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Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Kat, About intercom systems that is! So we'll see if any of the VTwin Mama sisters have an opinion. Meanwhile, I think hand signals work just dandy and here's a site that details signals for the majority of situations you'll probably find yourself in: http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~libssd/fehr/handsignals.html That's all folks! – Mama Friday, May 17 Here's input for Kat who had a question on bike-to-bike communication systems: Hi Mama! First of all, thanks so much for posting my question about women riders in my area! I've been contacted by a few very nice women and hopefully we'll be able to organize a nice little "estrogen run" as my SO calls it. *big grin* I did want to respond to Kat's question about bike to bike intercoms. My parents had a really good set that worked well for them and I will try to find out what it was, but let me tell you why they don't use them anymore -- they are actually illegal in some states. My father's close friend is a state trooper and advised him they are illegal in our state (Massachusetts). Before you buy them, check the laws in your state to see if they are legal. I will try to find out which set they had. Hand signals are a great alternative. Everyone in our riding group knows the signals Mama has provided in the link and they work very well. Another one we use often is pointing to the eye and then to the side of the road. Most of us wear contact lenses, get dust in them, and need to pull over when we can't see through our tears! Happy riding! – CJ Some people use the Chatterbox brand of communications but then you can only talk to people who have Chatterbox. Also some styles of this brand have a small box, about the size of a floppy disk attached to your helmet. I recommend a CB then you can talk to a lot more people if you want to including the emergency channel, 9 and weather stations. You can buy small CB radios that would fit into a tank bag with speakers attached to your handlebars. But I recommend a handle bar mounted system. It has a much smaller "box" which is an attachment device for the boom mic and speakers inside your helmet. There is a cable with a quick connect/disconnect to the radio from your helmet and a cable that goes to a push to talk button attached to your left grip. It all sounds complicated but really isn't and the radio disconnects from the bike in seconds. Try looking at j&mcorp.com or sierra-mc.com. Only draw back is they are kind of pricey but they are a neat set up if you don't have a big touring bike. Having one would have saved a BIG argument with my ex and I one time. I find it is very handy to have just for warnings on the road like rocks, pot hole or deer, to give directions to bikes that got separated at a stop light, "look at the view," lots of uses and fun. – Cheryl I have some experience with the ‘bike to bike’ communicators that Kat had asked about. My husband and I rode together for quite a while and just decided it would be nice to be able to say “hey look at that”. We had started out wanting to be able to talk to each other for the scenery, but more than once we’ve been able to use these to ‘warn’ each other about situations on the rode before the other sees it. He rides to the front and left track, I like the staggered right which gets me into some of the gravel that ‘spills’ out of the country driveways around here. He’s let me know more than once about gravel in time for me to move to the left track. And I see things like deer long before he does and give him a heads up. A couple of weeks ago we were riding in our staggered positions on a fairly busy road when his engine just suddenly died, there was a driveway to the right and he said “watch it, I have to pull over” I was able to stay out of his cross over and turn into the driveway with him safely. He wouldn’t have been able to use hand signals cause they were busy controlling a dead bike at 50mph. I had done a ton of research on the different brands, how they worked
and pricing. What I came up with was Maxon SX49. One radio runs about $50
retail (but I bought the pair on Ebay for $30) They are voice activated,
so no buttons to push when you want to say something and have a quarter
mile range, which is plenty of distance. The only catch with these is that
they come with a head set that there is no way it’ll fit on your head
and under a helmet (we wear full face). So with a number of trials and
errors… we finally modified them enough to work well for us. I took the
speaker out of it’s case along with the microphone/ antenna assemble
removing the head set completely. Ran the whole works between the hard
outer shell of the helmet and the padding inside with the mic taped to the
inside of the chin part of the helmet, letting the cord and ‘radio’
part of the unit hang down out of the helmet. You can then turn it on/off,
adjust volume and how sensitive you want the voice activated (sometimes
wind noise or pipes can turn it on and your partner gets to hear you rev
your engine) then stuff the radio portion of the unit in your pocket or
use the belt clip. After that I was STILL having problems hearing him, so
I removed the speaker and soldered on a plan ol’ ear piece from a radio
head set… the kind you just put in your ear, so I have to put the ear
piece in before I put on the helmet… it makes it a bit of a trick when
ya first start to use it… but I now hear clearly everything my husband
says. Not to mention every once in a while you get to hear some ones baby
monitor or telephone conversation on the same frequency as the 49dbs.
Which is good for some giggles as you ride. I really can’t recommend
being able to communicate highly enough for those that ride together all
the time. Because it’s just another tool for being safe while riding AND
just being able to say “hey look at that”. Ride Safe –
HammerLady@ShinnySidUp.com Tuesday, May 21 Dear VTwin Mama, We bought the MotoComm model #MC-551's that we use with our GMRS hand held radios. We bought a set of 2 watt GMRS radios from Target (Memorex MK two-way Radio #MK1995) at our local Target store. You can look them up on Target's web site: http://www.target.com and search in the electronics/two-way radio section. We get about 2 +/- miles range on these radios. They work well. Prior to getting these GMRS radios we used a pair of FRS radios with the MotoComm. GMRS has a slightly better range due to higher power output. The headphone mounted speakers give us lots of sound and sound comes in on both sides of your head but does not block important sounds like horns and sirens. We use them with foam earplugs in and still get plenty of sound. The microphone mounts right in front of your chin and does not pick up much road noise in our full face helmets. The PTT switch Velcro's onto the left hand grip where it is very convenient while riding. We bought a couple of handlebar pouches from Radio Shack for FRS radios (made for bicycles) that Velcro to the handlebars and the radio slips into the pouch. The radio is held in place by an elastic strap. The whole set up works great and costs about $100 per bike for the radio and the headset system. We use small Velcro straps from a hardware store to secure wires to the bars. There is a coil cord to the helmet. The helmet has a short lead that you attach the coiled cord to. Your full faced helmet needs to have recesses to place the VERY thin speakers into. When you get on the bike you hook up to the cord. When you dismount you (hopefully) remember to disconnect. If you don't remember to disconnect, the cord will quickly remind you (ask my Husband why he sometimes feels like a bungee jumper). If you want to use a portable CB radio to talk to bikers riding CB equipped GoldWings, a Midland, Cherokee or Cobra CB walkie talkies will plug right in instead of your FRS or GMRS radio. My Husband is a licensed Amateur Radio (ham) operator and has used his Radio Shack and Yaesu amateur radios on his bike when I'm not riding with him. He has carried on a conversation with someone through an Amateur Radio repeater system 300 miles away while riding on the interstate at 65-75 mph. If you have any questions, let me know! E-mail me at: utahshadowriders@charter.net – MaryAnn - Southern Utah VTwin Mama Dear MaryAnn, Wednesday, May 22 Dear VTwin Mama, Tuesday, February 25 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Lu Ann, Most systems come with some sort of manual for installation, repair and troubleshooting steps (although these can be quite elementary). Consider contacting the manufacturer's toll-free number to discuss this further (1-877-624-6869, 8am-5pm Pacific Standard time from Mon-Fri). They should be able to walk you through all the check points and interpret the long low beep sound you sometimes hear. This could be a significant indicator to them and speed along the analysis. If you've already tried speaking with them with no results, consider visiting a local electronics shop that could test the elements for you, although the cost relative to the price of the system might not be worth it. Last, but not least, did you purchase the Motorola radios with the system? MotoComm has a compatibility chart and I don't see that series radio listed. This might be another point to explore further JIC (just in case). My bet is still a poor connection point or small partial wire break. They wreak havoc and just a small wiggle one way or another causes make/break conditions. – Mama Dear VTwin Mama, Dear A.K., Motorcycle Communications - Intercoms - Radios: Read the Intercom FAQ, with lots of information on various brands and models of motorcycle bike-to-bike and rider to passenger intercoms and communication systems | Autocom rider communication and audio equipment is supposed to be pretty good, but they don't have a website; reach them at 888-851-4327 | Challenger Motors sells the Baehr Intercom and associated equipment, including pre-wired FM helmets from Italy; this is very high quality radio equipment with excellent sound quality - wBW Review coming soon! | Chatterbox is owned by HJC | J&M Corporation makes audio sets, helmet microphones and more motorcycle communication equipment | Sierra Electronics carries Air Rider (AirRider), CycleComm (Cycle Comm), J&M, Cobra and other bike communication devices | Collett also makes some nice communicators with a 3 year warranty; they also have a voice feedback system so you can tell how clear your signal is | Vixen Intercoms makes the BackChat acoustic intercom system. We've had some previous discussion on this in my Riding Gear section, and other brands named were Maxon and Motocomm. Sorry I couldn't nail this one down for you exactly, but hopefully this might help you check out more stuff! – Mama Friday, April 18 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear John, Note from John:
I think after much web surfing and many phone calls that I have
hopefully found a solution for the half helmet speaker problem. I located
a store called Super Seer at www.superseer.com
. (Note from Mama: type in "ears" in the search box to see all
the possibilities from this company). They manufacture police helmets and
some specialty items for the half helmet for communications. The item that
we are going to use is the Super Seer helmet ears item # S-9099 -- $12.00
a pair. Thursday, May 15 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Laurie, Roger noted that he's working on putting together something for older bikes that don't have comm systems available which would include some sort of ear piece, but couldn't give me a definite date when it would be ready for market. Monitor the J&M site or call 1-800-358-0881 for the latest. By the by, since we've been getting more questions about bikes and comm systems, I created a new page specifically for this subject! – Mama Share Your ThoughtsTop Tuesday, June 24 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Linda, Top Friday,
July 4 Dear
VTwin Mama, It
helps to have a good helmet, no good for open face. The sensitivity level
is adjustable so you can set it not to transmit at the slightest noise.
The CB's are only 5 watt so you don't need a CB license, good for a
distance of up to 5km/3 miles (I have to keep stopping to translate to
Imperial measures!). Takes AA batteries. Makes a good bike to bike system,
and if you sit on a truckies channel you can hear what's going on around
you on the road as well. Can be a bit hard to hear on the highway but
still works well for "I need gas" or "all clear, overtake
that truck." Good system for a limited budget. –
Marion aka Shadowpuss Dear
Marion, Friday, July 25 Dear
VTwin Mama, Here is the Autocom web site which you say they don't have one: http://www.autocomamerica.com/index.asp Does the Baehr product have a web site? I've only been able to find http://www.challengermotors.co.nz/ and this doesn't do me a lot of good about seeing the product here in US. Thank you for your time. – Ronnie Sellers Dear
Ronnie, The only Baehr site I could find is written in German (which I happen to understand) and the only US/Canadian dealer they show is National Cycle in Maywood, IL.. Challenger Motors, the site you found, is Baehr's dealer for Australia and New Zealand. This is the most information I could find for you. – Mama Sunday, May 2 Dear
VTwin Mama, Dear
Laurie, Sunday, September 5 Dear
VTwin Mama, Dear
tdean, I'm now sending you to a specific Concours Internet site, the Concours Owners Group, and it notes on one page: Got a technical question about the Concours? Ask The Concourier Technical Editor, Guy B. Young II. I think you'll find a quicker answer here! – Mama Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Tim, According to an online page, the 2004 FLHT Ultra Classic Electra Glide had three CB systems available, part # 12000040002, part # [62000040020, or part # 62000040002. I'm sure a quick call to the local dealer will the right part # for the overall system will quickly reveal the replacement cost of the antenna, which can be avoided if you want to first try out the used part and see what happens. So, it's a matter of how much time you want to dink around with the whole thing. – Mama Thursday, May 4 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Karen, I'm sorry I can't more succinctly point out the perfect
system . . . I simply can't find a comparison article on the subject that
would boil everything down in chart form. –
Mama Tuesday, June 6 For Tim who was trying to repair the comm system on his HD Ultra: I too have an 2004 Ultra. I have had four antennas break off. The dealer thinks I am riding too fast. I think it is a design problem. Watch how the antenna shakes violently at idle. All mine have broken approximately one inch above the bottom spring. Replacement cost is $40. I'll sell the bike next. – Anonymous (note from Mama: thanks for sharing your take on the situation . . . I think we would all agree that exterior systems should be able to handle typical road conditions and speeds. Given the dealer's viewpoint on this, you may wish to contact HD yourself. At the bottom of this linked page is the customer service number to Milwaukee headquarters.) Monday, June 26 More for Tim who was trying to repair the comm system on his HD Ultra: I had a long 5 foot CB antenna on my car. It's pretty much a piece of wire that's about 5 feet long, with a base. It can handle speeds of over 80 mph on the car, and I've driven into parking garages with it banging into the ceiling. Its really rugged. I have a Cobra CB, and truckers all commented on the quality of sound my rig gives off. Plus, it was cheap. However, that might be a bit large for a motorcycle, so you might look at this Radioshack link. Its a very rugged antenna, but its much lower, and I'm not hugely happy with it in terms of range. I think that if Tim can or others are looking for advice, I'd try it out. A lot of stores will let you return it, I doubt you'll hurt your radio much, and you might find something better than OEM. Of course, truck stops are good places to look for this sort of stuff, though I'd check with the return policy. I've had other antennas, but I like the steel whip the best, as its the tallest, yet flexible so if you do run into situations where you have to go under "low bridges," you won't snap off your antenna. – Ben (note from Mama: thanks for sharing your take on all of this!) Monday, June 4 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear
Jack, |
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