Helmet Intercoms; Advice And Any Recommendations Please?

I(we) use a Cardo Freecom2 on our helmets and it works perfectly. The battery lasts ages and the unit clips off for charging leaving the base set in place. It’s an easy fit once you remove the foam sections to hide the wires and speakers. My current helmet is an HJC RPHA11 which has cut outs for the speakers.

 

All of my motorcycling friends and I have Sena S50 systems.

The headsets have fantastic audio quality, and whilst I know you won’t listen to music you would be v impressed - maybe just sit in your arm chair with your lid on? That audio clarity works equally well for voice comms.

I have experimented with cheap and nasty Chinese headsets and assumed the crap quality was all I could possibly expect from anything else.

I was sooo wrong, there is a stunning difference.

It’s worth considering a twin pack as it will save you money vs buying two separate modules.

I bought mine from Moto Legends as they have a match and beat offer and smashed any other price (including from popular online stores).

The headsets are easy to swap between helmets and the battery lasts for hours but can be recharged if needed very quickly whilst you have breakfast or lunch.

CB

 

Cardo packtalk bold, one of the best I have tried.

 

I have a cheap chinese set, for talking to my rider friend works well
Battery lasts all day
it works up to 500m away, regardless of the speed of travel
You can get a dual set for $100 dollars
Music sounds awful, and I can't enjoy it with all the noise when riding
It also works well for getting phone calls
It has survived for 2 years, with a few good rainstorms.
Connection to my android phone is good, to the tiger is crap.
But when possible I'll get a set of cardo or sena

 

Moto Legends also do mail order so if having seen the set you like, given them a go for a better price. Their service is great. To get the pricing deal you need to send a link to where you found the product cheaper (UK websites only) and they will honour their promise to beat and improve on the price. I saved a fortune on my lid(s) and Sena.

I have no affiliation with the store whatsoever but have used them for years for helmets (properly fitted), armour and the like. Some of the prices for their clothing lines makes me wince and my wallet needs counselling - thankfully they do a range of kit but not quite as cheap as J&S.

They also do useful vlogs on products.

 

I have CARDO and am very pleased with it. It affixes to the bottom/rim of the helmet. Beware that some helmets (such as the flip top Viper) slightly flare out at the bottom edge which makes attaching them, and sliding off the receiver very difficult.

 

Good point @Roger Hinkins Mine is fitted to a Shark Evo flip. It does work but positioning is precise to avoid the chin guard catching the radio as it flips up and over.

It does work well though (and seems stable and secure). Other helmets will no doubt be different.

 

We use Cardo FREECOM2+ and they work great. Ours are fitted using double sided tape. Sound quality is good, and we have been able to speak to each other whilst separated about half a mile on the motorway.

 

I'm considering a Sena but I've got bluetooth earplugs as well. Does anyone know if you can connect them to the intercom?

 

From Sena:

"Sena headsets support the HFP (handsfree profile) and HSP (headset profile) profile.
Unfortunate to say most likely your bluetooth skull candy earbuds will not pair to any bluetooth headset such as the Sena brand due to a lack of the HSP profile. The only work around would be to use the wired 3.5mm adapter, if it has that into the 20s clamp unit to be able to use it."

This might be outdated though.

 

You can connect multiple input devices to the headset system. It’s important to set up a phone and GPS differently as the headset presents the input behaviour differently. It’s a tricky job as you have to use the buttons and not the app to set up GPS (phone one is easy via the app).

It is possible to connect wired devices to the system using a separate Sena box - that will support two way radios (e.g amateur VHF/UHF) or connect to a Harley-Davidson GPS and audio system. Personally I’d just use my phone.

I am not aware of being able to connect BT earbuds to the main device. I always struggled with ear buds as the damn things always got knocked out of place when fitting the lid.

The speakers on the S50’are great (even when wearing ear defenders) although I do adjust the equaliser to boost treble as that gets attenuated through the earplugs.

 

I had a look on the manufacturer's website but there's precious little in terms of technical specifications for bluetooth. The ones I have aren't buds, they're mounded in to the custom-fit ear plugs, as the F1 chaps have, so they keep the noise out and the intercom/music in. If I absolutely have to I could order another set with a 3.5mm jack plug if that's the only way around it.

 

Myself and SWMBO have had Cardo Q3's for 8-9 years now and batteries are still charging ok. We have them clamped to our helmets but there is a sticky pad option too. Range is good if you have clear line of sight but less so if buildings etc block the signal, we also have the phones paired so that if we get separated out of range we can still get in touch (not really a concern if you just need pillion coms), also have mine paired to the satnav so I don't need to look down for directions. I wanted a fit and forget system without the need to plug wires in to bike as was common back in the day. Speakers in helmet and we both wear ear plugs so they need to be on maximum volume to hear past the plugs, start to struggle at speeds above 70-80ish. Toured for many years (pre-Covid ) and never had a problem with battery running out, just remember to top up each night at hotel.

 

Very interesting but immediately highlights my complete ignorance in the subject.
Has anyone fitted any system to an open face helmet?
I would like to have the means to talk to the wife whilst a pillion passenger instead of nudges and pointing.
Music, phones etc are not relevant as far as we would be concerned.
We both wear Bell classic open face helmets.

 

We moved from Sena to Cardo which seems to be better with less background noise IMO. If you are wanting to move between helmets I believe you can buy spares without the clip in unit> Would save the hassle of removing helmet speakers etc. If you have helmets that can now have an integrated system (newer helmets), then it can take some working to get the aftermarket ones to fit in some cases. Not impossible though.