Bike two way radios??
 

I may well be getting my ST2 this weekend.. will let you know! I will then be looking to get some two way walkie-talkie radios.. any suggestions or experiences? When I did my training my instructor used the type where it only works if you speak, thus not permanently on... thus not constant load of wind noise in your earpiece. Anyone use these?

I bought a cheap set for a trip to France with Henners.
No good at all. My advise would be by the best you can afford.
Seems those Autocom units are the best on the market.
Regards R-L

You get what you pay for. Autocom always come out top of the magazine tests but a bike to bike set will cost about £200 per bike plus the radios. VOX is the system you are thinking about, it starts transmitting as soon as you start talking. Systems without VOX cost a bit less. Radios cost from £130 a pair for cheapies to £180 each for decent Kenwood or Motorola kit.

From experience i think that cheap kit is a waste of money. The good kit actually works!

www.autocom.co.uk

yeh.. thought as much.. so those kits for £40 on ebay are probably going to be no good then?

I'm very excited about the ST2.. it looks a beauty.. if all goes well I shall get it at the weekend... and probably be in the hospital by Monday..!

Ta!

Presumably this will be your first V twin? My first was also an ST2 and i have to say that it took me a few weeks to stop thinking that i had wasted £3500! I thought it was a horrid thing, lumpy, heavy noisy clutch, hard to ride slowly etc then after having a few long ish rides something kind of clicked and i would never go back to another kind of bike now.

What i am saying is that if initially you dont like it, give it time.


Yep the £40 ebay kits are a good way to chuck away £40!!!

Have a look at TecStars star com-1 from starts at about £130 up to £350.

www.tecstar.co.uk

I looked at the Tecstars site and was pretty impressed. I have asked them a few questions and they responded immediately (well, with a slight time lag). has anyone used them on an ST. Any mounting problems. Do you know if they can be run off the accessory plug on the side of the 2004 STs. I pick mine up tomorrow and their product does look inviting. I have 3 motorolas and if they can be used for bike to bike the star com looks even better.

I use Autocom stuff. Does exactly what it says on the tin, but they're pricey. You get what you pay for...

Anyone using the Tecstar stuff. I was in California over Christmas and the dealer there had none in stock. So, I need to wait until May to try again, and that gives me time to hear evaluations from any users out there. Shipping to Japan is a little expensive and the stuff sold here is at least the equivalent of 600 Yankee dollars!

MDB, Tecstar are in St.Ives Cambs-about 15 miles from me. If you need me to visit for you give me a shout.

John

Thanks John, will keep that in mind,

I've had a couple of autom systems now.
The kit is very good, and had no reliebility problems at all.

Only problem we experienced was with the first kit, and it was not the kit at all. If you do not get the ear peices lined up properly it will really cut the volume down. We could not hear each other above 70ish mph as a result.

With the next kit (changed bike) I refitted everything properly in our helmets and the difference was amazing. We can now have a conversation at 140 without having to shout :devil:
Also try to get the position of the mic right, else wind noise will set it off. I find my mic picks up wind noise above about 110, or above 9k5 revs in any gear - acts quite well as an audible rev warning :lol:

The last kit we brought was the intermediate kit, as I did not use the extra features the top of the range one offered.

As for connections, ours is wired to the bike rather than being carried on us, and is wired into the rear light feed. The pair of plugs pop up from between the seat and tank so it is easy to get at them to connect up when getting on/off the bike.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
John.