Best Intercom System

I would go with a Sena. Sometime last year/early this year they made firmware available to make them compatible with other headsets. That is a step in the right direction for headsets IMO.

To a point I do agree with Yamamama. I myself like being focused on the bike. I have my phone in pocket, headphones in my ears, but I dont play music. I do it (mostly on previous bike that had a much louder exhaust) to use my ear buds as an ear plug, and in case I have to GPS a location, I can just pull over real quick and plug the headphones into the jack without taking my helmet off and unzipping my jacket. Now that I think about it, a bluetooth headset would be annoying for those who get alot of calls or texts.

When you start getting used to riding and have more experience, a headset could actually help you ride better, assuming you start doing rides with more experienced people. One of my friends Jeff who used to race would bring 2 headsets and coach people while we rode the canyons. Provided you arent blabbing on the intercom for the entire ride, this method could work for some people.

Unfortunately I only have used the SMH10R so I have absolutely nothing to compare it to.

I don't know what you guys think we do on our intercoms when 2 people ride, but believe me, there is very little chatting going on.

My wife was (or is still) a newbie rider, she has been on comms since day one, and she rides lead (because that is what you are supposed to do- slow rider up front, experienced rider watching over them). I tell her where we are riding to, and coach her on her mistakes LIVE. Like when I see her braking on a curve I tell her to stop doing that. I've also stopped her from riding into people who were u-turning (when you are taking a right at an intersection, you have to yield to U-turners, she was about to go right into them but thanks to having comms I told her to stop which she promptly did.

Outside of me giving her directions, telling her to stop bad habits and saving her life we don't chat at all. In fact I told her to pay attention to what she is doing and only talk when needed. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together or at least an experienced rider to go along with them should know this.

I'm guessing that is the whole point of what TC is about as far as comms go.

I have the Cardo scala rider G9X. I like it, I can't compare it to anything else though. Fairly simple to use, has voice control so you don't even have to take your hands off the bars to perform a function.

Yamamama said:

At the risk of being one of those "negative Nellys" who would really prefer that people take their riding seriously, pay attention to their surroundings, and reduce their risk of crashing - may I suggest that, as a new rider, you don't add distractions to your ride?

Click to expand...

I've actually found the headset helpful from a safety stand point. Its only used when needed and not kept on for having a conversation. If you're not feeling well, have a mechanical issue, want to stop for gas or lunch it's easier than having the person in front of you watching you in their mirror as you try to do some terrible sign language.

My old bike died on the highway and I got separated from the group, my friend called me via the headset and I could let him know I was ok, and we figured out a meeting spot when I luckily got the bike running again. Also one time because of an inconsiderate driver who split our group up by not looking while lane changing, I missed an exit off the highway. Again my friend called me and gave me quick directions because I wasn't familiar with the area.

I have a Sena 20S, and I must say it is an impressive piece of tech. You can using voice commands only and without even pressing a button, you can seamless switch between bluetooth music, fm radio, and even connect to saved intercom pairings. Sena also can 'overlay' GPS turn-by-turn voice prompts over your music or FM radio if you have one going. Phone calls and intercom quality is amazing, although youll sometimes find that intercom range gets hindered by Line of Sight, but thats for all intercom systems. The biggest selling point in the Sena is the 'universal' clamp it comes with that will let you attach it to pretty much any helmet. Other useful features are wind-noise cancellation on voice input as well as an 'ambient' feature where you can switch the sena into a mode where outside noise picked up by the microphone on the main unit projects into your helmet is useful when communicating without an intercom.

If youre going for purely intercom function in larger groups (10+) then the Scala Packtalk is what I would recommend, as a recent firmware update now lets it support something like a 30 size intercom group.