Motorcycle Helmets, Bluetooth, And GPS

 

For those of you that ride motorcycles, do you have Bluetooth in your helmet, if you wear one, and get GPS directions that way? If so, how well does it work out? What Garmin, or other, devices would you recommend for motorcycle navigation that uses Bluetooth?

I Use

my Garmin 350 on my old Goldwing. Works fine.

Fred

i use a zumo 665 with a scala rider

and definitely use it for GPS directions. Generally, i have it stream podcasts or music (MP3 format loaded onto microSD) while riding. For redlight camera locations, radar traps, or exits that i use a lot, i will have it give me a proximity alert.

The bad thing about my setup is that garmin's bluetooth is inconsistent. The last software update (some time ago) made it less inconsistent but it is still quite quirky.

Sena 10s and 3490, but they don't connect

I have a Sena 10s unit for my helmet. I use my trusty old nuvi3490 on my bike as well as the car. It does not support connection to a headset though, so no spoken directions for me. It would be nice, but I'm not willing to shell out the bucks for a new Zumo to gain that feature. The Zumos also seem to have a lot of other issues that reviewers complain about. For that kind of money it had better be perfect.
Completed a 6400mi cross country trip just a couple of weeks ago. The 3490 worked fine, except I had to keep a ziploc bag over it in the rain.

--
Garmin Nüvi 660 & 3490LMT with ecoRoute HD, Nüvi 855 gone to GPS heaven

Sena SMH10R and Nuvi 765T or 775T

When I rode, those were the devices I used. For those two particular models, Garmin made a mistake and the GPS would pair as an media device to Sena headsets. Once known, many motorcyclists posted the information and helped save others from spending the big bucks on a Zumo.

A plastic zip lock sandwich bag was the general solution for the Nuvi not being waterproof.

Cheers

Bob
Ottawa,Canada

Garmin zumo 395 with Nolan B5

The GPS works great as a replacement for (addition to?) the traditional roadbook. I have the Nolan B5 comm set with my N104 helmet. My wife uses the same setup and we can both hear the GPS mounted on my bike. Garmin BaseCamp seems a bit clunky, so I use TyreToTravel to figure the routes out on the computer and them import them to the GPS.
My only issue is when I have the radio at a comfortable volume, the navi commands are a bit too loud.
We also use a walkie-talkie based system with other friends, and I would highly recommend the Bluetooth - wouldn't leave home without it.