[XtremeIN]

Hello all,
How does one remove the stock antenna? I have a 2016 Magnum, if it matters. I did a search and found a thread that said to just unscrew it. I tried that with no luck. Messed up the paint/coating on it and thought I was going to twist it until it broke.
Thanks,
Micheal

 

[Poseidon]

You have to access it from under the bike. I used an open end wrench and it unscrewed. Then pull it out the bottom once it is disconnected from the bike.

 

[PDXLaserGazer]

Might be easier to disconnect the cable and pull the antenna out, bracket and all. I'll be doing the same thing in a day or 2 on my '13... expect it should be the same. Will let you know if you haven't figured it out by then.

 

[primethious]

Righty tighty lefty loosey

 

[PDXLaserGazer]

yeah, but when you are upside-down it's all backwards!

 

[Poseidon]

yeah, but when you are upside-down it's all backwards!

Might be easier to disconnect the cable and pull the antenna out, bracket and all. I'll be doing the same thing in a day or 2 on my '13... expect it should be the same. Will let you know if you haven't figured it out by then.

I'm not sure that is possible. The cable attached to one side of the bracket and the antenna attaches to another piece on the other side of the bracket. I tried to get some pictures for you, but they didn't turn out very well. I'll post them below.

yeah, but when you are upside-down it's all backwards!

No need to be all upside down. You have to pull the bag off to get to it.

Slide the boot on the antenna up to expose the hex head. Then use an open face wrench.

I don't know if you will be able to make any sense out of these pictures or not. They were taken from under the bike looking up at the antenna bracket. The antenna screws into the black piece on the right of the bracket in the picture below.

This one is looking straight up.

 

[PDXLaserGazer]

Looks like the bracket is part of the saddlebag bracket so that's not coming off easy. But the rest should with what looks like an 8mm or 10mm socket or wrench for the nut. I only was looking because my new shorty will be here tomorrow. Poseidon's pics make it look pretty cut and dry though. Thanks for the pics.

 

[Captain Obvious]

I bought a shorty and the rubber base was too big to fit through the grommet in the saddlebag filler. Ended up putting a piece of tape around the mast to hold the fiberglass together, then snip snip with a pair of tinsnips. Glue the rubber cap back on and boom, free shorty antenna.

The shorty fit my buddy's Road Glide though, so at least it didn't go to waste! It was a generic, btw, not the victory shorty. I'm frugal. :/

 

[PDXLaserGazer]

Could have pushed it downward and put the ball through the grommet then inserted the shorty from below? Or pop the grommet out, as it's rubber it will stretch around the base. But it's too late now. Does the trimmed one work ok?

 

[Poseidon]

Directions with the Victory Shorty antenna says to remove the grommet and insert antenna from below. I think it was only $35 if I remember correctly. How much did you save by getting the other brand?

 

[XtremeIN]

Thank you for the pics and all the info.
I purchased my shorty from Amazon for $15 shipped (prime). I will try again today to unscrew it without having to remove the bag.
Thanks again,
Micheal

 

[Captain Obvious]

Could have pushed it downward and put the ball through the grommet then inserted the shorty from below? Or pop the grommet out, as it's rubber it will stretch around the base. But it's too late now. Does the trimmed one work ok?

Tried from below. Would have needed lots of lube.

The cut one works just fine, can't really tell a difference, but I usually listen to music off my phone anyway.

 

[Poseidon]

Thank you for the pics and all the info.
I purchased my shorty from Amazon for $15 shipped (prime). I will try again today to unscrew it without having to remove the bag.
Thanks again,
Micheal

Trust me, it's a LOT easier to remove the bag!!! 2 bolts and the bag is off. Not removing the bag is what is causing your problem.

 

[Gamewarden]

You can but the shorty antennas at Walmart for under 10 dollars. It came with a variety of pieces and on e fit my 2011 cc nicely. Lots of threads on this.

 

[3rdElement]

i got mine at oreillys auto parts

 

[JamesBond]

Removed the antenna tip cap, cut the mast to desired length with big wire cutters put the tip back on. Free shorty antenna! It's not rocket science. Works just fine for radio, looks better too.

 

[PDXLaserGazer]

If that one you cut short doesn't work well enough and you want to go back to the tall one, I'll sell you my stock for $5 (+$25 shipping).

I swapped for the shorty today. Pulled the bag off, disconnected the iPod and Sabertooth light, slid the boot up, 7mm open end wrench to loosen. Took about 5 minutes. I spent more time cleaning the connectors and coating everything with dielectric grease.

Also changed my mirrors, plugs and wires and almost swapped out my drain plug for a magnetic one but remembered all the oil would come out so I'll do that later. All in all about 45 minutes and I was ready to go then it started sleeting so I'm done for today.

 

[Wat1000]

I removed the bag on the right side to access it. My biggest challenge was getting the bag back on. The reception from the shorter antenna sucks, but I rarely listen to the radio. That factory antenna will put an eye if not careful. lol

 

[XtremeIN]

Apparently when I tried to remove the antenna the other day I severely weakened /damaged the fiberglass body. The weather was really nice yesterday so I rode to work. Stopped to get gas and my antenna was folded over dragging the ground. Yeah me! Pulling the bag to finish the swap next week when I have a day off. Lucky me!