Bluetooth on my RT

[Lubedude]

What is the most reasonable way to get the Bluetooth thing going on my bike. I am new to this option and my previous rides had the sounds all delivered via a cord. Would like some suggestions before I make an expensive mistake. Thanks!

[TEWKS]

Do you have a Bluetooth communication system yet? I recommend Sena only because it's what I have and it's been working great for a few years now. The new 10S is the replacement for the SMH10 and that is what I'd buy.

http://www.sena.com/product/10s/

 

Pat

[Kitsap]

What the prior gentleman said.

[gordiet]

I am still using my Sena SMH10 and it works great.

[TEWKS]

What the prior gentleman said.

We're using that term loosely, I hope...

 

 

 

Lubedude, the other question would be do you have the BMW Nav System? And oh yeah, a Bluetooth phone? If yes on all three (adding Sena) you'll be good to go.

 

I'm a little rusty on the sync sequence (been a while) but someone here will be able to help out.

 

Pat

[hopz]

Lube...

 

The answers above are all good. I think a lot of it depends on what you want to do.

 

I wanted to hear all the Wet Head outputs, meaning the Radio, Music on a USB stick, Navigation Prompts from a route on the GPS, Telephone send and receive, and Intercom to/from a passenger.

 

The bike is in charge of making the signals (except for the intercom which is independent from the bike audio system) then you have to get the sound to speakers inside your helmet. There are several brands of devices that you can use to can accomplish this.

 

I previously used a Cardo system on an older bike and we never got the volume loud enough to use, but that was quite a few years back. Today's Cardo systems are probably over that issue.

 

I suggest your purchase be of a current model... no matter what brand it is... in other words buying a used/older system from Craigslist might be frought with peril. Buy something from a reputable dealer/source but first be clear with them what the return/warranty process is.

 

The brand that gets a lot of play (pun intended) is the Sena. The SMH10/SMH20 and other variants will serve you well.

 

The main thing is to understand what you want (any) device to do, then research the various methods of doing what you want. I use an SMH10 and it works very well for me.

 

IF you are the type to enjoy the process of things, then you will get a lot of "fun" out of choosing which product/model to buy and then how to set it up. If you find all this stuff frustrating you may curse the day... etc.

 

You will face the challenge of pairing one device to the other and if you have a low tolerance for fussing around until you get it figured out you may be in for a possibly frustrating experience, but once you get it figured out it has a great value-add to your riding experience..

 

There will be an entirely new vocabulary involved, numerous new word/phrases etc. It will take patience but it will pay off in the end.

[marcopolo]

I've been satisfied with my SENA Bluetooth. I started with an SMH-10 model, but recently upgraded to the newer 10S. As was pointed out earlier, the SMH-10 has been discontinued. And to reiterate, it helps if you decide what exactly you want it to do.

[Ralphie]

If you ride by yourself, yourself and a passenger or with only one Bluetooth source I would go with a Sena product. The 20S is the most featured packed, 10S is a great value and quite feature packed. They also make units which can integrate into some Schuberth, Shoei, Arai helmets. The integrated units are called the 10U. With the 10U you gain very nice helmet integration without a unit mounted to the side of the helmet. What you lose is control of the headset from the unit mounted on the side of the helmet. They essentially take much of what is mounted on the side of the helmet with the 20S, 10S or other traditional headsets and replace it with a handlebar or arm mounted control unit.

 

If you ride in a group it is hard to pass up the Cardo Packtalk. I don't like the operation or sound quality quite as well with Cardo Packtalk but the ease of creating, entering, exiting and rejoining a group with the Packtalk is so easy that I am willing to give up a bit of sound quality and ease of operation to get it.