Modern Vespa

Hello MV members, do any of you have any information on a good radio/communication system to run between bikes, my wife and I are planning a holiday away on our scooters this summer and it would be good to communicate with each other. We do have open face helmits and this may be a problem to start with, any info would be good, thank you.

The G4 or higher versions of Scala systems allows not only bluetooth wireless connectivity with your cell phone inside your helmet (incluidng listening to music from your phone if you want to), but also allows you to connect wirelessly with other nearby Scala systems.

I have the G4 and love it.

There have been a number of threads lately on this topic.

Scala and Sena are the top brands.

I was initially going to buy Scala but opted for Sena on the recommendation of the local BMW / Harley dealer.

They said pricewise they were essentially the same but Sena edged out Scala in quality, and more riders had Sena making it a better choice for bike to bike communication should the need arise.

I'm extremely satisfied with my Sena SMH 10 and will be touring this summer. It turns out that all my riding companions use Senas.

There was a recent thread on a review of the Sena: My review of the Sena SMH 10-11 Bluetooth Communication Unit

Thank you Treppenwitz, I will look the scala up, all the best, Owie

Thank you davidmasse, between you and treppenwitz I now have two choices to follow up on, I will also have a hunt around for the other threads, thanks again, time for bed another day bites the dust down here.

I had the Scala G4 and just got the Scala G9. I was moderately happy and occasionally frustrated with the G4. Everything I didn't like about the G4 - sometimes spotty connection, mediocre audio - have been fixed in the G9. We never used our G4s with an open face helmet so I can't comment on how well that works, but on our Iron Butt ride with the G9, Bill ran with an open face and I didn't hear any wind noise at all. I was very impressed with that. I expected a constant wave of noise and got nothing.

Do any of you have experience with the Interphone products? I'm looking for something that will sync with my iPhone, and provide FM radio as well. I'm not bothered at the moment about group communication, but the new ones seem to offer a very large range - something like a mile if there is a few of you.

What I do love the idea of though is their handlebar remote - screws securely around the bar, and gives you a joystick that gives you access to basic functions, including Siri! I can just imagine it now:

Q: Siri, how am I riding?
A: Switch your damn indicator off and we'll talk...

David

The Scalia G4 and G9 both have FM Radio (including HD Radio). Works great (I have the G4 but am upgrading to G9).

The stated range of the Scala is one mile. I think in reality you'd have to be on a flat, treeless plain to get that. Hills, turns and trees cut the range down considerably.

As sharpcolorado noted, the Scala has FM radio. It will also sync with Bluetooth devices like phones and some GPS models. It has an aux port if you wanted to connect to something like an MP3 player.

We have the Sena SMH10 and love it, we have 3 bikes/riders connected and have no issues whatsoever. Communication between riders is loud (well as loud as you want) and clear. We also have them synced up to our I-phones, a painless process. I highly recommend the Sena.

Anybody try the new Sena SHM5-FM Has a built in FM tuner but I don't see any reference to a port for an mp3 player.

http://www.senabluetooth.com/products/smh5fm.php?tab_menu=overview

the scala and sena both have good reviews but I am most impressed with the uclear HBC 200. Check out the reviews before you purchase. Realize I have not purchased any of them but thought the new uclear had many great features and if I get one that is what I will get. Not sure I will get any yet, but check it out. It has many very nice features including no boom mike and military technology which could be bullshit but sounded good to me. Curious if anybody has any experience with it.


larry

Lots of people here are using the Nolan N43 helmet, so I would be interested to see if anybody is using the new ncom B1 setup for it. Twin pack for two helmets runs just over $300, which from memory is cheaper than what was previously on offer.

Not sure how this would work on the vespa-wind drag might be a problem!

Any up graders willing to make a great deal on on older gear?

Best system for me and my buddies... One handed sign language.

I never got past the 1 finger sign language...

Thank you folks, you have all given me plenty to look into, however I am not too sure about applying the 1 finger sign language to the wife. I will let you all know what we choose in the end and how well it functions.

If you work up the 'language' of hand signals so all your pals know them, you can go pretty far with that. We used to teach 10-20 silent hand signals, plus combinations, in the military that worked pretty good...

Granted, you probably won't need 'kill that sentry' when out riding...

Anyway, I got this system to pair with my Caberg helmets, but havn't paired it fully and tried it out enough to report back yet. It should be able to bluetooth to other systems with fellow riders, but I don't expect the range to be far...

http://www.gearchangeonline.com/caberg-5788.html

All my friends are deaf, and sign language is our native language. It has to be done with one hand on the scooter though.