Anyone riding with music, a question for ya...

[Geezer]

I use helmet speakers to listen to my GPS and radar detector, so adding music was pretty simple. I listened to music for two days on my way cross country to WFO last year. After two days I had had enough and went back to silence. I learned that one of the reasons I enjoy long days in the saddle is that I can let my mind wander and contemplate things as I go. No more music while riding for me except for the tunes in my head.

 

[Silver Penguin]

I've ridden with music, ever since I figured out how to work an I-Pod. Like others, I keep the volume modest and find that it helps with concentration. Didn't take any time at all to get used to, but then again I like to have some music around me, whatever I'm doing.

The only time I don't have the music is when I feel the need for extreme concentration, such as bad weather, riding a bike for the first few times, return after a long lay-off etc.

 

[JamesK]

Since getting the feej I have started to ride with music. Some of the long distances can get real boring without tuneage to keep ya movin. I have found the music to be the same as in a car, its in the background. When I go into the twisties the music is blocked out, same with getting into congested areas.

That's funny, I actually ride better in the twisties with tunes on, in fact i know i'm in the zone when i realize at the end of a twisty section that i can hear music again, even though it was playing all along.

 

[ScottyUSN]

I can highly recommend Westone UM-1 headphones. They are not cheap, but well worth the $100.00 IMHO.

They are in ear canal foamies that allow the music in and other sounds blocked out. Allowing you to listen to tunes at very low volume or cranked up.

They adjustment is complete silence other than the music. I switched to shifting off vibration insteaded of the sound of the engine. I do find myself scanning more frequently, knowing I will not hear sirens.

I suspect those who wear foamies when riding would adjust and enjoy.

Not to mention the company is great. The wind blew the phones off the seat of my VStrom, I stepped on it and broke it. I was honest, told them it was my fault. They fixed it for free.

 

[Wanderer]

I'm glad to see this topic. It addresses a question I've had for a long time. With wind noise, I've never been able to adjust the fairing so I'm riding in a bubble of silence unless I hunker down, don't you have to have the volume up to a level that over time could cause hearing loss?

Any decent set of earbuds will block enough wind noise that the music doesn't have to be cranked.

I use a 15$ set of SkullCandy Ink'd earbuds which 'feel' like they attenuate maybe just a little less than the Howard leight Max's I normally use. I'd say maybe 22ish dB?

If you have to crank the music to full volume I'd guess you have ill fitting earbuds. I have a chopped, tuning blocked stock screen on mine and can't hear any wind noise.

To the topic at large: I have an mp3 player plugged in as part of my commo setup, although my pillion likes music all the time she usually turns it off if I need to concentrate in traffic. With her on the back I ride easy enough that I don't need to concentrate like that in the twisties. Music makes her happy and a happy pillion means longer rides.

Solo, I only use it for long stretches of boring roads.

 

[FJR Flyer]

Rode for the longest time without anything. Liked the time to think. Then I realized it would be good to get the traffic reports from the local news station for the commute (after getting stuck in several summer traffic jams). Off-shoot was the ability to listen to music, sports radio, etc. Can't imagine being without it now.

I use helmet speakers with earplugs. With the windscreen all the way down, at highway speed, it can get noisy, but with the screen up a bit, its fine.

 

[twistedcricket]

I lose my concentration but it depends on what I'm listening to. In general I turn the tunes and podcasts off when I need to concentrate on the road and corners, but being here in the midwest with lots of straight sections with nothing to concentrate on, the music and podcasts come in handy.
Getting through MN, SD, IA, MO, IL, IN, etc is painfully boring without some in-helmet entertainment.

I can't believe you left out NE. At least in most parts of MO there are trees and some hills.

I don't have the music on during my usual commutes to work, but on the long slab trips it's a must. I had SkullCandy earbuds (that Wanderer mentioned) and they are great. They fit great, they block out a lot of windnoise and they deliver surprising sound for the price. Now I have an AutoCom and helmet speakers. I can mute the music (or pause it) quickly if I need to as well.

 

[AVGeek]

I installed an Autocomm on my 04, and mostly wound up listening to music (my wife hardly ever rides with me, since all I seem to do these days is commute). I moved the 'comm to the 08, but I have noticed some deterioration due to use over the years, so I had been looking at custom earsets. In the end I went with the Skull Candy earbuds mentioned earlier; with the proper tips, they fit my ears well, knock down the wind noise (quite an accomplishment, since the 08 is noisier with the Nolan N-102 than the 04 was) and let me have a background soundtrack (I pretty much always have music on, I'm not a fan of absolute silence). I have my iPod running through an Ampli-rider headphone amplifier (lets me adjust the volume with the iPod in the tankbag), and I don't need that much volume during the ride.

 

[Grumpy]

So since you rode today, does that mean your horns quit honking?, or did you just ignor them?.....bet that was distracting, huh?

The music selection is your problem, you need to play music that you listened to as a child, like Mozart, Beethoven, you know that popular ones from your childhood.

 

[luvtoride]

I only listen to music on the slab. Once I hit any reasonable faxsimile of twisties I turn it off, I've found that my concentration is much better w/o it even though I listen at a moderate level of volume. Even if I'm not paying attention to it, I have found that it still throws me off a bit.

Do not remember it taking any time to get used to.

 

[RadioHowie]

So since you rode today, does that mean your horns quit honking?, or did you just ignor them?.....bet that was distracting, huh?

Nah....unhooked 'em both when he started tootin'.

The music selection is your problem, you need to play music that you listened to as a child, like Mozart, Beethoven, you know that popular ones from your childhood.

OH you didn't go there!!! I don't think we wanna compare birthdates, Dad. :rofl: :finger:

And to the rest of you GOOD guys, not that old bastie Grumpy, great discussion. Good points, all.

Wore the Zen to the office during my morning commute. Listened to the radio instead of tunes. The interruptions for deejay blather and commercials helped break up the distraction.

 

[FJRGuy]

Being a young pup, with only 28 yrs riding under my belt, maybe the mobile music thing comes easier for me. An Aquabox for my iPod was the first farkle for my bike with the AutoComm right after. Riding with tunes just seems normal. That said, I don't bother plugging in for city jaunts. On the highway the music is on most of the time but not always. All little quite time is always nice too and helps break up a long ride.

Like JK, I like tunes in 'spirited' riding. For me it's "Highway to the Danger Zone". Nothing else is like it for the pass into Radium.

Revvin' up your engine

Listen to her howlin' roar

Metal under tension

Beggin' you to touch and go

 

[johnny80s]

Welcome to the club Howie. unk:

 

[BikerGeek99]

When I commute (~ 5 miles) or just out running errands, I don't bother.

When we're on a trip, we've got Sirius piped into our helmets through the StarCom.

For me, having music on high-mile days helps keep my mind off how many miles I'm riding. And, the music helps to keep the missus from falling asleep.

 

[Bugnatr]

I use Custom ear plugs with quality speakers and a I-Jet wireless remote for my I Pod. It is a MUST to be able to control the volume when riding.

Music really helps when it's been a long day in the saddle.

Radar Love is always good for a nice run at 7 grand in 5th.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I would only use it on the slab...which I rarely ride, otherwise it is extremely distracting/annoying for me. I have yet to get my etymotics to fit right without one earbud coming partially out after awhile.

So I mainly set off with only my own thoughts running through my head. Scary.

 

[fjrchooser]

I listen while slabbing and on longer rides, not so much locally because of the constant hassle of in and out with the plugs. A good tune adds 10 mph before I'm aware of it. I got a ticket once thanks to speedo inattention, a nice technical road and Radar Love all coming together at the same time..

 

[Patriot]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwqMKf7r7Xg

I'VE BEEN DRIVIN ALL NIGHT, MY HANDS

WET ON THE WHEEL

THERE'S A VOICE IN MY HEAD THAT DRIVES

MY HEEL

AND MY BABY CALLS SAYS SHE NEEDS ME HERE

AND IT'S HALF PAST FOUR AND I'M

SHIFTING GEAR

WHEN SHE GETS LONELY AND THE LONGIN

GETS TOO MUCH

SHE SENDS A CABLE COMIN IN

FROM ABOVE

WE DON'T NEED TO TALK AT ALL

WE GOT A THING THAT'S CALLED RADAR LOVE

WE GOT A WAVE IN THE AIR

RADAR LOVE

RADIO'S PLAYIN SOME FORGOTTEN SONG

BRENDA LEE'S COMIN ON STRONG

THE ROAD HAS GOT ME HYPNOTIZED

AND I'M SPINNING INTO A NEW SUNRISE

WHEN I GET LONELY AND I'M SURE I'VE

HAD ENOUGH

SHE SENDS HER COMFORT COMING IN

FROM ABOVE

WE DON'T NEED A LETTER AT ALL

WE GOT A THING THAT'S CALLED RADAR LOVE

WE GOT A LINE IN THE AIR

RADAR LOVE

SOLO

NO MORE SPEED I 'M ALMOST THERE

GOTTA KEEP COOL NOW, GOTTA TAKE CARE

LAST CAR TO PASS HERE I GO

AND THE LINE OF CARS GOES DOWN

REAL SLOW

AND THE RADIO PLAYED SOME

FORGOTTEN SONG

BRENDA LEE'S COMIN STRONG

AND THE NEWSMAN SANG HIS SAME SONG

OH ONE MORE RADAR LOVER GONE

WHEN I GET LONELY AND I'M SURE I'VE

HAD ENOUGH

SHE SENDS HER COMFORT COMING IN

FROM ABOVE

WE DON'T NEED A LETTER AT ALL

WE GOT A THING THAT'S CALLED RADAR LOVE

WE GOT A LINE IN THE SKY

WE GOT A THING THAT'S CALLED RADAR LOVE

WE GOT A THING THAT'S CALLED RADAR LOVE

 

[Fred W]

Before I ever started riding with music I came to realize that the wind noise in my helmet was a really big problem. I was losing my high frequency hearing sensitivity (aka going deaf) and it was actually making me more physically and mentally tired after a long ride.

After trying all sorts of earplugs I eventually found that the ONLY earplugs that block enough road noise for my liking are the Howard Leight Max plugs, which provide 33 dB of attenuation. Part of that is because my ear canals are pretty large bore and the bell shaped plugs seal well when inserted deeply. Any other kind of plugs do not seal as well.

When you first insert the 33dB plugs you can't hear a damn thing, but then after about 20 minutes or 1/2 hour you realize that your hearing sensitivity increases and that you can hear the engine, traffic, etc. And music...

So, I later started dabbling with listening to music from helmet speakers and found that I could run the MP3's at a medium volume, still hear the necessary outside sounds, and be completely comfortable at the end of the ride. And best of all, my ears weren't being destroyed by the wind noise.

I've also tried a butt load of different in-ear speakers, even some custom molded silicone ones (Fuze), and none of them provided adequate noise attenuation for my requirements. I even made some of my own foam ear seals out of my favored 33dB ear plugs (they were the best attenuating of all) but with the required hole drilled for the music to pass, they just don't kill the noise well enough.

The problem with having less than full 33dB attenuation is that you then have to crank up the music enough to hear it over the remaining noise. That means a higher SPL (sound pressure level) delivered to your ears. With the 33dB plugs in, even if you crank the volume up high on the helmet speakers, the SPL reaching your ears is still very low as it too is attenuated by the earplugs.

To the question of distraction: I don't really see how it is any more distracting or dangerous than driving in your car with the windows rolled up and the tunes playing. Sometimes I ride all day with the tunes. Some days I start out in the quiet and turn them on later, or vice versa. But I also do the same thing in my car.

 

[Patriot]

because my ear canals are pretty large bore

I got nuthin' :blink: