- Use with multiple helmets with mounting kit per helmet
- Prioritized audio devices e.g. mobile interrupts music
- Detachable microphone and headset
- 6 persons Intercom Motorcycle Bluetooth headsets
- Wireless hands free communication for motorcyclist
Got the first pair and I was pleasantly surprised at the packaging. Nice box, foam padding for the units and parts inside. The instructions booklet is in typical "Chinglish" but can be deciphered fairly well.
Installed them in our helmets. The speakers and mic are fairly easy to install. If your helmets don't have velcro or material for the speaker's velcro to grab, you can stick the supplied velcro inside your helmet. Just be sure that the mic's "hole" is pointed towards your mouth so check by removing the foam covering. The clip system that holds the unit to the helmet is very flimsy and does not hold well. While riding, it would slip down and I had to push it back up into the helmet to keep it from falling off. The other mounting system is stuck onto the helmet with double sided tape. Although this is a bit more stable, you cannot remove it and re-install it on another helmet if needed. The other issue is the tab on the back of the unit which clips into the mount on the helmet is not the most effective means of retention. It simply slides into the mount and is relatively loose in the mount. It can easily move around and up, which it could then come off. It spun itself upside down a couple of times. My son, who wears a motocross helmet with goggles, accidentally broke the tab. As an interim fix, I used velcro on the back and the helmet to hold, which was way more effective than their clip and tab system.
Functionally, they worked well. Was able to talk continuously for 4 hours between riders. Talk time could have been longer but I believe Li-ion batteries are affected by cold. The 1Km Range was not really as advertised (never is) and was more like 1/2 of that. We could understand each other well up to about 80km/h but beyond that, wind and engine noise makes it near impossible to understand. Sound is good but on the tinny side. As for playing music, it works well with my iPhone. But these are not Dr.Dre's so don't expect much for the sound quality. Again, it's rather tinny with no bass at all. To stop and start the music, just push the phone button. For phone calls, it automatically answers after a couple of rings. Phone calls take precedence over everything else, cutting music and communication. After the phone call, it goes back to whatever you were previously doing whether you were listening to music or talking with someone. Phone calls are quite clear at both ends. I talked to my son on the phone while he was riding and I could hear him quite clearly with just a bit of engine noise in the background. Again, speed will affect this. The only negative here is that there is no voice dialing capability but you are riding so if you need to make a call, you should stop, pull out your phone and dial. Not quite the time to remember that you have that important deal you have to call on while riding, is it?
Here is an issue that affected us for snowmobiling so this may not apply to motorcycle riders. The buttons don't work well in the cold. The colder they get, the harder the rubber gets and gets more difficult to get the buttons to register. Another issue is that it is difficult to find the buttons with a gloved hand, especially the smaller ones for the volume or other riders (B, C, D, E). This would become very frustrating when trying to get something to work. Sometimes was able to get it to work by pressing the button repeatedly until it worked but not always.
Also, the communicators would disconnect for no apparent reason although I suspect it's a text message coming in that causes the disconnect as if it was a phone call. Pressing the button reconnects them again.
I also had a chance to contact Shark Audio customer service. I sent an email with my concerns about the broken tab on one and the buttons not working on the other when cold. They sent me a whole new set to replace the defective ones! No dicking around or anything, shipping included and they didn't even want the old ones back. That's the way customer service should be!
With that said, I'm sad to report that the replacement units had the same issues with the cold, breaking tabs and flimsy clips. I just wound up breaking off the remaining tabs and using velcro for a more solid mounting on the helmets. Sometimes just the simplest things work best. As for the cold buttons, we try to warm them up with our hand or just keep pushing until it works. Although they are being advertised for snowmobiling, skiing and so on, maybe they should just do so for motorcycles only.
Since I now had multiple units, I was also able to try them with more than two riders. Pairing them is a bit tricky and you have to follow the instructions (in Chinglish) and you sorta get the hang of it. If you get six of them, it is also different since there is no F button. Again, you have to follow the directions. I also recommend that you label each one. Switching from one rider to another works quite well by pressing the corresponding letter button (A is the main motorcycle button, B, C, D, E. To contact F, you press your letter button). Also took a while to figure out how to go back to music after finishing talking with someone. You have to hang up on them and it will go back to the music. Pressing the phone button won't work while talking to somebody. Another thing about the multiple (3+) units, you cannot all talk at the same time. You can only connect two at the same time (one on one) so basically, no party line. You can however have two separate pairs talking at the same time (A with B, C with D).
So to summarize:
PROS:
price
fair range
fair talk clarity
music ability
multiple units ability
auto phone answer
good talk time
easy mounting of speakers and mic
simple music control
excellent customer service!
CONS:
flimsy helmet mount
breaking mounting tabs
buttons don't work well in the cold
no voice dial
small buttons with a gloved hand difficult to use
reduced advertised talk time due to cold
cannot all talk at the same time (multiple units)
NEUTRAL:
tinny music sound quality (goes with the price)
readable Chinglish manual
I would recommend this product with the caveats of its weaknesses and just replacing the mount with velcro because the price is so good for what you get.Great device, I shared with a friend for our long rides, rather than using hand signals, voice communications is a lot better. It sync'd. to the cell phone without any problems, no code was not needed, and I would say the distance between motorcycles is about 500 meters. There are two problems that I can comment on, first are the instruction, the print should be a lot bigger and it should have two booklets instead of one, second the wires connecting the ear piece and microphone could have been a lot better, I did get to check if the devices were waterproof, and they are as we were caught in two down pours. After riding we spoke to a few friends and a couple have ordered the same units.... Good job SharkI don't like to give 1-star reviews, but this is the absolute worst combination of product and customer service I've ever received from a seller on Amazon. The product arrived promptly, but that was the only good point to this purchase. I bought two sets, one as a wedding gift for a friend and one for myself and wife so we could all ride together and be able to communicate. Neither set worked at all, after following the "Chinglish" instruction manual to a "T". The charge indicator light came on and went out after only about 10 minutes, which raised the first red flag. My first thought was that the set had sat unused for so long that the batteries were absolutely dead. After that I could never even get the unit to turn on. I wrote the seller, but didn't receive a response until I basically had to threaten "further action". When I did receive a response it was terse and suggested I try doing things that I had already done (and told the seller I had tried, leading me to believe they didn't even read my entire message). This went back and forth for a few messages before I finally got them to agree to accept a return. Now it's been over three weeks since I returned the product and I haven't heard anything from the seller, seen a replacement product, or a refund to my bank account. I would say that you get what you pay for, but these units weren't exactly inexpensive which makes the whole situation even more irritating. Scala and Chatterbox may be more expensive, but at least they come with warranties and tech / customer service. I'll be sure to invest a bit more money for a far superior product and support in the future. My advice, don't buy this product or from this seller.shark SHKLXMBT688IL Motorcycle snowmobile Bluetooth Multi Interphone headsets 6 riders intercom bluetooth (set)
UPDATE: Months later and this issue has still not been resolved. The seller (gooddeals18, a.k.a. "Effyzaz, Inc.") has continued to sidestep my requests, seemingly in hopes that I finally get frustrated enough and give up. I'm not a vindictive person, but I sincerely hope people don't buy from this seller. They've shown no customer service skills, have been rude, and have drawn out the simple act of returning a defective product into months of tiresome dialogue via e-mail. Only when I further threatened seeking legal counsel did they respond to me at all. I'm simultaneously angry at, frustrated with, and feel pity for this seller.Gave this 3 stars for several reasons. The instructions are limited. It's not very user friendly. when i switch from cell phone to intercom it drops from my cell phone so i have to re-sync hard to do while driving. this may be because i have a smart phone thats smarter than me. works great at lower speeds but above 60mph has its limits. Speaker placement is a must, they have to be perfectly placed over the ear canal to hear anything so they only fit each individual. all in all they are good quality for the money just don't expect perfect function with all applications but it is still a good product if you are on a strict budget
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I was a bit afraid based on the price that these would not work well. They work great! My buddy also has a set and they linked together no problem at all. They also connected to my Garmin NUVI 765T perfectly GPS nav through it no problem. Played MP3's off the Nuvi without issue via the blue tooth connection.They were rock solid up to about a half mile apart with my friends rig and the battery has not been an issue. It was fine past 75 mph, a bit of wind noise on the full face helmet but not too bad. I could never not here him or visa versa because of wind.
Take the time and make a foam insert to house them in your ear space inside your helmet and they won't sound so tinny. We'll see how long they last, but I couldnt be more happier with them.
I added a cigar lighter to my bike under the seat with 2 ports and 2 USB so I can charge one unit while using the other, and charge my buddies spare as well.
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