best motorcycle intercoms

[f1wade]

Hi im after 2 motorcycle intercoms, 1 for me and the wife.
I'd like seperate units so they will work when we are on seperate bikes and when she is on the back.

can anyone suggest any and say the pros and cons of them please?

[dibbs]

Me and my mate have sena 5 they are brilliant and have a realistic range of about 200yds straight line of site range. If you can afford the extra i would get the sena 10 as have a greater range

[Kirky1298]

I've been using Autocom systems for years and have stuck with them despite their niggles, however , only 2 days ago I took delivery of these Bluetooth units.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-800m-BT-I ... 5afc7255a6

I fitted it yesterday and went for a 5 hour ride out on my Dommie listening to music, making and taking phone calls and my mate fitted the second one to his helmet and the comms were surprisingly good ( we tested them up to around 500m )
Many reviews say that the system is too quiet but I ride with earplugs and the music was audible to 70mph and beyond with my visor open .
The secret is to spend time and ensure the speakers sit directly over your lug hole . They won't obviously be Sena quality but for a fraction of the cost I can highly recommend them .

Here's a link to customer reviews on Amazon .



HTH. Jok.

[dibbs]

They seem good and a fraction of the price of the sena's and do exactly the same thing! we got ours from USA so was a bit cheaper, worth a try and good review from Kirky

[coyotedave]

Scala riders G range are good. Upto half a mile range. Battery life is good for all day riding only requiring 2/3 hours charge time.

For better hearing ultimate ear can fit you up with in ear monitor. A moulded ear plug with a Plug in connection to the intercom. It is a added cost on top of the intercom but if you can afford it it may be better than the mic's.

It is hard sometimes trying to get the mic's in the right place in you helmet.


Cheers Dave.

[SSchultz]

[Ali in Austria]

I'm a Sena fan.

I've been down the route of cheaper intercoms and then for many years used Starcom wired units. Very good quality but wired units do have their drawbacks. Laterly we were using the Schuberth System (Cardo) but range was very limited and it is limited to use with the Schuberth Helmet.

Having many Bikers pass through our place I was able to ask the pros and cons of the gear they were using and Sena seemed to come out head and shoulders above the rest so I took the plunge.

Bluetooth units of different makes are not usually compatible with each other but Sena were talking about a Universal Function to enable you to connect to a non Sena unit.

The SMH5 has quite a short range and is more suited to Rider to pillion but the SMH10 was getting good feedback so I bought one.

Straight out of the box it was excellent and connected easily with other sena units. The range was as good as claimed line of sight and when you did lose connection it reconnected easily when back in range. I love my music on the go and the quality is very good. The helmet speakers are very good quality. I was also able to connect it to a Schuberth System.

Needing a second unit I ordered the 20S pre release and received it a few days before they were generally released. A pile of rubbish initially but following a few Firmware Upgrades it delivers what it promised. Excellent range and features with high class audio. The Voice Commands are so easy to use. Combined with a simple App for Smart phones and up to 8 connections it is ideal for Guided Tours. Be aware that Universal Pairing is confined to one connection and the very handy Group Function only applies to 20S models. Due to a few complaints about the initial unit I have somehow ended up with a second one gratis.

I note that there are a few new models to their range including a new entry level and the 10U which is designed for certain helmets and completely hidden when fitted.

Most of the Sena Range benefit from Universal Pairing and in the right combination you can add one non Sena per Sena unit in a group.

If money is not an issue and you want bells and whistles that work then I highly recommend the 20S. If you want a good, competent unit with great Audio then you won't go wrong with one of the 10 range

Sena also do some good accessories such as the module for a radio and the Audio Pack for Gopro. The latter I have and very good it is too, the former is on my list.

[artic fox]

I've always used the cheap BTInterphone and never had an issue, they matched up to my phone and sat nav but on our last trip my unit stopped working after using it for about 2 years so my mate convinced me to buy the Senna 10 which is what he uses and my BT set matched to, so I bought the Senna and first of, if I want to hear the sat nav I have to switch it over and then can't talk to my mate, the BT set had auto interrupt for the sat nav and secondly if we got a car in between us the Senna would become unclear but the BT that I had never suffered from that and I found the BT set had better range, so my Senna has become my backup and I bought a new BT set which can connect to several riders which is handy if you ride in a group

[Ali in Austria]

I've always used the cheap BTInterphone and never had an issue, they matched up to my phone and sat nav but on our last trip my unit stopped working after using it for about 2 years so my mate convinced me to buy the Senna 10 which is what he uses and my BT set matched to, so I bought the Senna and first of, if I want to hear the sat nav I have to switch it over and then can't talk to my mate, the BT set had auto interrupt for the sat nav and secondly if we got a car in between us the Senna would become unclear but the BT that I had never suffered from that and I found the BT set had better range, so my Senna has become my backup and I bought a new BT set which can connect to several riders which is handy if you ride in a group

The SMH10 shouldn't do that. Mine and the guys passing through with them have no such issues that I am aware of. Have you upgraded the Firmware to the latest version? Failing that get back on to Sena. It can also connect to 4 other headsets for a group connection and has a Universal Pairing Option on one connection. In reality you can have more connections because if one of the headsets you are paired to is paired to someone else that you are not, you can still speak to them if the connection is active. If the device you are paired to doesn't support more than one connection at a time (such as the SMH5) then the limitation lies with the other device.

Also the GPS instructions should only interrupt an Intercom Connection for the duration of the instructions and then automatically reconnect the intercom connection (makes sense). If yours doesn't, something is wrong.

One thing I did discover after the initial problems with the 20S was that their Tech Support was very, very good and they seem to honour their warranty claim. The Tech Support guy I communicated with remained in contact until the problems were resolved so I wasn't getting pushed from one person to another. I ended up with a second 20S because having sorted out the software and firmware on my unit, I still had a problem with the USB Bung not staying in place. This was an issue on the first batch apparently. They sent me a replacement 20S and never bothered to have the original collected. I have since found a simple fix for it

[DB1965]

Me an my bro both brought the Nolan N-COMM B4s integrate into the helmet Nolan that is great tidiest of them all great speakers ect radio bike to bike intercom sat nav via phone we use tom tom sand you have to download alternate firm ware for this worked great for around 5-6 hundred yards good functionality however their was a build quality issue with the charger after 7 months the micro USB unit became loose, both of us have had them replaced under warranty and they upgraded free of charge to the New Launched B5 Units which has the mini USB charger fitted,the range in the instructions say they max out at 500 but we are getting around 600 yards max before they start breaking up in line of site, around town that reduces significantly as they all do anyway works for us and is compatible to pair up with all the leading brands up to 6 riders (thumbs)

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