My son & I have ridden together for the last 6 years. We have tried just about everything available including desert, dry lake beds, trails, single track, fire roads, streets, mx tracks, sand, etc.
We have always tried to communicate with each other on the ride, although there are times we get separated or both lost and we wished we had a way to talk on the bike. Last year I tried using low-cost 2-way radios. We had some old FRS/GMRS Unidens from a sporting goods shop and added a headset with an integral push-to-talk switch (PTT).
We liked being able to communicate about trail conditions, paths to take or not take, ?where are you?, alerts for upcoming traffic, needs to stop, etc. However, the radios had some serious shortcomings. The headsets were pretty uncomfortable in the helmets, the radios were not powerful enough to give much range, the sound quality and level were barely usable (most of the time we were saying ?WHAT DID YOU SAY??), the PTT was a pain to find, and the wiring snagged a bush and ripped the headset right out of my ear.
But the basic communication ability proved a worthy goal and justified further investment.
After some research, I got advice from a TT forum member that knew his stuff. He had desert racing experience and was offering to share.
The radio quality is key to making this work. You need professional equipment. I chose these
as they were reasonably priced, popular choices and weatherproof.
The other key element is a specific noise cancellation microphone. PCI Race radios and Baja Designs both have the right stuff. There are others that use the same mic, but PCI is about 20 minutes from my office, and I have bought stuff from BD before. They both make a helmet wiring set that includes a plug for using earbud speakers. This is the way to go to make the best quality audio, plus it blocks a bit of the ambient. You can still hear noises from your bike and of course, outside sources.
I wanted to make my own radio harness, but gave up trying to solder mini shielded cable, and ended up with the full PCI harness.
With the radios in our backpacks, helmets wired up, and PTT on the bars, the end result was fantastic. We had clear, loud communication that could cover significant distance and it worked around the corners significantly better than the old system. I was leary about having a tether to the bike, but it proved to be no problem. I was leary about the helmet connections, but they, too, proved no problem.
Bottom line, it cost a lot more than I wanted to invest initially, but now that I have got it, I wouldn?t want to ride without it. If you have used something like this, you know what I mean. If you have not tried it, you really should find someone that has one and can let you use it. If you are not happy with your radio setup, there?s a better way. It really changes the riding experience.
Barry
