Cheap Bike to Bike communication

[Barry 07 FJR1300AE]

Two friends and myself are planning a Natchez Trace ride. I have a Scala G4 system that my wife and I use. They are new to trip riding and also don't want to spend the money for headsets not to use them that much. Has anyone used the GMRS radios with the headsets some of them come with for bike to bike comms? If so what works best. Thanks

 

[FJRBluesman]

My friend and I bought Motorola Talkabouts ($35). We also bought some higher end head sets and throat mics. Works, but I'd like better. Probably cost about $200 (ouch) for the mics and earplug/headset.

 

[ahchiu]

I use the Kenwood TK3101 UHF radio, e-bay has GMRS radios, I also found on e-bay Kenwood bike 2 bike headsets for $25.00 shipped, I ordered 4 sets to try for $25.00 each + radio you can get a bike setup for around $100.00

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250562812116&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[Barry 07 FJR1300AE]

Thanks. Do they work pretty well?

 

[ahchiu]

Thanks. Do they work pretty well?

I will let you know when I get them, they are for the sportbike group I ride with that just want a Bike 2 Bike com, I have the Autocom Pro setup on the FJR

 

[HaulinAshe]

Beware that for sure the Midland GXT-900 and later, along with some Motorola models will not have sufficient volume to drive helmet speaker headsets at speed.

Midland once made the absolute best GMRS radio for basic Bike2Bike. Then somewhere around their 850-series they made a significant change in the maximum headset volume that prohibits the volume from being loud enough for higher motorcycle speeds. Basically you can't hear them above 30 mph, regardless of the headset used.

Right now the best model that provides good audio output is probably the Cobra Li-7200. There are a couple of helmet speaker headsets compatible with the unit.

If you are using the GMRS radio with a comm system (Starcom, J&M, Sena, etc.) the volume issue is not a problem. But if you are attempting to build a simple Bike2Bike setup using only two radios and helmet speaker headsets, make sure you know the model radio you are purchasing and what it will do.

There is a resident expert on the forum. PM "LeeDavis" for detailed info. He stays current on GMRS radios and basic headsets.

 

[Barry 07 FJR1300AE]

It appears cheap still costs close to 100 bucks. So for me i will stick to my scala g4 and they can buy something that works with it or we can just do without! Thanks for all the responded.

 

[DaNav]

we have midland gtx1000 gmrs.... on their own they didn't work for us on the bikes... had to get starcom/autocom to make clarity and volume acceptable... great to have on group trips though... with so many going to bluetooth you can get used starcom/autocom systems for $100-$200