Ipods - Unsafe?

[HemiKat]

I was reading "50 ways to stay alive" post and I noticed keeping you ipod at home was one. I dont ride with my Ipod.... altough I bought the darn thing so I could do just that. I notice a lot of riders wear Ipods, and even the Harley guys I ride with that dont where helmets wear earplugs to help with wind noise. I havent used mine because Im afraid and not being able to hear important things, like my motor getting ready to blow up (Hey, it could happen) . Ive often been riding and wished a had a little tunes, but then again some music tends to make me speed. Im a little up in the air on the subject and thought Id get some feedback. So whats your opinion?

[kat_kitten]

i ride with mine... but i do keep the volume at a reasonable level.... i do like to hear when i need to shift =)

[squiggy]

I used my MP3 player a couple of times with earbuds. I like it when traveling but there was still way too much wind noise with the Kat so I stop using it. I suppose with a greater fairing bike it would work.

I did not feel distracted when listening to music on the road.

[BradsKat]

I don't ride with mine at all anymore. I found I was still getting way too much wind noise (even with decent noise canceling, in the ear, blah blah) and I also found I tended to drive too fast... I loves my tunes!

[The CyberPoet]

I wear ear plugs (the type that kill noise) and have speakers wired up into my helmet (see how to here: http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/moto...owto_main.html ). The ear plugs help kill the wind noise, which makes me more alert to the things I do need/want to hear; the iPod being outside of them don't prevent me from hearing outside noises (sirens, etc.). I do tend to believe the ear-bud style speakers may pose a threat in some situations.

PS - if it's a first-generation iPod Shuffle 1Gb, I'll buy it off you

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Si Speed 317]

I never thought about using my iPod while riding.... I'll give it a try one day and see how it goes

[Cheech]

I've been kicking around putting in-helmet speakers using CP's how-to for a while now, one of these days I might just end up doing it I think having some tunes would help to break some of the monotony, but if it's at the expense of excluding some other noises (like car horns, etc.) then that may be too high a price.

[FASHER]

I ride with my MP3 to block out the wind noise from my helmet.

[Psycho1]

Where I ride most of the time there's not much if any traffic, and my Kat's exhaust is too loud to hear much of anything other than the engine or wind anyways, so I wear mine sometimes. If I'm riding in heavy traffic on my quiet Fazer, I usually don't wear it.

[Rangerx52]

Sirius stiletto 2, with loose fit earphones, so they dont block out sounds. the disadvantage is that it has to be at a higher volume than normal and eats the batteries faster.

[LAsunbird86]

My skullcandy earbuds ($10 at a local cd store) are extremely good at canceling wind noise as they make a slight suction in my ear. I am still able to hear the engine, horns and all other noises I need to though.

Zero wind noise, all the music and vital noises, plus Im saving my hearing

[md86]

Alright , pay attention kiddies , as I'm kinda getting tired of this one ....
Koss "the Plug" headphones are great (NOT "Sparkplug" , there IS a difference) . They're like foam earplugs with tubes running through them . They help block outside noise so you don't have to turn your music up to deafening levels . They also sound pretty damned good . They raised the price recently , but still got for less than $20 .
Now for a good story example ...
I was out playing one day . Music going as usual . Nearing the end of the road I heard a siren . Mirror check shows nothing , but since a light was coming up I moved to the right anyway . Several seconds later a bamblance appeared in my mirros . Yes , I HEARD him before I SAW him , and I could acually see several hundred yards back during the initial mirror check . So , GOOD phones + not-deafening noise levels = good enough to survive traffic without becoming a pancake while still being able to hear the music .

[JokerZwild]

I wound up installing sony earphones in my helmet. I found the ear buds themselves were hard to deal with putting my lid on and keeping them in place. Plus it cancelled out too much traffic noise. The earphones offered great sound while still allowing the bike and traffic noise needed to be safe and pay attention. My only problem is that Damn Godsmack album!! It tends to give my wrist a major case of "TWISTITUS"

[BelvedereAndTonic]

No other way...

For me, there is simply no other way to ride! Unless I'm just gonna take a 2-minute ride to the store, I'm pumping my tunes 100% of the time! Music enhances my rides ten-fold! I've also found that music helps me relax, gives me better focus in the canyons, and makes scenic rides so much more enjoyable.

Here's a few important considerations:

1) Everybody's definitely right about keeping the volume levels at a reasonable level on the street. Even on the freeway and in the canyons, I keep the music at a level where I can hear my exhaust, shifts, etc.

2) It's not always easy to find earbuds that fit comfortably with your helmet, and still sound good. I have a few friends who have given up listening to music when they ride because the earbuds they've tried using (usually the standard iPod earphones) are too uncomfortable in their ears because of the pressure the helmet exerts on your head/ears. Everyone's a little different with what they'll find comfortable. I personally have not found a better all-around set of earbuds than the old Sony Fontopia MDR-EX71SL Stereo Earphones. Although these are discontinued, you can still find them on Buy.com, eBay, Amazon, etc. I recently picked up an extra TWO pairs because I can't find anything I like better, even after buying more than ten different sets of various brands/manufacturers! They're usually around $25, and they sound absolutely great! Oh, an added bonus is that they have a 2-piece cord, I use the shorter length with the iPod shuffle clipped to my shirt collar, so I don't have to worry about extra cord slack flopping around.

3) Get an MP3 player that is easy to use, and doesn't require you to look at it to change volume, tracks, etc. For me, it's the iPod Shuffle (2nd Generation, 1GB or 2GB). I simply clip it to my shirt/jacket collar, and never have to look at it for the rest of my ride. The volume & track buttons are big and easy to manipulate/find while you're riding, I doubt there's anything better suited to riding motorcycles out there. As these models are also discontinued, you should buy one soon, before they're gone. Refurb units are all over eBay for under $35, can't go wrong.

4) Make a good playlist... No Barry Manilow, The Carpenters, etc.!

Hope that helps!

JokerZWild brings up a good point, it's sometimes hard to manage getting earbuds to stay in your ears correctly as you're sliding your helmet on. I always use a bandana, which covers my earbuds, to make it easy to slide the helmet on without disturbing the positioning of the earbuds. This has saved me tons of frustration.

I just realized, the topic of the thread was are "ipods unsafe"?

Man, i really went off on a tangent...

Well, I would have to admit, listening to music makes an already marginally-safe activity about 1% less safe...

Good luck with your decision!

[thetable]

Music enhances my rides ten-fold!

Not to single you out, but seriously that sounds like an addicts line.
Cue John Stewart in Half Baked:
"Have you ever seen Scent of a Woman... on weed? That's the way to see it."

I let the motor sing with the rhythm of the road. I haven't met the bike yet that didn't come with an onboard entertainment system.