Sounds

I USE A PAIR OF $9 SONY STEREO EAR PLUGS HOOKED TO MY MP3 PLAYER!!! I STILL HEAR LOTS OF WIND AND ROAD NOISE BUT WITH THE VOLUME ALMOST PEGGED, THE MUSIC IS MUCH LOUDER AND BETTER!!! IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THIS SETUP IS AFFECTING MY OVERALL HEARING BUT I WON'T KNOW FOR SURE FOR A FEW YEARS!!! WHAT DID YOU SAY??? WHAT???
 
The Best sound while on your bike is The Motor, the road, and the world around you...

But I did meet a guy yesterday with an XM satellite system wired to his R1150GS.  Looked like a decent setup, though I found the antena kinda funky...
 
If you have a lighter-weight helmet you NEED ear PROTECTION for the road and wind noise or you will go deaf. Bear that in mind.

I get bored on longer rides and commutes, as well, however, and I sometimes use my MP3 player. I needed something sturdy and replaceable (not a $400 iPod, for example), so I got an iRiver SlimX. Before that, I had a SonicBlue RioVolt SP250 (don't get the 350, it's a piece of junk) -- finally conked out after a year on the back of my K-RS.

They both are recharchable -- I just plug it in at the office when it starts to get low -- and have FM tuners, as well. Additionally, they cost about $130 and play regular CD's and WMA files in addition to MP3s. Also come with little wired remote controls that I can string out to a convenient place so I don't have to access the main unit to tune, adjust volume, skip tracks, etc.

The MP3/CD player lives in my tankbag. To complete the picture, I run a motocomm ($60) helmet speaker/mic system (it's mono, but it's waterproof and sturdy) to a little $3 Radio Shack adapter. A complete MP3/CD sound system for a little under $200.

In addition, I wear Bilsom 556 (27db NR, reusable, tethered) earplugs -- a kind that's NOT the little annoying spongy type but actually fits easily and snugly in your ear and is easy to get out also. So, at that point, it's the helmet speakers vs. the earplugs.

The MP3/CD player is up to near max volume most of the time so I can hear it, but I've always left it low enough so that it's only in the "background" (note that both earplugs and helmet speakers are illegal in some states). If you want to HEAR the music, however, just plug in a Boostaroo ($20 headphone amp). It goes through batteries, but it works well.
 
I dont know, maybe Im off here but where I ride I have to devote 110% to the world around me so I wont be listening to anything but the sounds of my bike and the road. Not really too bad since its such sweet music anyway !
 
I dont know, maybe Im off here but where I ride I have to devote 110% to the world around me so I wont be listening to anything but the sounds of my bike and the road. Not really too bad since its such sweet music anyway !
I'm with you there, but at highway speeds the wind and road noise obscures most everything useful to listen to -- you can still hear (and feel) most engine/drivetrain/wheel anomalies, for example, through earplugs because they tend to have unusual rythms and peak frequencies.

Extra, "interesting" sound can sap one's attention, true, that's why I keep the volume relatively low -- plus if it were really loud enough to drown out the road noise I would shortly be stone deaf and in a lot of pain. I also find, however, that the continous, unmitigated sounds of the road are very (very) tiring, shortening my riding time and drawing from my ability to react to developing situtations ahead.

From these standpoints, a few tunes at an appropriate volume I think are pretty harmless. I do believe radio talk shows (or NPR news, which I like to listen to also) can be very distracting, however, because you have to concentrate to eek out the words unless the volume is really high.

(How bad is your hearing now? Go somewhere in your building without white noise -- hard to do with computers or A/C around -- and cover your ears as best you can. That ringing you hear is tinitis, and is basically indicative of hearing loss. A few more years of road noise will make that much worse.)
 
I try to stay away from that kind of thinking. I personally think it's safer for me to have no music even though I love it. That's also why I don't use cruise control in car or bike.

Just call me add boy:p
 
Hey earbuds suck!   What kinda headphones can I use that I can hear over road noise.  Is there an amplifier for headphones?
you'll hafta try an' pardon my "RSD-APPROACH" to yer topic, and many other topics , for that matter . BUT, riding a motorcycle like the Busa with head-phones a'blastin' is pretty much FUGGINSTOOPID .
Please , feel free to offer a re-buttle.

other than that....

have a good 1...

have yerself a "cage encounter" free day .
 
Earplugs Good! Hearing Loss Bad...Wind noise and after market pipes create some serious Db's folks...Earplugs where legal are a good idea...Where illegal I'll get a ticket.
 
Thanks for all the replies, even though many were not answering the question. I have ordered 2 Boostaroo's and they can be run in series for a double boost, am going to see if just one works well enough and will report here with results for those that are interested.

Have a good 'un....I am looking very much forward to this weekend and the LoneStar Biker Bash here at Texas Motor Speedway, going to be a great weekend !!
 
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