Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Helmets and Gear Concerning JM helmet communication gear

Although the J&M communication gear is top notch, be advised the customer has to send the helmet(or take the equipment out of the helmet and send it)back to the factory for software updates. I have had two software updates in the first 6 weeks I owned their equipmet both for the Garmin 660. And I had to pay postage both ways.

With today's technology, it is just nuts not to provide a port into the gear where the customer can download an update from the Internet and update the software with a USB cable.

Software WILL CHANGE. Be aware if you purchase JM Bluetooth headsets this is a potential cost to you to send the helmet back and forth. They contend they can't control Garmin-of course not, but they should have planed for change.

Thanks for the tip--hope you have a spare helmet while yours is back at the factory for refits! Best of luck!

I'd love a rider to passenger intercom system that worked. Have tried a couple, junk. And most other people say the same about lots of other systems. But I can't stomach the idea of something as complicated as this sounds. I find it hard to believe that somebody can't design something as simple as a radio head set for a helmet, without all the computerized crap. I guess I'll just have to settle for the old fashioned two cans and a string.

The helmet works fine for now and I do have a spare. But what confuses me is that JM said Garmin on the new 660 did not follow the spec. If that is true, why does my several years old cell phone work with the Garmin and the helmet?

The 660 Garmin has worked very well so far. The screen is visible(although barely)in bright sun light with the sun glaring down at it. Other than mid day, it is very bright. The sound through the helmet is very easy to hear at 70 mph.

The only complaint I have about the Garmin is it will occasionally lock up when you are inputting data. It tells you in the instructions to turn it on and off (CTRL-ALT-DEL?) but that doesn't happen too often. Finding out the name of a road that you aren't familar with can be a challenge. Is it 'highway', 'rural road', or something else?

But for driving in a place like Houston where you aren't familar with the streets, it is a life saving device for a motorcycle as long as you listen to the instructions and don't become fixated on the graphics. Prices have now dropped below $600 on the Internet which is still a lot of money but it can be useful under the right conditions.