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Bluetooth - Yah or Nah?

11K views 31 replies 24 participants last post by  Grinnin 
#1 ·
Hello fellow KLR peeps. I have a question about Bluetooth.

I would like to see peoples opinions about Bluetooth devices. Do you like 'em, hate 'em, preferr one brand over another? I was also wondering if it is worth having.
 
#2 ·
I've had several. Currently have Chatterbox xbi2 and Scalarider q4. I like the sound quality of the chatterbox but the Scala is the loudest. Being wireless is great. I listen to my Gps and music and don't have to take my eyes off the road. I also sell blue tooth units. Let me know if you want to buy one.
 
#3 ·
I ride my bike to escape all that. Too much distraction. The last thing I need while I'm going around a blind curve, or fighting my way through traffic, is for my cell phone to ring in my ear. We've gone for decades without having music, cell phones, and talking GPS units on our bikes, I think we can survive without them.
 
#10 ·
+1.
I am probably in the minority, But I'm totally over it. I have decided I no longer care to have all the electronic gizmos destracting me at every turn. My wife's new Ford Focus with the Sync and My Ford Touch technology finally drove me over the edge. I have decided: As long as I am driving, I don't want to talk on the phone; I don't want to send or receive texts; I have no use for electronic navigation nannies; I'm not really interested in having access to 200 radio channels. Today's vehicles (and bikes) are becoming less and less of a driving experience, and more of a media center.
When I'm on my bike, I certainly do not want any of that..."stuff"!

YMMV, but in any case, please be safe! To yourself and others.
 
#4 ·
I have some cheap ones. They've worked good as bike to bike coms for the last 3 years. Great when travelling with others & you need to discuss route, where to eat/stay, do you need gas etc etc.

I would also use one for music but these cheap ones won't transfer back to A2DP on my Iphone after being switched to intercom so I haven't really had much chance.

You get what you pay for I guess.... I paid $80.

If I was going to buy now I'd get the SENA SMH-5 or wait for the new Scala G9 to come out.

:)
 
#6 ·
I have a bluetooth at home when I'm working in my shop and want my hands free (and the project isn't rocket surgery or brain science). On the bike, the last thing I want to do is invite someone to call me and interupt my "Me time".
 
#8 ·
I bought a pair of cheap interphone headsets on EBay I use them for music on my IPod touch, and bike to bike communication, the music is fine at any speed, the communication is only possible at speeds below 55mph. I'm not sure how the cell phone feature works cause no one calls me when I'm riding.


Sent from my iPod touch using Motorcycle
Timothys687
More miles and smiles for all!
 
#9 ·
blue tooth

Holy men and sages throughout the ages report that wisdom is only achieved in solitude and silence. The theme of modern life, by contrast, is to have so many things on your mind that you have absolutely nothing in it. Talking gizmos ensure perpetual distraction. Hence, Gizmolatry, our regnant religion.

Ride and think. Enjoy. Time enough for crowds and voices and noise and information and devices and distractions tomorrow.

:13:
 
#11 ·
Fey

I am only half fey. I don't know exactly when I will die; but I know exactly how: It will be some cell phoning airhead chickadee who never saw me because she had that distant look in her eye. And the more hands free devices there are out there, the more difficult it becomes to spot and avoid these BDCs. I'd much rather see a hand to her ear so I can get the hell away from her.

Hey, it's not about hands. Your Ma never scolded you "pay a hands what you're doing". She scolded "pay attention before you kill yourself".

Pay attention, goddamit, I'm tired of dodging you.
 
#12 ·
Had one, don't use it anymore. It made so much additional noise in the helmet that it wasn't worth the frustration. It was nice to have the tunes riding through Kansas and Nebraska where one 200 mile stretch was the same as the one before and the one after. I'd occasionally like the communicator function, but all my friends have different brands, so no go there.

In the end, it's just not worth the headache to me.
 
#14 ·
Hello everyone, I'm new to the group. I too enjoy a nice quiet, uninterrupted ride to clear out the cobwebs. However due to the nature of my work (I'm on call 24/7 365), I will need to jump into the Bluetooth ring. Any advice in choosing the most reliable system would be helpful. On the upside, when I don't want to be found, I shut my stinkin' phone OFF and leave it at home.

TIA...
 
#16 ·
If you lived in a split-level head like I do you could just send the noisy ones downstairs...

T
 
#17 ·
Bluetooth Yah or Nah?

Good Evening MarKLR,

I was really interested in using the Blinc 2 Bluetooth for music and phone as well as GPS. It was quite pricey at $260.00. I bought it and installed the in helmet ear speakers and the CHP style mouth mic, It sounded fantastic while I had the helmet on my head. I then went for a ride and quickly found out that the engine noise of the KLR drowns out the sound. The phone call quality is OK for hearing but not for talking.

All in all, I am not impressed. Let me know if you find one that actually works. Sorry for the bad feedback.

Snakeboy66
 
#18 · (Edited)
For those who like listening to music while they rode as well as muffling the wind I've found the LG sport Bluetooth that rests on your neck and has two earbuds that pop in you ears not only gives you clear music but also knocks the whistle and higher pitched wind noises out. You can still hear cars, sirens and any other lower pitched or high intensity noises even with the music on. And yes, it isn't exactly legal to have both earpieces in here, however, it is not noticeable and at least one is guaranteed to fall out when you take your helmet off so... Never any proof of you are ever stopped for any reason. Not that I endorse neglecting certain statutes but to me, the wind noise without is worse. I'll edit and post a pic of them tomorrow. They are 69.99 at sprint stores as they are a couple year old model however I bet they could be found a lot cheaper somewhere on the net.


Sent from my iPhone using MO Free
 
#20 ·
I have a scala. I like listening to music on my commute or back roads tours or that hot chick on the navigation app. I was skeptical because of the distraction factor. But even with earplugs in, and the speakers in the helmet playing, i can still hear traffic, sirens, horns, my engine. When i go riding with a buddy, its pretty cool to be able to chat about routes, traffic, cornering techniques, wives, or choose not to talk at all. the only person who calls me is my wife and she has been reminded what constitutes a phone call and what can be texted or wait till i get home. you can answer hands free or tap a button, or just dont answer. downside is that its just one more friggin thing to deal with.
 
#22 ·
Use Sena units with my wife. It is great to have conversations with her about things we a re seeing experiencing and to discuss directions etc. Also love listening to music when I ride. Sometimes you get those surreal moment when just the right song comes on at just the right time that make the whole ride like magic.

Here is an example of what musical inspiration can do from a ride I did to the Black hills this summer. This is an excerpt from an email I sent that day.

Lewis and Clark could have camped where we were on the banks of the Missouri. We rolled out of the campsite and climbed through the breaks and *******. The sun was bright in the sky, to our left a small group of bison dotted the hillside. As we broke over the ridge and pointed to the west the horizon seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see and before us the Missouri River valley.

The air was cool and still and at that very moment through my headset comes Tom Petty's "into the great wide open, under a sky so blue, into the great wide open, a rebel without a clue."




If I don't want to be disturbed by phone calls I just set the phone to airplane mode.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Do you have to recharge your helmet every night? That'd kill Bluetooth for me right there. With 2 batteries, I could probably use one while charging the other on the bike as long as a battery lasted long enough. Can I charge with DC or do I need an inverter plus a charger?

So, how long DOES a battery last?

I doubt I'll ever add sound to my helmet. Except for my singing -- opera-quality singing (such as you'd hear in a shower). (What are you doing in my shower, get out!)

There was really no reason for me to quote garthw for this reply. Just a couple of inches of fresh snow and he goes and taunts with this:

 
#24 ·
I too am sitting on the fence about "to tooth or not to tooth" certainly a lot of benefits, but like posters have eluded to, do we really need to be in constant comms, or is it a convenience (with multiple costs). I sometimes reminisce back to the days before pagers...good memories :)

I think I just talked myself "through" my choice!

Thanks Dr....
 
#25 ·
Have a Sena, love it, wifey has one too, let's us chat.
Much safer in 2 or more groups with comms
On long solo trips, makes the miles just scroll by. Use my iphone mostly.
Music, podcasts, gps direction, no looking at map distractions just"turn left in 50 meters" and so forth. Siri reads text messages and does what ever I ask like "Siri take me home"
What else...I dunno but Senas with iPhone rocks.

Sena 5.0 update allows sharing of music and works with any other Bluetooth intercoms so no matter what your friends have it works.

Gotta say, when your out on the bike for a week solo, it's nice to have some company...and
The phone quality is rock solid.
 
#28 ·
That is kind of where I am at... I am constantly interacting with people in work, certainly interacting with family at home, and even though I am inherently an extrovert, I need some downtime from interaction.

I will say that at least with BT technology, at least I can turn it off :) I can't say that about the other areas of my life....I do like the idea of having the option to connect with music, directions, or people when 'I' want though...
 
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