Best Motorcycle Guide

Motorcycle riders love the independence of getting on a motorcycle and riding into the sunset. In some cases, though, the rider may have a passenger, and it is also quite common for motorcycle riders to ride in pairs or as a group. In these cases, it is often necessary for the rider to communicate with the passenger, or with another rider. Screaming over the sound of the motors and the wind is not very feasible, nor is sign language, so to help motorcycle riders communicate, there are motorcycle inter-communicators, or intercoms.

These come in three major categories:

• basic acoustic communicators
• wired communicators
• wireless systems.

The acoustic intercoms are just ear plugs and a mouth piece which let a speaker say something which will travel through a hollow tube to the listener. This method has no amplification and it is, therefore, of limited use at high speeds. Obviously it only works between a rider and a passenger.

The second intercom type is a wired intercom which uses the motorcycle to connect the rider with the passenger. Each one is plugged into a jack in the motorcycle, and the communication between them can then be quite fluid. Again, this only works when the two people communicating are on the same motorcycle. Keep in mind that all of this takes place inside of the respective helmets.

For communication between motorcycles, wireless intercoms work very well.

There are four different technological solutions for wireless intercoms:

• FM
• FRS
• GMRS
• Bluetooth.

FM uses a limited, narrow frequency of the modulated frequency used in FM radios, and it works best when there are no hills or buildings. For a 2 mile radius, the Family Radio Service, or FRS, option works fine, but for longer distances, the General Mobile Radio Service is preferred, akin to the walkie-talkies.

Be aware that FRS and GMRS frequencies are public, so someone else on the same frequency can hear your conversation.

The most advance motorcycle intercom method is the use of helmets with wireless Bluetooth technology, just like the hands-free technology of many cell phones. Although Bluetooth intercoms work over only hundreds of feet, this is a private and much clearer facilitator of conversation between two riders, be they on the same motorcycle, or riding near each other. Once the two helmets are coordinated using Bluetooth, nobody else can intercept the communication between them.

Think carefully before deciding which motorcycle intercom system you will install in your helmets. Your options include one or two earpieces, a waterproof system for rainy riding, voice activation, noise reduction, music, and many other available features.