Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories mp player??

my grandkids got me one of these for x-mas and i finally got around to loading some music into it. i have never ever listened to music while riding and yesterday i had to go to bradenton (100+mi) and so i rode up and listened to music all the way. i must say it is pretty cool, i never thought i would enjoy it, i have always enjoyed listening to the motor and the pipes and of course the music in my head. but it was kinda nice letting it choose what i was to listen to. so now i am wondering if those spkrs that mount to the bars are worth having or should i stick with the earbuds?? are those spkrs powered or do you have to wire them into the bikes powersource?? funny, i never thought i would enjoy listening to music while riding, as a matterr of fact, i have ragged on friends for doing it

Our newest member Sean seems to like his handlebar-mounted speaker setup, newt...

http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...ge=0#Post552945

I use ear buds. I know a few people that have tried the helmet speakers, but they say that you can't really hear the music. With my ear buds, I don't have to turn them up very much. I can hear the music plus what is going on around me. I use a pair of Sony ear buds, they fit in my ears well and still allow me to put my helmet on (and take it off) comfortably.

I've used earbuds for years (usually Sony) with my iPod. But I just got a new bluetooth headset that is a u-shaped collar of sorts that goes around the back of my neck with earbuds attached. It's going to work perfect with my Droid and my helmet. I can either control it with my Droid on a handlebar mount or directly on the headset rig.

Last year I didn't listen to music once while riding, but I didn't go on any long trips and I was riding a quiet bike.

I always use my ear buds,

I have some nice maxell wood ones. but the standard maxells are very good also. If you run into needing to have more power say for helmet speakers or (like me) kicking exhaust note, check these out http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Headphone-Amp...2967&sr=1-5 the Y cabel is very nice if you have someone riding behind ya. It is a pretty good boost with its own vol control. I max my player vol and use this as the regulator. charges by usb.

welcome to riding with music! I've three options for rolling with tunes. Zumo, generic mp3 player, and cell phone. No speakers, especially handlebar mounted ones, as ear buds work most excellently. Etymotic 6i Isolator Earphones.

I wear either ear plugs or the etymotic buds whenever operating a motorsickle. The etymotics take longer to wear as the wires need to be attended to. routed under the jacket. Have the 5mm audio cable unnested from behind the ignition cover, etc. I hardly ever listen to music when riding locally. Heck by the time I suit up the last thing I want to do is fiddle with wires.

So when is a good time for the hassle? Tank to tank riding. Hands down. Seems like I'll be listening to music on my way up to Silver Spring MD May 10th and then up to Dahlonega May 16th. The zumo has a decent mp3 player. I control the volume and can select the tunes from the zumo which is mounted on my left handlebar. And the zumo also tracks detailed routes compiled from painstaking encounters with google maps. Zumo. Music and maps. Dang, reminds me of the third season finale and the fourth season premiere stardates 43989.1 - 44001.4. The Best of Both Worlds. lol

My wife and I use these Scala Rider units mounted in our full face helmets. Highly recommend these! Our two sets are paired for bike-to-bike intercom and the units also feature Bluetooth connect to your smart phone so you can recieve and make phone calls (voice dial-just say the name and my Droid makes the call) also listen to music from my phone's playlist or internet like Pandora. LINK

The unit has a very good FM reciever with 5 station presets. There is a port to plug in your MP as well.

The sound quality is very clear and the unit automatically adapts to ambient noise and adjusts the volume up to compensate.

All controls are just 4 buttons that are easy to feel and operate with gloves on.

I installed them with the left speaker tucked behind a helmet pad for safety. (speakers are not shown in this picture)

great subject i too have begun riding with my ipod, but keeping those ear pieces in my ears with a shorty helmet is always a pain in the you know what, are the ones noted above better? I have the standard Sony ones but they always fall out of my ears no matter how much i jam those puppies in there.

I rock some skullcandy noise isolating earbuds. Even with my iphone all the way up I still hear my exhaust the most(yay!) but still hear some music which is better then none.

DUDE! i just got the same ones (LG tone) about a month ago and i LOVE it. great sound for bluetooth. it's hard to manipulate the buttons with gloves, but whatever.

PROTIP: get into google music. it lets you store and stream up to 20,000 songs. but if you purchase through google, it doesn't count against that 20k. so google finally found a way to get me to purchase music again.

protip 2: for protip numero uno to work, it'll really help to have unlimited data on your plan.

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I've used earbuds for years (usually Sony) with my iPod. But I just got a new bluetooth headset that is a u-shaped collar of sorts that goes around the back of my neck with earbuds attached. It's going to work perfect with my Droid and my helmet. I can either control it with my Droid on a handlebar mount or directly on the headset rig.

Last year I didn't listen to music once while riding, but I didn't go on any long trips and I was riding a quiet bike.

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http://www.custom-ears.com/our-products.html

found this but its pricy!

Ill stick with my buds and even in a shorty, ill live with it. As mentioned,, long rides. when in a groupe of ppl and short runs,, dont bother.

I have wondered about a satellite radio, bluetooth set up, anybody have any experience with a set up as this?

I've got plenty of streaming music apps, but what I lack is consistent cell coverage. But that's what podcasts and audiobooks are for.

Sennheiser ear buds...crystal clear and lots of deep sound

If it matters to anyone, I used the "loudness" EQ on the iphone today and it actually did make a difference. Make the music a little clearer at the high volume which make it easier to listen too.

I use the bar mounted speakers from Cycle Sounds. The kit comes with an amplifier that gets power from the bike. Sound quality is good but the volume starts to reduce around 60mph. Thinking about going to the bigger speakers, they are bigger wattage.

Dwight,
I run speakers from Shark Audio (www.sharkmotorcycleaudio.com/). I chose them because they were significantly less than other speaker systems, and they got good reviews from folks who have used them. Also, the amplifier has a few imputs: at.35mm standard jack, a USB port, a SD card, and a built-in radio reciever (most just have the .35mm input). The sound quality is good, and you can hear the speakers at 85 mph. Radio reception is ok, but I mostly run my phone through it while listening to Pandora.

I'll post pictures of the set up when I get home, but I ran the wires for the speakers straight down the frame of the bike and zip-tied the speaker wires to the wiring harness to keep everything nice and clean. I then ran the wires under the seat and into my left saddle bag, which is where I keep the amplifier. The amp gets its power by connecting to the battery. Before bringing the wires into the saddlebag, I taped all the wires together to keep them weatherproof and to consolidate them.

I put some industrial-strength velcro on one side of the amp, and the other to the inside front of the saddlebag so I can remove the amp when I'm not using it. This also makes the controls easily accessable if you've got quick release saddlebags, and you can adjust the volume or change the station if you need to. The speaker and power wires insert into the back of the amp and you're ready to go. And that's it, a pretty easy plug and play set up.

I've been happy with my set up, I just have two pieces of advice: 1. Unplug the power input from the amp when you're not using it so you don't drain the battery; we do have Triumphs after all. 2. Make sure you get the handlebar mounts if you order a pair.

+1 on ear buds. i use cheapo walmart ones with my phone. my friend does to but he has that new tiny nano and he clips it to one of his cables. and I've seen some kid on a scoot rocking full cans! thats just awesome.

not a huge fan of speakers myself. cant beat the sound earbuds give ya...

i'm totally surprised this thread isn't filled with "don't do that, thats not safe" comments! haha thats all i get from everyone.. i figure wind noise + exhaust noise = i cant hear crap anyway. policia and or horns cut threw the noise of my earphones.

Another option for on-board amplification is the Boosteroo. They have a variety of portable amps including a 12 volt version which I have hard wired into the bike. Doubles the available volume of your mp3 player.
Boostaroo web page

I wired my helmet for speakers. I can hear the music just fine and I can hear what's going on around me. LOVE IT!!