Bluetooth communicator

[scisor34]

I bought a Sena SMH5 and installed it in my HJC modular helmet yesterday. My initial thoughts are very positive. After charging for a couple hours, it was very simple to pair with my iphone4s. The few phone calls I've made, the other person couldn't tell I was riding at 55-60mph, and I had no trouble hearing them.

I haven't used the intercom yet as I rarely ride in groups, but can see where this would be a fun feature. Music sounds much better than the earbuds that came with my iphone, but I can not stress enough how important speaker placement is related to sound quality.

My HJC modular helmet has recessed areas for speakers and initially there was too far of a gap between my ear and the speaker so the sound was extremely "tinny" with pretty much zero bass. I solved this by using a piece of styrofoam fastened with double sided tape to act as a spacer that moved the speakers closer to my ear.

All functions are easy to operate with gloves on. It's pretty cool listening to incoming texts and responding handfree with just your voice, as well as making or receiving phone calls.

With this being said.......

We all know it only takes a split second of not paying attention for accidents to happen, and all of this new input can be a HUGE distraction. I would NOT recommend this for an inexperienced rider, and caution experienced riders to get familiar with all the controls, features, and operation of the unit before trying it on the road!

I don't want to start a debate about whether or not this technology is safe, just thought I'd post my experience so far.

[gn2]

I don't want to start a debate about whether or not this technology is safe, just thought I'd post my experience so far.

Looks to me like you already did:

We all know it only takes a split second of not paying attention for accidents to happen, and all of this new input can be a HUGE distraction.

This applies for all riders even if they have been riding for decades.

[scisor34]

I don't want to start a debate about whether or not this technology is safe, just thought I'd post my experience so far.

Looks to me like you already did:

We all know it only takes a split second of not paying attention for accidents to happen, and all of this new input can be a HUGE distraction.

This applies for all riders even if they have been riding for decades.

BRILLIANT!

[maddiedog]

I wish the Senas weren't so expensive though. I'm getting this one for Christmas: http://www.amazon.com/Avantree%C2%AE-Wa ... 3DI2Y9SCH0

Hopefully it'll work out as nice as the Sena. Same concept.

[you you]

Why not use a cheap Bluetooth receiver that has a 3.5mm headphone socket?

The you can use a normal in ear pair of headphones

[scisor34]

Update after a couple weeks use..... I'm very satisfied. I've found I rarely make or receive calls while riding, but it is a handy feature and people I've talked to could not tell I was riding at 60mph. My daily commute is 1.5-2hr round trip in which I listen to iheart radio via bluetooth, random phone calls and texts, and get 4 days use before having to recharge the battery.

I've played around with speaker placement quite a bit to get the best sound quality. Tip.......If you're mounting speakers inside your helmet, hold both speakers resting against your ears before mounting them and note the sound quality. After installing, they should sound exactly how they did while you held them to your ears. It's suprising how the speaker being off by just a tiny bit makes a huge difference in sound quality.

I still haven't ridden with anyone else who has this so I can't comment on the range or quality of the linked communication system.

I paid about $100 for the unit and feel like I got my $ worth.

[vnpython]

i havent start using phone when i am riding PCX... although very common in VN for rider to talk and ride at the same time. the speed of course while multi-task is around 20~30kmh. Although i have a vehicle with built-in BT functions, i always tried to limit the duration of the talk to avoid loosing concentration.

well, car has 4 wheels and bike has 2 so i will skip answering phone, BT or not, when I am riding for my safety. If still have to answer, i would rather stop by the side of the road and answer.

We can be safe but others may not...