Headsets or not??? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Headsets or not???

D

dirtbag

Well-known member
Over the last 3 summers the Squeeze and I have taken four separate week long trips into the US. We ride with full face lids and I wear earplugs. Communication is little more than a few standard hand gestures (tap on the knee, flash the thumbs up and she recipricates - All is well)
And the ocassional:

Me "did you see that?"
Her "what?"
Me "did you see THAT?"
Her "what?"
Me "DID YOU SEE THAT?"
Her "see what?"
Me "It's GONE"

Mostly I'm ok with this set up. Riding for me is about being tuned into the ride, enjoying the scenery and a chance to be with my own thoughts.

Now I wonder if the trips would be better if we had communicators of some sort (scala, chatterbox etc). However I also think something might be lost if the solitude was replaced with chatter, just because we could.

I'm interested in how this worked for other couples or not as the case maybe...
 
Last edited:
I like it much better with the headsets. She might see a bunch of things that I don't because I am focused on the road. It's also nice to talk and there's never the banal chatter.
 
Conversation is almost a 'lost art' these days.
I implore you and your main-squeeze to talk more. You do know you can fake a "low battery, turning off to conserve battery" when she goes off on a tangent that makes you want to WOT off a cliff right?

self-high5.gif
 
Headset changed my experience from riding with her , to riding together.
Just remember to keep the control to yourself so you can turn it on and off at your own discretion. :)
 
My wife and I love ours, it feels strange to ride without them. Usually we use them for music and it's nice to be able to switch to chat when we see something of note or one of us wants needs to fill up/get coffee, etc.
 
I'll be buying a headset this year as well. As far as which model to buy, I've narrowed it down to the Sena line. I like the radio option on the SMH5-FM and the price (~$130) but the SMH10 has a lot of additional features. My plan is to wait until the 20S comes out to compare the size, features and price.

I looked at Scala and a number of other brands. Sena seems to come out on top as far as features and quality go. I believe the new firmware upgrades even let Sena headsets communicate with other brands. No other brand does that to my knowledge.
 
Rode with the buddy to the dragon and beyond. Bought a cheap set of the chinese bike to bike units. They worked okay but at higher speeds they were crappy. When they worked it was great for deciding when to stop or change routes. I've had the Parrot as well on mine and it worked really well. It was handy having the phone.
 
mroberto said:
I'll be buying a headset this year as well. As far as which model to buy, I've narrowed it down to the Sena line. I like the radio option on the SMH5-FM and the price (~$130) but the SMH10 has a lot of additional features. My plan is to wait until the 20S comes out to compare the size, features and price.

I looked at Scala and a number of other brands. Sena seems to come out on top as far as features and quality go. I believe the new firmware upgrades even let Sena headsets communicate with other brands. No other brand does that to my knowledge.
Click to expand...

Sena is also working on a 'universal intercom' feature in its upcoming firmware which would let their units pair with any other brand, car kits, etc. Not sure if it will see the light of day though as it was supposed to be out in December, but they do list it as a 'feature' on the new 20S (so hopefully 1. they got it working, and 2. it still trickles down to the older units as well since Sena has always been good about that).
 
dirtbag said:
Over the last 3 summers the Squeeze and I have taken four separate week long trips into the US. We ride with full face lids and I wear earplugs. Communication is little more than a few standard hand gestures (tap on the knee, flash the thumbs up and she recipricates - All is well)
And the ocassional:

Me "did you see that?"
Her "what?"
Me "did you see THAT?"
Her "what?"
Me "DID YOU SEE THAT?"
Her "see what?"
Me "It's GONE"

Mostly I'm ok with this set up. Riding for me is about being tuned into the ride, enjoying the scenery and a chance to be with my own thoughts.

Now I wonder if the trips would be better if we had communicators of some sort (scala, chatterbox etc). However I also think something might be lost if the solitude was replaced with banal chatter, just because we could.

I'm interested in how this worked for other couples or not as the case maybe...
Click to expand...
headsets is a lot better, you can have small conversations and point out funny stuff that happens. IF you take a 10 hr trip, that is basically 10 hrs you are not communicating with the person and it makes for a less entertaining trip.

Also, it is a lot safer, you can warn the other person of something coming up, intentions to stop, dangerous turn ahead etc.
 
I went and bought a pair of Sena's to take care of the "did you see that" conversations, My wife and I have spent 2 seasons with them and absolutely love them. Very very nice to have on the long trips!
 
fiancé and I just bought the Sena SMH5 and it got really good reviews and looks super easy to install and pair with other Bluetooth items such as our phones, ipods, mp3s...haven't used them yet but looking forward to being able to do exactly what everyone says above - warn about things coming up and seeing things the other might not have...come on spring!!!! :)

P.S...a dual set for full face helmets was $225...
 
Last edited:
ifiddles said:
fiancé and I just bought the Sena SMH5 and it got really good reviews and looks super easy to install and pair with other Bluetooth items such as our phones, ipods, mp3s...haven't used them yet but looking forward to being able to do exactly what everyone says above - warn about things coming up and seeing things the other might not have...come on spring!!!! :)

P.S...a dual set for full face helmets was $225...
Click to expand...

$180
http://www.amazon.com/Sena-SMH5D-01-Bluetooth-Intercom-Motorcycles/dp/B0071HE2SQ/ref=pd_sbs_auto_2
 
Not with a squeeze but I find it much more enjoyable to converse when riding and safer.

We found one rider navigating from the rear position while the other rider upfront keeping an eye out for road conditions etc worked well and just general chit chat and sharing the sights.

Makes the time go faster on the boring stretches.....nice shared experience on the pretty bits.
Can be distracting in heavy traffic etc in which case there is an off button :D
 
Thanks to all.

The Sena units look like the product of choice. I had a look at the link (thanks MSRP) but it wasn't clear how the ipod would connect. We got hooked on podcasts of favorite programs on long car trips so having the ability to listen to these would be great. Would it work the same as in the car only instead of the cast coming through the car radio it would play out of the headsets?
 
Most of the in helmet speakers are just okay on speech and marginal on music plus you don't lose the wind noise.

I use UltimateEars with an iPhone for music.
Then the Scala can also be heard if the volume is up full. I assume the Sena will be the same.
You get about -26 db in noise supression, superb fidelity for music and podcast, plus chit chat through the paired systems.

You do need to be able to turn off the music/podcast...I get earphones with an inline switch.

B001DERZKO_5vi_Hero.jpg


You could mount the iPod ( I use an iPhone ) on the bars for access.

I really think it's necessary to have some noise supression at highway speeds.

I can also hear the scala over earplugs but you have to get ones that do not suppress too far.
-25 dB or so will - work - -31-33 you won't be able to hear the speakers.

You have to fiddle a bit - even with the earphones to find the best balance between noise suppression and being able to hear the in helmet speakers.

It's worth it tho.

However you won't be both able to listen to one music source this way.
Not sure that's possible anyways.
 
Last edited:
dirtbag said:
The Sena units look like the product of choice. I had a look at the link (thanks MSRP) but it wasn't clear how the ipod would connect.
Click to expand...

On the clampkit that attaches to your helmet, there's an mp3 (3.5mm auxiliary input jack) that you can connect your iPod/iPhone/mp3 player to with a male-to-male connector wire. That way you can listen to your music/podcast through the Sena speakers or earbuds (if you are using that).
sena_smh10_headset2_zoom.jpg

When a call/intercom/GPS direction comes in, it will interrupt your mp3/podcast. To get back to your iPod, you just tap the big round button again and you can resume listening.
 
Is the sena a rechargable battery unit or do I need 12v plug in for it? I'm already thinking I'll run a 12v plug in to the back seat and let the Squeeze take care of the ipod.
 
I wear a set of custom fitted set of ear plugs and use a Sena and I find that the music sounds much better with the earplugs in and I can hear pretty well. It works great with either an MP3 player connected via the audio in jack or bluetooth from my phone for music.

Sena also makes a clamp kit that will allow the use of earbuds in case you want that instead of speakers.

The Sena's are rechargeable and last all day or longer. Standard micro USB connector, so I added a USB outlet to my bike to charge it or my phone.
 
The SCala G4's that we have are great.
I don't use the bluetooth feature as it eats up battery life = 5 hrs max. I don't commute or city ride by bike, so I have no neeed to try to use the phone over my Scala, so once again, I never use it's bluetooh functionality.
I use a very nice curly cable to my Ipod for music. The cable is small, very elastci, and never seems to get in my way. The Ipod is velcro'd to a double stem mount next to my "speed nazi ahead warning device", so I can easily change tracks etc.......I have gotten 22+ hrs straight of music on one charge, and it still wasn't even flashing red low battery lights when I decided to charge it when I found an electrical outlet near a grassy spot I was camping at near Gilbert WV.
The music is easily audible over earplugs and 140 kmh roadnoise. I use -32 EAR brand earplugs from the local work safety supplier.
On one of the week long Indy trips, I paired my Scala up with the other rider who was tagging along. He is diabetic, so it was handy if he needed to stop, or take insulin, or eat/drink/piss etc...he could tell me. Or if a low fuel light came on, it was handy to be able to communicate that to the other rider too. I was leading, and riding at whatever pace I feel comfortable. The Scala came in handy so I could pre-warn him about "gravel on right hhand side next turn" etc......he said it was helpful to be told and prepared before seeing the hazards. He has been riding a long time, has been to racing school, and is good enough rider that I don't feel I need to babysit him, yet it got really annoying when he began squawking in my ear about every road he didn't think was engineered very well, etc etc....It got to the point where I just rode far enough ahead that we were out of radio contact for long periods of time.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom