CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - GIFTS & GOODIES
Hi All,
i am quite ashamed to say that since, the last oil change, i have barely managed to cover a puny 250 kms and that too majority is in city premises which kinda sucks. Hopefully post 1st week of January 2017, things should be looking up on the brighter side and may be i can then squeeze another good long distance ride.
My CBR is doing fine no problems have cropped up since, last oil change except may be a simple DIY lubing of clutch and throttle cables and slight adjustment that needs to be taken care of. Besides that i must admit i still haven't been able to take my bike for a proper inspection of front and rear tires to sort out the air leakage issue. May be post 1st week i should be in a better position to resolve these little irritating things for good. Anyways, i have little something something to share
its Christmas after all so gifts have to come right??: BLUETOOTH INTERCOM DEVICE:
Since, my last long distance ride of 1700 kms, it made one thing very clear: when one is a part of group riding: having rider aids like a bluetooth intercom device really helps when one wants to communicate with another rider besides giving the usual hand signals. This is especially all the more important in the event: where one is fully geared and wishes to attend a call or give out a warning sign to the following riders in case of an emergency. During my last solo ride, one thing i found really irritating was when fully geared up and riding and i receive a phone call, i have to stop, take out my gear, my helmet, my gloves and then take out the phone: by then either the phone has already got disconnected or else the call was not important.
Then one has to gear up and start riding only to find in a few 100 meters, the phone ringing and thus, the whole cycle of removing gears has to be initiated again. I had done my research on branded Bluetooth intercom devices available in India (in the likes of Sena, Cardo, Nexx etc.) however the pricing of 1 individual unit started anywhere from INR - 10k all the way to 25k which was way beyond my budget. While doing research i came across this website: DealeXtreme - Cool Gadgets at the Right Price - DX Free Shipping Worldwide and found out that there are Chinese replicas of similar bluetooth intercom devices which do provide intercommunication facility with a range of up to 1km/1000 mtrs easily (provided both the riders are in the line-of-sight).
I zeroed in on one such brand from China called Vnetphone V6 1200m
As the review video above mentions, the quality of voice and inter-communication link is really good. Even when paired to one's smartphone, the overall sound quality is at par with the branded ones. I paid the money and it took almost a month for DealeXtreme - Cool Gadgets at the Right Price - DX Free Shipping Worldwide to deliver the item at my doorstep. I decided to go for a set of two units which costed me about 2500 bucks each which is more economical than any of the other branded ones currently available in the Indian market.
Pic 1, 2, 3 & 4: Vnetphone V6 Bluetooth intercom device bought from DealeXtreme - Cool Gadgets at the Right Price - DX Free Shipping Worldwide
Though i haven't installed the intercom device onto my helmet yet but so far a random handheld test confirmed that the build quality and overall reception and voice clarity is simply sublime. Lets say even if the device only lasts for about a year and half: still for mere 2500 bucks this product is quite a steal. The in-built mic set up has a noise cancellation feature which is really good. Once, i do take the device for field testing, i would be in a better position to give a proper review for the same. But yes definitely a yes for those riders who want a cheap, alternative bluetooth intercom device for one on one group riding sessions. The rated battery back up is about 8-9 hours which is more than enough.
This device can be easily mounted onto any helmet with removable liners and the speakers are velcro sticky mounted which can be removed if required. All in all a good and cheap purchase. How reliable? well that my friend only time will tell.
SHARK S700 OXYD HELMET:
Well this one was purely an impulsive decision. Just about a week back thanks to hectic schedule, i kept my helmet on top of the roof of a car to put on my gear before riding. But then it just so happened that in between calls, i accidentally managed to topple the helmet and both the clear visor and the locking ratchet on the left hand side broke as the images below will show. I was already having a bad day and in a fit of rage i decided to simply dump this helmet and get on with procuring a new one.
Pic 5 & 6: The MT helmet locking ratchet and the visor broke after a fall from the roof of the car.
So once i reached office, took sometime off and went online to select a good helmet from www.highnoteperformance.com As mentioned earlier, i have decided to slowly invest in good gears as in when budget permits. Incidentally, Highnote Performance had put up a Christmas Special discount sale so managed to zero in on Shark S700 OXYD Helmet from their side and wired money into their given account. For those who may be interested to know more about Shark helmets, do check out their website: SHARK HELMETS, bike helmets, motorcycle and scooter

Pic 7: Shark S700 OXYD Helmet ordered from http://highnoteperformance.com/
As experienced earlier, Highnote Performance was very prompt in acknowledging my order and quickly shipped the helmet from their shop and gave the requisite updates from their end which is very commendable. So far i have had a good experience with this site and can recommend riders who have been bitten by a similar bug to get good riding gears. While this was going on once i calmed down, i then also dropped in a mail to http://spartanprogear.com/ just to check if they do keep a stock of the broken ratchet and a clear visor. Spartan too replied promptly and directed me to the links for the respective products.
Well Well.. this is what happens when one doesn't think it through properly and just decides to take impulsive decisions.. Regardless, I placed an order for them as well. So customer service seems to have improved tremendously with Spartan.Even though Shark Helmet purchase was a quickie (and a financial bomb on my bank balance!!
) nonetheless, i now will have two functional helmets with me may be one for street riding and one for long rides.I am now eagerly awaiting for the respective units to arrive so that testing can commence for both the helmet and the Bluetooth intercom device.
Until then....
Cheers,






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