[rasta]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

I'm not sure how everyone else feels about this, but hearing while riding is very important to me. So I don't use any kind of earplugs or music. I tried earplugs one time but they were so disorienting that I had to pull over less than a mile away and pull them out.

When I had them in, I had a hard time starting the engine even. Then there is the inability to hear traffic. In a perfect world with a perfect bike, I would be able to see with my mirrors all around me and know where all the cars are at, but in reality I can't really see anything except my elbows in my mirrors unless I twist and look around them. That's why I rely on sound to be able to tell when cars are too close behind me.

Electronic earplugs might be a good solution if they exist. They are available for gun ranges, but I don't think those would work on motorcycles.

Then there is music. I tried bluetooth speakers in the helmet. Worked great, but it was so distracting that I was riding like a drunken cager. So the music got turned off.

I think it just takes some getting used to. You can still hear with them, everything is just a little muffled. When you're traveling at 80 mph, can you really hear much traffic noise through all the wind anyway?