Ixion FAQ

What kind of intercom should I get?

>  Does anyone out there have any experience of these beasts,

For the latter:

30 (in p& p) buys you an OXFORD BIKE MIKE II from APS in Bristol (original recommendation from Richard Wills @ swindon) They are as cheaply built as they cost but they are a bloody good buy. Consisting of two (mono) earpeices and a mike attachable by velcro (VEMAR helmets dont like velcro, SHOEI RF200's do!) The wire to one of the headsets broke vefore I had put it in for the first time but re-soldering did the job. Volume levels OK -> 60MPH (assuming you position the transducers correctly) and to 80 MPH (my speedo must be 10 MPH out officer!) with foam ear plugs. Dont bother with it in the wet unless the plugs for the headset are waterproofed (was travelling at 60 MPH in the wet when this incredible HOWL hit me in the ear. Took a day to dry out!)

I took it to Stratford-Upon-Avon the other weekend and was well worth it. Apart from ear bashings when accelerating too hard, it allowed the pillion to watch the sign-posts while I watched the road.

Andy Cannon:

I also bought one of the first Oxford Bike Mics for a trip to France. Worked fine on my Transalp below 60mph, after that it was buzzy and hard to hear Han singing. It got wet and screeched in our ears at one point and now works when it can be bothered. Earphones were hard to fit into the right place for your ears and tended to pull out every time we took our helmets off. Then again it cost 30quid at the time so you can't expect too much.

I came into some money just before I went touring this summer and splashed out on an Autocom system. It is brilliant and expensive.

The bloke who designed and sells it is a biker - he rides a ZZR-1100, which he uses for demos too :-) - and knows what the problems with intercoms on bikes are. It has incredibly good microphones which, when positioned correctly, pick up no noticeable wind noise. The system in full duplex (both talk at once), autovox (only comes on when you start talking, but the response is VERY fast). The sound level is automatically adjusted for external noise (usually wind noise, but on the MAG demo Harleys as well), and the speakers are very high quality. The system also takes a walkman input, with variable volume for rider and pillion, and the whole thing can be run off the bike's battery. It works fine with earplugs, and conversation is easily possible up to speeds of 120mph (so I'm told, officer), and undoubtedly higher too.

On the other hand its expensive, with the basic box and two headsets coming to about 200 quid. I also found that the intercom itself was handy for basic communication (where to go and when to stop), VERY useful for navigating in unknown cities (rider rides/avoids idiots while the pillion navigates), and great for listening to music while cruising, but biking and conversation don't really go together. Maybe it's just me, but I find being on a bike (rider or pillion) puts me into a fairly solitary/uncommunicative headspace.

Positioning the microphone correctly and projecting your voice a bit take a bit of practice, but not very much. The only real problem I had with this system was that the speakers (which Velcro onto your helmet lining and also need to be positioned properly for best effect) can scrape the tops of your ears quite painfully if you're not careful taking your helmet off. Again, after a while you get used to it.

France last summer with a mate. I think it would be particularly true for rider-passenger as the pillion doesn't get the fun of riding and will probably want something to relieve the boredom on long trips.

> I own a set of NADY bike-bike intercoms, and they are great up to about
> 60mph and then start to lose it.  Bear in mind that they are only Stg 55ish
> each for bike-to bike, and you get a rider-pillion with each set as well.