My wife and I like to ride together when ever we get the opportunity. Up until now we have use FRS or GMRS style headsets. And to be honest they work pretty well, but they do have limitations. The biggest one being that you need to use the PTT (push to talk) button, which is usually mounted on your handlebars to communicate with the other rider. Which can be a little difficult at times. Especially if you have smaller hands or are needing to speak when that hand is in use.
I had heard from many of my fellow riders that they had switched to using bluetooth style headsets and that they were pretty happy with them, so I decided it was time to give them a try. I spend a bit of time doing some online research and ended up going with Shark Audio’s F9 intercom. Why you may ask did I go this route over companies like Sena? Well to be honest I didn’t want to drop $00-$600 dollars on a system that I just waste 100% sure that I was going to like. Sharks top end system (the one I’m reviewing here) was less than $150 US dollars! Much more reasonable!
So what are the positives or this setup?
Firstly lets talk about setup and install. Super simple. The system comes with everything that you need to get going. All you really need is about 10-15 minutes and a small screwdriver and you are good to go. Anyone can do this. What about the connection of the bluetooth? Paring it to your phone is as simple as putting the intercom into pairing mode and than going to your phone and connecting. Nothing more complex then that. Then you need to pair the two comms together. Again nice and easy. I’m not going to go into details of how to do this as the manual lays out the instructions perfectly.
Ok. So you have them connected. Now what?
Even when riding by yourself it is super nice to be able to listen to your music and receive calls via the bluetooth to your phone. I did a call with my wife who was at home and she said that it sounded fantastic. Music wise its pretty good. Not crazy loud, but loud enough until you get to highways speeds where it can be drowned out a bit. But i do understand that when traveling at highways speeds your bike is loud and you are getting a lot or road and wind noise. So not really complaining. Bonus is that I’m not annoying other people with y loud motorcycle speakers. Only I can hear my music. Which is good.
Communicating was great. The big bonus is not having a PTT button. You just talk. The noise canceling is awesome. Very impressed. And with just the push of one button you can switch between your music and the intercom. So very easy with your gloves on, which is very important.
The only downside that I can see is that with bluetooth you can only connect up to 4 people (with this setup – some can only do 2) as GMRS can connect whom ever is in range and on the same channel. Which is why we still have our GMRS radios for when we are group riding with multiple people.
Am I happy with the Shark F9’s? You bet! Great purchase, especially for the price!
Enjoy the video!
You can also head on over to Shark’s website to get more information by following this link. http://www.sharkmotorcycleaudio.com/shark-shkmhf9-motorycycle-3800-ft-bike-to-bike-4-way-bluetooth-interphone-with-fm-radio/
