If you’ve ever been on a rideout with other bikers, or had a pillion, there’s a good chance you’ve had trouble communicating – whether it be as simple as directions or saying you need to stop for the loo, if you’re gesticulating with one hand in chunky bike gear there’s a good chance you’re not going to get your message across. The solution? A motorcycle intercom; let’s check out some of the best ones you can buy.
The three main brands you’re likely to come across are Cardo, Sena and Interphone, but which one is best for you? They’re available for a range of budgets with feature sets to match, starting from around £100 and heading north of £300 per intercom for the latest and greatest. Many are also available in twin packs – worth bearing in mind if you’re looking to buy for a regular pillion and yourself, or if you and a mate want to save a few quid.
Cardo Motorcycle Intercoms
Sitting at the budget end of the Cardo range, and ideal for the rider and pillion, the Freecom 1+ and Freecom 2+ pack all you need for a decent 2-way motorcycle intercom. The 1+ is suited to rider-passenger comms, while the 2+ ups the ante to a 800m range for bike-bike comms. Featuring a super-low profile design, 13 hour talk time and compatibility with any Bluetooth headset you needn’t worry about who’s using what. Both are available in pre-paired two-packs that cost a touch less than the individual intercoms.
The Cardo Freecom 4+ features all that the 1+ and 2+ have, but allows for 4 riders to keep in contact, with a 1200m range, enhanced JBL sound but still retaining the sleek design the cheaper models have.
Topping the Cardo range is the Packtalk Black, allowing for 15 riders to stay in contact via mesh networking (but still able to work with other Bluetooth headsets) with punchy JBL sound from its 45mm speakers, alongside 13 hour talk time battery life and 1600m range. Sitting below this are the Packtalk Bold and Packtalk Slim. The Bold has many of the features of the Black, although it makes do with less powerful 40mm speakers. Meanwhile the Slim has a sleek design to create less drag, but has a reduced 1200m range.
Sena Motorcycle Intercoms
Like Cardo, Sena has a wide range of intercoms. Starting with the SMH5, this is a Bluetooth headset that is purely that – it can make handsfree phone calls but can’t talk to other intercoms directly. For the solo rider who occasionally needs to take a call, wants to listen to music and hear GPS directions, this is an ideal addition to their riding gear.
The Sena SF2 and SF4 allow for comms between two and four intercoms respectively, at a range of 800m to 1200m depending on which you go for. A 13 hour talk time is paired with all the features you’d expect from a Bluetooth headset. A handy feature for longer rides is the ability to overlay music over the intercom, ideal if you’re not feeling too talkative. The new 5S features all that makes the SF2 great, but includes a screen for ease of use and the dial-control apes the SMH5 for glove-friendly simplicity.
The Sena 50S and 50R sit near the top of Sena’s range and feature mesh networking for seamless and reliable comms. For those doing some proper adventuring across open terrain, the 50S and 50R can have 24 riders over 8km in the same call! This can have access control however, and the original Bluetooth default is also included for more conventional comms. 8 hours of mesh talk time is possible, or 13 hours on Bluetooth, with rapid charging getting you almost half of that in just 20 mins when flat. For those looking for the rugged option the 50R is best, while the natty dial on the 50S is more suited to normal road riders.
Sena has also teamed up with Shoei to offer intercoms that integrate seamlessly into their Neotec II and GT-Air II helmets. It doesn’t get much more streamlined than this, and the 10 hour talk time, 1600m range and 8 rider capability will be more than enough for a long day’s rideout.
Heading to the very top of the range and Sena has the only gadget that fills the role of both intercom and helmet camera – the 10C Evo. Depending on your use case this could be an ideal compromise. You limit the camera to being used on the left side of your helmet, but the sheer convenience is hard to overstate. For anyone who’s used both and intercom and helmet camera on the same helmet will attest to the extra weight, drag and battery charging duties that come from having both. The other side effect of using an integrated solution is that the intercom microphone allows for your voice to be picked up, and wind noise kept to a minimum. It comes as no surprise that this is a pricey bit of kit (approx. £350) but a decent helmet camera will set you back upwards of £100-200. The features you expect from a decent Sena intercom are included; 4 rider communication, up to 1.6km range, Bluetooth, a neat wheel-based control to operate it and a 20 hour talk time battery life. The camera itself films at 4K and offers vertical angle and the ability to adjust the lens to horizontal. It also offers a remote viewfinder within its app, ideal for lining things up without too much faff.
Interphone Motorcycle Intercoms
Rounding things off with Interphone; things start with the Shape for two-way rider/passenger comms and is arguably all you need from a basic intercom if you don’t ride with other bikes.
The range-topping U-COM-16 looks to take the fight to Sena and Cardo with 1600m range, up to 24 intercoms in the same call and the ability to charge to full in just one hour, while lasting 15 hours on Bluetooth. Meanwhile, the U-COM-4 sits in the middle and does without mesh networking, relying on Bluetooth for 4-way calls up to 1000m, arguably all most riders need for most scenarios.
If you need some expert advice, then you can have a chat online with us via web chat on our website. We’re finally reopening on Monday the 12th of April, and our café will be opening for takeaway at the weekends starting from the 17th; in the meantime our online shop is alive and well, and taking orders for delivery. You can also check out our full range on our website with free delivery for any order over £50 on the UK mainland, and delivery possible to almost anywhere else. Not only that but our ‘No Quibble’ returns policy allows for returns within a 365-day period – see our returns page for more details.
