Modern Vespa

I don't want to spark debate over the safety of using headphones while riding, but if we presuppose you have made the decision to wear them anyway it becomes helpful to have an easy way to control volume and playback. I've tried a few odd things but ultimately this was the best result: Chubby Buttons.

Odd name, but effective. They are marketed largely to snowsports folk, so the buttons are large and distinct from one another. Easy to find them by feel even with thick gloves. There isn't a super convenient way to attach as sold. You could strap it to your right forearm and reach across. I opted to cut away the sticky foam on the back and use a heavy duty outdoor adhesive to affix a RAM ball. Pretty reliable in terms of Bluetooth connection, and doesn't go into deep sleep for 8 hours, so it doesn't constantly have to reconnect when you go to use it.

Just thought I'd share what's working for me.

Two questions: what's battery life like and what cable connection does it use to charge?

I've only had it on since early December, and have only done a few hundred miles with it so far, so I can't speak to how long the battery goes. Their claim is 4 months. No charging, though - it uses a standard watch battery (CR2025 or CR2032, I think).

On occasion, I will use Airpods Pro when riding. There is a pretty decent noise cancellation built into them. I'm generally not listening to music, but if I am expecting a call or using Waze, they are handy (and doing their job of cutting the ambient noise in the meantime). If I need to change the volume, I say, "Hey, Siri..." and tell her what I want. Easy; no buttons to push.

Up until now, I've relied on the hands-free capability of my Cardo Packtalk Slim comm, where I can initiate/answer/ignore calls, start/stop/change music (both streaming and radio), and control GPS, rarely if ever needing to touch a physical button. But now that I'll soon be dealing with the digital/bluetooth interface built into the GTS SuperTech, which actually incorporates a joystick among the bike's other controls, it'll be interesting to see how this changes up my routine...hopefully for the better.

I actually use a set of Echo Buds, but voice control requires signal. My daily commute goes over a mountain with almost no signal to speak of 65% of the route. That and they are sometimes a little hard of hearing at freeway speed. That being said, having digital assistant features when I do have signal is great. I use it to turn my patio light on when I'm pulling in at home.

those look very cool and would be great as I do like to listen to music when I ride, at a low level so I can hear the surrounding world, but would love to easily be able to adjust things, the buttons on my uclear device are just not easy to access with gloves on, may need to get these

so just got my chubby fingers thing. I have RAM mounts on both of my mirrors the right side for my iPhone when I need it, and the left was for a coffee cup which I don't use anymore. So I got a RAM mount plate and hooked the chubby fingers with plastic zip ties and it works great and removable if needed. So tested it in the house tonight, not riding yet, but it so far works awesome, just what I needed. I know it is controversial but I like to listen to music softly when I ride, still want to hear the world around me. This allows me to turn the music on and off, change the volume and who knows what else, so far I love it. Just my opinion

I'm tempted to get one, but not keen on mounting them on the handlebars. Can anyone give feedback on the effectiveness of mounting on the forearm?

Bad idea. In Russia we say "Once in a year even a shovel shoots", meaning "the bad stuff happens exactly when you don't expect it to happen".

So you do not really want to take the right hand off the grip, where both throttle and front brake are located. Simply because if something happens when you do, you'll definitely grab the front brake by full hand.

Better suited for wearing on the RIGHT arm I think!

i considered the arm mount but liked the way it was mounted on the first post, thought that was a safer way to do it than on the arms but it is certainly worth a try. Either way it does seem to be a cool device

If you go for a bike mount, an alternative to adhesive is industrial strength velcro...hardware store, not craft supply store. I like the RAM mount idea. I've seen it done with a smaller device (not Bluetooth AFAIK) on the left plastic. I've attached a heated glove controller with velcro to the left knee guard thingit. Whatever's more natural and least distracting.
Rock on with your Mod on.

Any other Vespa S owners thinking dropping this in the too-small-for-a-real-cup cup holder? lol

If you do, might want to attach a tether line so it doesn't go bouncing down the road. Could also serve as a no-looking way to determine which way is up when you go to push a button.

so I did go out and bought the chubby button device. Attached it to the ram mount I had on my left mirror which I had used to carry a cup of coffee when working, now retired that mount was not being used. I found a ram mount plate with four holes that were perfect for attaching the device with plastic zip ties. Finally got out for a ride today and it is great. Good placement on the Vespa and was great to change songs, volume, turn on and off, etc. Accepting that listening to music is a personal choice if you do this device was very nice, easy to work even with heavy gloves on(a bit cold this AM in AZ). Just FYI