Any Motorcycle Riders have a Chatterbox?

[Kuneff]

I ordered a rider & passenger (chatterbox) 2 way communicator for my parents for Christmas. it came in and I am pretty dissapointed by its quality. I ordered it over the phone thru a friend at the local Harley shop. I specified clearly that I wanted the Chatterbox brand, and this is some off brand.

So, I am now trying to find any ifno at all on chatterbox's. Has anyone ever had one? for my parents I just want the one that allows them to talk to each other. i am also looking for one for myself that allows me to communicate with others that I am riding with.

anyone know about these???

[ligersandtions]

I have one (not a knock off brand). I find it very useful for communicating and for playing music through an ipod or something. The only thing I can think of that I don't love about it is that sometimes it's really hard to hear what other people are saying just because of the wind and what not.

I haven't used mine in a while (bike is still not street legal), but if I recall correctly, it holds charge for a good amount of time (my ipod nano would die before the chatterbox would). Oh, and stock up on the clips (for the helmet) because they break easily....I usually just buy as many as Cycle Gear has in stock

[GeeWillikers]

I have had my set for over a year.

Bulletproof, and wouldn't ride without them. It just isn't the same.

The wife and I ride separately, and it really helps us enjoy the ride. We bought the set with extended frequency range to be able to eliminate redundant chatter from little kids playing on their WalMart talkies - it was worth the extra $. Rarely, if ever, are we bothered by anyone's conversations.

We ride full-face, and the only complaint I had was sensitivity causing hot-mic when I turn my head to side at speeds above 50 MPH. A little mic repositioning fixed it. You have to find a balance between having to yell or getting a false mic key.

I make a "puhhh" sound before each transmission to key the mic, then talk normally. It works great. It took a little while to get the timing down so we didn't talk over each other, but no problems at all.

I don't see how people ride together without these things to be honest - the safety aspect alone is worth the investment. We look out for each other and assist with scan all the time.

Ten thumbs up.

[GeeWillikers]

Originally Posted by ligersandtions

I have one (not a knock off brand). I find it very useful for communicating and for playing music through an ipod or something. The only thing I can think of that I don't love about it is that sometimes it's really hard to hear what other people are saying just because of the wind and what not.

I haven't used mine in a while (bike is still not street legal), but if I recall correctly, it holds charge for a good amount of time (my ipod nano would die before the chatterbox would). Oh, and stock up on the clips (for the helmet) because they break easily....I usually just buy as many as Cycle Gear has in stock

In two seasons of riding we've had no clip issues, and hearing for us (in a full face) has been seamless. No issues at all.

I've never done Ipod or cell phone implementation (don't believe in it for safety reasons) but the interface is simple. Ditto the above on charge time. They are good for hours and hours. We've gone out for rides on the Island that span eight hours and more - we've never had an issue with charge that we didn't cause ourselves.

[ligersandtions]

Originally Posted by GeeWillikers

In two seasons of riding we've had no clip issues, and hearing for us (in a full face) has been seamless. No issues at all.

I've never done Ipod or cell phone implementation (don't believe in it for safety reasons) but the interface is simple. Ditto the above on charge time. They are good for hours and hours. We've gone out for rides on the Island that span eight hours and more - we've never had an issue with charge that we didn't cause ourselves.

I tend to break clips when taking the chatterbox and clips off or putting them on (apparently I'm not very careful when putting them on or taking them off the helmet...).

I haven't used the ipod since I learned to ride myself....I used to listen to music when I rode on the back, but I haven't done it while I was riding.

As for the sound problem, I had a vent on my helmet open (it was hot during the summer), and that's the only time I noticed problems with noise.

But yeah, chatterbox = good investment, two thumbs up!

[Kuneff]

Cool. I think I wanna go for the GMRS one for myself. I like hte 5 mile range idea. As for my parents I am looking at the Tandem Pro. They just want to talk with each other, and they ride together.

[GeeWillikers]

Originally Posted by kuneff

Cool. I think I wanna go for the GMRS one for myself. I like hte 5 mile range idea. As for my parents I am looking at the Tandem Pro. They just want to talk with each other, and they ride together.

i'm pretty sure that's the model (GMRS) we have - I'll have to look at them when I get home to be sure. We went up the chart a bit to be abel to option ourselves out of the normal 'chatter..' Living on an Island you pick up lots of noise from fishermen and kids playing between the boats. It's a pain in the a$$.

As for the range, we never get that far apart, but we've never had an issue with signal strength either.

As for mounting the unit on the little clip - we either do it ourselves with the helmet off, or assist each other - maybe that's why we've never had a clip issue. Mounting it with the helmet on can be a pain with gloves on.. To be honest, I can't imagine breaking one - ours go on and off with ease.

[Kuneff]

for my parents, the tandem pro unit they said does not mount to the helmet. It mounts to the rider or the bike. The GMRS & FRS mount to the helmet. BUT, cant you just leave it hooked to the helmet all the time? Why would you need to remove it to begin with?

[ligersandtions]

Originally Posted by kuneff

for my parents, the tandem pro unit they said does not mount to the helmet. It mounts to the rider or the bike. The GMRS & FRS mount to the helmet. BUT, cant you just leave it hooked to the helmet all the time? Why would you need to remove it to begin with?

Yeah, you'd normally leave it hooked to the helmet. When I put my first one on, I broke the clip. Then I needed to take it off my helmet cause I got a new helmet....I couldn't get the clip to come off the helmet and ended up breaking it. Then when I put it on my new helmet, I think I actually did it successfully, but I can't remember for sure.

A bunch of my fiance's friends that he used to ride with (when we lived in WA) all had the same problems with breaking clips, so that's how we all got in the habit of just buying the store's stock of clips. I've never tried to put them on with my helmet on my head or gloves on my hands....I guess I'm just not very coordinated when it comes to that kind of stuff.

[trackmagic]

Thread Jack:

[Kuneff]

Originally Posted by trackmagic

Thread Jack:

I am impressed. You really look like your good on a pair of inline skates. I bet your parents owuld be proud if you came out of the closet with them.

[GeeWillikers]

Originally Posted by kuneff

for my parents, the tandem pro unit they said does not mount to the helmet. It mounts to the rider or the bike. The GMRS & FRS mount to the helmet. BUT, cant you just leave it hooked to the helmet all the time? Why would you need to remove it to begin with?

I take mine off because:

1 - I have a nice, semi-hard shell helmet bag for my helmet and the talkie won't fit.

2 - I take it in the house to charge, and all my gear stays on my "bike shelf" in the garage.

I'm still amazed ligers breaks the clips. I've been removing and installing mine for two years and have never had an issue.


That is one "FOINE" inline skater.