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helmet communication systems

G

glh1201

Big Wheel
I was wondering if I could get some assistance from you guys.  I"ve been riding for years, but never really thought about getting a communication system for my helmet as my wife really doesn't ride with me much.  But lately, I've been getting a bit bored riding with my buds and missing phone calls.  I've been looking into various bluetooth headsets and am at a loss on which ones are the better ones.

The things I'm looking for are bluetooth connectiveity for my phone, fm radio, able to connect to an ipod and most importantly, to fit inside a Shoei Multitech helmet with the flip-up chin guard.

I would apprecciate hearing from you guys that have the experience with the different systems and the pros and cons of each.  I'm not too concerned about communicating with the other bikers as many of them don't have headsets and those that do, have different systems.
 
I have come to like the UCLEAR HBC100...it has no external boom microphone to get in the way...
no wired hook-ups, though...everything must be bluetooth...I've found that it's really pretty easy to
adapt to this concept...especially since wired connections are going to be a thing of the past before long...

Just my .02...
 
Sena and Scalarider seem to be the preferred Bluetooth comm devices around here. I've had my Scalarider G4 since June and using it mostly with iPhone 4 for music & calls.  A friend has one too and we paired them up fro intercom on the ride up/back to NE Fall Rally.  They worked excellent with an impressive range.
 
+2
I have the Scala G-4, do not buy the Q2, theb FM works great and use with my Droid for phone and GPS and rider to rider.

8)
 
Happy with my Chatterbox xBi, but can't say if it is better or worse than Scala or Sena since I have not used them.  Went with the Chatterbox because I wanted the ability to have both an intercom communication and bluetooth communications from my zumo (music / driving directions from my zumo GPS) go to both my headset and my rider's (i.e., bluetooth sharing), a feature that Chatterbox has but which many bluetooth helmet communication devices don't.  I suggest reading reviews at http://www.webbikeworld.com/.  Also, I found speakers in helmet did not work, due to poor sound and road noise.  Eventually went to using high quality ear phones to save my hearing and provide greatly improved sound fidelity.
 
+1 on the Sena.  5k+ miles with my set, about 50% of that with passenger or wife on the other bike.
My wife has had some config issues with Pandora interfering with bike to bike discussions but thats an issue with her phone, not the system
 
Another vote for the UCLEAR HBC.  I wanted mine primarily for listening to music on my iphone.  It got very good reviews on amazon so I gave it a try.  I'm extremely happy with it so far (about 500 miles).  The biggest selling point for me was that it didn't have a bulky boom microphone.  Apparently the company does a bunch of military work, so they've incorporated some of their technology into this unit.  The microphones are small nubs that come out of the earphones.  I talked with my brother the other day while going 70mph down the highway, he said he could hear me fine.  He was surprised that I was on my bike.  I believe the UCLEAR HBC can also be used as an intercom system as well.  Check out their reviews on Amazon.  I highly recommend them.
 
i have a chatterbox xbi, scala g4 and now ride 2 up with Sena, all blutooth . i have to say hands down 12+ hrs talk time out of Sena with great sound and the ability to charge in ride is the way to go. android phone user streaming pandora most of time.
 
I saw a good Sena/Scala compariso. I think it was on the BMW sport-touring site, but I am not sure. Here's what I remember:
1) Neither system has an intercom range as great as the range promised, even under the optimum conditions, but both are very clear at distances greater than a football field. The clear range on the Scala is slightly greater.
2) The radio in the Scala is poor, but there is no radio at all in the Sena. (I prefer to stream Pandora or WunderRadio on my iPhone/iPod anyway.)
3) Sena has greater audio clarity and much better volume.
4) The Sena is available with speaker-system AND earbud-friendly system -- so you can opt to plug in your own custom ear-plugs.

I got my custom audio-ear-plugs from EAR Inc in Boulder Colorado. They cut wind noise and give me fantastic audio, so I have great phone and music clarity even at speeds over 75 mph using the Sena system. I got the speaker system/kit AND the plug-set on eBay. It's a great deal. I put the speaker set-up in my dirt helmet, since I don't ride with ear-plugs when I'm playing in the dirt. The other set-up (clamp-on, flexible boom-mike with plug-in port for audio ear-plugs) is on my road helmet (Arai Profile). The little brain (the part that pairs, controls and gets charged) just snaps on to whichever helmet set-up I'm using at the moment.) I did the same for my spouse with her helmets. By the time I was installing the system in the third helmet it was taking me less than ten minutes to achieve a clean, sanitary installation. There are several YouTube videos showing the incredibly simple installation. Here's one of them for the speaker-equipped system, the more challenging installation of the two options: Sena SMH10 Helmet Installation )

I used a wired Autocom system for over six years. The Sena is vastly superior in every respect but one: The Sena doesn't let you share your tunes with yor pillion. For us, it was nice to be able to share music and mood, but we've adapted. Now, I've paired her Sena module with her iPhone and my headset, so she enjoys her music until one of us wants to communicate. If either person wants to say something to the other he/she just taps the talk button on the side of the helmet once and the system switches to intercom. Once that's done we have open mikes and can talk in true duplex mode. (Not push-to-talk or voice-activated.) When we're done visiting one or the other person can tap the button to return to the music. If other riders are with us, each successive tap of the button will toggle to the next paired rider up to a total of three other people for each of us. We each retain the ability to answer our own phone too, and my system is also paired to the GPS. The Bluetooth is absolutely fantastic, and the mic system is too. No problem hearing at all, and folks on the other end don't even know I'm on the bike.  8)  :)
 
I like the sena.  But, if you want to use ear buds or plugs just order the the right base to Begin with.  Other wise you will have to helmet mounts.
It does auto-reconnect when you get back in range.  Son and I gave them a good test on the "Bun Cooler" last year.  Lots of twistys and not much line of sight.  Stayed connected most of the time even though he is 39 going on 20 riding an R1 and I'm an old foggy on a C10
 
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