Listening to music while riding

[smitty141]

It is hard for me to ride without it. When I want to really wick it up I will play some devil's music backwards to help me get into the groove... I got to have tunes... Smitty

 

[petey]

I can listen to tunes or the news any time, don't bother me a bit. If I wick it up, I can shut out whatever, and concentrate on what I'm doing....no distraction at all. :glare:

 

[exskibum]

Uhm, to make more room on the FJR farkle shelf? OR to actually USE? :lol: (Pretty cold, huh? :blink: )

Hey now -- you were the one that alerted me to the Pazzo discusion. You KNOW I need to make room for those. (Actually, those are mechanical and not electrical, so they won't spend much time on the farkle shelf.)

Lately, I've been experimenting with what music I play. It has been rather bizarre to ride sweepers and twisties with "classical" (Yes...long-hair, symphony, Boston Pops) music. In fact, I used that very music while riding my favorite river roads yesterday. It keeps me from twisting on the throttle and helps me ride a bit smoother rather than listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Bros., 70's & 80's rock, etc.

I love classical music, and it's almost the only kind of music I can work to. I'm just so used to skiing bumps to rock 'n' roll with a driving beat that it's an almost automatic trigger that gets me into the fun task of making turns. Before Walkman tape players, I used to pause at the top of a bump run and establish the rhythm by conjuring some song with a really driving beat before launching. It's almost a hard wired thing by now.

Sunday, Andrew was complaining about almost falling asleep on the few occasions we got behind slower traffic. Mebbe it was my devil's music that kept me from the same? Or them blaster horns of his were just to wake himself up?

 

[sgoat]

Music on the slab, but I tend to turn it off in the twisties. Doesn't bother my concentration enough to worry about on the slab tho.

Gunny!

 

[NightShine]

Well heck! When I want to listen to music, I always have my favorite tunes on hand ready to play any time, day or night.

I just sing aloud in the concert hall of my Scorpion helmet!

Hum. Perhaps the passenger intercom shutting off really isn't an electrical problem after all.

 

[Ric in Sac]

I'm with Exskibum. Riding motorcycles is amazingly similar to skiing in a lot of ways. Music gives you rhythm, rhythm makes you smooth. Smooth makes you effortlessly fast. This is the Exskibum and Highlander technique I have been trying to master from the masters.

 

[Bike Effects]

Before I had it, I thought it would be distracting. Now that I do have it it seems weird without it. Music yes! I also have Fox News as a preset but that is distracting for me. Maybe on a long trip.

 

[HaulinAshe]

The first thing I attempted with my new Zumo 550 GPS, was loading MP3 files. Have not been without music since the first month on the FJR. If I didn't want to listen to music, and the GPS, and the RD, and the bike-to-bike GMRS, well... I would have bought a Harley!

Test riders of my setup have commented that it's like being in a cockpit. That's just fine with me.

I actually enjoy planning my music as much as planning the ride. I try to start out with something to get the juices flowing, but quickly mellow it down with Clannad or similar. This helps keep me calm until I can get past the drudgery slab riding.

After reaching twisties I prefer music with good rhythm and softer female voices. Nothing like a hot MP3 babe singing softly in my ear to keep me in sync with the bike.

Sweepers I prefer Evanescence, Staind or some 70s Funk. It motivates me to twist my head farther and reach out more.

I cannot imagine riding five minutes without tunes or the RD audio. But as others have already stated, don't fiddle with the knobs! Just learn to accept what is playing and develop the concentration to focus on the information you need, whether it be visual, audio, or both.

My front wheel gets light with (Evanescence)"Bring Me To Life" or (Ohio Players)"Love Rollercoaster".

 

[dcarver]

Music is a distaction. Pure and simple.

Is it worth it?

Depends...

All inputs, visual, auditory, smellorly sp? are critical.

On my HD, a FLHTCU, I rely upon the metal fenders, front and back, to relay info that the road is not to be trusted in the sounds of clink clink clank as gravel hits the fender, relaying back to me that the road is not to be trusted. Valuable info, indeed.

On the FJR, I always listen to tunes, whether XM, CD, Mp3. The FJR has plastic fenders.. Can't hear any warning messages from the fenders. So I rely upon visual perception entirely. Is this wise? Probably not.

..

Which reminds me, one day I'm going to post a 'Who's zooming who' post and really open the can o' worms regarding riding while drinking, riding after being up for 36 hours IBA style, listening to moozik, fiddling with the GPS, talking on the blue tooth phone, blah blah blah.

..

I'm starting to think that the fella who's been up for 36 hours getting that IBA BBG is probably no more cognizant than the commuter yakking on the cell phone while going to work.. but enough for now..

 

[bikerskier]

I'm with Exskibum. Riding motorcycles is amazingly similar to skiing in a lot of ways. Music gives you rhythm, rhythm makes you smooth. Smooth makes you effortlessly fast. This is the Exskibum and Highlander technique I have been trying to master from the masters.

Yes, and riding dirt bikes is almost exactly like skiing but alas, I have not listened to a lot of music whilst riding off road. Too much time spent scraping myself off rocks, trees, swamps and the likes, with very sweaty helmets. Rock rhythms are the fuel for my spirit, classical for relaxing and contemplation and light jazz for evenings with the better half. My Ipod is stored so I can pause it but not screw with it.

 

[joeR6]

I gotta have tunes, whether while on the superslab or in the twisties. I just have a simple setup that works and doesn't cost a fortune.

Ipod nano

Ety Motic ER6 earphones - great at cancelling out windnoise but not so much that it drowns out everything like honking horns or sirens from the cop behind you.

Monster RF wireless remote - great because there are no wires to deal with and you can turn on/off, play pause, volume, skip tracks and even playlists - I just wrap it around the handlbars and for the most part works well (about the size of a g-shock watch)- with this device I can safely tuck my ipod away in my jacket so it won't get wet and earphone cords are the only ones you have to deal with

 

[TNT]

I try to never ride without it, if I do, I just can't ride as well. Nothing like screaming through the mountains with AC/DC, setting the pace! unk:

 

[gski02]

I try to never ride without it, if I do, I just can't ride as well. Nothing like screaming through the mountains with AC/DC, setting the pace! unk:

Gotta havem. I can still hear the bike and those who play around me. I agree with those who've said it's like skiing, gives you a rythm. It breaks up the longer rides for me.

g

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

I'm with Exskibum. Riding motorcycles is amazingly similar to skiing in a lot of ways. Music gives you rhythm, rhythm makes you smooth. Smooth makes you effortlessly fast. This is the Exskibum and Highlander technique I have been trying to master from the masters.

Yes, and riding dirt bikes is almost exactly like skiing but alas, I have not listened to a lot of music whilst riding off road. Too much time spent scraping myself off rocks, trees, swamps and the likes, with very sweaty helmets. Rock rhythms are the fuel for my spirit, classical for relaxing and contemplation and light jazz for evenings with the better half. My Ipod is stored so I can pause it but not screw with it.

Before Sony came out with the Walkman, I simply sang in my head while skiing moguls. My song of choice for moguls was Exodus by Bob Marley. MOVE!

It's good for fast twisties too. I still don't listen to music while riding unless I'm with Sherri, but it often makes it into my head without being plugged in

 

[exskibum]

Before Sony came out with the Walkman, I simply sang in my head while skiing moguls. My song of chouice for moguls was Exodus by Bob Marley. MOVE!
It's good for fast twisties too. I still don't listen to music while riding unless I'm with Sherri.

Hehehe -- you'd like my "Bump Skiing" playlist. I was listening to that as we were riding Sunday -- maybe even when you were honking at my deaf and oblivious ***. On a Walkman, my favorite ski tape was "4 U 2 Ski 2" -- same kinda stuff. "Exodus" was on both, because THAT's exactly what I mean! My all time favorite to "blow the touristas away"** in a bump field was "Driving With My Eyes Closed" by Don Henley:

"You Yankees are so silly about matters of the heart

Don't you know that women are the only works of art?"

It's got a driving beat that makes you rip and a soaring lead guitar solo, but Exodus will do just fine, too.

** Doug, a regular skiing buddy 3 decades ago in Steamboat used to turn around after we stopped to look down a bump run we were about to take and say "let's blow the touristas away" with this impish grin. Burned into my memory. It usually meant he was going to do a huge 720 helicopter off a catwalk back into the bumps -- typically on BC Lift Line (Burgess Creek, under the lift). Doug's roommate was the 5 time reigning world mogul champion then (IFSA and PFA) -- "Little" Jack Taylor. Oh, to be that young again.

 

[Bounce]

if it's distracting, it's too loud. turn it down to where it's way in the background.

 

[RsvlFeej]

Been singing (cussing out other drivers, making up nonsense lyrics) inside my helmet for decades. Picked up a Sony Walkman receiver a couple of years ago - reception was spotty at best, so I only used it for the commute and even then couldn't hear much. Then a couple of months ago I found a Pioneer XM receiver that doesn't require a separate antenna and will record up to 50 gigs of music. Ahh, the dream is fulfilled :yahoo: , I have music while riding - mostly as it's being beamed from the satellite, but with the option to listen to recorded stuff if I know I will be oriented to block the signal for any length of time.

And the downside - the first weekend I took my new toy into the twisties, I had a mother of a time getting into rhythm with the road, pulled a couple of bonehead moves :mega_shok: , and decided the music will stay turned off except for freeway travel until I get adapted to the extra sensory input. For now, it's XM during slab time, but back to my own audio input (oooh, might be gravel in that shadow, is that a LEO up ahead?, entry speed is a little hot - back off) in the twisties. I'm hopeful that with enough exposure I'll be able to relegate the music to background without messing with what I need to do as I now can while writing reports at work.

 

[Silent]

Ipod nanoEty Motic ER6 earphones - great at cancelling out windnoise but not so much that it drowns out everything like honking horns or sirens from the cop behind you.

Monster RF wireless remote - great because there are no wires to deal with and you can turn on/off, play pause, volume, skip tracks and even playlists - I just wrap it around the handlbars and for the most part works well (about the size of a g-shock watch)- with this device I can safely tuck my ipod away in my jacket so it won't get wet and earphone cords are the only ones you have to deal with

Sounds alot like my setup. I have an Airclick remote mounted to my left mirrror mount and my iPod in my right brest pocket of my 'stitch. Cheap $20 ear buds work well enough for me B)

 

[FJRottie]

I don't find music distracting while I ride. If you can walk and chew gum or pat your head and rub your tummy you can ride and listen.

I don't play it loud so I can hear the bike and other noises (sirens) and when I need to, I just tune it out.

Concentrate on the ride and the music is just nice in the background. YMMV