J&M comm system install for Shoei Multitech

Shoei Multitec install at J&M

Since I was having trouble installing the J&M headset on the Shoei, and I now had the wrong helmet speakers, I elected to send it off to J&M and have them do the install.

I contacted J&M via email and let them know that I was was sending the helmet and headset to them and quickly received a call back from Brian in sales.  I explained my issue with the install and we discussed the emails that John and I had exchanged regarding the standard vs thin helmet speakers.

I provided Brian with the UPS tracking number and we exchanged a few phone calls until the tracking number showed up on the UPS web site.  At that point I provided my credit card number to pay the $40.00 installation fee and the cost of return shipping. Communication was great.

J&M turned around the installation quickly and had the Shoei on it's way back to me in about a day.  I had an email in my inbox with the FedEx tracking number as soon as it shipped. The helmet was delivered via FedEx on Saturday, New Years Eve.  Everything came back double boxed and in the helmet bag as I had sent it to them.

Here is how the install came out.

You can see that the bottom of the bracket extends a bit below the helmet and the headset controller.

J&M Install on Shoei Multitech Showing Bracket from the Side

As with the previous headset there is a bit of a gap created by the microphone cable passing between the shell and the liner.  The speakers sit perfectly flush and sound good.

J&M Install on Shoei Multitech Bottom View

I always seem to have trouble orienting the microphones on headsets so I added a small white paint mark with a paint pen to make it a bit easier to identify the side that faces the rider.

Mic marked with white paint pen

I paired the unit with the passenger link on the BlueHub Dongle.  I'm still not 100% sure which pairing button corresponds to which antenna.  The buttons are not labeled so I experimented a bit and I think I have it right. I still plan to contact J&M to make sure.

I used the button closest to the wire, and facing the front of the bike, for the rider the the other for the passenger.  The blue indicators now flash alternating front and back when everything is linked up.

With both helmets now paired we can listen to music coming from the bike and talk via the intercom feature. The mic is always open since there is no vox.  This should mean no delays or cut off speech when someone starts talking and that appears to be the case.  This had been a huge problem with the previous iMC headsets I had.  Often it was difficult to get the vox to activate and then they would shut off in mid sentence at times.  At other times the mic was always open.

I ran a quick test of the Droid Bionic plugged into the included cable and that seems to work OK.

There is no mute of the music when someone is speaking so you may have to turn down the music to hear each other.  The music seems to be significantly louder than the intercom at this point. There is also a bit more noise in the headsets than what I would have expected. This will all have to be tested in real world riding conditions when the weather improves.

The total cost of the Shoei install was about $75 when including shipping both ways.

Everything is now installed and operating as advertised.  I will update this when we've had a chance to test it all out while riding.

Happy New Year!

Cheers.