Subject:  Sena Field Test Summary

Riders,

 This past week I was fortunate to jump on a 5 day ride with some of our riders in Florida. Three of us had the Sena 20S and 20S EVO units. This is a short summary of the Sena experience. 

 Day one was a solo ride for 3 hours. The unit paired easily with the cell phone and listening to music from your phone was simple. The dial on the unit adjusted the volume easily and was very intuitive. A 2 second press of the center button toggles the music on and off. Phone calls received were easily answered by depressing the button on the back of the unit. The music automatically turns off when the phone call is accepted. It resumes when the call is completed. The quality of the call was excellent and the person on the phone could not tell I was riding at 70 mph. The sound quality was perfect.

 Bluetooth pairing between helmets has a slight learning curve. However, once units are paired, they find themselves easily via Bluetooth. Listening to music while in a group is perfect. Every time there is conversation, the music drops in volume just enough to allow the conversation and then resumes volume afterwards. Group pairing via Bluetooth requires a slightly different button sequence or voice command. The group Bluetooth connection with 3 or 4 riders traveling close together is flawless. However, as soon as someone lags back or gets stuck at a light, you lose that connection. The connection rejoins automatically when the rider comes back in range. For this reason, the SENA Bluetooth connection is not a viable option for a large group. For a group larger than 4 or 6 people the Sena RideConnected APP feature is the preferable choice.

 The RideConnected feature of the SENA 20S pairs the unit to your phone and utilizes the wireless capabilities of your phone to connect the riders. There is no limitation on the number of riders. The APP is very easy to install on your phone and relatively easy to connect. We spent an entire day testing the RideConnected APP and noticed a few minor anomalies that will likely be addressed in future firmware updates. First and foremost, we did not lose connections with anyone due to spacing. At slower speeds the quality was excellent and it was like being on a conference call. Phone calls were private and re-connection was instantaneous. At higher speeds we noticed some wind noise and buffeting. It lessened the quality of what was otherwise a perfect connection. Late in the day we realized that it was likely due to an open mic on the cell phone. (everyone had full face helmets). My cell phone was mounted on the motorcycle and exposed to the wind. We believe the wind noise was a result of that cell phone mic being exposed to the wind. We expect to rectify that situation by the next ride. The other anomaly was the music volume adjustment during conversation. There was none. Therefore the music plays at whatever volume you have it set during any conversation. I would expect firmware modifications to correct that issue.

All in all, the RideConnected feature is the preferred method of communication for the large group. If you have a small group that rides tight, the Bluetooth group connection is excellent option. With either feature, always remember that there is an open mic especially when you drop F bombs on the driver of the car next to you that is trying to merge into your lane!

In comparison to the chatterbox, there is no button to press to talk. There is no channel to open with a VOX call out and you are not blocked out and bothered by the constant open channel due to loud pipe noise. The SENA product excels in all those categories. In addition, the firmware upgrades to 4.0 Bluetooth puts the SENA on top over the Chatterbox for sound quality.

My recent count shows 7 riders have the SENA unit. There are 8 riders that have the chatterbox, 4 of which have both. If you are planning to attend the Motorcycle show next weekend, stop by the SENA booth to see the product in action.