I'm planning to travel more and am outfitting my V7 Stone. I've gotten Ikon Shocks, several Ram mounts for iPhone and a new Garmin Zumo 590LM. I decided to purchase a Sena 20S Bluetooth Speaker/Communicator device to listen to stereo and get GPS commands. I mounted it on my Schuberth C3. The bottom rim of the helmet presented two problems. One was that the forward most position for mounting the Sena is no good on the Schuberth because that is where the slider for the drop down sunglass is found. That required me to move it back a couple of inches which turned out to not be a problem. The second issue was that the bottom rim of the helmet appears to be a double plastic piece with a groove for the liner, and it is much too thick to use the Sena clamping mount, which is the much preferred mount for reasons that became apparent in the first 100 miles. I used the stick on mount which I was very dubious about. The warning in the Sena manual did not inspire confidence either.
Sure enough, about 75 miles and I felt the Sena kerplunk onto my shoulder, now being held on by a couple of flimsy speaker wires and the mic wire. No good. I considered dremeling the rim and making a cut in the liner, but then I decided to put three pop rivets in the sticky mount. It will not be falling off again. I have sort of lost my fear of drilling holes and grinding off pieces of brand new expensive shit over the years.
The Sena 20S is supplied with three mics. I chose the boom mike that is designed to be attached inside the helmet. The other two choices are a boom that is attached to the Sena and a wired button mic. The one I used just stuck up under the lining and is adequately held and is able to be pushed out of the way.
The speakers are supplied with several options and thicknesses of pads. They say you should try to mount them over your ears and that they should be lightly touching the ear. This was fairly simple. They supply a sticky velcro base to hold them in place, and once stuck in the speakers can be moved around a bit.
As far as performance, I only had one issue. When the level of the music was just right, the GPS prompts were, like, ear splitting, and like most of you I suspect, I've got the old age deafness. At breakfast, I believe I was able to turn the GPS down to 50% in the Garmin menu.
The stereo is very good over this set. There is a large knob that can be turned up and down. By pressing on the knob (Jog Dial), and holding it for 2", the stereo can be paused or played. Press and turn forward to skip a song, and press and turn backward to go back one or restart. Incidentally, turning a knob that is on the left side of your head and turned with your left hand does not make which is forward and backward obvious, but I think I got it now. It reminds me of my big brother throwing a wrench at me when I turned a nut the wrong way while leaning over and reaching under a motor to turn a nut on the bottom of the motor.
The unit turns on by pressing the phone and jog dial at the same time. The unit beeps four times and says "Hello" in a very cheerful voice. The phone instantly pairs with the device, as does the Garmin, once paired at home. The controls are not exactly obvious, but it seems to be easy to start using it. I have the guide downloaded on the iPhone so I can learn a new trick each time I stop and look at the guide.
I have no intention of using the iPhone pairing for anything other than music. I will not go down the road answering calls from work contacts, and would only call home after stopping. I did try it out though and was surprised how well it worked. The commands that you can give your phone are all available, such as "Call Scott Smith" or "Music" or "cancel".
I also do not anticipate riding down the road using the intercom to talk to my friends. First, they don't have one. Second, we pretty much agree that one of the reasons we ride Motorcycles is to have quiet time without talking. So, I can't address range, or any of that type thing. I told my two Ural buddies that I was getting it, and if they get one, I'll test that feature. So far, they have only demanded that I buy them one so that probably ain't happening.
It can be charged via a USB plug, and could even be hooked up to bike power via a usb plug such as is available on the wiring harness of my Garmin 590LM. Other than in that configuration, there is no danger of getting off my bike and walking off with a cord still attached, as I have done with earbuds.
Overall, I am somewhat happy with the thing so far.
