Update Of The Harley-Davidson radio-multimedia equipment

We will make a totally practical article dedicated especially to the big travelers on top of their Harley-Davidson Touring models, where we will improve the original radio of the first Rushmore models.

Original equipment
In September 2013, the new Harley-Davidson Touring models of the Rushmore project were presented in the world premiere, which equipped important improvements in comfort and entertainment and as a great novelty enjoyed liquid cooling in some models.
One of the main elements was the new radio with a 4.3-inch screen, with its new joystick on the handlebar.

Adapting to the needs
One of the bases of the design of the Rushmore models was that they had been conceived with the needs and demands of the users in mind, and that is why they immediately realized that they were asking for a more current radio model, with touch screen and GPS navigation with maps.
Said and done, the Motor Company's accessories catalog soon appeared the replacement boom Box 6.5 GT radio, with its larger touch screen, GPS with compass navigation and maps and some performance improvements. It was such a success that it was incorporated as standard equipment in the Touring models 2015.

Direct substitution
So let's make the update of the original radio model 2014 by a radio Boom Box of 6.5 inches. By the way and as an aesthetic improvement we will also install the radio antenna kit for fairing, which allows us to do without the traditional antenna mast replacing it with an electronic system located under the lid of the “batwing".

Get to work
We start as usual by disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery to avoid "scares" and proceed to remove the cover of the fairing or” batwing " following the instructions of the service manual.

We continue with the dismantling of the clocks and release the rear connections of the radio.

Then loosen the four screws that hold it to its support

and we can already extract it, leaving the gap open for the new team.

With the 2 radios together we can see the difference in size of the touch screen.

Assembly and upgrade
We will begin the assembly of the new device following the previous steps in reverse. Instead of connecting the original antenna we will place the new one under the fairing using the adhesives provided in the kit

and we'll plug it into the corresponding connectors.

After this step we will take the opportunity to mount the new GPS signal receiving antenna on top of the radio, using its adhesive base on the surface that we have previously cleaned with alcohol.

Now we can reassemble the fairing, first connecting the main headlight,

and try the new navigation mode, which will initially display a compass

until we take the vehicle outside and receive sufficient signal from the global positioning satellites, after which we will see on the screen the map of our location.

Please note that due to system configuration we may need to use a computer in our dealer or workshop to match the parameters (world zone, number of speakers, etc.).

As is well known the software of these devices is evolving continuously, and if at any time we want to check or update the firmware we just have to go through the manufacturer's web and in a few minutes we can update it ourselves via USB.

Frank Burguera

#mecanicaharley