Rider Communication? What are you using?

Now that my youngest son is riding (Rebel 250), we have found that while "hand signals" work OK, we are wanting the ability to talk on the fly.... I have watched numerous vids and think that I will get us the "Sena Smh5" to start. When my other son gets his bike, I think I will just pass on my smh5 to him and go up to the smh10, so I can talk to them both.... That is what I am thinking.

What are you guys using/recommendations?

Thanks in advance

Ride Red!

 

I believe the SMH5 intercom is more oriented for rider to pillion communication due to its shorter range (1/4 of a mile at the very most). If you want to do rider to rider communication, you would need the smh10 which allows 1/2 mile range for communication. Remember, a quarter of a mile at highway speeds is only about 15 seconds away from you and given traffic conditions, unforeseen events, and other hazards on the road, half a mile communication might be better suited for bike to bike. Anyways the smh10 is better and more versatile and its better to buy one good system rather than finding its not enough and having to get another to replace it.

 

Why not just text them? I just strap my smartphone down to my tank with duct tape and type with my left hand. Sometimes I have to wait some especially when I'm not riding on the freeway. Bumps in the pavement and corners. Stuff like that.

 

You can use both hands if you've got a good cruise control or throttle lock. I mounted mine up near the edge of the windshield so I don't have to look down so far. They say it can be dangerous if you're looking down for long periods of time, but I think that's mostly from the "Nervous Nellys" out there.

 

Really...

I expect that from BadBilly, but not the rest of the Peanut gallery

Ride Red!

 

Just picked up a Sena SMH-10. Mainly for the phone and music, but also for bike to bike and the ability to hopefully sync up with non Sena communication devices.
Brian

 

You are most likely correct, but I am trying to keep the cost down. I am also working on rigging up a Power port but that looks to be fairly inexpensive & simple enough.

Ride Red!

 

I have the SMH10R and am fairly pleased with it. Unfortunately there is sufficient wind noise in my helmet that ear buds are still used when I do long highway rides. A few friends have same set up as mine or the larger unit, the model number escapes me at the moment.

 

Hand signals. I would like to have radio coms, but my riding partner says he doesn't want to talk to me while we're riding. :numbness:

.

 

My wife and I have the Scala Rider G4 and it works very well. Range is good and she is usually out of sight when communication dies. I'm not that crazy about having communication devices, but she wanted to be able to tell me if she is having issues and I wasn't in sight.

 

highly recommend the SMH10's. Dual-pack on Revzilla costs about $300, which isn't bad. It's a game-changer in terms of safety, enjoyment, convenience etc. I ride with a group of 3-4, sometimes on 1000-2000km roadtrips, and it's fantastic.

It's also pretty bulletproof in terms of reliability, build quality, etc. Only complain is inconsistent battery life - I shared a dual-pack with a buddy and my battery goes days, while his barely lasts a day.

 

I don't do a lot of chit chat wearing mine. Mostly for music and the odd phone call received. But is is really nice to be able to talk to riding partners when on a long tour. But if you do get separated, you gotta be quick because that 1/2 mile the claim is very dependent on the surrounding landscape.

Was riding with two others last September. Not really sure where but it was in Oregon somewhere. Our usual leader had it programmed into his GPS. Well be damned if the other two didn't suddenly take a right ramp off the freeway while I was still way over in the inside lane. Fuggen bastards. At 80 or so MPH, I had just enough time to shout, "Pull over and stop. I will find you" Fortunately they heard that and after about 1/2 hours trying to get turned around in an area I had no clue as to what was what and where, I was able to find them. BTW. It was a bright sunny day and they parked in the shade of trees. So they were so easy to see from a distant intersection when I stopped to look each way for them. Once again...the fuggen bastards

If we don't have these little mishaps from time to time, riding becomes boring.

 

If duct tape leaves sticky residue on the tank, switch to gaffers tape.

 

Sena 20s. Really reliable unit. With ear buds, music, phone, and voice are excellent.

 

This could be the ultimate answer to communications. Just think, no more use for a horn, texting all the friends on Facebook and Twitter, the wife and kids, the neighbors and the back of the line from the drive in window at MacDonalds. Add a CD player and a few sound effects, and make your VFR sound like a Harley or a Boss Hoss hoss.

http://www.cmsnl.com/news/img/kawasaki-ZX-10R-speakers.jpg

 

Just pulled the trigger on the Sena Smh5/wired mic dual pack for $187 @ Revzilla. Hopefully, these will meet my initial needs. I actually called Revzilla yesterday and also sent a question off to Sena; their response + cost is why I chose the Smh5.... and if/when my other son gets his own bike, I will hand-down my communicator to him, and then upgrade if I feel the need to.

Ride Red!

 

Boys will be boys and maybe they don't think being tied to apron strings is all that important or cool. Might be a good idea to ask..


Digressing to taping down that cell and texting. I use a thumb extender I got from www.HitchhikingmadeEZ.com. A word of caution on other uses. Harleydoods coming from the opposite direction might think that a friendly wave could be another not so popular hand signal. The extenders in the sake of safety only come for the left thumb.

 

Been using this for years


Trying to find a few riders that don't have that Bluetooth stuff so we can all use this version

 

I wonder if different bike folks would favor labels on the cans or are happy with generics. A few come to mind except what the harleydoods might want.

Many moons ago there was a rich dude named H.L. Hunt out of Texas. Just one of his trips was a tax writeoff selling canned chicken backs and canned mashed potatoes. He advertised them on a 50KW AM CBS station in Houston. HLH Products..

 

Is that OEM Harley stuff?










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