Newbie here, Collecting GSA in Sept. Need help!

[(RIP) Tunneruk]

Hi folks, First post here having read many of the threads. My querie is this (and I know this subject has been done to death on here)
I collect my shiney new Alpine white 1200 GSA on sept 1st from Coopers in Tunbridge Wells. I'm in the process in getting kitted up for the event having just sold my Honda CBR and two piece leathers etc. I'm all but there, Hein Gericke Gortex, Daytona leather etc etc.
I've still to purchase a lid (here we go again I hear you all sigh)
I'm intent on buying a modular helmet and was hoping for the added bonus of one with bluetooth capabilities and then purchase a compatible GPS system.
1st on the list was a BMW System 5 with WCS-1, I see on various threads that the actual helmet is about the quietest there is and only a couple of people on here seem to have a problem with it's quality. So my decision was a Garmin 2820 and the system 5. I ring my dealer only to find out that they have been withdrawn, I then went looking at a Nolan N102 N-Com but have read mixed reviews with regard to it's build quality and noise level. The trouble is that I'm currently using an Arai lid so I've been a little spoiled with it's excellent build quality.
I'm not in a desperate rush as my Arai is still in perfect condition and i certainly don't want to go out and spend £1000+ on a lid and GPS only to find that I've bought a pair of 'wrong uns'
So my question is this, What would you guys advise me to buy? or should I wait for BMW to sort out the WCS-1 and go down that route later in the year?

My other question is with regard to the seat, I was going to have the BMW low seat but have since learned that several aftermarket seats are both lower and more comfortable than the BMW Low. Is there a definative answer as to which is the "Lowest" seat out there as I'm going to need all the help I can get!

Any advice / experience would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks, Chris

 

[illustratedman]

Gps

I use a shoei lid with a sp2720 the cable running to the helmet doesnt get in the way at all, i'd stick with your arai if i were you and give bluetooth a miss.

As for the seat i dont know ive got an 1150adv, if its to tall you could always try platforms...

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

The only person I know who has a bluetooth link to his sat nav doesn't swear by it, he swears at it! If there is plenty of room around your ears in your current helmet, I'd stick with that and buy a wired earpiece.

I use a wired sat nav speaker (Quest 2) with a dead cheap "hook over your ear" type earpiece and I have to say it's fine. That's with a BMW system helmet which has loads of room around my ears for the speaker. The speaker is loud enough even with custom ear plugs up to about 90mph, and even above that it's loud enough to alert you that you need to something, which generally involves slowing down anyway (and then you can hear the next instruction).

I only use an earphone at all when I anticipate a tricky bit of navigation. Now I've become used to sat nav, I tend to rely on visual instructions.

 

[Andrew Lodge]

Which lid to buy??

The one that fits best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bugger what sat nav or bluetooth it has. Its your head its protecting so worry about that first.

 

[ianran]

Goos to see youve ordered yours in the fastest colour!!

I have sat nav and use Starcom system, bit of a pain plugging lead in but the head set fits easily within BMW crash helmets.

With regards the seat, if yo have a brand new bike then, dependant on your weight, the bike will sink a little so unless its absolutely dangerous give it a while. My experience of aftermarket seats are that one mans meat is another mans poison. Spending hard earned dosh to find theres no benefit is not to be advised!!
ENjoy the bike I love mine

 

[birdseye]

Which lid to buy??

The one that fits best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bugger what sat nav or bluetooth it has. Its your head its protecting so worry about that first.

Never. The one he needs is the one which matches the new riding gear and the colour scheme of the bike. If it looks rufty tufty, so much the better!

 

[Andrew Lodge]

Never. The one he needs is the one which matches the new riding gear and the colour scheme of the bike. If it looks rufty tufty, so much the better!

Silly me, you are right of course

 

[(RIP) Tunneruk]

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm there guys? Perhaps what I should do it buy the safest lid on the market and forget all my other needs? I was of course fogetting that the likes of Nolan and the other helmet manufacturers pay no attention to safety???? (perhaps you can detect my own little hint of sarcasm there) I think I would be hard pushed (unless spending £20 on a second hand boot fair offering) to find a lid that wasn't safe.
I therefore asked the question of specification taking for granted that fact that the lid would be safe.......................My mistake!

 

[nedflanders]

Just get a set of custom earphones, no problem with noise and if you want to expand your system and fit an intercom they can be used in conjunction with that. No lid is quite enough anyway. I've got an Intraride intercom with a Garmin GPS, the GPS is hardwired in and the phone is bluetoothed to the intercom, lets me enjoy music, directions and talk to my son on the back , only problem is the phone doesn't ring in the headset, it just connects so one minute I'm singing to Green Day the next the missus is giving me jip for being out too long

 

[Urban Rider]

I use an Arai Tour-X with an Autocom system hard wired to the bike and connected to a Garmin Zumo with my mobile bluetoothed to it. I have a 2 GB SD card in the Zumo with all my tunes onn and it all works perfectly. The music and instructions can all be heard easily at up to 100 mph (apparently... ) and I could not be happier with the setup. There is only x1 wire connecting the lid to the bike which in the event of the spill WILL disconnect as i recently found out after some ofroading in Spain.....

 

[Andrew Lodge]

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm there guys? Perhaps what I should do it buy the safest lid on the market and forget all my other needs? I was of course fogetting that the likes of Nolan and the other helmet manufacturers pay no attention to safety???? (perhaps you can detect my own little hint of sarcasm there) I think I would be hard pushed (unless spending £20 on a second hand boot fair offering) to find a lid that wasn't safe.
I therefore asked the question of specification taking for granted that fact that the lid would be safe.......................My mistake!

Yes you do detect a note of sarcasm but you would and probably have been amazed at just how much the fit of a helmet can vary. Also how much the quality can vary.
All lids sold in the EU have to pass a test but some exceed it by many times whilst others just scrape through, which would you rather wear?
Personally I would never touch one of the cheaper lids but neither can I get on with an Arai which most regard as the best, they are just the wrong shape for my head.
Hence my saying "buy the one that fits". It is a little tongue in cheek but there is also a very strong safety message there as well, we all wear a helmet not only because we have to but to protect our head in an accident and that has to be its primary role.

Of course, just my thoughts and it is a free country. (Just)

 

[Peter Pan]

Hi Tunneruk, I can't comment on the seat but after many previously unsuccessful attempts on helmets and sound systems etc, I've settled on a Schuberth S1 (got to be one of the quietest helmets in existence) and a Starcom system with bluetooth connectivity for the phone.

My GS is fitted with a GSA screen and I can honestly say that I can ride at excessive speeds and receive perfectly audible instructions via my 2610 Sat Nav with the volume level set at 1 (honest!) - and I always wear ear plugs.

The only problem I (currently) have is that when my wife phones through, the volume is too loud but I think that's more to do with my phone volume than anything else.

 

[BigBlue]

Arai TourX and Autocom

I ahev an Arai TourX with the Autocom speakers fitted in the ear space, still leaves plenty of room. I have a Garmin 2610 hardwired and my Ipod hard wired as well a Kenwood bike to bike radio The music fades when I speak or when I receive an incoming radio message or GPS direction. I have found this set-up works well and find no need for bluetooth. it is notoriously unreliable fitted to bike helmets.