Ear Plugs

Howard Millichap

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Ear plugs are an essential piece of equipement for a motorcyclist these days. Especially with the BMW design school of windscreens!!
The best AND most convenient for general use is the
AEARO ULTRAFIT. Available from ARCO stores for £1.14 a pair. This might sound expensive BUT these ear plugs have lasted me around THREE years. They are made of plastic and look like three mushrooms placed one on top of the other. Because of their plastic construction they are easy to fit ( no rolling in grubby fingers) you just give them a lick and slip them in easy ;o))
The only down side to them is if you have to ride all day every day they do seem to briuse the inside of the ear. When on holiday I usually take some foam ones as well to give my ears a rest for a couple of days.
AEAROs own figures say they reduce noise more than foam plugs.
For situations where you will be taking them in and out frequently they cannot be beaten.
Recommended.
 
Howard

Based on your comments I acquired a few sets of the Ultrafit. You're absolutely right. They are much better than the foam ones (which tend to "squish" out of the ear canal with resultant loss of real hearing protection) whereas the Ultrafit's do stay locked in place.

Good post !

Alex B.
 
An even better alternative is to get custom made, moulded to each ear, plugs.

I have a set of these and although I don't use them every day, when I do use them they are the quietest plugs I've ever used.

When they were being made I had a .5mm hole pierced through the centre to allow air pressure to be equalised more easily than would've been the case without.

As a bonus the bike sounds like a new one, when wearing these plugs.

Mick.
 
Mike

Where did you go to get these made ?
 
Alex, I had these plugs made by an industrial noise specialist.

In fact the club I'm with, organised for this guy to come out on one of our service days whereupon he set about manufacturing on the spot, about 30 sets of moulded ear plugs.

I've since learnt, that almost any industrial noise specialist should be able to point you in the direction of any manufacturer of moulded ear plugs.

I know this is Australia but I would think that there is a similiar need and or service in your country.

They only cost $25.00 or thereabouts, as well.

Mick.
 
Hmm earplugs eh !

For custom earplugs go to Headset Services of Shoreham by Sea.

You can find them on the web @ www.headsetservices.com

They can also make them with built in speakers ! plus they can fix them if you have any problems with them as they are not just dealers.

This is not an advert, I've just been there to see about an Autocom unit. Just in case you were worried.
 
Headset Services

Well I took the plunge and ordered some of the moulded plugs with speakers built in.

Went to my local hearing aid shop where they took the impressions of my ears, have now sent these to Headset services and am just waiting paitiently for them to come back.

Headset Services are also modifying my Autocom helmet wiring loom so I can just plug directly into it with my new ear plugs.

Not cheap at all, works out at around 200 quid BUT I reckon if they sound good and also stop me damaging my hearing then it's 200 quid well spent (they should also last me years and years and years)

Once I have 'em back and have given them a proper road test I'll let you all know my findings and whether they were worth coughing up the dosh for.

Paul
 
Excellent post Paul . . . keep us informed. I've just bought a Schuberth Concept and cannot for the life of me find any way of fitting my Autocom ear-pieces in place. Maybe the only alternative is earplugs with speakers because I really like the helmet. I look forward to your customer review.
Simon
 
Simon Eassom said:
Excellent post Paul . . . keep us informed. I've just bought a Schuberth Concept and cannot for the life of me find any way of fitting my Autocom ear-pieces in place. Maybe the only alternative is earplugs with speakers because I really like the helmet. I look forward to your customer review.
Simon

Hi Simon,

Please avail yourself of my experience and save yourself a world of hassle!

I too have a Concept and have recently purchased an Autocom ProM1 - Mr Friendly & Helpful BMW Dealer stated their was only one way of fitting these headsets to a Concept and with my Naive blessing set about ripping the headset apart to remove the moulded plastic surround. You see the ear pockets in the Schuberth are incorrectly located (for most people) and in his opinion making them smaller meant they fitted in OK.

Sadly in 'customising the headset he also broke the now much weakened connection!!

Decided at 33 quid a go this customisation lark is not for the faint hearted (especially if you already shelled out nigh on £400 for the rest of the Autocom kit & Icom Radio as I had, so I gave Autocom a call - whereupon I spoke to a helpful guy (Paul) who said the headset could indeed be fitted 'as is' but it did require a slight modification to the ear pocket in the helmet which he was happy to do for me. They are based in Warwickshire so I posted the helmet up at my cost and two days later back it came at their cost fitted.

Sadly the Concept is a damned noisy helmet and I cannot wear it without earplus and with earplugs I can't hear my music so I've had to revert to a full-face that can be worn without earplugs.

I had been reccommended to Headset Services in Shoreham but at £200 for a set of moulded plugs with speakers this would take my expenditure to close on £700 quid and I just can;t justify that at the moment.

I hope this tale of woe helps, if only to save you wasting any more of your hard-earned! :confused:

Regards,

Andy
'93 R100GS "Spassmaschine"
 
I recently got some custom made ones from www.greenleopard.co.uk they are excellent.

I had so many good recommendations I travelled mid week to Kettering to have them made. If Kettering is too far you can send impressions. Alternatively they seem to travel to most bike events.

Like the other suppliers mentioned they do ones for autocom & ones with filters etc...

They are excellent.
 
Hi

I just spent a large part of the weekend fitting an Autocom Pro-M1 and ICOM radio to my R80GS and Schuberth Concept.

A bit tricky locating the ICOM anywhere vertical and dry. I ended up wrapping some thin rubber mat around it as a splash guard and cable tying it under the rhs panel between the frame and the battery. The Pro-M1 was then velcroed to the side of the tool box.

If this doesn't prove satisfactory in operation, I may relocate the bits to inside the bull bar mounted fairing.

Disappointed with fitting the headphones and boom microphone to the Schuberth. As suggested by Autocom, took ages to compress the polystyrene enough to fit the earpieces. Even then, the location is far from ideal. I'm still not sure what method to use to locate the boom mic and conection cable firmly, or if it will stand 6 months of abuse on our RTW trip.

I find the Schuberth noisy when riding my GS, but not always on other bikes. Fitting a taller screen helped somewhat but I need earplugs when travelling more than a few miles. The Pro-M1 can be switched to 20% louder for when ear plugs are used.

Anyway, will be trying the system in anger shortly....
 


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