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picked up a chatterbox XBI and it rocks!


Hoblick

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got it installed in my helmet which wasnt to bad actually.

after pricing all around, i got Ohio motorcycle in dublin to price match and was out the door for $152.12, there original price was $179.99 plus tax.

they gave me a great deal!

this is the bluetooth kit for full face helmets. you can pair it with another XBI kit for tandem use (which i will be doing) and you can run your cell phone through it as well as any other BT device.

i am running a Sprint HTC Mogul PDA. on it i have my windows media player for MP3s, and turn by turn navigation, as well as its phone functions. pairing it was a breeze, though the second time i tried to use it, it gave me some fits, mainly my phone, it didnt want to pair both the handsfree part and the Stereo part at the same time until i found out exactly what was needed to be done on the phone.

after that it is all gravy, great sound from the stereo speakers in the helmet. pretty damn loud actually! but yet to be able to test on a ride cause of the weather.

made a call from the helmet jsut to make sure clarity was going to be ok for me and whom ever i called. and its perfect!

now key points is , the passenger can pair there phone up with there unit. so we can chat along, and when my wife gets a call it will notify her and she can answer via a button on the small unit attached to the helmet.

also any music i stream into my helmet, if i want i can send it right to her helmet as well.

very neat feature.

also these have a 2 mile radius. so if you have a buddy with one you can pair them real quick and talk to each other while your riding.

my only fear is it wont be as loud as id like while riding with an aftermarket pipe on the bike. but i think i may be able to tweak my phone to get some more volume out of it.

and ill be installed the DB killer in my pipe as well.

so, so far so good, and i rate this unit a 9 just cause i dont know the outcome of loudness at road speeds and noise. but from every review i have read (which is a ton!) they are great in a full face helmet at high speeds even with a loud pipe. so i think i should be good to go.

i will post pics when i get a chance.

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damn, am I mistaken or is that really cheap? I'll definately be picking one up for that price, and know a few other people who would too.

its on the cheaper end, the XBI kit was going anywhere from 151.99 no tax with free shipping, too $180.00 no tax free shipping on the web, i found about 6 sites selling it at $152.99 no tax and free shipping and figured why not see if ohio motorcycle will match it. i was down there check them out not to long ago anyways, and they were answering as many questions as they could. and gave me some brochures and literature to take with me. go back in and they were more than happy to set me up with the kit at the price i wanted. A+ to them!! they will for sure get more of my business

these kits are not the full cb style where you can get multiple people on one channel (GMRS X1). the XBIs are basically a 2 way you can use 2 kits together.

now the multi people on one channel kits are far more expensive, the cheapest i could find is $289.99 no tax and free shipping, the highest price is $389.99 no tax and free shiping. but for what i wanted to use the kit for the XBI is perfect! plus its tiny in size compared to the other chatterbox kit (GMRS X1)

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The bluetooth units on those work surprisingly well. I have the GMRS-X1 bluetooth unit and the communication comes through clearly. The microphone needs to be placed to keep wind off, but that problem has been solved. The only downside of chatterbox systems is the headset. The speakers are not high quality and with the 6 pin mini din plug, it's difficult to look for a higher quality replacement, unless you make it yourself.

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*UPDATE*

did a test ride today (man my bike is faster with the LOR exhaust, k&n, powercommander, and 520 sprocket kit!) anyways.. used the chatterbox for some music, and then called my wife, she had no problem hearing me at all, even with the loud pipe. at higher rpms it wasnt as loud as i wanted, but still could hear it fine. at cruising speeds it was kinda perfect, able to hear music and calls great, but you could still hear some outside noises jsut enough to be aware of whats going on.

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Thanks for the update. I'm wondering if you had a top-of-the-line helmet (arai/shoei), would the sound be better?

dunno i have a friend at work with an arai, and he has a chatterbox, not the same model but said he gets alot of wind noise, i have hardly any wind noise in my helmet.

im looking into a mini amp that will go inline to boost the sound a tad, doesnt need much just a little push for the high rpm range

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dunno i have a friend at work with an arai, and he has a chatterbox, not the same model but said he gets alot of wind noise, i have hardly any wind noise in my helmet.

im looking into a mini amp that will go inline to boost the sound a tad, doesnt need much just a little push for the high rpm range[/quote

]

There's an idea, ride around listening to engine sounds on the radiio. I'm goin to get a drag race video and play it from stop light to stop light in the middle of Cincy, only in my Toyota 4x4 with a pretty loud system.

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dunno i have a friend at work with an arai, and he has a chatterbox, not the same model but said he gets alot of wind noise, i have hardly any wind noise in my helmet.

im looking into a mini amp that will go inline to boost the sound a tad, doesnt need much just a little push for the high rpm range[/quote

]

There's an idea, ride around listening to engine sounds on the radiio. I'm goin to get a drag race video and play it from stop light to stop light in the middle of Cincy, only in my Toyota 4x4 with a pretty loud system.

what?

i meant for when the bike is in the high rpm range its harder to hear stuff through the headphones, hence why i would want a mini amp to boost the sound

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  • 1 year later...
now the multi people on one channel kits are far more expensive, the cheapest i could find is $289.99 no tax and free shipping, the highest price is $389.99 no tax and free shiping. but for what i wanted to use the kit for the XBI is perfect! plus its tiny in size compared to the other chatterbox kit (GMRS X1)

So the X1 is the one you can have multi riders on, correct?

Are you still happy with the xb a year & half later Ryan?

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How are the speakers attached to the inside of the helmet? Same goes for microphone. Got any pics of those? Even w small earbuds, I rip them out of my ear when putting on my helmet. Thought about trying to fasten them to the inside, but not sure how.

This chatterbox would be so much better, because then /I could have satellite radio form my i-phone, use the phone, etc.

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So the X1 is the one you can have multi riders on, correct?

Are you still happy with the xb a year & half later Ryan?

correct. the X1 can have however many riders are on the same channel i believe, i dont know of a limit. my parents both have the X1 and friggin love it. mounted the units to there bike, with a push to talk button by there right thumb, and a cord running thru the bike the bike to where they can connect there helmet easily.

thats the unit im geting, with bluetooth.

im going to get with my parts manager and get some good pricing on these for OR members. il get that up this week.

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