Music and motorcycles....??

[Tigger]

Has anyone tried or know of someone who rides with an ipod on for music? I have not tried it yet but it seems like it would be alright since you do not use hearing that much (helmet) compared to vision and feel. Would it be a safety issue? Could it be lethal and dangerous? Any suggestions. Thanks.

[Sev]

I use my creative on long highway trips with some Sony earplug earbuds. You won't catch me doing that in the city though, I use my hearing a lot around there.

It's illegal in some states.

[Ian522]

Bad idea if you asked me. Its a distraction.

[Dragonhawk]

First of all, the earbuds that come with an iPod totally SUCK in a helmet.

They are very difficult to keep in your ears because the helmet pulls on the cords. When you DO get them in successfully, the pressure of the helmet-padding makes them hurt like hell. If your helmet has removeable earpads, you can take them out. But, then it tends to create a little echo-chamber and it's difficult to drown-out the roadnoise.

The most comfortable alternative is to buy normal mini-headphones and rip out the speakers and put them in the helmet in place of the earpads.

Again, roadnoise is a problem.

With those little speakers sitting that far from your ears, it's hard to hear any music, even when you blast the iPod.

In short, I personally stopped using an iPod when I ride. Yes, it's technically illegal to wear two headphones. Who cares? The real issue is that it was uncomfortable and unenjoyable.

If you can figure out a slick way to mount the headphones and eliminate the roadnoise, go for it. For me, too much roadnoise constantly drowning-out the music made it just not worth the effort.

[Gadjet]

For any ride other than tooling around town, I listen to my MiniDisc player. Like Sev, I used to use a pair of minibud in-ear headphones that didn't cause any discomfort under my helmet, and amazingly enough, I found that they made better earplugs than my earplugs - result? lower volume on my player, which is better for my ears and easier on the battery life.

Now, I have a full communication system set up on my bike (IMC Motocomm MIT100) with music, cell phone, FRS/GMRS, intercom hookups and proper helmet speakers. The system automatically mutes the volume on the music when using the bike to bike or rider to passenger modes, and I assume it does the same when using the phone (which is one thing I won't be hooking up. If I need to make a phone call, I'll stop, and if someone is calling me, they can leave a message and I'll get back to them)

I have yet to find out how well the music comes through when actually riding though, as it's still a little too cold and snowy/icy here to get the bike out.

[storysunfolding]

Now, I have a full communication system set up on my bike (IMC Motocomm MIT100) with music, cell phone, FRS/GMRS, intercom hookups and proper helmet speakers. The system automatically mutes the volume on the music when using the bike to bike or rider to passenger modes, and I assume it does the same when using the phone (which is one thing I won't be hooking up. If I need to make a phone call, I'll stop, and if someone is calling me, they can leave a message and I'll get back to them)

I have yet to find out how well the music comes through when actually riding though, as it's still a little too cold and snowy/icy here to get the bike out.

I have the MIT100 as well. It's an amazing and affordable solution for a bike comm system.

The music comes in well. You can hear it clearly up to 80 mph. Also, the music does fade when you have an incoming call.

I go on long rides and have a need to stay in touch girlfriend. The only problem is that my phone doesn't give a signal that its' ringing. The music just dims and I know someone is there. However, I tell them to hold on, I pull over and talk there. With my gear I'd normally have to stop, take the helmet off, take my gloves off and then go back through. It's good for the days that me and the bike disapear for 5 hours

Back on topic, I listen to music during alot of my riding. I don't have it turned up high, it's more of a background noise and I keep it off in heavy traffic or adverse conditions.

That said, it's probably not a good decision to even consider until you have serious seat time. I logged over 20k miles last year alone, music is much better than a wandering mind!

[shane-o]

I ride with my ipod everyday, infact to not have it feels wierd.

just dont have it so loud ya cant hear ya bike or traffic

[logitech104]

having all that inspirational hard rock music blasting in your ears might make you do something stupid though.

[Flting Duck]

Koss "The Plug" earbuds or JVC "Marshmallow" earbuds are both good for riding.

[Sev]

having all that inspirational hard rock music blasting in your ears might make you do something stupid though.

It's tough to keep to the speed limit when certain songs come on...