Motorcycle bluetooth audio system

The Best Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset

For some people, the idea of motorcycling is to get away from it all, so the thought of riding with a pillion and having them able to talk to you might sound like a nightmare.

However, with modern bikes packing so much technology, the lure of connectivity has never been greater. A Bluetooth headset can enable anything from the ability to listen to music from your phone to making and taking calls, to turn-by-turn navigation from Google Maps or Waze. With a Bluetooth headset, you can also communicate with your pillion or indeed with a group of your riding mates.

What is a Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset? (and why you might want one)

If you’ve ever seen another biker with a small black widget attached to the side of their helmet, often with a flashing blue light, then the chances are they’re riding with a Bluetooth helmet. They’re probably listening to Radio 4 or their favourite podcast, getting directions from their sat nav or perhaps asking their other half what’s for dinner.

Table of Contents

Bluetooth Headsets — The Basics

What can you use a motorbike headset for?

Phone connectivity — All of the headsets in this guide use Bluetooth which enables you to pair your headset with your phone. This in turn means you can access loads of your phone’s capability, all wirelessly, while you ride. You can get turn-by-turn instructions on your motorcycle sat nav. You can take (and make) calls while on the go. You can listen to music through apps like Spotify or radio through apps like TuneIn. In short, if your phone has an app that uses the speakers you can transfer that to your Bluetooth headset’s speakers.

Rider to Pillion — Some riders like to talk to their pillions while they ride. I’m not one of them! Years ago the only way to communicate with your pillion was via a series of hand signals that no-one understood or by opening your visor and turning around to shout at your pillion and then not be able to hear their answer. In fact the only universal signal we all understood was the pillion smashing the back of your helmet, which is international code whereby the pillion intends to let you know ‘you’re braking too hard’ whereas, as the rider, you know this to mean ‘I wasn’t looking at the road ahead’. Anyway, a Bluetooth headset solves this and enables two-way conversation.

Rider to Rider — If you’re riding with another biking buddy or a group, you can easily communicate when you both have a Bluetooth headset. No longer do you need to risk clashing handlebars as you shout at each other that you need a pee or that you’ve run out of fuel, or that the last road was epic. You can chat away without having to pull over.

The Big Questions Answered

Do I need a specific model for my helmet?

Some manufacturers like AGV, LS2, Nolan, Schuberth and X-Lite all make their own helmet-specific intercoms.

Most generic systems attach to the outside of your lid and you attach the mic to the inside of the chin bar and stick a soft speaker into the lining of your helmet by your ear.

If you’re the sort of rider who rocks an open face lid (respect!) or a flip-up helmet then you need to buy a Bluetooth headset that comes with a boom mic attachment. Most do come with one in the box but if they don’t, you’ll be able to buy one for that model.

What’s the difference between a Bluetooth headset and an Intercom

A decade ago, if you wanted to listen to the radio on your motorbike or talk to a passenger, chances are you’d have had a kit like an Autocom; a favourite of dedicated tourers and motorcycle instructors. These systems used radio waves rather than Bluetooth to communicate.

These days a Bluetooth headset can perform many roles. For a majority of users, they just want the ability to connect to their own devices, to stream Spotify or make calls.

Most Bluetooth headsets enable you to talk to a pillion simply by buying two headsets by the same manufacturer and pairing them, et voila!

The same applies if you want to talk with a riding buddy – if you both buy the same brand and keep within a reasonable distance of each other, you’ll be able to communicate on the go.

Can I talk to a pillion or another rider?

When it comes to communicating with other riders, it’s mainly about connectivity but also about range.

If you want to talk with a riding buddy, the best way is to ensure you both have the same make and model of Bluetooth headset. You can get some different makes and models to talk to each other but as a general rule, don’t expect different makes to always play well together.

The next thing to look at is the range of your headset. Some cheaper options are sold as ‘City’ headsets as they have a shorter range, usually around 250m. These are good for Rider to Pillion but not so great if you’re riding on open roads where you will often be out of range of each other. Think in terms of line of sight; if you can’t see the other rider’s headset, the Bluetooth won’t have the range to transmit to it.

For touring, you’ll need a longer range and these use radio transmitting technology, not Bluetooth. Most quality manufacturers make versions which have a range of around 1-mile, some up to 5-miles. Check before you buy as you don’t want to fork out on a short-range Bluetooth headset when you need one that also has long-range technology. Our pick below is a great choice for touring.

If you’re looking for the best quality, then make sure the headset uses a minimum of Bluetooth 4.1 and not 2.0. The latest technology is currently 5.3. Any headset with 4.1 tech or above will have a better range, better quality and it’ll be less demanding on the battery too.

Any headset that connects to another (thus enabling rider to rider, rider to pillion, etc) will also do all the standard things you want a Bluetooth headset to do: play music, take calls and give you feedback on your riding ability. OK, thankfully the last one was a lie…

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