Bike to bike intercom

[JonT]

Hey Guys,

I know there are a bunch of threads on this but none of the suggestions really meet my (our) needs.

We don't really have £300 to spend on bike to bike intercom and I don't see why they have to be so expensive.

So I was wondering if anyone had tried a cheaper solution that has worked well or perhaps a bodged solution out of other parts that works.

I was thinking something along the lines of a normal cheap walkie talkie. One that has 3.5mm sockets for microphone and a headphones. A throat mic could be used for the microphone (so should work at speed) and any old ear phones to listen.

[ajb]

I got the Lidl ones, they were OK walkie-talkies, but sat on the bike at traffic lights neither of us could understand what we were saying, but we could hear the confirmation beep, at 50+mph, couldn't even here the beep. All in all, they were next to useless.
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CBR125R '05 > CB500 '00 > CBR600F '99

[Phoenix]

Heard the same about the Aldi ones. Possibility I will be using a set later this year, if I do I will probably get a half decent set of walkie talkies with remote push button activation (or build it in myself) and then a decent motorcycle headset to go with it. VOX never seems to work right especially with wind noise, but the delay is the usual problem when it cuts off the first few seconds of everything you say.

[njd27]

[Rob]

Two cups and a long piece of string??!!

Seriously though, the problem with the cheaper ones is that at anything above a crawling speed the sound quality just isn't good enough so you don't end up using them so you waste the money you did spend on them.

There is no doubt that if you want to go down the radio route then an Autocom is the best quality you can get, the problem (beside the cost) is that you still have a wire going to your helmet, you need to wire it all in to the electrics and it's generally a bit of a pain in the arse. If you are willing to spend the time (and have the space for it all) then there is no doubt it's the best option.

I now use a Scala Rider Q2 which is a fantastic option. It's easy to install. Works over an OK distance, lasts all day (but will need recharging after a day out) and works with phone/music/bike to bike. It's not cheap, but not as much as you would spend on an Autocom, but REALLY worth the money
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Love is 1050cc

[Wozza]

I'll tell you what didn't work for me:
Midland GTX450 (which are actually good radios for general out and about) + £16 motorcycle headset on ebay.
From what I've read it does seem to be a case of spending lots of money or not bothering at all. I think I'll do the latter.

[ajb]

I've been looking around too, and the Cardo Scala Q2 does look like *the* best option, even better for £119.99 a pop (or twin-pack for £217.99).

My only thoughts on it are, how good is the attachment? seems like the entire gizmo is connected to the helmet, liable to blow away?
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CBR125R '05 > CB500 '00 > CBR600F '99

[h00dwink]

In short- there's no point getting them

Long-
Honestly I would say for the cost they're not worth it. Last year me and my friend Martyn (also on here) bought a relatively decent set for £100. Got in to France, set them up, joined some A road. After about 5-10 minutes we pulled over and decided to take them off as you couldn't hear a thing apart from wind blast above 30.
They had a push to talk button you could put somewhere, we put ours on the left grip as it was the easiest place. Awful though, got in the way of your hand and totally ruined your sense of control.

We're going away to the Nurburgring next month and aren't going to bother. There's nothing to talk about when riding really that can't be expressed just as well with hand signals.

point at tank= need petrol
point at a service station sign= pull in there when we come to turn off
point at something you've seen= hey look at that, it's interesting

really these are all you need, depending on what bike you're riding you can do roughly 100 miles to a tank abroad before filling up becomes a necessity as they're relatively few and far between.
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[Itchy]

Meh things specifically designed for bikes are particularly expensive on purpose.

Take for example the Hein Gericke water proof bags , HG sells them for £40 for the 34 litre version , however a local camping store sells Gelert kayaking bags for £9 42 litres.

Either buy CB radios (which are shoe box sized but can be gotten off ebay for £30 and require a large aeriel attached to the back of the bike like cop bikes) and run them off 12volts, or don't bother.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Dagon]

[truslack]

[ajb]

I'm pretty sure the radio function of most of the bike2bike comms are good, the lidl ones are good as walkie-talkies, it's just the headsets which are shite.
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CBR125R '05 > CB500 '00 > CBR600F '99

[Rob]

[Pernig]

[Rob]

[c-m]

Are there any intercoms rider to pillion that are:

a) Bluetooth

b) use fontopia type ear phones? I find that regular earpieces are awful in terms of music quality and some prevent you from wearing ear plugs so you'll eventually go deaf. The type of ear phone below kind of act like ear plugs in blocking outside sound and offer much better bass replication.

https://www.urban75.org/tech/images/sony-fontopia-mdr-ex71SLlg.jpg

[ajb]

I am sold on the Cardo Scala headsets.

https://www.motorcyclingmag.com/cardo_scala_rider_q2_motorcycle_headset_system_review

Above is a link to a review, which has an mp3 of a radio interview done with a dude whilst he was riding his ducati and using the cardo headset, sounds great.
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CBR125R '05 > CB500 '00 > CBR600F '99

[c-m]

[Rob]

[Skudd]

Autocom works crystal clear upto 124mph.
With a lot of things that few extra pounds makes all the difference. My autocom is about 4 years old now and just had a few leads changed under general wear and tear but is still working as well as when it was first bought. The hours I've used it and the ease of use more than makes up for the price.
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[Pernig]

[Phoenix]

I think both of those ideas are unrealistic, bluetooth is extremly short range, maybe 15metres if you're lucky and i'm not aware of any phones that can provide a bluetooth-bluetooth call facility as due to the range you would be standing next to eachother anyway...

Skype and an internet connection would require a good signal which you will not have in many areas, and even if you do it will fluctuate and constantly disconnect.

A good bike comms unit is all there is if you want it to work properly, or walkie talkies for for something that'll work every now and then.

[c-m]

[njd27]

[Pernig]