Do any motorcycle riders here have experience with and recommendations for a good rider-to-passenger communication system? I’m looking for something either voice-activated or always on that doesn’t pick up a lot of road noise and would preferably have a stereo headphone system. As said system would be solely for two people on the same bike, it need not be wireless. A look around the web reveals curiously few options!
Also, what are your experiences with such systems using full-face versus open-face helmets?
I am not a motorcycle rider, so I can’t offer you anything by way of personal experience. However, I’ve been doing some research for someone who has no Internet access, and who doesn’t speak very much English. As you mentioned, looking around the web does not provide very many options, but I did find this site:
I have never done business with them, so I can’t vouch for anything. I do plan on calling them with what I’m looking for, what model bike, radio, etc., and hopefully they can suggest something to me. Maybe they can do the same for you.
Hi STARK. My husband and I use the Chatterbox HJC 50 with Full Face helmets. I would direct you to their homepage, but it is an abomination that should never be accessed (full flash site with obnoxious background music you can’t stop – UGH!), but the price shown at the linked site is right in line with what we paid for ours last Summer. I just can’t vouch for whether they’re a reputable dealer or not. We actually didn’t order ours online, but found a local vendor who carried it – however, any communications device for motorcyclists are hard to find in stock anywhere, so call around before you go out schlepping.
I have to say, it was a godsend for us, particularly on a long roadtrip we took up the California coast (L.A. to San Francisco on highway 1). In fact, I insisted that we get one specifically for that trip, because it is extremely annoying as the passenger, who has no control, not to be able to effectively communicate with the driver, especially if I needed to get off to use the bathroom or stretch my legs, etc.
You’ll have to find just the right place to put the microphones to reduce wind noise, and if your helmet is tight, getting your ears not to bend in half on the speakers when you put it on is lots of fun. Overall, though, it is so worth the little bit of extra effort. We didn’t mount it on either of the helmets, though – we bought an extra extension chord and I kept it in my jacket pocket, so I had better control of reaching the volume, etc. Thomas (Spiny Norman) could probably be better help in describing more of the technical aspects of it, so I’ll ask him to check this thread later.
HJC sells a nifty little unit called a “Chatterbox”. As I recall, it operates on FM frequency and I hear they work like a charm. I sold hundreds of em, but never actually used one myself, being a single, loner-type at the time.
They come in full and open face versions (the differance in the mic setup), clamp to the side of the helmet at the edge, are fairly light and battery operated. Lots of groovy accessorys are availabe, such as a special unit (connected by cord) for passenger. This is handy, because you only need to buy one transmitting unit (they ain’t cheap, even used! Very popular item on ebay and sell well). You can also hook up a portable CD or other music device and have tunes. The mic is voice activated and over-rides the music when someone opens their yap.
Most motorcycle/ATV dealers worth a shit (in other words, very few ) should stock them and you can check them out there or on the web. Seach for “Chatterbox HJC” and I’m guessing you will find plenty.
Enjoy and ride safe.
“But I’ll always regret that Rwandan thing.” --Bill Clinton
Hey, gato, don’t despair - we’re happy to have a pro’s recommandation of the hardware. It seems most CA motorcycle stores would rather sell t-shirts than motorcycling equipment.
We’ve been very happy with the Chatterbox so far. With a little experimentation as regards microphone and speaker placement, we can converse comfortably at 60 MPH and communicate OK at 80 MPH (with closed face shields). One just has to remember to disconnect before dismounting.
I’d come across the Chatterbox HJ-50 before but was kind of scared by the generally poor reviews it got both at ridegear.com and epionions.com. Thanks for the telling me your experiences with it, Shayna & Spiny Norma!
A couple questions about it: As I understand its operation, both rider and passenger plug their headphone jacks into the Chatterbox, necessitating unplugging before dismounting as SN advises. But gatopescado, you mention it runs off an FM transceiver, so I’m a little confused…
Also, are the headphone jacks on the HJ-50 standard single-pin jacks (walkman-style), or are they some proprietary design? I ask because I’m wondering if non-Chatterbox equipment can be used.
Is the battery a standard size or proprietary design? How long does the charge last?
Is the Chatterbox push-to-talk, always on, or voice activated? (I know gatopescado said voice activated, but with the discrepancy over wired or wireless, I just want to be sure!)
SN, you mention it works well at reasonable highway speeds with a full-face helmet with closed face shields; I know it calls for speculation and all, but how well do you expect the device would work with a 3/4 helmet design? (It seems there are different mic designs for open or full-face helmets, so this may make a difference).
(Oh and Shayna, you are so very right about Chatterbox’s website. Evil. Pure unadulterated evil. And not even very useful, either. I’m just thankful for the mute button on my keyboard!)
And MacTech, if all I wanted were cheap and workable, I’d walk!
I’ve used a few different types of comm boxes on my trips. It has been a few years though as I haven’t had a woman on the back of my bike in two years and no need to talk to one in three.
I have used the HJC stuff, and it works ok, much better if you are behind a windscreen. The only real problem is that they eat batteries so you’ll have to connect them to the bike, which makes for more wires.
There is also a compnay called AutoComm, I’ve heard both good and bad things about them. They are a bit pricey though, much more then the Catterbox.
The other option is a CB, I have one on my bike, except for your talks will go public, if that’s much of a problem. My CB also has a comm installed, but I’ve never really used it, I do remember it not being very loud though.
Those are really the only three options that I know of for bikes to talk. The Catterbox is the cheapest, but I have had some problems, I had two of the Tandom units melt on me when connected to the bike. I have seen something that’s basically tubes the you put in your ears, but I’m not sure how well that would work. Hell it might have been a joke.
There are two different types of Chatterboxes, one is for the passenger and the other is for talking to another bike. The one for talking to another bike is more expensive and does work off the FM, unless you want a few hundred feet of wire between you and the other bikes.
They use the single-pin, but I’m not sure where you would get a headset with a mike. Unless they’ve changed in the last few years that is.
The one I had was always on, but that was for the passenger, I’m not sure about bike to bike, I think that’s voice activated.
No kidding. When people ask me about my bike experience, I sometimes tell them, “I was in the motorcycle business for 10 years, then I went to work for Harley-Davidson.” :rolleyes:
They’re just playing “Barbie” now.
Anyway, my product knowledge of the Chatterbox is now pushing a half-decade obsolete. As I recall, the FM units are for “Bike-to-bike” and when I sold them, you needed one of these transmitters and a wired accessory for the passenger. I guess now they have a “rider-to-passenger” stand-alone unit that is less complex and less expensive.
Goodness, Edward the Headward, you weren’t kidding about Autocom’s prices. After converting from British pounds, the a simple rider-to-passenger system would run $300! (I’d actually visited their website before but gave up because it was so awkward and clunky. I’m glad I went back, though, as they do seem to have a good product once you figure out how to use their site.)
You mention, E the H, that HJC stuff words adequately behind a windscreen – that’s exactly what I’m worried about. I’d be riding in the worst scenario: A cruiser sans windscreen with a 3/4 helmet. In other words, lots of wind, lots of noise… The only saving grace is that I’m not into loud pipes.
As far as a single-pin jack, there’s so many headsets on the market anymore (what with cell phones, two-way radios, and even gaming setups), that I want the option to use other brands. Obviously, though, a headset made for use whilst sitting in front of a computer is going to be of no use when confronted with the noise of motorcycle riding!
Yeah, I read those reviews, too. I spent a lot of time researching available communication devices, and even with the bad reviews that are out there, this one seemed to be the best (at least at a reasonable price). However, you’ll note that some of those bad reviews are predicated on people using them in a way that I wouldn’t recommend – for instance, attaching them to the exterior of the helmet, then riding around in the rain. For goodness sakes, what do they expect?
The headphone jacks are not single-pin. Go back to the link I provided above and click on the picture to enlarge it. You’ll see the big, round jacks for the earphones on the right side of the box. We didn’t try to hook up a walkman to it, but it appears the “audio” jack for that is single-pin (I’d have to look at our physical unit to be sure, that’s what that jack is for, though).
My recollection is that it uses standard AA batteries. We have rechargeable batteries, but I can’t recall whether we used them in the headset or the digital camera on that trip. I’ll have to check. But either way, we had no problems with dead batteries during a 9+ hour trip, possibly longer if we were using standard batteries on the way up, which we split into 2 days, so they would’ve lasted overnight + driving time. I’ll either look at our unit when I get home, or have Spiny check when he gets up (he’s working nights, so he’s home now, but sleeping).
Since we didn’t connect music to it, I can’t comment on whether the music cuts out when it picks up talking, but it’s my understanding that that’s exactly what happens. We just turned it on and left it on and talked at leisure, no problems.
I’ll let my husband address the mic issues – I’d be clueless about the differences between full-face helmets and 3/4 designs. There’s a better image of how they look on this link, so you can at least see the mic style and placement for the 3/4 design.
Again, I don’t recommend attaching the unit to the outside of the driver’s helmet. First of all, it will be subject to more wear and tear (weather exposure, bugs, etc.) and secondly, the driver doesn’t have any available hands to work the controls, like volume and such, anyway. As I said, we just got an extension chord and stuffed it in my jacket pocket so I could easily reach in and adjust it as necessary, depending on speed and wind, etc.
I triiiiiiiiiiiiiiiied to warn you. Next time you’ll listen to me, won’t you?
In the meantime, I have used simple hand signals, squeezes or taps on the leg.
Brakes are on the right side of the bike, so if you wanna stop, tap or squeeze my right leg. Intensity of desire to stop can be indicated by tap/squeeze frequency. Likewise, the rider tapping the passenger’s right leg indicates an upcoming stop. The policy of requesting a stop when wanted is critical, if you don’t ask, the tank lasts for a few hours.
The leg leg is for normal “conversation”. Three taps to the passenger means “I love you” or “How are you?”, (depending on who is back there). Or one tap to get their attention to point something out.
Hey, if it works for you. For me, particularly on a long road trip like the one up the coast, I would go absolutely stark-raving mad if I had to spend 9 hours riding in silence and not being able to have even simple, pass-the-time conversation. Not to mention how insanely frustrating it is to try to communicate anything other than “I need to stop,” “turn left/right here” and “I love you.” Attempting to say, “Wow, look at that cool bi-plane at 3:00,” “Hey, what’s that over there?,” “What time is it?,” “Wanna stop in Solvang for some frikadeller?” is utterly impossible. But like I said, to each their own. I simply cannot stand not being able to communicate with the person who is in absolute control of the vehicle I’m riding on and I cannot stand having to SCREAM something, having WHAAAAT screamed back at me multiple times before giving up in sheer frustration. As the passenger, it’s annoying.
You’re right, I didn’t go looking for what they looked like and went off of four year old info in my brain. I had one of the original Tandem boxes, very small, the size of a matchbox or so, that did have single pin jacks. I might even still have it.
I can’t say what it would be like on a bike without a windshield. I used to ride a Shadow 600 with a windshield, loud but not that loud. I never tried without the shield. Still worked pretty well though.
) should stock them and you can check them out there or on the web. Seach for “Chatterbox HJC” and I’m guessing you will find plenty.