Bluetooth Helmet

[Ivan]

Funny how noise isolating earbuds with tunes are bad but earplugs are good.

FWIW, the tunes don't drown out the noise, not does it make anything less noticible. The engine noise is still there, the horns and even the tire noise from other vehicles still comes through, although not nearly as loud. I honestly can not see where earbuds with tunes playing is a safety issue.

The benefits far outweigh any negatives, especially on a long trip. They definately break up the monotony and are quite good at preventing the ol' nerve cluster from sliding into neutral. Ears don't ring for the next two hours from the constant road noise. And just having the music greatly decreases fatigue.

If it were a saftey issue, you'd have to ass a hearing test for your MC endorsement.

[gringojason]

This post has changed from "recommendations for bluetooth helmets" to "bluetooth: for or against?"...lol. I see valid points on both sides of the issue and I think to each his own...whatever works for you. For me, some music and interesting podcasts make the ride a lot more enjoyable.

In my research, I came across this company that makes some pretty interesting setups...

http://www.imcmoto.com

Their headquarters is close by, so I will be paying them a visit to see what they have to offer.

[XJOK2PLAY]

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...id-Helmet.aspx

This is the one I got for me and SWMBO. They run on the small side. I got the XXL and it is to tight for me to wear, even with no hair. I wear a size 7 3/4 hat. If your head is that big, don't by this one. If your head is smaller go a size bigger.

So, how do you like it so far? Does it seem to work well and link up easily?
What do you link up to it? Cell, MP3...?

[TheFrugalTech]

I know the thread is a little old but thought I'd give my 2 cents.
Wife and I bought a pair of modular style helmets with the Blinc Bluetooth setup built in (2nd generation). They were no yet available in the US when we bought ours and we bought them out of the UK. They are tested to the highest European standards and qualify as racing helmets in most countries.

It allows you to synch with 2 devices. I synch mine with my phone as primary and the wife's helmet secondary. That way, if we are talking to each other and my phone rings it beeps in to let me know when it rings. I tap the button once and it answers, tap again and it hangs up and goes back to the wife's helmet. Also allows for use of the voice dialing features of my Blackberry.

They work excellent, even at 80+ highway speeds, on our full dressed 1100E and allow us to talk at normal levels at any speed. But, on our stripped down 1100F the wind and exhaust noise (Kerker 4-1) starts to saturate the noise canceling and makes it difficult to hear once we get above 50. But, we are less apt to talk much on that bike anyway.

Overall we are very pleased with them. Retail was around $600 each 2 years ago when it was "new", but the prices are coming down to around $450 now. Batteries last about 8-10 hrs per charge, give or take depending on how much you are talking or listening to music. I have noticed very little difference in how much you hear surrounding noises. I find them to be less distracting than turning your head and screaming to your passenger. The helmets also have a really cool secondary sun shield that drops down behind the main shield like a fighter pilot helmet, instant shades at the flick of a lever. I speak from experience when I say, don't forget you have the sunshield down when approaching a tunnel! LOL

I am currently looking for a Bluetooth base unit that allows multiple connections so that we can listen to music, GPS, etc., and still have helmet to helmet communication without switching between the two.

Be sure to check your local and state laws regarding in-helmet speakers!
Some states do not allow it at all, some allow 1 speaker, and some allow 2 speakers.

Here is the best pic of the helmets I could come up with at the moment:
Sun shield is down on mine, up on the wife's.
Yes, that is snow in the background, we ride year round.