ( and yes I have it on distance and not local ). My question is what can I do to get better reception ???

 

Try new antennas, get a new head unit? Check all your connections?
How's the rest of it sound besides the radio?
I never listen to mine, pretty much only the Ipod these days.
Local radio stations suck...and I ain't paying for XM which sux too.

 

Did the reception just get worse on its own,or did you make a change to the system?

I had switched my antenna from the stock whip to a short aftermarket one.The reception was awfull.Went back to the whip.

 

I also did the same thing. I tried HD's "shorty" antennas on my Ultra. The CB range sucked and the FM was almost non-existent. I went bake to the stock antennas. Recption and range are back to excellent.

 

I think a lot depends on where you live.

Here in Vegas, I've removed the antennas from the TP and installed the J&M Flex Power fairing antenna, just as good as the stock whip for AM/FM/WB (I don't use the CB ever).

 

I had something similar. When you check your connections you may need to use a wire brush or something to clean up where the antenna screws into the post. I cleaned mine up and tightened it down while listening to the radio to see when it was getting better.

 

I put a J&M shorty on my bike when it was new. The reception was awful; the RDS wouldn't work at all. Audio faded in and out and the RDS would only show XXXmhz....put the stock whip back on and everything works as it should.