bike to bike communication?

**wingland** · 06-22-2012

Saw the thread about on-bike intercomms got me to thinking about bike to bike. Both the wife and I ride. First time I've had a daily riding partner. But hand signals aren't cutting it.

What's the current standard in bike to bike communications? 10 years ago it was the J&B CB2003 unit or StarCOMM, both about $600 per bike when it's all said and done.

We ride sport bikes with full helmets so there's a fair bit of wind noise. We'll often be half a mile or more apart, so bluetooth is out.

Has Chatterbox came up with any GRMS radios that work worth a darn yet?

**strey1100** · 06-22-2012

Originally Posted by wingland

Saw the thread about on-bike intercomms got me to thinking about bike to bike. Both the wife and I ride. First time I've had a daily riding partner. But hand signals aren't cutting it.

What's the current standard in bike to bike communications? 10 years ago it was the J&B CB2003 unit or StarCOMM, both about $600 per bike when it's all said and done.

We ride sport bikes with full helmets so there's a fair bit of wind noise. We'll often be half a mile or more apart, so bluetooth is out.

Has Chatterbox came up with any GRMS radios that work worth a darn yet?

I recently upgraded to the Cardo Scala G9's. I previously used the Cardo Scala Q2's. You can find a used pair for the $200 range. Very reliable, and I usually got over 9 hours of battery use (At a minimum...) they will do everything you wanted... Trey

**Monica A** · 06-22-2012

My husband and I both ride sport bikes and we recently got the Scalla Rider G4s for a set of 2 for $299. They mount to the full-face helmets with speakers mounted inside. We have Shoei helmets and the speakers mount easily into special spots built in to the helmet near ears. We really like being able to talk during rides - look out for xyz in the road, or turn left at the next light, etc. He is my unofficial track coach hahaha. We usually get really good reception up to a mile apart except when we are in the twisties with mountains in the way it cuts out a bit but reconnects as soon as we get reception again. I bluetooth to my iPhone for music and he connects his mp3 player with cord that is included. We connect to each other using voice activation. When we are done talking, the music comes back on. We love them and won't ride without them now. I use it when commutting too. I listen to FM for traffic reports and music. My husband called me once to see how it sounds. He couldn't tell I was riding - no wind or bike noise. Volume increases with speed increase and decreases when slowing down.

**Brick** · 06-22-2012

I am using the Sena SMH 10 (be sure to get the latest as the older ones are not upgradeable). It to has all you say you want. I know they have a blue tooth thing to do the FMRS radios but they also have a cord that is a LOT less.

I'm enjoying it... listening to my music and even taking a few phone calls. Curt called me and would not believe me that I was going down the road at 70 mph... it is really cool.

I intend on attending Richard Battles seminar at STAR this year he too lists on the RKA web site that he likes the Sena SMH 10.

YMMV

**Paco Bulto** · 06-23-2012

My son David and I started out with the Scalarider Q2's a few years ago and they were very good. Then when the G4's came out they were even better, but not perfect. Now we upgraded to the G9's and they are fantastic compared to the others. The sound volume and fidelity is incredible. I wear foam earplugs and can still hear very good music fidelity from my MP3 player in my phone that is conected via bluetooth. I can also listen to the FM output of my Sirius sat radio and it is good, but not as good as te MP3 from my phone. Bike to bike is very cear and has up to a 1 mile range.

Yesterday was my best example of the vastly improved audio qualiity of the G9's compared to the others. David and I were riding into the Denver area on I 70. Speed limit is 75 and traffic is moving at least 10 more than that. I was listening to music from my phone when I heard the chime in my headset indicating that I had an incoming phone call. I said "hello" only 1 time and was instantly conected to a phone call from my wife. First off, I was impressed with the clarity of the phone call, especially as I was doing an actual 85 mph on a very windy day. What impressed me more is that during our conversation, I thought I could hear birds chirping in the background. I asked Donna if there were any birds near her and she said, that, yes, she was doing her daily feeding of wild bird seed to the many songbirds that inhabit our yard. If I had not heard that for myself and had not been the one to initiate that question, I would not have believed it.

So, I would say that when listening to feedback to in-helmet intercom/sound systems, if a person has not experienced Scaalrider's, latest G9's, thay have not experienced the impressive quality of the best units that Scalarider has to offer.

**Tech-Diver** · 06-24-2012

+1 on the G9's

**wingland** · 07-09-2012

Great information - thanks all! Sounds like the Scalariders are well worth a look.

No problems pairing / repairing?

**Tech-Diver** · 07-09-2012

Bump pairing between units and no problems with an Android...

No experience with repairs

**NormKern** · 07-10-2012

Got a G9 to use on trip to STAR with a friend, only had one evening to install & set up before trip. Had some good times, had some bad times. You need to become thoroughly familiar with it BEFORE your trip.

After struggling with pairing and connection on the way to STAR, I carefully went through the manual. If you don't know the difference between the press of a button and the tap of a button, you're not going to have a good time. Turned out most of the trouble was my friend holding his button too long to call me.

All of the information is in the manual, but it's so spread out that it's hard to keep it straight. I made a one-page "cheat sheet" of commands and put it in the map pocket of my tank bag. Going down the road, I glanced at the sheet when I wanted to do something and suddenly it made sense and everything worked.

Line-of-sight range between two units is 2/3 - 3/4 mile, which is pretty amazing for bluetooth technology that has a typical range of less than 50 ft. Voice clarity is good and the speakers are loud enough even with earplugs.

The voice commands work pretty well. You can give your device a two word name, like Norm Kern. If all g9 riders (up to 8 others) in your group name their g9s, you can call another person just by shouting their name. very cool.

You can send a one-way message to all group riders simultaneously.

There is a way to conference three or four riders, but IMHO it is too many steps & too much hassle.

What do I like least about the G9? The FM radio is a PIA. It's always turning on when I'm stopped and talking directly to someone. I wish there was an option to disable it completely.

Norm Kern