Poll it up...How many people ride & listen to music?

[Motogiro]

What I hear is already music to my ears.....Will some one please answer that phone!

 

[bard]

I usually don't listen to music, but sometimes I do, especially riding on highways... Boring boring and utterly boring. Play it on my Q2 and it switches to mobile phone or GPS as required, so that works well for me.

 

[steveindenmark]

for the sake of your long term hearing i'd highly recommend anyone wear ONLY NNR 33+ earplugs when riding. if not you will inevitably suffer irreversible hearing damage years down the road.

Well I am 51 and have been riding since I was 16, so when does it happen to me and how do you prove what caused it?

Steve

 

[Wh0M3]

I like to listen to music, I have a Zune, (not a fan of the iPod series)
I use earbuds that cancel out the noise then try to keep my music volume down to a low level so I don't do as much damage to my ears. They are already suffering from working with power tools and not wearing protection because it isn't as manly.

I have a set of walkie talkies that I like to use when I have a rider and we are on a long trip. I have modified them with the earbud speaker because the original ones didn't cancel out the noise and they didn't work so well.

As for trying to talk to someone while riding... I have a hard time hearing with just the helmet on, so I try to use hand signals

I like to use the earbud even if my Zune's battery is dead, I just think oh well, they double as ear plugs too.

 

[Got-boost?]

Depending on the bike I do, The Wing I jam it loud!!! My V-max too busy listening to my supertrapps rumble. The Fz I might have to start when its a day out on the twisties.

 

[blchandl2]

I use the Etymotic (sp?) ER6i in ear plugs. I don't have to have the volume any higher than if I were walking down the sidewalk.

Odd thing, I enjoy listening to music while droning on the highway, but not while riding the twisties. I just don't feel comfortable if I try to listen to music while riding the curves. I know, I'm weird.

 

[Slow]

I use the Etymotic (sp?) ER6i in ear plugs. I don't have to have the volume any higher than if I were walking down the sidewalk.

Odd thing, I enjoy listening to music while droning on the highway, but not while riding the twisties. I just don't feel comfortable if I try to listen to music while riding the curves. I know, I'm weird.

same, listening to music through twisties is awkward because i have to constantly look at the RPMs since i cant hear the motor.

 

[Got-boost?]

In the twisties you should beable to feel the pull of the bike vs the RPM sound of the motor.

 

[Hollow]

I do when I want to put them in but I had a friend on here (Hollywood) show me how he does it and I like that way better. He puts the wires behind the ear pads and the speaker just sits there not in your ear above the pad. I can hear the music from the speakers and the cars plus my bike.

 

[moopie]

I don't listen to music while riding but mostly because I don't really feel the need to. I like keeping my focus on riding and enjoying the scenery.

I imagine for some it could be a distraction and possibly bad for your hearing.

I've actually decided I need to try and start wearing ear plugs since my bike has no wind protection but I just haven't done it yet. I worry how it will effect the headsets volume when listening to hubby cause it's already quiet. Guess one ear plug would be better than none!

 

[KensFz6]

I use a cheap but fairly effective noise canceling cell phone headset/ ear buds. On the lowest volume setting, they're seem louder than I normally listen to music at home (using a cheapo headphone headset also) and ,as long as they stay in my ears, I can still hear it up to 55 mph.

I'd love to set up an all-in-one calls/Nav/MP3 system but I've been too busy to look for all the necessary parts. The pendent mic on the thing I have now is useless unless I'm stopped so I don't really use it for calls but the vzNav and MP3's work just fine.

 

[xgrafcorex]

I have thought about it, but haven't so far. I figure it's best to be able to hear as much of what is going on around you as possible. As much fun as it would be to get out on the interstate listening to some death metal, I think it would just cause more trouble than it's worth. I already find myself speeding in my car sometimes depending on what I'm listening to.

 

[fazer513]

I use the Scala with FM radio and FM transmitter for the MP3 player on longer rides but not in town on the daily commute with the traffic.

 

[gearheadstu]

No music on the bike for me.

Too many years of going to too many shows at too loud a volume, without earplugs, and the result is my ears haven't stopped ringing in near on 15 years. I do just about everything I can to take noise out of the ride experience.

But even if that weren't the case, I wouldn't do it. I will occasionally take the ipod on bicycle rides. Invariably I end up spinning too fast (maybe my fault; if I changed to a more languid playlist I might have different results). I can only imagine the results on a motorcycle.

Besides, I don't ride on roads that bore me.

 

[Blackblood]

My "around town" riding is generally on the way home from work (about 17 miles at a guess) but I always have music on when I'm on the bike. 20 miles or 200,can't go without music :rockon:

 

[Nick J]

I just got my 1st ipod for father's day so I could listen to music on the bike. I like to listen to it on long freeway rides but not in the city or on rides with friends. But even in the city I can turn down the volume so it's not too loud and I can still hear other sounds just as much as I could with earplugs. I didn't like the earphones that came with the ipod so I got a set of the earbud type which also act as earplugs. I don't have to turn the volume up so loud that I can't hear anything else and I attach the ipod somewhere that I can reach so I can adjust the volume when I need to, such as the transition from the freeway to city streets. So on the freeway, the music does make the ride more enjoyable and with the earbud earphones it also drowns out a lot of wind noise.

 

[KensFz6]

Sure, it's a good idea to be able to hear everything around... But IMO, there aren't many situations where sounds play a great factor in avoiding danger. Aside from horns sirens and explosions, the engine and wind noise will drown out anything else. Earplugs also drown out most noises.

Many experts recommend wearing earplugs. Since the ear buds I have are basically earplugs with speakers in them, I consider it a good compromise.

 

[unleased1287]

i have the marshmallow ear buds and use my cell phone as a mp3 lol i keep it low enough to hear the music and hear everything around me even with it turned all the way up my exhaust is still very loud (twobrothers full race) but it cuts down the wind alot witch i hate to hear. even if i can still hear my exhaust over the music i dont think im causing any more damage then if i didnt have them in not sure if its true or not but i like to think so

nate

 

[Texperkin]

I have noise cancelling plugs (no idea HOW you get those iPod type ones to stay in your ear when you put your helmet on anyway). They work like earplugs anyway so I don't have to worry too much about the noise damaging my ears.

However I only do this on longer rides and there aren't many of those.

 

[npshultz]

While I love to hear my bike screaming down the road, I couldn't do the longer rides without music. Singing behind a full face doesn't make me look as dumb as some of the people you see singing to themselves in their cars.