For fifty quid, I just bought a pair of Cobra walky talkies complete with helmet kits, for use as an intercomm between myself and memsahib and thought I'd share my Amazon review with you.
I would be interested in any further comments regarding potentially better systems.
"On the whole, a pretty useful piece of kit.
Some comments have been made regarding the quality of the headphones and microphone, and it's fair to say that they are not bullet proof. I actually made a mistake and accidentally ordered the full face version when I really needed the open helmet version, so ended up buying new headsets for the latter, and fitting both as I have a full face helmet as well. You need to think in terms of a permanent fit - fit it all to the shell, not the padding, and don't even think about doing a bodge job, or it will all fall apart, but if you have a helmet that allows you to route the cabling nice and tidily out of sight, then it should be OK. In any case it just takes too long to keep kitting it and dekitting it. I added in a piece if ingenuity by stitching in the lead into the lining with the last few inches hanging down the back out of the way when not in use. The open face version has a very delicate build quality for the microphone, and I fitted mine to the visors themselves, by clever use of a couple of clipped down rose ties and some superglue.
I had no trouble with the Velcro, or the glue on the pads, with everything, so far staying put.
As to the electronics, well as a maxi-scooter rider, the sound quality is very clear up to around 50 mph, after that, to be honest you can forget it. A bit more output power wouldn't go amiss, but even if there are better systems on the market for more money, it's hard to believe that you get much more out of anything else, what with the road and wind noise. If you wear ear plugs then it's probably not even worth bothering with anyway.
The vox setting is a complete waste of time for two reasons. Firstly the wind noise just keeps the line open all the time, (although you may be able to adjust that in your own circumstances), and secondly, there is a second or two delay between starting to speak and the transmission kicking in. Much better to use the pressle button. It fits tidily and solidly onto the grip. My pillion wraps it around her thumb and that seems to work OK, but attaching to sissy bars might be OK for your own machine too.
One unexpected added benefit is that the transceivers are neat little bits of kit in their own right and we have found them quite useful, even when not on the bike.
For the cost it's not bad, but don't expect it all to last forever...."
