Listening to music while motorcycling is a sensitive subject. Riding requires a lot more attention than driving a car, and some people are understandably nervous about giving up some of their concentration and sensory input to tunes. However, the longer I ride, the more I’ve determined listening to music is an acceptable choice for me. My commute puts me in the saddle for about an hour every day. I take a few 1000 – 1500 mile trips a year, and boy can the monotony and thrum of the interstate numb your senses.

The trick then is finding earphones that successfully satisfy the following:

• Are comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
• Do not move much (or at all) when putting a helmet on.
• Block “enough” noise to partially qualify as earplugs.
• Provide decent enough response so that I can keep my music volume as low as possible.
• Not cost a hojillion dollars.

I had tried the Etymotic Research ER6i earphones based on reviews from ADVrider.com, Ars Technica’s Lounge forum, and a few other places. While they sounded great, they were very uncomfortable and I couldn’t figure out how anyone could wear them on a motorcycle. They didn’t block much wind noise, either. I gladly sold them.

It was with hope and some reluctance that I tried out the Skullcandy Asym earphones as suggested on an FJR forum I frequent. The Asym was designed for dynamic activities like snowboarding, skating, and perhaps even motorcycling. Sporting a design that was “helmet friendly,” the Asyms seemed to be what I was looking for. Best of all, they were available at Target for $40 — half the price as the ER6i earphones.
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I own a 2008 Gmax GM68S helmet (original ADV thread, my personal review, and Web Bike World’s write-up). It is an inexpensive, DOT-only helmet with two main product highlights: a ton of vents and an LED light system in the back.

I fell for the vent hype and thought the LED system was bogus, but the opposite turned out to be true. I have fogging problems with the GM68S, but the LEDs can be seen from far away in the middle of a rainstorm. Funny how expectations work out that way.

Anyway, my major gripe with the helmet (venting aside) is that it was only available in flat, “rubatone” black or various patterns like a snake, a dragon, or a cross. I’m not an old fogey yet, but I’m not an 18 year old squid either. I had to settle for black, even though I was giving up visibility from my silver helmet predecessor.

This year the GM68S has some improvements, and they were convincing enough for me to order one.
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I wrote about the Scala Rider Q2 bluetooth motorcycle communication system almost a month ago. I liked the ability to talk to another person on the bike, place a mobile phone call if I was stuck in traffic, or listen to music.

However, there was a major problem: the speakers that come with the Q2 suck, and I couldn’t hear much over 40MPH with my earplugs in.

I read about soldering a headphone jack connector to the Q2 unit and using and inner-ear earphones headset to eliminate wind noise. I started researching what earphones would be the next best thing to wearing my Howard Leight earplugs. Whatever I purchased needed to live up to a tall task:

1. Provide acceptable protection against the ear-damaging sound associated with motorcycling.
2. Be comfortable in my ears for a long period of time.
3. Provide acceptable sound quality for my Scala Q2.

My research on motorcycle forums like Sportbikes.net, ADVrider.com and sport touring forums, I decided on the Etymotic Research ER6i earphones. They have quite a following from motorcyclists. The manufacturer claims up to 36dB in noise reduction, which would make them more effective than my old foam standbys. At $75 shipped from Amazon it was a lot to pay on top of the Q2 set, but without better sound my bluetooth headset would be useless.

I bit. Would the ER6i earphones do their job as advertised?
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The first half of my trip down to Georgia was fantastic. It was cool enough that I wasn’t hot in my Rev’It Cayenne Pro jacket, but not so cold my hands were freezing. It was overcast enough that I didn’t have to squint behind my Native sunglasses, but not so overcast that I had to worry about rain.

That is, until I got to Fayetteville, North Carolina. Then the sky opened up. It didn’t stop until I reached Savannah, some 280 miles later.

What followed was a near total failure of every piece of waterproof motorcycling gear that I owned. Am I being too harsh?
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Ever since I read Motorcycle Helmet Performance: Blowing the Lid Off expose on motorcycle safety standards by Motorcyclist magazine in 2005, I have been on the hunt for the most safe, comfortable, and feature-filled DOT-only helmet I could find. Thanks to Web Bike World’s continual reviews, I have tried out three budget helmets. I first tried the Z1R Strike helmet (my review), the top-performer in the Motorcyclist article. I found it a little uncomfortable, so I moved on to the Zox Azuma R (my review). The Azuma R fit me great, but the visor still needed improvement, and I was always wishing I had more airflow through the helmet.

Web Bike World reviewed the Gmax GM68S helmet, and I started searching for one. The helmet had a ton of nifty features, was DOT-only, and $109.00 shipped. I was willing to try it out.
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There’s a lot I like about Raptor, my 2002 BMW K1200 LT motorcycle. I like the heated grips, the electric windshield, and the cruise control. One thing I don’t like about it is how expensive all the accessories are. To get replacement helmet speakers and a microphone is about $300 per helmet. I don’t ride 2UP on Raptor enough to justify spending $600 on something just for that one bike.

The IMC BHS10 headset system seemed very attractive to me because it was inexpensive. At just $65 per set, I felt comfortable giving them a try. I didn’t expect them to be of elite quality, but I am also no stranger to paying less and getting more. I just wanted to be able to talk to Starbuck on longer trips, and to hear directions from my GPS unit.

However, I was apprehensive that there would be a compatibility problem with the IMC headset and my stock BMW/J&G CommSystem. I emailed the customer service department at Whitehorse Gear via their Web site and got a response two business days later. I wasn’t happy with that long of a turn-around, especially on a pre-sales question, but sometimes these specialty places are only manned by one or two employees.

I specifically asked if the system was compatible with my setup, and “Dean” replied, “In both cases you will get the speakers, microphone, and a coil cable with the six-pin plug to fit into your LT. Mount the headset in the helmet, plug in, and you are good to go.”

I placed my order immediately and waited for it to arrive.
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Sometimes it pays off to be cheap. I’ve written in the past about the danger of high tech, tough-as-nails SNELL-rated helmets before, which is why I gravitate towards the “softer,” Department of Transportation-approved helmets. About a year ago I wrote about the Z1R Strike helmet, a DOT-only helmet that was tested to absorb the most G-forces in a crash out of a pool of contestants evaluated by Motorcyclist Magazine. After twelve months of wearing the Z1R Strike as my main helmet, I had to give up on it.
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Sometimes you get what you pay for. And sometimes, you get a lot more. Such is the case with the Z1R Strike helmet, which was found to transmit the least amount of g-force to the skull in Motorcyclist Magazine’s test of several DOT and SNELL approved helmets. Longtime Gibberish members will remember this helmet as my first choice, but sizing and availability issues made me go with my HJC SYMAX helmet instead until recently. I starting having concerns about the safety of they SYMAX’s flip up face design (and that of other flip up helmets) in the event of a chin-first series of impacts. One smash would probably be okay, but a second face strike might pop the helmet open or worse. I started shopping around for a single-piece full face helmet, and I checked back on our ol’ friend the Z1R. I found one in my size from KneeDraggers for less than $100 shipped. I’ve done business with KneeDraggers before, and as always they were quick to fulfill my order and ship it. The Z1R is less than half the price of my SYMAX helmet, which is considered in the middle of the road of helmets, price-wise. Arai, Shoei, and others helmet brands can easily run over $400.

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Things work out if you give life enough time and something to work with.

I found out today why Wachovia (my bank from 1995 on, when they were First Union) hadn’t called me back this week regarding my motorcycle loan.

They denied it.

I had to wrest this information out from another loan officer, the lady I worked with apparently knew yesterday and didn’t contact me. She was in a conference all day today.

I had to scramble for financing less than 24 hours from when I wanted to pick up my bike. The funny thing is, a week ago I paid off, canceled, and shredded my Citibank card, which had more than enough limit to just charge the bike onto. Take that, forward thinking!

To compound the issue, my leather jacket wasn’t going to be here until Friday. I had plans to borrow Bond’s jacket, and while he is a verifiable stud, he’s not the same size I am. I think he wears a 42 or 44 jacket, I needed a 48.

Well, sometimes you just have to roll a hard six.

I called the Yamaha dealership in Charlottesville and told them my lender was dragging their heels. They were, technically. Dragging them to a full stop and giving me the finger. But the dealer didn’t have to know that. “What can y’all do for me?”

Thirty minutes later, the head of the financing department called me back with a 2% better APR than Wachovia and a $99 a month minimum payment — similar to the types of financing you see at Best Buy or department stores for big purchases. The term? 60 months, just like Wachovia. Booya, bitches.

Problem one out of the way. Problem two was solved with a loud rumble outside my window and the FedEx man scampering away from my front porch. My jacket (and bike cover) arrived a day early.

I put it on to celebrate:

Here’s the jacket with my military spec reflective vest on. The jacket itself is all black.

Same setup with the flash on, see the difference with the reflective from the first pic?

Lady Jaye was cracking up at work — I was instant messaging her with my gear on and pajama pants. So I said what the hell and took one with my helmet on:

Bask in my dorketry.

By the way, the jacket is dead sexy. The smell of the leather is awesome, and is totally out of a Mad Max movie.

If I don’t have to use it on my way back tomorrow, I’ll do a write up on it when I return. Well, even if I do turf it I’ll write about it :)

Wish me luck,

Doc