Intercoms

[cushman eagle]

We have had all we can tolerate with our ScalaG9 intercoms, and would like some input on what other riders have used.A motorcycle dealer about 15 miles east of me handles Sena,and I would like reports on them.I know I could buy cheaper online,but would have no recourse if they are as bad as my Scala.We did get a new G9 from our other dealer when our first pair never worked from new.

[starrider]

We've been using the Sena SMH10's for 4 years now, rider to passenger. Have the SR10 2 way adaptor to connect GPS and CB. All have worked seamlessly. Can listen to music from my phone on occasion, have taken calls on the road, (while stopped). No complaints. The newer models have longer range for bike to bike, but we haven't had that need.

[hank43]

Agree with starrider, we too have had the Sena smh10 and SR10 for 4 years also and have had no problems what so ever, except riding until the batteries die......but, we bought one of those "USB bricks" online from NewEgg, when the Senas went dead on the ride home from Hurley. This battery is awsome, has a capacity of 28,000 MA hrs (Thats 28 amps!) multiple output ports so we can plug in the Senas, my wifes cell phone, and the Garmon all at once, and ride for many, many hours. It costs about $40 dollars and comes with a bunch of cables for Samsung cell phone, Garmon, Ipad and Ipod and of course, standard USB size and micro USB.

Keep in mind, the Senas WILL charge from a cigarette lighter socket if you have one of those little USB/Lighter socket dongles available from any auto supply, Sams, etc. They are just a couple of bucks. This will allow you to use the Senas and charge while you are riding.

The one feature we like about the Sena is the online updates, that are free. Also, the Senas have "side tone", meaning that you can hear yourself talking as well as the other person, just like on a regular desk type telephone handset.. A nice feature that lets you talk while not shouting (People have a tendancy to talk louder if they can't hear themselves, this causes distortion. If you just talk with normal voice volume, it's much much better!)

hank43

I think the Sena is a better choice these days.......

[Tonyvdb]

I ride in a group often on the weekends and another guy and myself have the Sena S10 units. They work great and sync up to my phone without issue each time I turn it on. I love the iPhone app as it allows me to adjust setting using a GUI rather than a series of button pushes on the Sena it's self.
Unit to unit is excellent and if you drop out of range it automatically sync's back up as soon as you get within its range again. We get about 1/2 a mile range and that works most of the time for the distance us 5 or 6 riders in the group get when spread out.

[kjsett]

Sena for 4 years also. Would have sold the bikes without them (wife rides her own and kept disappearing on me). Tried CB, but couldn't hear and when you get to town the noise makes them useless.
Pros: Decent distance (Smh10), have taken many calls on phone at speed (full face mod helmet); listen to music/pandora/audio books (mostly) when traveling long distances; and keep from getting separated in traffic.
Cons: I have had issues where they locked up during an update (once the night before a ride, so no comms during the ride) where it took tech support to fix (so don't do unless you have several weekdays before you need them).
Open helmet wind noise can be a problem, especially when the other rider is not on a bike with the Voyagers wind protection.

Suggestions: If a long day, at lunch plug the helmet in to give it an extra boost. Also, if using a phone to listen to, plug it in. Why didn't i think of the plugging in the Sena with a brick in the pocket (have ridden with the cord stretched to the helmet, but it can cause issues with movement).
If you ride, like we do, with more than one helmet (enjoy our 1/2 helmets for shorter rides, not as hot and confining), for only about $35 each you can add the mount to other helmet and just move the unit. I put a name label under each unit so we don't get confused which helmet gets what unit (because of pairing with our phones).

Radio is great when around town, but on the road in the west, i can only listen to so many farm reports. :) I haven't done the upgrade on the clarion because of the Sena capabilities (but will eventually). No longer in Phoenix, so winter will give me some downtime where i hope i can address some issues finally.

Enjoy the road, don't forget to smell the roses, but the Sena units do greatly add to the enjoyment.
Blessings,
Ken

[Mr Jensee]

Has anybody tried the UClear HBC200 units? My riding buddy and I bought a pair a year ago. Very good units, no need for a boom microphone. Will pair with other brand units. Audio is loud and clear, Bluetooth works with your phone and all you have to do to answer a call is say hello. I love the fact that their technology allows you to hear clearly the other person, passenger or another rider without hearing wind noise. I could hear my friend clearly up to 70 mph without a problem. Sadly he just moved to Florida so now I will not need the intercom feature anymore unless I buy on for my wife. Right now she has on her helmet another brand of Bluetooth not as good as the Uclear and she has trouble hearing me because she has that boom mic picking up wind noise.

[cushman eagle]

Well,based on what was written on this forum,and responses I saw on research I did on the Sena SMH 10,Peg and I went to our local Motorcycle Store,J&J Cycle in Massillion.We checked out and bought one for $309 .It should come in the mail on Thursday,and if I am not in Kentucky harvesting corn,I will install it and hope it works better than the G9

[Mr Jensee]

You should have given the UClear units look. They are cheaper and have better technology than anything else on the market today. Just sayin....

[cushman eagle]

Well,based on what was written on this forum,and responses I saw on research I did on the Sena SMH 10,Peg and I went to our local Motorcycle Store,J&J Cycle in Massillion.We checked out and bought one for $309 .It should come in the mail on Thursday,and if I am not in Kentucky harvesting corn,I will install it and hope it works better than the G9

Peg and I tried out our new Sena units on our MAV trip and found they worked exactly as we wanted They are much easier and more consistant to pair up with each other, and once paired will stay connected until they are shut off. Also, once they are paired, and the GPS is turned on,it will break into my headset to give directions,then allow us to talk until giving more directions.

[hank43]

I think I posted this site before, but can't remember or find it, so here it is again:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle- ... part-2.htm
Someone told me about this site years ago, and it is the main reason I bought the Sena product.

Check other pages at this site, especially helmets - another great resource for fairly accurate tests, kinda like CU.

hank43

[SgtSlag]

We use the Sena SMH10's as well. Work far better than our previous Scala Rider Q2 sets (Blech!). Looked at the UClear set on Amazon, but the questions, and some reviews, state that they pick up the other person's voice, creating an echo, which is intolerable, when using for rider/passenger (apparently, they use high-gain microphones). One person commented that after performing a firmware update on his units, this went away. Would be worth trying them, for the price, as Amazon has a good return policy, if not satisfied. Be sure to read the reviews, and questions, carefully, to make an educated guess before ordering. Cheers!

[hank43]

Well,based on what was written on this forum,and responses I saw on research I did on the Sena SMH 10,Peg and I went to our local Motorcycle Store,J&J Cycle in Massillion.We checked out and bought one for $309 .It should come in the mail on Thursday,and if I am not in Kentucky harvesting corn,I will install it and hope it works better than the G9

Peg and I tried out our new Sena units on our MAV trip and found they worked exactly as we wanted They are much easier and more consistant to pair up with each other, and once paired will stay connected until they are shut off. Also, once they are paired, and the GPS is turned on,it will break into my headset to give directions,then allow us to talk until giving more directions.

So, how do you like the Sena's?
hank43

[cushman eagle]

I like them very much They do everything i ask of them,are easy to pair up,and stay paired until I shut them off.I have never exceeded battery life,so i do not know how long they will operate before needing charged.The longest ride since buying was 350 miles,but they still functioned the next day before we charged them.They are also easy to pair up with the GPS,Which only intrudes with my communictions with my wife when it is giving me directions

[Mr Jensee]

We use the Sena SMH10's as well. Work far better than our previous Scala Rider Q2 sets (Blech!). Looked at the UClear set on Amazon, but the questions, and some reviews, state that they pick up the other person's voice, creating an echo, which is intolerable, when using for rider/passenger (apparently, they use high-gain microphones). One person commented that after performing a firmware update on his units, this went away. Would be worth trying them, for the price, as Amazon has a good return policy, if not satisfied. Be sure to read the reviews, and questions, carefully, to make an educated guess before ordering. Cheers!

These people who are giving the UClear a bad rep are either not computer knowledgeable or just don't like the fact that without using a boom microphone these units perform outstandingly at highway speeds and have a preference for another device. I can tell you without equivalence that there is no echo from other users in your group including your passenger providing you don't turn the volume to max expecting not to be able to hear at speed. If I believed just half of the posters on Amazon there isn't a single product I would buy.

[hank43]

I like them very much They do everything i ask of them,are easy to pair up,and stay paired until I shut them off.I have never exceeded battery life,so i do not know how long they will operate before needing charged.The longest ride since buying was 350 miles,but they still functioned the next day before we charged them.They are also easy to pair up with the GPS,Which only intrudes with my communictions with my wife when it is giving me directions

Get the little gizmo that plugs into your cigarette lighter that has a USB plug on it. Available at most auto supply stores, Sams, Walmart, everwhere! Use the Sena charge cable to plug in, and as long as you have a motorcycle battery, the Sena's will work. This is our last-ditch-emergency-when-all-else-fails solution that we use. This year, we also got one of those 28000 MA Hour bricks off of Ebay, wife uses that to keep her cell phone operating, it has a better GPS than our Garmans!

The Senas should stay paired even after you power down. Power them up, they should still be paired. Average battery life until charge is needed is about 8 hours,(at least, for us) more often needs charge if you either have the volume turned way up (We're both hard of hearing) or if you have the mics pointed the wrong way, and the wind is constantly blowing into the mic. That is just like screaming into the mic...... Learned that the hard way.

hank43