Motorcycle Intercoms - A Summary

Motorcycle riders love the independence of gettingThere are four different technological solutions for
on a motorcycle and riding into the sunset. In somewireless intercoms:
cases, though, the rider may have a passenger, and- FM
it is also quite common for motorcycle riders to ride- FRS
in pairs or as a group. In these cases, it is often- GMRS
necessary for the rider to communicate with the- Bluetooth.
passenger, or with another rider. Screaming over theFM uses a limited, narrow frequency of the
sound of the motors and the wind is not verymodulated frequency used in FM radios, and it works
feasible, nor is sign language, so to help motorcyclebest when there are no hills or buildings. For a 2 mile
riders communicate, there are motorcycleradius, the Family Radio Service, or FRS, option
inter-communicators, or intercoms.works fine, but for longer distances, the General
These come in three major categories:Mobile Radio Service is preferred, akin to the
- basic acoustic communicatorswalkie-talkies.
- wired communicatorsBe aware that FRS and GMRS frequencies are public,
- wireless systems.so someone else on the same frequency can hear
The acoustic intercoms are just ear plugs and ayour conversation.
mouth piece which let a speaker say somethingThe most advance motorcycle intercom method is
which will travel through a hollow tube to the listener.the use of helmets with wireless Bluetooth
This method has no amplification and it is, therefore,technology, just like the hands-free technology of
of limited use at high speeds. Obviously it only worksmany cell phones. Although Bluetooth intercoms work
between a rider and a passenger.over only hundreds of feet, this is a private and
The second intercom type is a wired intercom whichmuch clearer facilitator of conversation between two
uses the motorcycle to connect the rider with theriders, be they on the same motorcycle, or riding
passenger. Each one is plugged into a jack in thenear each other. Once the two helmets are
motorcycle, and the communication between themcoordinated using Bluetooth, nobody else can
can then be quite fluid. Again, this only works whenintercept the communication between them.
the two people communicating are on the sameThink carefully before deciding which motorcycle
motorcycle. Keep in mind that all of this takes placeintercom system you will install in your helmets. Your
inside of the respective helmets.options include one or two earpieces, a waterproof
For communication between motorcycles, wirelesssystem for rainy riding, voice activation, noise
intercoms work very well.reduction, music, and many other available features.