How does a rider listen to music on a motorcycle? (the goldwing doesn't count)

[VirusDumb]

 

Now a few days ago I posted this with the video where Linus said that he uses the pebble watch to control music while riding his bike, but what I didn't think about until it just hit me right now is, how can someone listen to music on a motorcycle with his helmet on? Maybe on the goldwing or the other touring bikes like the Electra glide or BMW k bikes it's possible because they have speakers but he rides an Suzuki SV.

[Zando_]

Headphones. 

[Ripred]

There are options for brackets to go on the handlebars of bikes or motorcycles for blue tooth speakers

Plus newer bikes have radio options, many with Bluetooth, nav all the things

[vf1000ride]

I have a Bluetooth speaker system in my helmet.  Cardo Packtalk Bold but there are other brands and designs.  It allows me to have an intercom with anyone else in my group that has a compatible unit in their helmet and then it also allows me to connect to my GPS and my phone to get turn-by-turn, music, phone calls while riding.  My motorcycle has a built in Bluetooth hub so I can control the helmet unit and see what song is playing, when I get or place a call.

 

https://www.cardosystems.com/shop/packtalk-bold/

[Avocado Diaboli]

You just listen to your exhaust, that's music enough. At least if it's loud enough.

 

On a serious note, you can buy specific speaker systems for your helmets and a lot of helmets come with pre-defined cavities to put them in. Or if you want a ghetto solution, in-ear monitors, though I wouldn't use them personally because I'd like to hear my surroundings in case someone honks their horn or there's an ambulance siren and a sealed ear-canal makes that a bit hard.

[OhioYJ]

52 minutes ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

You just listen to your exhaust, that's music enough. At least if it's loud enough.

 

On a serious note, you can buy specific speaker systems for your helmets and a lot of helmets come with pre-defined cavities to put them in. Or if you want a ghetto solution, in-ear monitors, though I wouldn't use them personally because I'd like to hear my surroundings in case someone honks their horn or there's an ambulance siren and a sealed ear-canal makes that a bit hard.

Hopefully you aren't listening to them so loud that you can't hear anything else. Honestly, I like the headphones as my bikes are pretty loud, so the ear phones can take that down a notch. I usually have ear phones down really pretty low, so I can still hear things going on around me as well (whether on the bike or at the office).

[VirusDumb]

12 hours ago, Zando_ said:

Headphones. 

Not the safest option I think, also people may stare at you and you might get trolled by some YouTuber 

 

 

[VirusDumb]

11 hours ago, vf1000ride said:

I have a Bluetooth speaker system in my helmet.  Cardo Packtalk Bold but there are other brands and designs.  It allows me to have an intercom with anyone else in my group that has a compatible unit in their helmet and then it also allows me to connect to my GPS and my phone to get turn-by-turn, music, phone calls while riding.  My motorcycle has a built in Bluetooth hub so I can control the helmet unit and see what song is playing, when I get or place a call.

 

https://www.cardosystems.com/shop/packtalk-bold/

Can you still hear the rest of the road with them?

[VirusDumb]

11 hours ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

I wouldn't use them personally because I'd like to hear my surroundings in case someone honks their horn or there's an ambulance siren and a sealed ear-canal makes that a bit hard.

That's why I asked it because apart from speakers, earphones are the only option and I don't know if it's still possible to hear the rest of the road with em 

[vf1000ride]

6 hours ago, VirusDumb said:

Can you still hear the rest of the road with them?

All depends on how loud you turn them up.  The speakers are mounted in the helmet so they don't block your hearing like ear plugs or in ear headphones.  As long as the volume level is reasonable you can still hear everything else. 

[Zando_]

8 hours ago, VirusDumb said:

Not the safest option I think,

Open back headphones are a thing. Noise processing is also a thing, Apple AirPods Pros are functionally open back and can boost background noise for situational awareness when on a run or ride, I'd assume other head/earphones can as well. 

[VirusDumb]

11 minutes ago, Zando_ said:

Open back headphones are a thing. Noise processing is also a thing, Apple AirPods Pros are functionally open back and can boost background noise for situational awareness when on a run or ride, I'd assume other head/earphones can as well. 

The thing is you can't wear headphones and helmets together, earphones maybe.

[VirusDumb]

2 hours ago, vf1000ride said:

All depends on how loud you turn them up.  The speakers are mounted in the helmet so they don't block your hearing like ear plugs or in ear headphones.  As long as the volume level is reasonable you can still hear everything else. 

Damn, gonna get one after I get my own motorcycle 

[airborne spoon]

I use 1 headphone in my left ear while I'm on the Harley (01 Dyna super glide sport). It used to be easier as i had an old pair of headphones and i just cut off the right bud. but now since there are no 3.5mm jacks i have to use BT buds and they are all so big and bulky the best I've found so far is a skullcandy one for like $40 and it feels loose and falls out but stays in my helmet occasionally and yeah I've tried all the different sized pieces that come with it to make the fit better.

 

Also i have to wear a full face helmet or a 3/4 helmet because the BT ones tend to be shitty and fall out so no more half helmets till i can find a BT bud that will stay in while being hit with 80-90 MPH winds.

Also my full face helmet has an space where i can install a BT receiver and install built in speakers by the ear area into the helmet itself but i did that once and it lasted like a month, the battery was trash and the speakers sounded like garbage.

Last thing wearing a bud in both ears is a safety hazard even at low volume it takes away from being able to hear the road around you and that's not a good idea. I've been riding for over 30 years and cagers don't pay attention to bikes so ya gotta pay double attention as a bike rider.

[711jrp]

Another vote for the Cardo Packtalk Bold, been using their products for over 10 years. I think it add safety on group rides for sureand is a convenience when alone..

[NinJake]

Back when I used to ride with earbuds, I'd either put 2 in and keep the volume low, or put 1 in and keep the other ear available. There's plenty of fancy helmets or helmet attachments as others have been stating, I just have no experience with them.

[vf1000ride]

So just for the fun of it so you can see one example of a helmet system.  I took a couple photo's of mine, Shoei GT Air II helmet and the Cardo Packtalk Bold.  You can see the receiver/battery unit sits in a holder on the outside of the helmet so you have volume and the bluetooth controls were you can reach them.  It clips into that bracket nice and easy so you can take it on/off to charge it if you wanted.  Second photo is inside the chin bar and is the microphone for voice control, phone calls and the intercom. Third/fourth photos are of one of the two speakers.  One photo is all the padding pulled back that you can see the little speaker, they are not any bigger than an on-ear headphone speaker.  The other photo shows all the padding put back in place so that nothing rubs your ears while you are riding.

 

You're not gonna get good headphone sound quality levels as they are a little lacking in bass but they are plenty loud to have tunes in your helmet or to ride a bike without a windshield and still be able to have a conversation over any wind noise.  Everything for my setup is just held in place with 2-side tape or the existing padding inside the helmet.  I get about 6-8 hours of music depending on how much intercom or phone call use I do.  I don't use the feature but you can also use Siri or the Google voice assistant with it to control your phone instead of the controls on the unit itself.

[Zusafek]

I have the Sena BT com and audio system in my helmet.  Let's me have phone, navigation and music/audio books while riding.  It doesn't interfere with my surroundings at all.  I wear a full face flip helmet and love having the options for my music and phone.  

[VirusDumb]

On 1/10/2023 at 10:58 PM, airborne spoon said:

Last thing wearing a bud in both ears is a safety hazard even at low volume it takes away from being able to hear the road around you and that's not a good idea. I've been riding for over 30 years and cagers don't pay attention to bikes so ya gotta pay double attention as a bike rider.

Well even though I just discovered today that it's actually restricted by traffic laws of some states here in India to use earphones while riding on 2 wheelers, https://www.cartoq.com/riding-motorcycle-scooter-earphones-fine-traffic/

Still since in India motorcycles are much more common for commuting than cars (since they're cheaper) you still see people like this.

 

[TetraSky]

On 1/9/2023 at 2:16 PM, Zando_ said:

Headphones. 

Headphones can actually be illegal in many places while driving any vehicle. Even while cycling on a bicycle you're not allowed to have earphones or headphones in/on in some place. It's typically fine if it's 1 ear, though.

Even if some states/provinces don't legislate on it specifically, they can still be used against you in a "distracted driving" case, resulting in large fines.

 

A helmet with built-in speakers would be legal pretty much everywhere though.

[airborne spoon]

19 hours ago, VirusDumb said:

Well even though I just discovered today that it's actually restricted by traffic laws of some states here in India to use earphones while riding on 2 wheelers, https://www.cartoq.com/riding-motorcycle-scooter-earphones-fine-traffic/

Still since in India motorcycles are much more common for commuting than cars (since they're cheaper) you still see people like this.

 

Yeah it prob is illegal to wear 2 buds in a lot of places but that's another reason i say only wear one. Also if you're wearing a helmet nobody can see your ears anyway, its one of those things that if done responsibly its fine and screw the law. It'd be like a front license place ticket most of the time when that is given its because the driver was pulled over for something else and the cop decided to start writing up everything else.