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Cruiser
Posts: 232
| Can yu'all recommend a way to talk to ea. other on the bike.We don't have a CB or anything other than a radio w/ipod. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 100
Hudson, Ohio | I have done the research and it appears the Scala G4 is the way to go....you can get the powerset which contains 2 headsets for about $300.00 on line. It's a do it yourself easy install and connect on the helmets. You can go to YouTube and search on this item. Plenty of info that will sell you on this technology.
Good luck. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 79
| We ordered a SENA Bluetooth setup... It didn't sound too bad but the lack of being able to share the same music source ruined it for us. I bought a pair of Bluetooth transmitters and ran them off a Y cable... It helped with sharing the music but it cut out at random times and was just kind of a mess. So today I broke down and ordered a full Starcom1 digital setup with the cables to use my gps as well. I will give a full review after install. The final cost is 1/2 of the factory comms setup and performance from what I have read it sounds like it will blow the factory setup away. I do plan on tapping in the factory radio as well so that we will have the weather radio as well. The iPod I have will use the bike controls and output thru the 3.5 jack into the new comms setup. The Starcom setup has priority settings for the gps and phone. So it should be a pretty smooth setup when finished. I also hope to set it up for use with or without the trunk installed (something hard to do with the stock setup).
Wish me luck...sorry for the rambling 
P.S. cost with the extra cables and bar mounted volume control was $530
Edited by hulign 2012-02-28 9:07 PM
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Tourer
Posts: 323
Troy, NY | ditto on the Scala setup. I have the G3 version and it works great when traveling with the wife. I still listen to the music via the stereo not through the headset. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 284
mansfield, MA United States | Spiderman - 2012-02-26 11:35 AM
I have done the research and it appears the Scala G4 is the way to go....you can get the powerset which contains 2 headsets for about $300.00 on line. It's a do it yourself easy install and connect on the helmets. You can go to YouTube and search on this item. Plenty of info that will sell you on this technology.
Good luck.
+1 on the G4. We have them and love them. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 53
Gotha, FL | Scala is coming out with a brand new version in just a few days that is suppose to let up to 8 sets communicate together. Might be worth investigating. |
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Tourer
Posts: 309
Vineland, NJ United States | My wife and I had same problem, we went to the BlueAnt F4 Motorcycle Kit http://www.myblueant.com/shop/us/products/f4.php about 3 years ago and we love it. You can get them on Amazon for about $165 each and you will need two. Sound and features are great, my only complaint is battery life, I get about 5 to 6 hours before they need to be recharged. |
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Tourer
Posts: 337
san antonio, tx | We have the Cardo Scala G4. It works as advertised and I really like it.
Crystal clear phone and intercom conversations even at highway speeds. Music quality is OK. I usually get a minimum of 7-8 hours of constant music with mine before the battery starts to go. It's pretty simple to set up and use, but you do have to read the manual! It's hard to beat the price, compared to other options.
Bluetooth technology just isn't at the point yet where it's every bit as reliable as a hardwired system. On very rare occassions it will drop the connection and either take a long time to reconnect, or not reconnect at all. I use mine virtually every day and this doesn't happen very often. I personally would rather deal with this than deal with a bunch of wiring.
The VOX feature is very temperamental. I stopped using it. It's a great feature, and works well while testing it around the house but at highway speeds on a bike, there is just too much environmental noise for it to function perfectly. It will either cut on when you don't want it to, or not cut on when you do. The Push To Talk function works fine, but you have to reach up to your helmet and hit the right button. Not a really big deal though; just a minor annoyance. It would be nice if they offered a remote wireless PTT button for the system. As a note, I've read the same complaint with all systems, wired or not.
Music quality out of the box is OK but is highly dependant on speaker positioning within the helmet. Small adjustments make a huge difference. It's the same case with wired systems. I upgraded the speakers and it sounds way better now. There is no comparison to the bikes speakers. Very good sound quality now.
Switching between sources can be a bit of an aggravation. For instance; you're listening to music through a bluetooth dongle and you receive a phone call. The system prioritizes the phone call and mutes the music automatically. After the call is terminated, it seems to take about 30 seconds or sometimes longer for the music to come back on. On rare occasions it never does. To avoid that, you can use your phone to stream music. The phone does the switching between calls and music and my Iphone does that perfectly. That solution still leaves you with the same problem when the system switches to or from the intercom though.
Bottom line is that I really enjoy the system. I ride mostly 1 up, and use it mostly to stream music into my helmet. It does that extremely well. On very long trips (more than 6 hours), I plug it in to charge while I stop to eat. Never had it die on me on any trip, regardless of how long. When riding 2 up, we really don't talk all that much anyway so it works out well for that purpose.
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Cruiser
Posts: 216
Danville, CA | I personally I enjoy the piece and quiet of riding and listening to music... My wife and I are on the same page... IF she needs to pee, she taps me on the right shoulder.. other than that we just both chill... Just saying... who wants to be barked and chattty kathied across the country.. LOL |
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Cruiser
Posts: 104
| I thought the Sena SMH10 was now the top dog?? CChristo, do you think the Sena cures the minor problems you are having? Price no object is it the best you can buy bluetooth wise? |
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Cruiser
Posts: 79
| The Sena unit worked VERY well. We could use it with gloves on and had not real problems with the unit itself. I was just stubborn about having the shared music and wanted more integration than what the bluetooth stuff does right now. But as far as fitting it and using it...it did all it promised and did it well.
Buy it on Amazon, great price fast shipping and an easy return policy if there's an issue.
The Sena also has version 4 of their software coming which should only make it better.
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Tourer
Posts: 337
san antonio, tx | hawaii - 2012-03-01 11:02 AM
I thought the Sena SMH10 was now the top dog?? CChristo, do you think the Sena cures the minor problems you are having? Price no object is it the best you can buy bluetooth wise?
I don't know. Never tried the Sena system.
I read a lot of reviews for all the major systems both before and after buying the Cardo. I think my tipping point for going with the Cardo was the ability to program and upgrade it with the internet.
Other than that, they seem very evenly matched. Some slightly favor the Cardo, some slightly favor the Sena. I did read one scathing review of a Sena that was well written and factual. I've never read anything bad about the Cardo.
The negatives on both systems typically revolve around minor issues, or issues that are very judgemental.
I can only say that I really like my Cardo setup, and I like it a whole lot more since I put better speakers in it!
Bluetooth technology is like putting a 20 pounds of stuff in a 10 pound bag. They pack so much techology into such a small package, and expect it to do so much.
I still think that if you want the closest to absolute reliability, you have to go with a hard wire system. If you want to get rid of all the wiring and don't mind the infrequent glitches, Bluetooth is the way to go.
Sound quality wise, I have to say theres no real difference between wired and wireless. |
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RIDER TO PASSENGER