Many Opinions
I just recently purchased my 1st HD, a 2017 Tri-glide Ultra. My owners manual says you must have a HD head set for the communication system. Is that true? If it is true I don't know if I should purchase the 20s or the 20 EVO. I was going to buy the 2 pk 20s. at $ 550 + tax and then found out it's not linked to the Boom Box without another $350 device and then another $50 for a wire harness. Is there a less costly setup that will work just as well? I love my Tri-Glide but I'm not too impressed with mother HD.
OK, you should have received a coiled wire headset with your purchase of the Trike. That is what HD gives you to use with the Boombox. This plugs in on top of the gas tank and passes music and info etc. from the Boom to the headset.
Now, here is where it gets a LOT different! If you want to go wireless and communicate with the Boom and your phone etc, you basically have two options. You can go with the Sena Freewire system or the new HD WHIM. The WHIM stands for Wireless Headset Interface Module. Either one of these two routes is going to cost you a good bit of money. Remember, opinions are like (use your word) everybody has at least one. The Law Abiding Biker is pushing the Freewire and he sells them. That is all I am going to say about that.
Now, one thing you will hear about the WHIM is the cost and the Cable that is included with the WHIM. The WHIM comes with a cable that is used under the fairing to connect the WHIM to the HD system. The INCLUDED CABLE will only work with the 18 model year bikes. For those of us with the 14-17 model years, we have to buy a separate cable that is not included. Yes, you can keep the included cable or throw it away.
The next thing you need to keep in mind is the difference in the Sena Bluetooth headsets. There are several big threads on several forums about the entire WHIM saga, and you might want to read some of them. Basically remember this. If you want true high quality stereo music the Harley Davidson branded 20S EVO headset will provide that. NOW *****the Sena sold 20S or 20S EVO will work fine with the WHIM***** BUT you will not get the so called High Definition stereo and ***** you will not get the actual MENU to make changes to the HD branded headset via the Boombox if using the regular Sena models. You can still make changes to the regular Sena models and upgrade the firmware etc using the Sena device manager program. You can even use the HD device manager to make changes to the regular Sena units, ***but it will not give them the HD stero and Boombox menu. We are all hoping that one day HD might allow that and make the older Sena units totally compatible. I doubt that will ever happen!
So,you decide which way you want to go. I went with the WHIM about 2 weeks after they became available and also bought a HD branded 20S EVO headset. I love it. I paid $244.00 for the WHIM, $254.00 for the HD branded 20S EVO and $42.00 for the cable required for the 14-17 models. I did the install myself, very easy. Dealer charged me $40.00 to program the bike to activate the WHIM. The activation by the dealer is required and there is no way around it. Some dealers don't charge for the activation. So, I have $580.00 in the system counting the $40.00 the dealer charged me to program it. There are a lot of other questions I know some of you will have and you are going to get a lot of opinions. READ some of the long threads and you will learn a lot. BTW, i usually get 8-10 hours of use with the HD and regular Sena 20S headset on one battery charge listening to XM the entire time I am riding. I also still have a regular Sena 20S and it sounds fine for me with music, but I have high frequency hearing loss anyway and am not as demanding as some are.
Please, these thoughts are just my thoughts and others will not agree, so let the back and forth begin. To quote, "that is all I got to say about that". Have a nice day.