[Glo-wing]

Being a happily married couple for 30 years WE need to have helmet comm (no mean lips please, I already know what you are thinking)

Based on personel expierance:

What intercom/helmet comm do most GW owners use?
Do you all use, the Honda hard wire system or blue tooth or radio controlled like chatter box?
What brand is most popular?
We have open face helmets(not that that matters).

___________________
Previous bikes:
07 FZ6 (current)
06 Concours C10
02 Vulcan 750
98 600 Saga
83 185 Suzuki

 

[MR_WING]

I have the Honda intercom system and love it. It is clear and works very well with the bike. We use full face helmets and the speakers are not even noticeable in the helmets. I am impressed with the quality of them so far!

 

[Two Wheel Wing]

J&M Communications seems to be a big player in the area of MC communications. If you check their website you will find a lot to choose from. I have had J&M units for over 11 years and have never had a problem with any of them. They can be a little pricy, but I think well worth it.

A number of folks are going to the bluetooth units like chatterbox. I never liked the big unit hanging on the outside of the helmet, but it does offer some advantages that other units don't.

Lots of options to choose from so do your homework and see what works best for you.. Good luck and ride safe.

 

[Glo-wing]

Great post and very helpful, Two Wheel Wing. I'm looking hard at the Honda and the J&M. The Honda's are a bit cheaper because they includes the adapter cord ($25 a piece). The J&M's have a smaller microphone, the Honda's look like something Hughie Lewis uses in concert i.e. BIG. From the reports I get they both perform great. So cost and or esthetic's seam to be the real decision.



___________________
Previous bikes:
08 Gold Wing ABS (current)
07 FZ6 (current)
06 Concours C10
02 Vulcan 750
98 600 Saga
83 185 Suzuki

 

[Poncho Ramrod]

The little lady and I use a J&M system. I complained on an earlier thread about the mic picking up wind noise. However, I think my windscreen is too low. I'm 6'1' and the screen is on the lowest setting so I think an adjustment will do the trick. Other than that, the system is very good. High quality sound in the helmets - open faced. With bluetooth, you'll be looking for places to plug it in to recharge and its useless with a dead battery. Then you'll be taking phone calls, "pick up milk on your way home",etc,etc. You can operate everything from the hand grips anyway.

 

[Glo-wing]

Excellent point on the blue tooth thought. The last thing I need is to be taking phone calls or looking for more batteries, not to mention the added bulk on the helmet.

Perhaps the shield adjustment will do the trick, interesting point though. I wonder if that's why the Honda mic is so padded? It kind of turned me off it was so padded.

 

[Glo-wing]

Excellent point on the blue tooth thought. The last thing I need is to be taking phone calls or looking for more batteries, not to mention the added bulk on the helmet. I'm sold on the wired sound.

Perhaps the shield adjustment will do the trick, interesting point though. I wonder if that's why the Honda mic is so padded? If the noise persists mayby adding more foam would help. That was one of the reasons I liked the J&M over the Honda, the extra padding didn't look as good. Please let us know what you find out.

 

[Poncho Ramrod]

When I bought my new Wing, we upgraded our helmets as well. We bought them from the dealer and they installed the comm kits. When we put them on initially, they we uncomfortable and the little lady couldn't hear anything from the left side. If you go that route, remember that the speakers in the helmet are adjustable.....I mean you can move them around inside the helmet. I removed the padding, adjusted a little until we were both comfortable. So far, so good. However, I haven't had time to adjust the windscreen and check out the wind noise issue. I did,however, use a little black plastic tie-down to seal off the end of the sock over the mic. I'll let you know how it goes in a couple of days.

 

[MR_WING]

Glowdog,

I have used the chatterbox units before and I really did not like the box hanging on the outside of the helmet. I also had a lot of issues with wind noise. I always had to use the PTT(push to talk)

The honda system I am using now is really good. Yes the mic seems like something used at a concert, but it does work well and it is very clear. I took the foam off of mine because I hjave the mic right in front of my mouth (full face helmet). The wife (as of tomorrow we will be married!!!) had plenty of room to have the mic off to the side of her full face helmet.

The only mic that really gets any wind noise to speak of is hers when it is really windy and also sometimes when the road is really bad. I am using the stock windscreen, and feel if I had the aftermarket taller screen it would help her out tremendously with all the wind she gets hit with being on the back. When that happens I just shut off the intercom system for a bit.

Most Honda dealers I would think would not have an issue taking them back if you bought them and did not like them. The speakers on the system really are pretty good.

I have also heard that the boom mic, for those of you that use a 3/4 face helmet, works quite well too.

By the way, the dealer had a young man working there that installed them for me and did an EXCELLENT job of putting in the speakers so I could not even feel that they were there.

Good luck with your choice of intercom.

Rob

 

[Canuck623]

I use the JM sets installed in KBC Tour Com helmets. They are very good and fit well. The speakers are not felt. There is some wind noise from the passenger mic but they do have a squelch cord that cuts that way down. I love the integration with the stereo, intercom and the CB that the chatter box can't match.

 

[Poncho Ramrod]

Mic wind noise, again

I adjusted the wind screen to its highest setting and wind noise is still an issue. I have installed the passenger volume control (with its mic mute button) so the little lady is taken care of. However, I still have the problem. Sooooo, I found this mic mute web site. Just google mic-mute and you'll find it. It's available through wingstuff.com. I got "stuff" from them before and they're a good group. However, the little lady has informed me that I've blown the Wing budget for this year so I'll have to suck it up and wait. Any info on these mic-mutes would be appreciated.

 

[Glo-wing]

i JUST ORDERED THE GW HELMET INTERCOM FROM HONDA. THANKS FOR THE TIPS. I'LL LET YOU KNOW HOW WE LIKE THEM,

 

[Glo-wing]

Just got my Honda intercom today. I hooked them up and so far I think they will be perfect! I tested them in the garage with the bike off. My wife and I are getting new helmets so the hook up now is just a temporary set up.
so now we need to decide on the right helmets. we're considering HJC AC-3 or the FS-2 both look nice. I think we want white. it seems so visible, and since my bike is black we need visibility.

 

[bstar]

Personal preference is always top of the list as everyone knows.My wife and I use full face Fulmer helmets with the flip up chin protector.It works well because on rainy days or "BUG"infestation areas the visor comes down but we can still flip the chin protector to have a drink of water without removing the Helmet or leave the visor up for wind in the face.When I ride a friends cruiser or crotch rocket I still have the full face available. I like them,they work for various riding conditions and different types of MC's

Go Ride
Robert

 

[lonewolftx]

Wanted a GPS that is water proof so I orderd a TOM-TOM Rider. After using Garmins for several years I switched due to price. $429.00 for the TOM-Tom. We have a Cardio Team Set intercom with blue tooth so I set it up with the Tom Tom. Good sound and I get voice phone with auto answer and audio from the GPS as well as intercom. On the down side, a trucker with a linier amplifier close to us will cause interfearence.

 

[Poncho Ramrod]

Just finished 3000 kms in 6 days. Everything went great except for one odd thing. After riding for about 5 hrs, with breaks, we arrived at our destination..Gander, Newfoundland. When we went throught the city to pick up some items, the rpm's wouldn't drop below 1500 which is what it revs at while warming up. A few stops and starts later it disappeared. It has happened sporatically throughout the trip. I also noted the fans came on in what I thought were relatively cool conditions. I've read previous threads regarding the fans but the gauge never moved yet the fans came on. On my old shadow, the fan never kicked in until it was almost boiling. Its going in for its first maintenance soon so any info would be helpful. On the positive side, my sweet Lord, that thing is a dream on a good stretch of blacktop with the sun in the sky !