Tech toys for motorcyclists

Commuting to work on motorcycle on rush hour is hell. Where your mind yearns to take your bike out onto the great wide open roads and let loose to Ladakh and Leh. Where trucks and vans belch black smoke in your face. Not to mention car driver around you look at you smug while they turn up the volumes on their car stereos.

Well, we’re all about making your life easier with tech, and with a bit of money, you can make those commutes to work on your two wheel a lot comfortable. Not to mention make those epic road trips out of town more epic.

So here’s a bunch of ways of bringing Tech into your lonely motorcycle commutes or to spice up long rides out of town with your very own soundtrack. If you do get one of those nifty intercom’s do remember to be polite and say “over and out”. As always do let us know in the comments if you’ve tried any of these, and remember always ride safe and be careful. These are just to assist you, not to distract you.

Mobile holders
Starting off with the most obvious, is the mobile phone holders. Sure, using a mobile phone when riding your bike can be injurious to health, so you got to be careful with this one. You cannot ride your bike while playing candy crush. This is handy for glancing down at google maps, or when stuck in traffic, you can easily recalibrate your route, find the shortest gully out of this mess and leave those poor car sods to stew in their own AC. Pair this with a motorcycle bluetooth headset and you don’t need to touch your screen. Just say “Okay Google...”



While there are plenty of options in the market, a sturdy Amzer should work, and the best place is to keep it near your instrument cluster. The best part of this is that you can also use it on your bicycle on your morning cardio sessions.

Phone recharge apparatus
For just 200-300 Rs. you can pick up a simple charger apparatus that charges your mobile phone in a pinch from the motorbike’s battery. Though, if you do a lot of long distances on your bike, or are part of one of the numerous Royal Enfield clubs who brave rough weather and storms, then you can spend a bit more and get a waterproof mount with a USB charging port.



Helmet Bluetooth with Intercom
Sure, you can stuff a hands free under a helmet with a bit of work, you’re in for a world of pain if the earbud moves. However for upwards of Rs. 2000 you can pick up a simple clamp on Bluetooth headset with mic, so you can listen to your music as well as answer any emergency calls. The simple ones are available at most online retailers, but don’t expect anything awesome in terms of music. Perfect if you love listening to audio books when commuting.



Now, if you have a bit more to spend, you can pick up a more advanced Bluetooth, which has slim earpad, that you slide under your helmet’s foam and position to where your ear is. You have a nifty mic running on the inside near your mouth, and on the outside is a big answer button. These are fantastic for both music, your favourite podcasts and audiobooks, and the volume is low enough so you can hear the cars around you.

For long distance drives, you can get your motorcycle pack to invest in Bluetooth/Intercom versions of these headphones, which can transmute your voice across 500 meters shortwave radio, like good old-fashioned walkie-talkies. A great feature that can mean the difference between life or death as you navigate through the great unknowns.

Bluetooth Helmet
Hate fiddling with wires? Well then why not go for a Bluetooth helmet. LS2 FF310 is an helmet with all of the above all built in. Bluetooth hands free, with three buttons on the front face, and inside you have some nice sounding headset as well as short wave intercom.



So all you need to do is set your GPS on target, and let the GPS voice guide you to your destination. The LS2 FF310 will set you back by about 12,000, though you get a pretty awesome looking helmet to boot.

Music and anti-theft speakers
For about a 1000 Rs. you can get a decent pair of speakers to mount on your bike, and for about Rs. 5000 plus you can get ones with better sound and style. Sure, you cant listen to music with a helmet on, but these are primarily burglar alarms, to warn you if you’re bikes been stolen, or towed.



However, you can hook them up to your phone and have some nice portable tunes for when you’re chilling out, watching the sunset on some remote mountain road. Plus, they're not loud enough to cause a landslide. Unless you’re playing some Shakira.

A HUD

Only attempt if you have a lot of disposable income.

SKULLY AR-1 - The smart helmet: This does not come cheap. Your head may not shatter, but your wallet sure will. It retails for about $1300, and like everything awesome in Tech, you do not get it in india. So with shipping you’re looking at an easy $1600. It’s still in production and will be shipping post May 2015.

Now, what you get for your money, is a super cool looking smart helmet. With a Heads up Display, Rear View Camera and GPS all on your awesome electrochromatic visor. Add to that all the acoustic accoutrements you would want in this, and you have a winner.



Now, how does it do all that. Well, the SKULLY team has positioned all of the HUD elements just below your line of sight, and it’s transparent. So you can see what's coming up behind you, not to mention keep an eye on the maps. All fully voice activated. If that’s not all it syncs to your Android phone, and lets you see who’s calling and other details. This is only Android compatible, so chalk one more up for the green robot.

Google Glass: If you do happen to be one of those lucky (or unlucky) people who have plonked down some serious wads of cash on Google Glass, then you have the perfect HUD. That fit’s snug under your helmet, and gives you all the readings you want. Not to mention that it syncs up to all your devices.