Antennas on Bikes Blessing or Curse?
Most of us that ride bikes with radios or CB’s know that we have to have good antennas to get the best use out of the equipment we have spent our hard earned cash to buy. However, each of us will confess that these “whip antennas” get in the way. These 50-60 inch high poled antennas are suppose to give us such great preference are nothing but an eye sore of a great looking bike. And should the need arise to ever put your bike in an enclosed trailer, and then you have to bend them or remove them both of which is a pain and time wasted.
So you find yourself at some dealer pleading for something better, shorter, more user friendly, something that works but that does not look like your carrying a shortwave radio on your bike. And some dealers offer you a high dollar option that may or may not fit your budget or may not give you the value for your money.
Now there is an answer to our problem, “Antenna Concepts LLC”. Back in 2006 an avid Harley rider, Denny Hilbert had been in the automotive and wireless fields as a Product Development and RF Test Engineer for a tier one automotive supplier and an international company based in Europe. And now MADE in the USA are many of his quality products for our bikes both American and Metric bikes.
Two Wheel Thunder TV crew used two Harley Ultra’s to test the new 21 inch replacement Antenna. After removing the stock 50 incher’s from one of the Ultra’s all we did was follow the instruction in the package from Antenna Concepts, tuned in a local Cincinnati OH station we both knew and headed south into the Kentucky hills and valley to see how far we could pick up the same station. I must admit I thought there is no way a 21 inch antenna can compete with a 50 inch antenna. However, I was wrong; the bike with the 21 inch antenna received the signal from the radio station about 8 to 9 miles farther than the bike with the 50 inch antenna.
So we thought we would try a different experiment. We used the same bikes and instead of going over hills and valley we head into the flat land of mid Ohio. Here we found that the bike with the 21 inch antenna received the stations signal about 12 miles farther, what a surprise to both of us.
Ok, one other item need to be tested. I put the 21 inch antenna on my bike just north of Cincinnati OH and head south to Galveston, TX. All along the way bikers ask where did I get the shortie and how did they work. I explained how and where to get the antennas and told them I was very pleased with the performance of the antennas and the look it gave the bike, all agreed.
So if your feed up with the long whip antennas and are looking for some style and performance for you bike our suggestion is to check out Antenna Concepts LLC for some great American made products that really work and look great on your bike and will not break you “safety chrome budget”. There web site is www.antennaconcept.com or call them at 734-854-1355, or email Dennis at they are up in the Lambertville, MI area and I know they would love to hear from you.