im looking for some help in choosing a helmet/intercom system. i know there are multiple threads with different choices that i have seen but none seem to address the questions im asking.

so here is my situation; my wife and i each have our own bikes. she prefers to wear a 1/2 shell helmet i prefer to show off my beautifully shaven melon. but, if we had to, we would go to 3/4 helmets for an intercom system. my questions are this:

1. is there a system that can be worn without a helmet that doesnt look like a pair of oversized earmuffs? (im thinking military grade)

2. what brand/brands(models) would be good choices in terms of distance between riders, quality of sound, noise cancelation and ease of installation and use.

3. if you recomend a product that you use, please state any problems or things you would of done differently, that helps alot!

just got back from a show with a few vendors and am looking for "real world" feedback, not marketing mumbo-jumbo. thanks in advance.

 

The first thought that occured to me was "wouldn't that encourage your wife to TALK to you while you're riding?"

Unh Unh...

 

Try looking at J & M. After trying a couple of different headset manufacturers....J & M was the hands-down the choice for both the wife and I. They make a setup for half helmets that I wear (I also have a set in my full face) and for the hybrid full face of the wife's that is actually the unit for the 3/4 helmet. They also have a helmet-less headset, but I can't attest to anything about that set up.

We ride 2up on an Ultra so I can't attest to distance on the intercom however between bikes that we ride with using CBs...they seem to work the best of all the brands we've tried and of those we ride with.

The only thing I did differently on my ff setup was make a bigger hole in the ear pad of the helmet so I could hear better. After looking at the installation of my set, I have decided that the next time I will purchase the headsets and install them myself instead of having the dealership install them. Very simple to install.

Sound and noise cancellation was the best of the bunch in our experience, wind noise is still an issue except for my FF and the wife's hybrid if the boom is high up....but is less than other units we tried.

J & M is higher priced than the others...but I feel it is money well worth spent.

Hope this helps

 

i do actually enjoy talking to my wife sometimes, so having a bike to bike intercom may prevent me having to yelling at her...thus keeping the peace.

 

I've got a set from ICOM and they're nice-saves us from yelling at each other.

 

i checked out their website but am curious which products you use for your bikes?

 

iF MONEY NO OBJECT AND YOU WANT THE BEST - SCHUBERTH

 

Here's the website for the headset I bought. They work with a half helmet also.
http://www.imcmoto.com/products/harl...ets/land1.html

 

I have a J&M setup Simply because i wanted the CB also...I have the Fullface headsets in mine and my wifes FF helmets and the Helmetless sets from IMC that we use in the summer with the shorties. You can technically use them without a helmet too....The sound quality to me is not as good as the J&M but you can communicate OK. I will be buying a st up for my wifes bike when she starts using the bike more...for now we have a Midland CB that i will install...She rides with me mostly but we bought her a SUzuki V800 so she can ride by herself until she can afford a HD.

If you just want intercomm from bike to bike there are other choices.

 

Wind noise becomes a significant issue with communications at speed around 40 and up. In my opinion, for the best comms, you need to go FF. There are several FF helmets on the market with built in Bluetooth. That's the route I'd go.