[Kev250R]

Just curious if anyone rides with ear buds in or not. I did for the first time last Saturday on an off-road ride through a local national forest. I set my I-pod Touch to 50% volume, ran the cords for the earbuds under my shirt than put my helmet on over the ear buds. I rode almost 50 miles that day and found having music to be a nice additon. I don't think I'd try it on-road but I was curious if anyone else rides this way or not. Thanks!



Kevin

 

[shadow]

Yes, I ride with music in. I find my lines are smoother and I am much more relaxed when i have some good rock music going on. Nothing like carving up a canyon or rolling down the freeway with nard rock/metal going, like my own personal action movie playing in my head

 

[biglefti]

I used to ride my Goldwing with earbuds in, but it didn't take too long to abandon them. It wasn't because of safety, my ears would hurt like heck after an hour or so. I do a lot of 12 hour days on the wing. I have 3 helmets that are set up with speakers in the helmet for the wing, and I really don't even use them. I guess I just like to ride. On the trails I have started riding here in AZ, I don't think I would ever even hear the music. So far the riding takes a lot of concentration. Maybe I should slow down <G>!

 

[Ripshod]

The wife and I have XM in our cars and I have an old Delphi Sky-Fi. Once a year, in preparation for my annual 2 or 3 week camping trip, I activate the Sky-Fi and mount it. I've found that during back-to-back 500+ mile days, music really helps the miles tick away. I turn it off whenever the riding gets intense. I don't need any distractions when I'm leaning on curves or fighting congested traffic, but on long straight stretches, music helps preserve my sanity.



BUT ... I always ride with ear plugs. So for music, I use some good in-ear speakers which do a good job of deadening the ambient wind noise.

 

[805gregg]

On long rides on my ST 1300 I use my I-Pod, but not on the TW yet. I have a I Jet that straps to my arm to control the volume and custom ear plugs with speakers.

 

[cptrout]

No way.

I was almost run over my paramedics that had entered a red intersection with siren on. I didn't hear them til the last few seconds. I'm thinking if I had been listening to my ipod those paramedics would have had to call for another paramedic or worse.

 

[Boret]

I have the full face helmet outfitted with a Scala Rider G4. I use it with my touring bike, for communication between riders and also to talk to my wife. The ScalaRider G4 is Bluetooth so I can listen to music off my phone, as well as make and receive calls on top of all the communication between riders. I use earplugs all the time and I actually hear better than without them. I can clearly hear horns and emergency sirens, vs not having earplugs and the wind noise overpowering every other sound.

At first I thought that music on the bike didn't make sense, I wanted to hear the engine. But it is actually pretty nice. I don't have it ON all the time, but when I do it does make my riding smoother.



I recently did a cross country trip on the bike, and having the music was great!



I use the same helmet for the TW200 and I do listen to music when I am on the slab getting to some off road. Once off-road I normally turn the music off. With this setup you get thin speakers that go in the helmet, so I am not putting anything in ear besides the earplugs. I am also not running any cables from the helmet to an iPod and I can change songs and volume with gloves on.

 

[Kev250R]

It's nice to see I'm not alone with listening to music when I ride, though I think I'll avoid using it on the street. Thanks for all the feedback guys!



Kevin

 

[pantera1]

Love tunes..but cannot ride motorcyle while listening to them. Tried.



I can keep myself entertained without them. Maybe an the slab for a distance, but that doesn't happen too often.

 

[lazymorulz]

To I-Pod! Gotta have my tunes..

 

[ktrout01]

I ride with earbuds in during my commute. I don't crank it up so loud so as to not be able to hear traffic around me.

 

[qwerty]

Millions of motorcyclists already have damaged their hearing just from wind noise. That humming, buzzing, or wooshing noise you hear after a long ride is called tinnitus and is a precursory sign of permanent hearing loss. I would only ride with tunes if I had custom plugs to attentuate background noise enough to hear the tunes at low volume. Until I can afford a good set of noise-canceling earplugs I'll stick with ear plugs to protect my hearing. I've used earplugs for nearly 650,000 road miles plus racing and trailing, and I can still hear a snake slithering close by.

 

[Boret]

+1 on Ear Plugs! I hear much better with them on, I can do more miles, I get less tired. It's all pluses in my book.

You can get an Assorted Pack (38 pairs) here for $8.95 plus s/h

I personally like the smaller/softer earplugs. Proper fitting is paramount, if you don't fit it snugly it can actually create more noise!

Once you find the ones you like the best buy a bunch of those.

I have pairs everywhere, in all of my jackets, all the top bags, saddles, etc.