If you like to take a pillion along for motorcycle rides, communication can become an issue. As soon as your speed crosses 40 mph it becomes difficult to talk to each other without outside help. So an intercom is the natural solution to that problem. However: what type to go for, a very basic wired intercom, or a wireless walkie talkie type?
Wired Intercoms
When you buy a wired intercom, chances are you’ll get a very basic, extremely cheap one. There are plenty available on Ebay and such. They usually consist of a little plastic box with some jacks to hook up head sets with. Usually they also have an Audio-in line to plug your mp3 player or satnav into.
The headsets that are supplied with these types of intercoms are usually the type that clip onto one ear, with the microphone sticking out towards the front of your head (so they’re not attached to the inside of your helmet!).
Mostly they’re powered with AAA batteries, and are always on (so you need not press any buttons in order to transmit). They do not tend to have an AC or Cigarette Lighter adapter, so you will rely on battery power only – carry some spare batteries if you’re going on a long trip!
Cost: starts at less than £10.
Wireless (PMR) Intercoms
If you choose a wireless option, chances are you’ll need two walkie talkie type devices with plug in head sets. Each person keeps a walkie talkie on their person, plugs in the head set, and even if you need to get off the bike for any reason, you can still communicate with each other. Now because it’s basically a walkie talkie, and cannot transmit and receive at the same time, you need to initiate a transmission before the other person will hear it. This is either done by pressing a button (on the side of the walkie talkie or a separate plug in one) or through VOX ; Voice Operated Transmission (means you talk and it automatically switches on the transmission). For this reason also, walkie talkies don’t tend to have Audio-In sockets so you cannot plug in another device like an mp3 player or satnav.
The sound quality is not as clear as a dedicated wired system, because walkie talkies are affected by outside disturbances. It might even be possible that somebody else in the area is using a similar device on your frequency and you might hear each other. However to counter this, walkie talkies usually have numerous channel and frequency settings so you can find one that is clear.
For powering your walkie talkies, usually there are two options; you run them on batteries (AAA) or in case yours comes with an adapter, plug it into the battery of the bike through the cigarette lighter. Make sure that if you’re using yours plugged into the battery, either you take out the batteries in the walkie talkie or ensure they are rechargeable.
Cost: Starts at £25-30 per walkie talkie. (You’d need two for two people!)
Overall Verdict:
Of course the cost factor might make the decision for you, but if cost is not an issue, consider the following:
If you need something in order to communicate with a pillion only and would both like to enjoy music or satnav instructions along the way, the only way to go is a wired intercom. However: if you do not like to be stuck to each other with wires (when the pillion gets off the bike, he/she would have to unplug the intercom first!) and you might want to communicate even if you are not on the same bike together, get a Walkie Talkie type system for yourselves. An example of one I’ve just bought can be found in another post of mine: Ucom Twintalker 6800 – Wireless Intercom.
Yeah, being stuck to your passenger with a wire is a real pain. The wireless devices have really advanced recently. You can get a good wirless headset that allows for GPS, radio and phone calls as well as communicating with another headset user if they are close enough.