Scala Rider Ear Piece - Not for use in the rain !!

Gerry

Guest
Just a word of warning for anyone who may be considering a TomTom Rider bundle with a Scala Rider ear piece.

I received my new Rider almost 2 weeks ago and used it for the first time on Tuesday. Unfortunately Tuesday turned into one of the wettest days of the month so far and I had a 400 mile journey to complete! No problems I thought, my new TomTom Rider V2 is fully waterproof and surely any earpiece supplied with it will also be protected to the same level, WRONG !! My earpiece lasted the first half of the journey but gave up the ghost on the way home....

I emailed Cardo Systems in the USA who informed me that "the product can withstand light rain but is not meant for moderate to heavy rain". I am now left with an earpiece which is useless. Cardo Systems state that their manual carries a warning to this effect, TomTom do not supply the Cardo Scala Rider manual with the bundle....

You have been warned.......

I must add, however, that the TomTom Rider V2 is excellent, if only I could find an earpiece to match....
 
By ear piece, do you mean the detachable Blue-tooth unit, or the in-helmet ear-piece and microphone setup?

Just wondering as there's no way you could remove the in-helmet piece every time you hit a patch of heavy rain (not in this country anyway).
 
Thanks for posting this. You would just ASSUME that something designed to go on the OUTSIDE of a motorcycle helmet would be made waterproof.

Maybe if more people know about it .. it will kill off their N.European sales .. which in turn make make them produce a waterproof version.
 
mine was doing good for over a year but after a 12 hours riding in heavy rain from Dublin to Skye it started acting up.. High pitch screech in my ear and wouldn't turn off..
Pity, as it was very convenient and everyone I phoned on it reported how clear it was.

Have a look at the manual though. Is states: "The scala rider is weather protected but you should avoid accessive exposure to the elements" (including crap spelling of excessive!)

I bought mine on Ebay so no comeback, but I'd get back onto who you bought your Tomtom from and let them know it's not suitable for use is this country if it cannot be used in rain as advertised.. I'd ask for a complete refund.
 
Update

Sorry about not responding sooner guys, been busy riding all weekend.....

An update on my situation.

I bought my Rider from Ebuyer.com, cheapest place I could find and received it within 48 hours, great service.

When I had my problems with the unit I emailed TomTom and Cardo Systems to ask for help. Cardo Systems simply pointed me towards their installation manual which apparently states that the unit is only for use in light rain, only problem being that I didn't receive their manual as this was a bundle. Cardo Systems appear to have written me off and are not offering any solution or compromise to my problem of a 2 week old earpiece which no longer works, sloping shoulder syndrome.

TomTom responded by telling me to return the complete bundle to my supplier for a complete exchange, the unit was collected by Ebuyer's courier this morning, great service again.

Only time will tell as to whether I get a new unit or not, I'm hoping so....

I have posted my experiences on this forum (along with another 3 BMW related forum's) to let people know what may be expensive pitfalls with what is otherwise a great piece of kit.

In response to individual questions:

DodgyGeeSer
Yes it's just the detachable blue tooth part which has malfunctioned, I assume (maybe wrongly) that in the future I should remove this if I experience anything more than "light rain" and hope the remaining, vulnerable, components which are a little more firmly attached to my helmet stand up to the exposure.​

Novice
I'm of the same opinion as you, only bad publicity can make them reassess the level of protection built into this kit. I informed Cardo Systems that I intended to publish details of my problem on some motorcycle related forum to pre-warn others of potential issues with their equipment, they didn't seem too phased by this.​

Padge
My earpiece worked great for the first 4 hours of my ride, my girlfriend telephoned my mid journey and couldn't believe I was riding along as the quality was so good. My manual doesn't state anything at all about the weather protection built in to my ear piece. I've mentioned earlier in this post that as this was part of a bundle, I only received TomTom's manual complete with instructions for installing and setting up the ear piece.​

I shall keep you all informed.....

Gerry
 
Thanks for the reply.. I've had mine for a couple of (dry) weeks now, and am very happy with it... That's a bit crap alright.. Particularly with the rain we get..
 
...one of the wettest days of the month...

"the product can withstand light rain but is not meant for moderate to heavy rain".

....

I bought a teamset with my Zumo and it packed up at the first sign of rain. Started beeping and then stopped. Unit would not then turn off and blue light stays on permanently when there is any charge.

I bougth from MNC who describe it as "desigend for Heavy duty performance" and "weather protected".

The Cardo website describes it as "Weather protected headset fits any motorcycle helmet even under rain and snow conditions"

and under FAQ in answer to the question can it be used in the rain it says:"The scala-rider is a water-resistant device, designed for use under moderate rain and snow conditions. However, the headset is not waterproof and should not be used under severe weather conditions. The cover tongue protecting the charging jack should be kept tightly closed at all times to prevent moisture from entering the device."

I think it is being miss-sold and clearly you were subsequently given qualifiers that contradict what they say on their web site.

Does one of the "wettest days of the month" constitute moderate or severe weather conditions? It is impossible to determine what is severe or moderate weather - will it survive fine weather but spray from wet roads? To me severe weather is a storm or hurricane or monsoon conditions.

If it is designed to be mounted on the outside of a motorcycle helmet and it is not waterproof then it should say so CLEARLY in the adverts and on the box.

Mine is going back to MNC for full refund and I wont settle for less.:spitfire

Mine packed up on the way to Andorra and N Spain last week. I stopped in a shop that was selling bluetooth headsets for helmets thinking they might be waterproof. When asked the guy swore blind that it was guaranteed waterproof. I was almost convinced until I saw that it was made by Cardo and identical to the Scala headset in every way except name - nuf said.
 
the tomtom is great, i'm not sure what the right solution is for the earpiece.

mine was waterproof, but it fouled my shoulder on rear observations and was annoying. the inside ear bit never really fitted in my helmet (arai). the call quality is great, although taking calls at high speed on motorways is a bit disorienting i found... when i need the tomtom i just use it without now.
 
Latest Update

OK, time for an update.....

You'll be glad to hear that Ebuyer (www.ebuyer.com) honoured TomTom's return email and I am now, once again, the proud owner of a brand new TomTom Rider V2 with nice shiny new (and dry) Scala earpiece. Well done Ebuyer and TomTom.:thumb

In the meantime Scala emailed me again to say they had reconsidered their decision and that without accepting any responsibility for the damage but simply as a gesture of their goodwill they're willing to exchange my earpiece.

A win win situation; if only I wasn't too concerned about using my nice new earpiece in the rain again......:eek:
 


Back
Top Bottom