Where do I connect an SWR meter on a 2014 RT-L?

[Steve W.]

I have tuned CB antennas for almost 50 years and have the procedure down just fine, but I don't have a clue where the radio is on a Spyder. Yeah the antenna is obvious, and if that is where to connect the meter, fine, but I have usually connected the meter to the output of the radio to be able to read the entire antenna cable, too.

I have done a lot of searching on this forum and Google in general just to find where the blasted radio is on the bike, with no luck. Searching Google also brings up several different forums, and a very common response to poor CB performance is "use an SWR meter to check the antenna", but they never say where to connect it.

Thanks for any help offered.

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[Bfromla]

Not sure of the various year & makes. Found mine was a Radio/amp combo unit; good # of connections on either side of unit. RH Rear (sitting on bike). The antenna “cable” was in fact more of an earth ground braided loop kind of ribbon, I guess that's what you would call it. Hollow & laid flat - not crimped but at the end it had bolt a run through it with washers.



Sorry pic inverted, but you can see the bolt washers in ribbon upper LH. I believe the other connections were various #pin molex types & first/last time I looked was back 2015, so that could very well be incorrect, sorry.

 

[Steve W.]

Thanks, "B", but I see that your bike is a 2013. I have heard (but don't know for SURE) that they changed the radio (and possibly its location) in 2014.

The flat "cable" that you mentioned is the ground cable, not the antenna, so I am still looking.

Also, your location of "RH rear" still does not mention exactly where. Do you mean the side of the trunk, where the antenna mounts, or maybe just inside the saddlebag area, or ... where? There are a LOT of body panels behind which the radio can hide, and we have to admit it's pretty well hidden.

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[Flamewinger]

Factory CB’s come with the antenna already tuned. Grounding is an issue on motorcycles. Clean paint off frame where it’s grounded.

If you still think otherwise, The units are behind the front parts of the saddlebags. Not easy to get at. I remember when an antenna was checked and they put the meter between the mount and actual antenna.

 

[Bfromla]

Thanks, "B", but I see that your bike is a 2013. I have heard (but don't know for SURE) that they changed the radio (and possibly its location) in 2014.

The flat "cable" that you mentioned is the ground cable, not the antenna, so I am still looking.

Also, your location of "RH rear" still does not mention exactly where. Do you mean the side of the trunk, where the antenna mounts, or maybe just inside the saddlebag area, or ... where? There are a LOT of body panels behind which the radio can hide, and we have to admit it's pretty well hidden.

.

Any & all RH behind seat then. (Sitting on bike)

 

[CloverHillCrawler]

I have tuned CB antennas for almost 50 years and have the procedure down just fine, but I don't have a clue where the radio is on a Spyder. Yeah the antenna is obvious, and if that is where to connect the meter, fine, but I have usually connected the meter to the output of the radio to be able to read the entire antenna cable, too.

I have done a lot of searching on this forum and Google in general just to find where the blasted radio is on the bike, with no luck. Searching Google also brings up several different forums, and a very common response to poor CB performance is "use an SWR meter to check the antenna", but they never say where to connect it.

Thanks for any help offered.

.

I see other people have chimed in on the location of what you are looking for but why would you want to check SWR on the FM/AM radio?

A high Standing Wave Ratio will not affect reception as much as it does transmission and you would not want to use the Fm/Am Radio antenna for a cb anyway unless you are disconnecting the factory radio from the wiring and still then you would need to replace the antenna with one tuned for a CB radio frequency.

Update:Ignore my previous statement, I didn't realize that the RT's had a CB radio on the earlier model years.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

The CB is on the right side below the passenger seat mounted near vertical, more of less in line with the front of the saddlebag. The audio unit is behind and above it and mounted near horizontal. The antenna plugs into the CB directly at the bottom end. Here are the installation instructions: https://brp.my.salesforce-sites.com...ingViewerWithTranslate?#id=kA0a0000000h3EnCAI. You'll find all the BRP instructions here: https://instructions.brp.com/e-instruction.html#tab=2

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Update:Ignore my previous statement, I didn't realize that the RT's had a CB radio on the earlier model years.

Only as an option.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Because there is so little metal in the Spyder I changed my CB antenna to a Firestik No-Ground-Plane antenna. It helped. I don't remember what I ended up at as far a results using an SWR.

 

[BertRemington]

I examined the RDO (Radio) module I removed from my Spyder. The antenna cable was about 6ft long with the standard cheap coaxial plug on the antenna end and the cable directly entering the chassis on the module end. The excess cable was coiled with a tie wrap.

There were two high-density multi-pin connectors. One went to the Spyder CL (Cluster) module via CANBUS, loudspeakers, GPS (Global Position System) module, POD (IPOD Connection) module, and PRC (Passenger Radio Control) module. The other went to the XM (Satellite Radio) and CB (Citizens Band) modules. Their antenna connections are according to the information Idaho provided.

 

[Steve W.]

OK, guys, thanks for all the replies.

IMS (IdahoMtnSpyder), thanks especially for the instructions, but they were a day late. I left my sister's house on the 8th, after trying to tune the antenna on her husband's Spyder a couple of days earlier. I finally found the area where the antenna co-ax connects to the radio module. Never did actually touch it, let alone take it apart to check the SWR. Without removing ALL the plastic on the right side, I think the only way to access that connector might be to remove the muffler and go up from below.

I did access the antenna base and assured good connections there. While on a ride, his radio sounded fine, and everyone commented on how well it sounded. I guess that's the bottom line, regardless of actual SWR numbers. Just for reference, the four CBs involved in conversations on the ride were two '14 RT-Ls (my sister and her husband) with the stock Can-Am radios, my wife's '17 RT-S with a J&M CB and me on my '00 Goldwing.

Thanks for playing the game, I'll try to come up with something easier next time.

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