Sena SMH-10R

[KingChicken]

Attended the Edmonton Motorcycle show today and pre-ordered the Sena SMH-10R for my dad and I. Revzilla has them on sale for USD$165 (25% off right now). Again, Canadian retailers are more expensive, even with the show special of 15% off.

Liked the size, and ways you can mount it. I have a Nolan N43 Trilogy with the BT in it already, and it can even sit right on top of the cover of my other hardware.

Anyone used one of these yet? Anything to worry about?

I'm looking forward to seeing this in action.

 

[SuperCruise]

If it's older version, which I have, is anything to go by, it'll be great. I hope they've made the earphone socket mount a bit more sturdy, or at the very least a flexible mount; both my son's and mine have broken after about a year's solid use.

 

[creggur]

Sena SMH-10R

First I've seen the "R" version, but will look into it when my regular one goes. It's been essentially flawless for the past three years.

Had one issue with a speaker taking a crap early on. Contacted Sena support and had a new mount on my doorstep in 2 days no questions asked. Will definitely stick with Sena.

 

[Xdriver]

Sena SMH-10R

I like it. I have the non "R" and it works perfect. But I like the more the more stream lined look of this "R". I've caught mine on things a few time and broke some little clips on it as a result and always have to unclip the device to put my helmet in tighter spaces. Again though, great device. You'll like it.

 

[tpak]

Love my non-R version. So far it has held up well. I use it with custom earplugs from EAR Inc. http://www.earinc.com/p2-iplugz.php (not affiliated) and could not be happier. I didn't think I would like listening to music while riding but now I can not imagine life without. Also, amazing for taking turn by turn directions from my GPS/smartphone. I've done a couple of phone calls on it but have since decided that is just dangerous and annoying although the microphone did a great job in my Arai XD4 up to about 60MPH before the wind noise got to be too much.

 

[KingChicken]

Well, Revzilla tells me the sets shipped on the 16th. I should have them here in Canada by next week. I won't be able to actually test them for a few months though, what with the snow on the ground. Still, I'll post something about fit and installation.

 

[creggur]

Sena SMH-10R

Can't wait to read about it.

 

[KingChicken]

Received it this week and unpacked it. It's not quite what I expected.

The battery is curved to fit on the back of your helmet and the shape is not conducive to put inside the helmet. I don't love the idea of the external battery.

We purchased 3 kits so that the whole famn damily could talk to each other on the road. My dad fitted up 2 of them on their helmets and we tried them out in the house. Worked amazing. My dad synced his phone to it and called me when I was on the road. Sounded great again. Since it's winter we couldn't test the units on the bikes at speed, but I'm hoping if it gets above zero we can lean our heads out the window of a moving car. Totally safe. I have Evil Knievel's word on it.

I don't have pics of the mounted units yet, haven't been back past the ancestral manse. Will post that when I do.

 

[creggur]

Sena SMH-10R

So the battery is mounted somehow on the outside of your helmet? Seems odd, but I'll wait to see the pics of your install...

 

[Xdriver]

Sena SMH-10R

That is odd. The non-R has the entire unit mounted outside the helmet and only speakers and mic inside. I'm curious to see this as well. Sure it'll make sense with pics.

 

[KingChicken]

Couple of close-ups of the contents:

It comes with large speakers for inside the helmet. I see on Sena's website they sell different sized speakers if you need them.

I think you can see the curve of the battery here. It's got velcro on the inside curve. It should attach outside the helmet on the back. I tried to mock it up on one of my helmets at home but the two-sided tape didn't hold.

This is the whole rig laid out. If you look at the unit (upper right) you can see the wiring back to the battery (lower right). and the wire run to the choice of mics (boom mic or simple wire to attach inside a full-face).

 

[Travex]

Have it and love it already. Unfortunately can't test it real-world riding yet. Installation in a Neotec was a snap and pairings were swift and without issue. Re-acquisition is seamless and consistent. Design is streamlined and unobtrusive. Operation is simple and accommodates minimal distraction. Audio is surprisingly decent. It's a re-wrapped SMH-10 with identical functionality and wiser design. Will order a 2nd for a Hornet DS.

As long as it resists weather and holds up I'll remain sold.

 

[Xdriver]

Sena SMH-10R

Have it and love it already. Unfortunately can't test it real-world riding yet. Installation in a Neotec was a snap and pairings were swift and without issue. Re-acquisition is seamless and consistent. Design is streamlined and unobtrusive. Operation is simple and accommodates minimal distraction. Audio is surprisingly decent. It's a re-wrapped SMH-10 with identical functionality and wiser design. Will order a 2nd for a Hornet DS.

As long as it resists weather and holds up I'll remain sold.

I've had my non R for over a year now in rain,cold, heat,dust. It's great unit. Always works as advertised.

 

[Travex]

Re: Sena SMH-10R

I've had my non R for over a year now in rain,cold, heat,dust. It's great unit. Always works as advertised.

Good to hear of your success. Looking forward to same.

 

[KingChicken]

We have 2 of 3 SMH 10R installed. My parents have got their helmets wired up, synced and talk to each other across the house using motorcycle helmets. :

a few photos:
My mother's Nolan N43

You can see how my father wired the entire set through the access panel where Nolan's proprietary electronics would normally mount. It turns out it's a pretty handy mounting point for this.

My dad's lid (HJC IS-33)

We talked around the house, set up VOX settings, and he answered phone calls using his helmet. Still figuring out some of the hands-free features. The sound is crystal clear, though we somehow picked up some interference from the wireless security system in my parent's house. Whenever we opened the door, we heard crackling in the headsets.

 

[Travex]

Amendment to my earlier post:

Now having severe difficulty all of a sudden. I simply turned it on last week and music had become illegible due to frequent if not constant cutting out. Have been in communication with Sena and they've had me try every combination of settings possible. It was intimated that the SMH10R has difficulty in maintaining a good signal with the iPhone. In addition, if the GPS (Zumo 350lm) interrupts with an audio message, the phone/music is lost and must be reset.

After a week of patience and much troubleshooting, they have finally thrown up the white flag and will be issuing an RMA.

The real problem for me is not the annoyance of it's operation, it's the method that was suggested to affix it to my new Shoei Neotec. They recommended (and I used), a 3M bonding agent prior to affixing the two-sided adhesive strip. Apparently the 3M product will leave a very unsightly blemish on my brand new helmet. There was no cautionary statement either verbally or written. Not acceptable. They're now backing away from support due to the use of it. I'm rapidly losing my faith in not only the product, but the company as well. Unfortunate.

I'm hoping for the best but hearing the worst and will update with results either way. This went south fast.

 

[markjenn]

The real problem for me is not the annoyance of it's operation, it's the method that was suggested to affix it to my new Shoei Neotec. They recommended (and I used), a 3M bonding agent prior to affixing the two-sided adhesive strip. Apparently the 3M product will leave a very unsightly blemish on my brand new helmet. There was no cautionary statement either verbally or written. Not acceptable. They're now backing away from support due to the use of it.

Sorry you're having trouble.

How are they "backing away from support"? Are they not refunding your money?

- Mark

 

[Checkswrecks]

I get the feeling that Sena is very small and swimming hard to do what they do. They are doing what they say and have a good product, but their engineering and support are limited by their reality. I'm guessing that between the 3 of our SMH10 installations we've put on 30-40,000 cumulative road miles. Because of our 3 failures in the last year, we've had the opportunity to talk to them a number of times. What failed:


Using the earbud clamp on the helmet, our first one broke the molded rubber base of the plug-in jack. We use the things a LOT but are not hard on our equipment by any means.


They warranty replaced the clamp with the newer version taht was improved for JUST that issue. Had the same failure.


The USB socket for charging failed to take power when plugged in. They replaced that "egg" on warranty.


And not rally a failure, but we keep having to clean the contact points between the helmet clamp and the egg. It's the first thing we suspect when getting an issue like Travex's.

 

[Karson]

I'm not sure if mounting the battery on the back of the helmet is the only way to mount it, but if history follows itself, my pillion would SMOKE that thing with her helmet on any sort of above average brake.

Wonder how resilient towards impact that bugger is? Or better yet, how resilient the mount is...

 

[johnpitts01]

Been avoiding making any comments to the thread waiting to see how it went.

I looked at this unit prior to buying the "standard" Sena.

I did NOT like the seperate battery doohicky.