Throttlemeister and J & M Spyder CB Kit

[bgspyderman]

Two questions:
ThrottleMeister - Can it work with the stock Spyder bars, I have heard that some have had to gouge out the bar ends to make it fit; is this correct?
J & M Spyder CB Kit - anyone tried it yet? How well does it work?

[wtwing15]

Two questions:
ThrottleMeister - Can it work with the stock Spyder bars, I have heard that some have had to gouge out the bar ends to make it fit; is this correct?
J & M Spyder CB Kit - anyone tried it yet? How well does it work?

Hi my wife hase the CB kit on the for about 6 months and I ride a 1800 Goldwing and the CB works between bikes very well, we are very happy with the kit ( and it was verry easy th install.
Rob

[NancysToy]

Two questions:
ThrottleMeister - Can it work with the stock Spyder bars, I have heard that some have had to gouge out the bar ends to make it fit; is this correct?
J & M Spyder CB Kit - anyone tried it yet? How well does it work?

Throttlemeister works fine with either stock bars or NoMagic risers, as long as you use stock grips or the equivalent. If using Kury grips, or others with closed ends, the grips would have to be modified.
-Scotty

[bjt]

My wife and I have both.

The Throttlemeister fit the stock bars with no cutting or grinding. It works good.

The J&M CB, well they kinda work. We were unfortunate enough to break the very flimsy antennas that came with the J&M setup within a week of installing. Mine broke the first day, within an hour of installing, before I even got a chance to check the CB portion of the setup. I have never been able to send or receive much farther than 100 yards. My wife's worked good, at least a two mile range when she checked it with some truck drivers on the highway. But her antenna broke shortly after that and now her range is much less. We have tried upgraded antennas to no avail, yet. We each have NGP Firesticks. Once I get more time and its a bit warmer out, I'll try working out the CB transmission problems. They do work great for music or GPS hookup.

[bgspyderman]

Thanks for posting, another question, dumb as it may seem, How did you break the antennas, and both of them?
Isn't there a replacement available, from another sorce even?

My wife and I have both.

The Throttlemeister fit the stock bars with no cutting or grinding. It works good.

The J&M CB, well they kinda work. We were unfortunate enough to break the very flimsy antennas that came with the J&M setup within a week of installing. Mine broke the first day, within an hour of installing, before I even got a chance to check the CB portion of the setup. I have never been able to send or receive much farther than 100 yards. My wife's worked good, at least a two mile range when she checked it with some truck drivers on the highway. But her antenna broke shortly after that and now her range is much less. We have tried upgraded antennas to no avail, yet. We each have NGP Firesticks. Once I get more time and its a bit warmer out, I'll try working out the CB transmission problems. They do work great for music or GPS hookup.

[bgspyderman]

I have a Throttlemeister on my K1200S, so I am guessing the set for the Spyder installs the same way, correct?

My Spyder is in the shop getting serviced and I don't recall what the grips look like, is there a plug in the ends that just unscrews I don't recall the ends being open, but I really never looked either, I just assumed they were just not open but reading your post it doesn't sound like I have to cut the ends of the stock grips out, is that right?

I was going to order a set tomorrow and I won't pick up the Spyder till Saturday so I won't be able to check out the bar ends till then.Thats why I am asking.


Did you then have to extend the mirrors, as it is now the mirrors are partially blocked by my hands as it is?

Throttlemeister works fine with either stock bars or NoMagic risers, as long as you use stock grips or the equivalent. If using Kury grips, or others with closed ends, the grips would have to be modified.
-Scotty

[NancysToy]

I have a Throttlemeister on my K1200S, so I am guessing the set for the Spyder installs the same way, correct?

My Spyder is in the shop getting serviced and I don't recall what the grips look like, is there a plug in the ends that just unscrews I don't recall the ends being open, but I really never looked either, I just assumed they were just not open but reading your post it doesn't sound like I have to cut the ends of the stock grips out, is that right?

I was going to order a set tomorrow and I won't pick up the Spyder till Saturday so I won't be able to check out the bar ends till then.Thats why I am asking.


Did you then have to extend the mirrors, as it is now the mirrors are partially blocked by my hands as it is?

The stock bar plugs do have a screw. You loosen it then twist or pry them out. Stock Spyder grips look identical to my BMW grips, work just the same for the Throttlemeister.

I never ride with my hands on the bar ends, just on the inside of the grips, wife does the same. Neither of us has an issue with the mirrors, as a result, they work the same as always. We both see only a part of our hands in them. Some folks are built differently, and see their shoulders. Those folks all seem to have needed the mirror extensions. It all depends on how you are built, and how you ride, with and without the Throttlemeister. Your own circumstances will dictate the answer.
-Scotty

[bone crusher]

I had to get the mirror extensions...I'm 6'1", 230 pounds...I'm in good shape and have broad shoulders (used to bodybuild back in the day)...

The extensions work very, very well...

As for the throttlemeister, I'm going with Scotty's recommendation and will be ordering...

[bjt]

Thanks for posting, another question, dumb as it may seem, How did you break the antennas, and both of them?
Isn't there a replacement available, from another sorce even?

First, let me explain how J&M's antenna mount for the Spyder is set up. There is a aluminum bracket that holds the antenna. That mounts under the license plate screws on the back fender. I don't like it for a few reasons. They did not drill any mounting holes, leaving it to the installer to layout and drill the holes. I don't know why as the Spyder's license plate holes are in a standard layout. No biggie but still... Also, that mounting location puts a very short (1 foot?) antenna pretty low and I don't know for sure but I've read a few things about CB communications that say putting the antenna below the main part of the vehicle can cut down on its range. Finally, and the problem that led to both of our antennas breaking, is that a very thin and flimsy antenna is very low to the ground and sticking out past the back end of the Spyder.

My antenna broke somehow on my initial trial run. I don't know for sure how it happened but I think it was when I took a turn down a dead end street and did a Y turn at the end to turn around. There were very small trees and brush close to the road. I think the antenna touched some of the brush and when I turned and started to pull away, the antenna flexed and snapped right at the spot where the fiberglass of the antenna connected to the mounting screw. I don't know for sure if that's how and where my antenna broke but, other than that, I only rode on smooth straight roads and didn't stop anywhere for gas, snacks, shopping, visiting, etc. The only other explanation would be that while riding at 60 mph, the vibration and wind snapped the antenna. It is flimsy but I don't think its that flimsy and my wife rode with hers mounted the same way for 500 miles on the expressway without it breaking. Anyways, I didn't even know it was broke when I got back until my wife came home that evening and asked when I was going to finish connecting the J&M CB. I told her I did but she asked where the antenna was. I thought she was pulling my leg but, sure enough, it wasn't there. Only the mounting screw connected to the aluminum mounting bracket. I bought a replacement antenna at a local Radio Shack (the only place within 40 miles that sold CB antennas). I also bought their CB antenna tuner. When I checked the tuning on the antenna, it didn't seem to act right. The tuning basically showed almost perfect and I had read that no antenna can be perfect. The new antenna worked but I had very short range once I finally got to test it. I don't know if the problem was the style of antenna or that I somehow messed up the CB by breaking off the old antenna.

As I said, my wife's antenna worked in that same mounting location for many miles down the road. I installed her CB setup a day or two before we left for the Gatlinburg rally this past summer. Even though I could only hear her and she could only hear me about 100 yards away, she talked with some other truckers who appeared to be a few miles away. She said that even when I was riding next to her, it sounded like I was a long ways off. So during one of our fuel stops, I was talking with our riding partner about how I didn't like the J&M antenna mount. I brushed my leg up against the antenna and it flexed a tiny bit and snapped. That's why I think mine broke while turning on that dead end road. It didn't take much to snap the antenna when I knew what I did and even though I know I didn't make hard contact with anything, I can see how just hanging up on some brush would snap the antenna. So, luckily we were at a gas station that sold CB antennas and we bought her the shortest Firestik (3 foot) that they had. We connected it but her transmission distance was now the same as mine.

We have since bought two Firestik NGP style antennas and our transmission distance is better but not great. The antenna tuning still seems to be acting strange. It might be that I just don't know what I'm doing but the tuning process seems pretty straightforward. I may take the entire setup (CB, cables and antenna) off both Spyders and send it to the place where we bought the antennas to let them check out the setup and tune the antennas.

[LittleJohn]

...We have since bought two Firestik NGP style antennas and our transmission distance is better but not great. The antenna tuning still seems to be acting strange. It might be that I just don't know what I'm doing but the tuning process seems pretty straightforward. I may take the entire setup (CB, cables and antenna) off both Spyders and send it to the place where we bought the antennas to let them check out the setup and tune the antennas.

Tuning the antennas off the bike will do you no good. The adjustments need to made with the ant mounted where it will be used, as the frame of the bike affects its characteristics. When I hooked my J&M up on the last bike, I took it to a small, well extablished mom and pop CB store and let them tune it. We ended up grounding it to the frame via a permanent jumper wire and used the frame as a ground plane. It worked great! I asked about NGP ant and he just shook his head. Maybe a truck stop in the area would be a good place to ask about who / where you could get some help. Those drivers are usually fanatics about their radios.

Best of luck!!!

[bjt]

Thanks for the advice LittleJohn. Unfortunately I don't have any local CB radio shops. The advice I got from a few different local radio / electronics stores was that Radio Shack was my best bet for getting CB stuff around here. Other than that, they said to try some of the bigger truckstops. Neither place does more than just sell some CBs and accessories. Sounds like my best bet is to search out the closest mom and pop shop like you recommend and do whatever it takes to let them check out and adjust our J&M setup for us.

[LittleJohn]

Thanks for the advice LittleJohn. Unfortunately I don't have any local CB radio shops. The advice I got from a few different local radio / electronics stores was that Radio Shack was my best bet for getting CB stuff around here. Other than that, they said to try some of the bigger truckstops. Neither place does more than just sell some CBs and accessories. Sounds like my best bet is to search out the closest mom and pop shop like you recommend and do whatever it takes to let them check out and adjust our J&M setup for us.

Good Luck!!!!
FYI, when they adjust the ant, they are basically electricly lengthening or shortening it with the adjusting nuts. They usually adjust it to best performance at the middle channel of the radio, and it gets a little worse as you go up or down in the channels from there. (Just the nature of the beast) If your radio still has issues and cant be adjusted great (and theres nothing wrong with it) Try different mounting positions, etc. Also, if you only plan on using one channel all or most of the time, have him adjust it while on that channel rather than on 20 (middle)

[bgspyderman]

WOW, sounds pretty messed up. I was wondering when I saw the picture with the antenna hanging out from the rear fender. It dosen't look very secure in the ad, never mind in real time. Thanks for the feedback, I just ordered the setup and now I'll be sure to maybe look for a better location for the antenna, or something?

First, let me explain how J&M's antenna mount for the Spyder is set up. There is a aluminum bracket that holds the antenna. That mounts under the license plate screws on the back fender. I don't like it for a few reasons. They did not drill any mounting holes, leaving it to the installer to layout and drill the holes. I don't know why as the Spyder's license plate holes are in a standard layout. No biggie but still... Also, that mounting location puts a very short (1 foot?) antenna pretty low and I don't know for sure but I've read a few things about CB communications that say putting the antenna below the main part of the vehicle can cut down on its range. Finally, and the problem that led to both of our antennas breaking, is that a very thin and flimsy antenna is very low to the ground and sticking out past the back end of the Spyder.

My antenna broke somehow on my initial trial run. I don't know for sure how it happened but I think it was when I took a turn down a dead end street and did a Y turn at the end to turn around. There were very small trees and brush close to the road. I think the antenna touched some of the brush and when I turned and started to pull away, the antenna flexed and snapped right at the spot where the fiberglass of the antenna connected to the mounting screw. I don't know for sure if that's how and where my antenna broke but, other than that, I only rode on smooth straight roads and didn't stop anywhere for gas, snacks, shopping, visiting, etc. The only other explanation would be that while riding at 60 mph, the vibration and wind snapped the antenna. It is flimsy but I don't think its that flimsy and my wife rode with hers mounted the same way for 500 miles on the expressway without it breaking. Anyways, I didn't even know it was broke when I got back until my wife came home that evening and asked when I was going to finish connecting the J&M CB. I told her I did but she asked where the antenna was. I thought she was pulling my leg but, sure enough, it wasn't there. Only the mounting screw connected to the aluminum mounting bracket. I bought a replacement antenna at a local Radio Shack (the only place within 40 miles that sold CB antennas). I also bought their CB antenna tuner. When I checked the tuning on the antenna, it didn't seem to act right. The tuning basically showed almost perfect and I had read that no antenna can be perfect. The new antenna worked but I had very short range once I finally got to test it. I don't know if the problem was the style of antenna or that I somehow messed up the CB by breaking off the old antenna.

As I said, my wife's antenna worked in that same mounting location for many miles down the road. I installed her CB setup a day or two before we left for the Gatlinburg rally this past summer. Even though I could only hear her and she could only hear me about 100 yards away, she talked with some other truckers who appeared to be a few miles away. She said that even when I was riding next to her, it sounded like I was a long ways off. So during one of our fuel stops, I was talking with our riding partner about how I didn't like the J&M antenna mount. I brushed my leg up against the antenna and it flexed a tiny bit and snapped. That's why I think mine broke while turning on that dead end road. It didn't take much to snap the antenna when I knew what I did and even though I know I didn't make hard contact with anything, I can see how just hanging up on some brush would snap the antenna. So, luckily we were at a gas station that sold CB antennas and we bought her the shortest Firestik (3 foot) that they had. We connected it but her transmission distance was now the same as mine.

We have since bought two Firestik NGP style antennas and our transmission distance is better but not great. The antenna tuning still seems to be acting strange. It might be that I just don't know what I'm doing but the tuning process seems pretty straightforward. I may take the entire setup (CB, cables and antenna) off both Spyders and send it to the place where we bought the antennas to let them check out the setup and tune the antennas.

[bone crusher]

Called throttlemesiter on Friday....nobody home...guess they took off the 2nd as well...

Will try next week...will go with the extended/heavy version so easier to hold onto...also thinking of getting the grooved ones so they will be a bit easier to grab...

I know Scotty loves his throttlemeister...who else out there is a big throttlemeister fan?

[SPYDERGUY1]

I also have the heavy ended groove cut bar ends, by the time I got them tho , SPYDIE was put away for itz winter hibernation, can hardly wait till spring and install, then RYDE RYDE RYDE.....

[tnfleming]

Throttlemeister works great. I wonder why people use cb radios? Can they mount earplugs and speaker in helmet?

[bone crusher]

tn,

I'm with you...I have a scala rider 2...thing rocks...links with navi, phone, has fm radio built in, and, of course, you can talk with other riders...up to 500 meters away...

This device is a must, in my eyes!

Now I just have to figure out how to get the music on the sdhc card...does the imac read these things?

[NancysToy]

Throttlemeister works great. I wonder why people use cb radios? Can they mount earplugs and speaker in helmet?

Yes, you can mount speakers and a microphone on the helmet. Several brands and ways to do this. Most comm systems come with their own setup.
-Scotty

[bjt]

Throttlemeister works great. I wonder why people use cb radios? Can they mount earplugs and speaker in helmet?

We cut out small areas of the helmet interior, under the padding, to accommodate the J&M headsets we bought. It took a little work and worry about damaging a $200 + helmet but it all worked out. J&M will install them for you for about $50 and you ship your helmet to them.


J&M headset microphone


J&M headset speakers

[Spanky]

My wife and I have both.

The Throttlemeister fit the stock bars with no cutting or grinding. It works good.

The J&M CB, well they kinda work. We were unfortunate enough to break the very flimsy antennas that came with the J&M setup within a week of installing. Mine broke the first day, within an hour of installing, before I even got a chance to check the CB portion of the setup. I have never been able to send or receive much farther than 100 yards. My wife's worked good, at least a two mile range when she checked it with some truck drivers on the highway. But her antenna broke shortly after that and now her range is much less. We have tried upgraded antennas to no avail, yet. We each have NGP Firesticks. Once I get more time and its a bit warmer out, I'll try working out the CB transmission problems. They do work great for music or GPS hookup.

I have the J&M and use the Firestick NGP on my motorcycle and on the Spyder. I have the same results of only short distance communication.

I will try to find a local CB store to help.

Please let me know if solve the problem and I will keep everyone posted on my results.

[nancyemh]

My husband says to check the SWR and the ground. I have the CB on my spyder and have had no problems with it ..but... I am on my 2nd antenna. We thought maybe the first one snapped so easily because I had a flag on it.

[dltang]

My husband says to check the SWR and the ground. I have the CB on my spyder and have had no problems with it ..but... I am on my 2nd antenna. We thought maybe the first one snapped so easily because I had a flag on it.

Nope Nancy, they just snap easily. All Brian did was brush up against mine and poof it was gone. Heck, he didn't even know his was gone until I told him. When I did have it though, it worked pretty darn good. I was getting signals with truckers about 2 miles away. Hopefully we get it all worked out before the touring season begins. Then I expect you to make your way up to Michigan for some rides. LOL

[bone crusher]

Throttlemeister ordered...normal weight, black color...looking forward to getting it and installing it!

Thanks for all the help on this one everyone...this should make a nice modification to help with relaxing the right hand while ryding long distances...

[nancyemh]

I would absolutely like riding into MI this summer. We're about 2 1/2 hours south of Toledo. Maybe you can get us some good places to ride to? (Some of the people we ride with like having a "destination".)

[dltang]

I would absolutely like riding into MI this summer. We're about 2 1/2 hours south of Toledo. Maybe you can get us some good places to ride to? (Some of the people we ride with like having a "destination".)

That is not a problem, I have some thoughts already. As we get closer to good weather I will definitely get in touch with you.