I bought 2 of the Viper V131 helmets I mentioned in this thread. I saw these helmets a while ago and couldnt really find many reviews on the web, so thought I would buy them and find out for myself. There is a guy selling them on ebay for £100 reduced from £150, only colour available is matt silver. I ordered them on Monday at about 1pm and by 12pm on Tuesday they had arrived.
I have only used the helmet a couple of times so far, so I will post an update in a few weeks to let you know how it is lasting, but, so far it has generally been positive.
The outer shell is a matt silver with a slightly rubberised feel. The helmet is heavier than a normal helmet and does feel solid and well built. The inner lining is quite nice and comfy and it does feel like it fits really well around my head. There is very little wind noise in the helmet compared to my last one. The visor has no anti mist as standard which is annoying and means im going to have to go and buy one of those stick on film things for the 2 helmets.
The speakers and microphone are built into the lining and arent visible inside the helmet. You cant feel them at all once you put the helmet on which is good as they arent digging in to your head.
It is quite easy to link the helmet to a phone or the other helmet. It lets me listen to music from my iPhone and also answer and make calls from the helmet. The quality of the microphone is excellent. I went out on the bike this morning to the shop and got a call on the motorway on the way back. I answered it whilst doing about 90 and couldnt really hear the call properly, but when I slowed down to about 70-80 it was ok and Sarah said from her end she couldnt even tell I was on the bike.
The music is audible up to 90, even with the wind and engine noise, but I didnt go any faster. To be honest the intercom could do with being a little louder, as the intercom is hard to hear above about 60. The range on the intercom is stated as 300-600m in the instructions, but this will be line of sight range. If the other helmet is out of sight then the bluetooth will crackle and/or cut off. Once back in sight you can press the button on the helmet to get it to reconnect easily.
+'ve points
Looks quite nice
Fits quite nice
Good value for money
Excellent noise cancelling mic
Bluetooth kit all built in nicely
Music comes through quite loud and clear
-'ve points
Could do with being a little louder on intercom
Only matt silver available for £100. Other colours are £130.
No anti mist visor as standard
No 12v charger as standard although they are available I think
Intercoms - advice needed
-
Miztaziggy
- Posts: 2451
- Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2011 9:15 pm
- Location: Tadcaster
Re: Intercoms - advice needed
Sounds like we have all taken the plunge. I bought a ScalaRider teamset pro Bluetooth system. Just got them fitted to the helmets but havent been out to test yet
AMcQ
Re: Intercoms - advice needed
Ok, test ride done today
Fitted to my Shoie X-Spirit, which has lots of vents and is a bit on the noisy side, and with earplugs in place. The Intercom works perfect up to 80, you can have a long discussion without shouting or saying "what?" all the time. From there to 100, it is tough to have a conversation, but you can hear that the pillion is talking, just not clear enough to make out all the words.
Voice activation works good as well, but best if you blow at the mic before you talk, that never failed to trigger the system, and the noise rejectionon the mic is also good, you only hear words not wind or exhaust noise.
Using it linked to Bluetooth mobile also worked to make & receive calls (phone interrupts any intercom chat, and you answer by saying "HELLO", fully hands free, but not above 30mph! They could hear me perfectly (again the noise rejection on the mike is good), but I struggled to hear what was being said much above 30.
Only dissapointment is the MP3 connection, which is not amplified by the intercom, it is just plugged in directly by a wire to the base of the headset, but run directly from the iPod. Even with iPod at full volume it was far too quiet to listen to music with the engine wailing. Will need to work out some in line amplification, or Elle will get bored onthe back. Note that IPod link is direct to only 1 helmet, so I don't have to listen to her music, and when the intercom kicks in it cuts the music.
So for the 3 functions claimed, intercom, MP3, and phone, it works well on 1.5! At least it was the one most important to me, but would be good to sort the music out for the pillion.
Didn't test the range of the Bluetooth, as this version is not claimed to be for bike to bike, but some reviews have said it will work at 50 to 100m as long as there is line of sight.
Fitted to my Shoie X-Spirit, which has lots of vents and is a bit on the noisy side, and with earplugs in place. The Intercom works perfect up to 80, you can have a long discussion without shouting or saying "what?" all the time. From there to 100, it is tough to have a conversation, but you can hear that the pillion is talking, just not clear enough to make out all the words.
Voice activation works good as well, but best if you blow at the mic before you talk, that never failed to trigger the system, and the noise rejectionon the mic is also good, you only hear words not wind or exhaust noise.
Using it linked to Bluetooth mobile also worked to make & receive calls (phone interrupts any intercom chat, and you answer by saying "HELLO", fully hands free, but not above 30mph! They could hear me perfectly (again the noise rejection on the mike is good), but I struggled to hear what was being said much above 30.
Only dissapointment is the MP3 connection, which is not amplified by the intercom, it is just plugged in directly by a wire to the base of the headset, but run directly from the iPod. Even with iPod at full volume it was far too quiet to listen to music with the engine wailing. Will need to work out some in line amplification, or Elle will get bored onthe back. Note that IPod link is direct to only 1 helmet, so I don't have to listen to her music, and when the intercom kicks in it cuts the music.
So for the 3 functions claimed, intercom, MP3, and phone, it works well on 1.5! At least it was the one most important to me, but would be good to sort the music out for the pillion.
Didn't test the range of the Bluetooth, as this version is not claimed to be for bike to bike, but some reviews have said it will work at 50 to 100m as long as there is line of sight.
AMcQ