Hi all,

Prior to the MO Meet & Greet, I purchased a Scala Rider FM Bluetooth headset. I figured I'd give you all my impressions of this unit.

I installed the unit on my HJC Sy-Max II modular helmet. Installation was a 5 minute job. Slip the unit over the bottom edge of the helmet and tighten 2 allen bolts. Tuck the wires away and the speakers attach with velcro in the ear pockets. Charge the unit with the wall charger and snap it onto the helmet mounted piece and you are good to go.

The unit was easy to pair with my Motorola cell phone. The first time I tried it out, my wife asked if I were pulled over to the side of the road. I told her I was riding at 70+ MPH. She couldn't believe the quality of the sound. The 2 speakers in the helmet are small and I had to adjust them several times to get them centered directly over my ears. I eventually added some foam to the ear pocket of the helmet to bring them closer to my ears. Your mileage may vary, since the HJC is a fairly noisy helmet. The volume buttons are easy to find, even with gloves, although I haven't tried with my cold weather gloves yet. To answer a call, all you have to do is speak a word, any word, and it will automatically go on. The electronics are in a rubber sealed removable unit and looks to be well built and fairly water resistant. The microphone is on a boom and has a foam puff on the end for wind noise control. In my helmet, it sits at the corner of my lips and a fraction of an inch away from my mouth.

The FM radio feature is disappointing. It only tunes in the strongest of stations and the sound reminds me of those little AM radios I listened to as a child. It might be good to get weather reports, but not much more than that.

I haven't tried pairing it to a GPS yet, since I have the worlds cheapest GPS and it is not bluetooth equipped. I have not tried the Rider-2-Rider feature yet either.

I'm not going to argue the merits of talking on the cell while riding. My Angel loves to talk and there are times I have to say, "Baby, I'm riding", but by assigning individual ringtones to important people you can decide if you want to take the call or not.

I would give this unit a 9/10 for cell phone use and a 7/10 overall, because of the crappy FM radio. Would I buy it again? You betcha.

Paul

Thanks for your info. I'm considering something like this myself so your insight is helpful.

John

Very cool! Honest, and straight forward. Have you used any MP3 or IPOD with it yet? I know some of them have their own FM that might get you a better sound?

Thanks for the report. I've been considering something myself, so, very helpful.

BTW, how much? Oh, does it have a hard wire plug like an RCA jack for input feed?

Thanks, Ratl.

I bought one last year and loved it. This year I upgraded to the Q2. It makes the ride much nicer when I can talk to my wife.

I bought one last summer. It's a good product but as said the audio is tinny sounding. Still worth listening to though. I have it paired to my ZUMO 550 and it works fine and the MP3 played from the zumo are a little better than the FM radio in the headset. I wish there was an easy whay to swap the stock ear speakers for some ear buds to see if that would improve the sound quality. In my case after about 55mph the people on the other end get some wind noise from the mic. All in all a good product!

Today was the last straw, I missed 4 phone calls while riding. My business depends on me getting those phone calls and it could have cost me a bunch, so I bit the bullet and I bought the Scala Rider Q2 today. It's all installed on my helmet and scootergirls. Once it charges up I have to pair it with the Tom Tom, my phone, her phone and each other. I had to adjust the ear pieces a couple of times to get them to a good spot. They do still sound tiny but I'm used to the earbuds from my MP3.

Just FYI, I bought the set for $395, but they gave me $25 off so with tax came to $360. It could have cost me twice that in lost business today alone.

How great is that, doing business on your Roady?? Nobody else has an office like that!!

Paul

I used to just use one of those bluetooth ear buds, but it sucked. Ask Ironman, he called me the other day when I was riding and he said I kept breaking up. I could hear him just fine, but he was having trouble hearing me. It worked in a pinch, but just barely.

I hope to give the Scala a test today.

I have one, but on a 3/4 helmet. It works best in a full size helmet. At 3/4 helmet the speaker mike is still exposed to the ambient sounds so you pick up the exhaust noise and can't hear while rolling at 70-80 MPH. I'm sure that its much better in a full size helmet.