Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech SCALA RIDER Q2 Headset System

Just ordered/received the SCALA Rider Multiset Q2 Helmet Headset bike-to-bike intercom. I was wondering if anyone else on the forum has this set and how do they like it so far? There is a July sale on this set for $250.00 normally $395.00 at www.jcmotors.com. At this time still trying to make the Bluetooth on it work.

Bob

Interesting. I have the J&M headset and it has always worked with my cell phone. When I got the new Garmin 660 GPS, I had to send the helmet back(at my considerable cost) since I was leaving on a trip. I got into a big hassle with J&M becuase they blamed the Blue Tooth problems on Garmin. I will follow this thread to see how the Scala system works out for you.

The Blue Tooth on the J&M works well now and I can hear the voice from the Garmin clearly at 70 mph in my speaker headphones. I would have thought Blue Tooth was mature enough as an electronic spec that it would be no biggie.

J&M ticked me off a little from the beginning. They kept asking me what kind of bike I had, as if a Triumph couldn't possible be worthy of being considered as a long range bike.

The cell phone problem has been solved for now, the wife first tried connecting up with her cell, that would keep disconnecting itself. She then tried my cell, which is a newer model Motorola and that one works ok. We have yet tried the system out on the open road, the temperature out at this time is 107 degrees F. Just a tad too hot for us. AmyLee is now looking for a newer cell phone.

Bob

I used the Scala Rider Q2 on a 2,200 mile solo ride just last week.

It was connected via bluetooth to my iphone 3g and Garmin Zumo 550.

Good
1. Bluetooth connections worked great.
2. I didn't have to recharge the unit over my 6 day ride....that surprised me.
3. Talking to my wife and others via the phone connection while riding was great. Very clear on both ends.
4. I liked the FM Radio but I have to reread the manual on how to change channels.
5. Worked well in rain.

HUMMMMM
1. Did not fit well in my Shoei RF1000 helmet...too tight and the speakers hurt my ears over time...quite painful. I do wear a snug helmet (as I think I should).
2. MP3 loaded on my Zumo through the headset produced poor sound. Not sure where the blame rests, zumo or headset speakers.

So, in my experience the MP3 music was poor but talking was great. After the trip I moved the headset to my other helmet (GMAX) and will use that one in the future...it seems to fix the Shoei RF1000 problem I had.

Thanks for your report on the Scala Q2, AmyLee and I are primarily using the headsets for bike to bike communication, plus the use of the FM radio. I did try the iPod for a short distance and found that the volume would not be high enough to hear well at high speed. We're looking forward to our trip to Hill city/Sturges starting next week. Thanks again.

Bob

I have been using a Parrot SK4000 bluetooth headset/fm tuner for some time. Always had speaker volume issues and ended up splicing earphone jack into the speaker cable. I think a lot of this was due to not being able to place the speakers in the optimum location inside the helmet (Zox Gennesis). Since then sound is fine. Does decent Fm reception. Does not do intercom at this time. Supposedly is coming in later firmware upgrade. Best feature is a handle bar mounted remote to answer/hang up, change stations, volume control, and change tracks on the mp3 player part of the cell phone. Since I use a Blackberry with mp3 and GPS I can hear all of it quite nicely. But before someone jumps my case about it I use the cell phone to answer and say hold on a minute while I pull off the road. It works for me since bluetooth access to cell phone and GPS information was my primary goal. Cost was about $150 if I remember correctly.

Is this like one of those religous interventions??? In my case the thing lets me ride sometimes when I would be stuck sitting somewhere waiting for the phone to ring. No appologies, I do this as safely as I can and GPS is a handy thing to have, hearing directions instead of looking down at a map or the screen in my book is safer. And as with most on ba.com that use GPS I ride till it is time to go home then use the GPS to guide me there, if I don't know the way.

Ordinarily I would agree with you. However a GPS can be a great safety device. Not worrying about looking an obscure street sign or trying to read a map and ride is great. The Garmin tells you far ahead when you are coming to a street you need to turn on and gives you an easy visual I can see with my peripheral vision.

If I get a phone call, I tell them to hang on and pull over to the side.

I recently rode in Houston, America's 4th largest city where the cage drivers take no prisoners. I know the city fairly well but it is always changing and the area I was going was a new part of town. The only time I got honked at was at a new street not on the map. I doubt I would have even tried it on the bike without the GPS so until you have used one, don't knock it.