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Wanted: Bluetooth-Equipped Helmet

Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
750
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Location
Rural Denton County
First Name
Steve
An internet search reveals a handful of helmets with built-in wireless communication. Actually getting a pair is proving to be remarkably difficult. The local Yamaha dealer will order the Nolan on demand, but won't stock them. No test rides possible. Shades of the FJR-1300. BMW makes one, but the local dealer won't even sell it due to liability concerns. "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers". - (Act IV, Scene II, King Henry VI-Shakespeare). Has anyone had any luck aquiring any of these. I've got a Starcom hard-wired intercom, but the wires are a hassle and the audio quality is not very good. I'd have thought that Bluetooth-equipped helmets would sell like crazy.
 
Help me understand...
This is helmet-to-helmet intercomm using bluetooth technology?
or are you trying to use your mobile phone while riding?

if it's the former, I don't see why the liability concern would be any different than current intercomms like J&M or Chatterbox.

btw, J&M makes connections for their stuff to CBs, mobile phones, FRS, GMRS, iPod, you name it. And I'd bet most dealers would be happy to sell you that stuff.
 
My Chatterbox XRS is attached to my helmet, but must be connected to the bike by wires for things like PTT and audio unput from GPS/MP3. I would love to not worry about being attached to my bike in the event of a get-off, but I can't afford the fancy stuff just yet...

Aerostitch carries this bluetooth wireless communicator ($497) if you're looking at bike-to-bike communications:

3871_1sa.jpg


Or this in-helmet bluetooth headset if you're just looking to use it with your phone ($147):

3905_1sa.jpg


While I understand some of you may think of having your phone answerable inside your helmet is a safety concern, please keep in mind that just because the technology is there we cannot assume that the rider will be moving while using it.

I can't count how many times I've had to pull over and use my phone on speaker, holding it up to my helmet and hoping I can get the right directions or find out where the riders behind me went. Sometimes I have to do the full gloves off/helmet off thing just to find out I'm a mile away from a meet-up point. Having a headset would mean being able to pull over, hitting a button on my phone in my top map sleeve on my tank bag, then hanging up and getting right back on the road when I'm done.

Ok, so that was a winded way of saying "don't judge someone who wants a gadget, you don't know how they plan on using it." ;-)
 
For the people worried about people using these while riding, I don't think it's possible. BT headsets aren't load enough to be heard in my Jeep while driving, let alone a helmet. Think about it, the entire headset inclusing battery in that deal that fits in your ear and the battery last for a couple of hours.
 
To address a couple of questions, I just want a wireless intercom so I can talke to my wife while we ride without dealing with a tangle of wires each time we get on or off the bike. I don't even use a cell phone while driving a car, but it would be nice for my passenger to be able to use one. That's one of the features on the Nolan helmet. (Isolated passenger conversation). My current hard-wired intercom is fully capable of integrating a music source and cell phone. I had to install it in the helmet myself, and that's what eases the BMW dealer's fears. Selling a helmet with the intercom already installed, even if it's a BMW product, is just too frightening for them. Ah, what rugged individualists we bikers are.
 
ok.
have you looked at J&M Audio?
I think I've seen their products at Pasadena Honda and maybe a couple of other places. They make a direct interface to Goldwing audio systems so they're kinda popular at Honda shops.
They may also have a BT wireless interface now.
 
aggie81 said:
An internet search reveals a handful of helmets with built-in wireless communication. Actually getting a pair is proving to be remarkably difficult. The local Yamaha dealer will order the Nolan on demand, but won't stock them. No test rides possible. Shades of the FJR-1300. BMW makes one, but the local dealer won't even sell it due to liability concerns. "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers". - (Act IV, Scene II, King Henry VI-Shakespeare). Has anyone had any luck aquiring any of these. I've got a Starcom hard-wired intercom, but the wires are a hassle and the audio quality is not very good. I'd have thought that Bluetooth-equipped helmets would sell like crazy.

I imagine the technology just hasn't advanced enough for BT. First off, a lot of folks want music piped into their comm systems and BT would suck for sound quality from what I understand. Second is battery life and recharging issues, and of course the fact that systems integrated into a particular brand/model of helmet is a big limitation.
 
I would Love to see some quality bluetooth helmets hit the market.
No it is not for every one, but then not every one should be on a motorcycle either.

Right now I use a IMC-MIT-100H this allows me and passenger to listen to audio (XM or MP3) and talk with my passenger, my ham radio or other two way com at the same time, it also allows connection to my cell phone. Setting the cell up for auto answer when it rings I have to do nothing but start talking. I have tested it for usability up to 85mph and it was still usable with the other party only then telling me that they were beginning to hear wind noise.
I guess I am just a geek on a GS but I like my toys, and make no excuses for them. I find them very handy and fun. But I sure would like to get away from the wires.
 
Cardo Scala Rider

I am one of those who uses a Cardo Scala Rider with my cell phone. I do not have to touch the phone or the headset to talk, and there have been many times that I have had the ability to ride the bike (I travel quite a bit for business) on trips where I would have otherwise been forced to take the car because I can use the phone. I practice the same rules that I do with my cell phone in the car. Always hands-free. Always slow down. Do not use in congested areas (The CSR allows one to simply say "no" to send the call to voicemail.) Non-"active" conversations only. To each their own, but it works for me...

BTW, the CSR works well with both my open face (3/4) and Symax helmets. I do, of course have a fair amount of wind protection behind the LT's windscreen. Most folks don't know I'm on the bike unless I mention it.

My issue is that the CSR's mic boom is not super strong and I'm thinking that it will be an issue one day. BT built into the helmet would be great, though a few more $ than I'd like to spend at the moment. The CSR is about $100 if you search.
 
I know this is kinda OT, but it's kinda related too. I assume that with bluetooth technology, the RF communication between the BT device and the source is acomplished via a constant two way RF signal (ie transmitter and receiver at both ends). If indeed that is the case, it seems to me (an admitted non-expert in rf) that it would be undesirable to have a rf transmitter mounted to the side of your head.
As a medical radiation worker, I know that certain frequencies of radiation can be very harmful to living tissue, but I have no idea what bluetooth, at 2.45GHz might do. I get the same creepy feeling when I hold a cordless or cell phone to my head. I'm consoled only by the fact that I rarely make calls longer that 1 or 2 minutes. But BT is continuous rf for HOURS at a time, day in and day out, potentially for YEARS. Perhaps since it's only a 50-200 milliwatts we're dealing with, it's not a concern, but it still makes me think.
 
pacman1 said:
I know this is kinda OT, but it's kinda related too. I assume that with bluetooth technology, the RF communication between the BT device and the source is acomplished via a constant two way RF signal (ie transmitter and receiver at both ends). If indeed that is the case, it seems to me (an admitted non-expert in rf) that it would be undesirable to have a rf transmitter mounted to the side of your head.
As a medical radiation worker, I know that certain frequencies of radiation can be very harmful to living tissue, but I have no idea what bluetooth, at 2.45GHz might do. I get the same creepy feeling when I hold a cordless or cell phone to my head. I'm consoled only by the fact that I rarely make calls longer that 1 or 2 minutes. But BT is continuous rf for HOURS at a time, day in and day out, potentially for YEARS. Perhaps since it's only a 50-200 milliwatts we're dealing with, it's not a concern, but it still makes me think.

You are right RF radiation is extremely dangerous. Especially at microwave frequencies. At the low levels of bluetooth lessens the dangers dramatically but the radiation is still there. More research needs to be done.
 
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