I'm wondering how I can communicate with my passenger.
The tapping/hand signals etc... get a little dangerous on the freeway.

Is there walkie-talkie like things for rider+passenger to communicate? Not looking for anything super expensive. As long as its comfortable, easy to use, and does what its supposed to. Also don't need long range, since it will just be my passenger.

Thanks for any tips/links.

 

Ive used communicators before. I never really liked them. For the most part, they were pretty good as long as you were going slow, say under 35 mph, but once you upped the pace, the wind noise was so great, you couldnt hear what the person was saying. All you could hear was the wind blowing into their microphone. we even had the wind deflectors on the mics, but it didnt help. I can't remember the brand we used, but a friend of ours had a pretty expensive one that really wasnt any better. They may have come along was since then as this was several years ago, but I dont think they work well with sportbikes. Cruisers and touring bikes that have full fairings can get away with it as they have the wind blocked from them.

For me, I dont really need to communicate with my passenger. If I need to, the tapping/hand signal thing works for me. Best course of action is to make sure your passenger knows your riding habits. My wife knows when I drop a gear to pass a car, she holds on tighter. When Im riding by myself, I usually dont drop a gear, but its a way to tell her to hold on. She also pays close attention to whats happening around and adjusts for it herself without me having to find a way to tell her. Of course, make sure she knows what your doing, dont just assume she does. Even pulling on the clutch and giving the bike a quick rev and get her attention if you need it. But I usually just tap her leg. I usualy ride with one arm resting at my side or across the tank. But in heavy traffic, I understand your concern.

 

Wow..awesome amount of info.
Thanks dude!

But yea.. I do mostly 60 city / 40 hwyway. I figured it would make life a lot easier, but I didn't really take into consideration the wind noise.

Does the mic sit outside of a full face helmet? I can't really picture how this would be set up.

 

The set up I had used an ear piece that mounted to the inside of the helmet, then the mic had a base with a small flexible tube that had the mic on the end of it. This mounted to the inside of the helmet. It allowed you to position the mic right in front of your mouth inside the helmet. It sounds like a great idea, but there is still a ton of wind noise that makes it to the mic as it flows by the helmet. the system I had also had a wind deflector, that basically blocked off the side of the mic that was facing the outside of the helmet, but they still didnt work once you were up to speed.

Keep in mind they may have gotten better as this was a few years ago.

oh yeah, I had to mount a remote switch to activate the intercom. The system did have a voice activated intercom feature, but anytime you got on the gas, it would trigger the voice command. I remember hearing nothing but engines through my ear piece. lol. Also, if you used the voice activated system, you would have to say a word, pause for a second and then start again. If you only had a few words to say, the other riders only heard the end of what you had to say. the first word or two was always cut off as the system activated.

the fun part was the band the system used was also used by just about every manufacturing facility or shopping center around on thier radios. Cruiser by the shops and you would pick up on conversations. You could add your comments to their discussions.. that was fun.. "explosive diareha clean up on isle 3..!!" I remember riding by a shop and we heard one of the guys names.. I think it was Dave, so one of my friends just keeps saying Dave? He would say yeah... go ahead... Dave? Yeah, go ahead... this went on for about a full minute straight until guy gets pissed... YEAH. GO AHEAD!!. then we ran out or range...

 

I always tell them a tap on the leg means hold on, and act like a back pack. Make sure to tell them not to check up in a turn. Her job is to be a back pack! As far as talking goes ya gotta speak up a little! Just yell at her always' worked for me and great stress relief!
Remember its not just your *** on the line put it on a pedestal and dont drive like a jerk. Its a lot more fun to take her home then to the hospital.

That is a little piece of genius!