My F800GT makes the most helmet wind noise of any bike I have ever owned or ridden. I have been working to get the helmet noise under control - both with changes to the windscreen and changes to my hearing protection. I believe the noisy things I have done in my life have reduced my hearing ability and for some reason the wind noise is pervasive in my riding - in my youth ear plugs were not commonly available like they are now and we just didn't use earplugs when mowing grass, running a chainsaw, or riding our motorcycles. I can remember the David Bradley and Clinton chainsaws we used on the farm when I was a kid had exhaust pipes that just pointed up from the cylinder with no muffler of any kind - your ears would ring after using them for a little while.
I ride with a Sena headset in my helmet, it allows me to talk to my wife if she is riding with me, or other riders who have the same brand. It also allows me to answer telephone calls, or use the GPS on the telephone for verbal route instructions. I seldom feel the need to listen to music while riding - I find the ride itself to be good therapy......on long rides that involve a lot of interstate I might be tempted to listen to music.
On most bikes I can use the helmet speakers with foam earplugs and still hear the helmet headset reasonably well. At highway speeds on a bike without a windshield the wind noise can create a problem. If I turn the volume of the headset up very loud it can create a problem with feedback for the person who is on the other side of the conversation, as their voice coming out my speakers goes back into my microphone and they hear their own voice as they speak.
FOAM EAR PLUGS - Foam plugs come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The fist one I used where the yellow 3M ones. They work OK and are readily available - they do get uncomfortable eventually and they are not the best at reducing noise. My favorite are the Mack's Ultra Soft foam earplugs. They are the quietest and most comfortable I have ever used, and they are available at most Big Box stores where the health items are kept. I bought a set of these green earplugs at my local Meijer's store, and they seem to be more comfortable and quieter than any other plug I have ever used........so much so that I have trouble hearing my intercom if the wind noise is loud.
https://www.macksearplugs.com/product/hi-viz-soft-foam-ear-plugs/
EAR BUDS - One solution to the problem of blocking the wind noise and still being able to hear the Sena headset is to use earbuds that have the speaker inside. I tried these first as they are affordable and they stay in the ear well. The little tab that sticks out can be trimmed back so that it doesn't hit your helmet - but I still found them to be uncomfortable after a while. https://www.plugfones.com/product/basic/ They do have a new model with interchangeable tips - I have not tried these: https://www.plugfones.com/product/guardian/
I then tried these Panasonic earbuds as they are relatively cheap and small in size: https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-EX15LP-BLACK-Headphones-Tangle-Silicone/dp/B076MHX9YR They work well with the headset - but I found the silicone earpiece allowed a lot of wind noise into the helmet, and they are not very secure in my ear - but I could hear the Sena much better than using the helmet speakers. I bought a couple of sets of foam ear tips to try. You can buy Chines ones on eBay pretty cheap - I found they aren't all that much of in improvement over the silicone. There are better ones available and I found that these work so much better - when you compress the foam and put it in your ear - you can feel the foam expanding and filling the cavity for about a minute, and they seal very well and are well worth the money. https://www.complyfoam.com/store/
I recommend the earbuds and the foam tips as the $30 solution!
NOISE CANCELLING EARBUDS - I watched a YouTube video of a fellow who uses the Bose noise cancelling earbuds and he claimed they worked great. They are expensive: https://www.bose.com/en_us/products...ncelling-headphones.html#v=qc20_samsung_black
I was not willing to spend that much money - but I found I could buy factory reconditioned units for half price on eBay:https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bose-Quiet...rentrq:6e5060b41710aa48aea43249ffec6d26|iid:1
When I first tried them I had a short windshield on my bike that put the wind blast right at my shoulders and I would get noise from the bottom and top of my helmet. The noise cancelling worked great - but I would get a popping sound in the speakers every few seconds. I put on a taller windshield that moved the air up to my eye level on my helmet, and the speakers work incredible. They cancel all the wind at lower speeds, and at 70mph and above they cancel 80% of the noise. Stewmills called me while I was out testing these and I could clearly hear him on the Sena headset, and I also tried an MP3 player and I could easily hear the music - which is something that has never worked with any other system I have tried. My helmet fits really tight and I can get the helmet on with the Bose earbuds in place - but I have to sneak a hand up in each side and remove the plugs before I can take my helmet off - the earbuds have microphones on the outside and they stick out farther than normal earbuds. Trying to remove the helmet with the Bose earbuds in place pushes them deep into my hear and is painful. I am going to try and mold some custom earpieces and see if that can move the Bose earbuds closer to my head - I also need to get a wire extension so I can put the control box in my pocket and not have it up at my collar.
NOTE: I do know that these don't work well if you have a short windshield and get a blast of air at both the bottom and top of the helmet - I am not sure yet if they will work on a bike without a windshield.
SUMMARY -For $30 you can use the Sony earbuds or another brand that is small and doesn't stick out of your ears very far - but be sure to get the Comply foam eartips as they help a lot......I will use these for most of my rides. Time will tell as I get a bit more experience - but I believe the Bose Noise Cancelling earbuds are going to be my "go to" for long rides as they really do cut the noise down.....but are a bit cumbersome to fiddle with all the wires.
I ride with a Sena headset in my helmet, it allows me to talk to my wife if she is riding with me, or other riders who have the same brand. It also allows me to answer telephone calls, or use the GPS on the telephone for verbal route instructions. I seldom feel the need to listen to music while riding - I find the ride itself to be good therapy......on long rides that involve a lot of interstate I might be tempted to listen to music.
On most bikes I can use the helmet speakers with foam earplugs and still hear the helmet headset reasonably well. At highway speeds on a bike without a windshield the wind noise can create a problem. If I turn the volume of the headset up very loud it can create a problem with feedback for the person who is on the other side of the conversation, as their voice coming out my speakers goes back into my microphone and they hear their own voice as they speak.
FOAM EAR PLUGS - Foam plugs come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The fist one I used where the yellow 3M ones. They work OK and are readily available - they do get uncomfortable eventually and they are not the best at reducing noise. My favorite are the Mack's Ultra Soft foam earplugs. They are the quietest and most comfortable I have ever used, and they are available at most Big Box stores where the health items are kept. I bought a set of these green earplugs at my local Meijer's store, and they seem to be more comfortable and quieter than any other plug I have ever used........so much so that I have trouble hearing my intercom if the wind noise is loud.
https://www.macksearplugs.com/product/hi-viz-soft-foam-ear-plugs/
EAR BUDS - One solution to the problem of blocking the wind noise and still being able to hear the Sena headset is to use earbuds that have the speaker inside. I tried these first as they are affordable and they stay in the ear well. The little tab that sticks out can be trimmed back so that it doesn't hit your helmet - but I still found them to be uncomfortable after a while. https://www.plugfones.com/product/basic/ They do have a new model with interchangeable tips - I have not tried these: https://www.plugfones.com/product/guardian/
I then tried these Panasonic earbuds as they are relatively cheap and small in size: https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-EX15LP-BLACK-Headphones-Tangle-Silicone/dp/B076MHX9YR They work well with the headset - but I found the silicone earpiece allowed a lot of wind noise into the helmet, and they are not very secure in my ear - but I could hear the Sena much better than using the helmet speakers. I bought a couple of sets of foam ear tips to try. You can buy Chines ones on eBay pretty cheap - I found they aren't all that much of in improvement over the silicone. There are better ones available and I found that these work so much better - when you compress the foam and put it in your ear - you can feel the foam expanding and filling the cavity for about a minute, and they seal very well and are well worth the money. https://www.complyfoam.com/store/
I recommend the earbuds and the foam tips as the $30 solution!
NOISE CANCELLING EARBUDS - I watched a YouTube video of a fellow who uses the Bose noise cancelling earbuds and he claimed they worked great. They are expensive: https://www.bose.com/en_us/products...ncelling-headphones.html#v=qc20_samsung_black
I was not willing to spend that much money - but I found I could buy factory reconditioned units for half price on eBay:https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bose-Quiet...rentrq:6e5060b41710aa48aea43249ffec6d26|iid:1
When I first tried them I had a short windshield on my bike that put the wind blast right at my shoulders and I would get noise from the bottom and top of my helmet. The noise cancelling worked great - but I would get a popping sound in the speakers every few seconds. I put on a taller windshield that moved the air up to my eye level on my helmet, and the speakers work incredible. They cancel all the wind at lower speeds, and at 70mph and above they cancel 80% of the noise. Stewmills called me while I was out testing these and I could clearly hear him on the Sena headset, and I also tried an MP3 player and I could easily hear the music - which is something that has never worked with any other system I have tried. My helmet fits really tight and I can get the helmet on with the Bose earbuds in place - but I have to sneak a hand up in each side and remove the plugs before I can take my helmet off - the earbuds have microphones on the outside and they stick out farther than normal earbuds. Trying to remove the helmet with the Bose earbuds in place pushes them deep into my hear and is painful. I am going to try and mold some custom earpieces and see if that can move the Bose earbuds closer to my head - I also need to get a wire extension so I can put the control box in my pocket and not have it up at my collar.
NOTE: I do know that these don't work well if you have a short windshield and get a blast of air at both the bottom and top of the helmet - I am not sure yet if they will work on a bike without a windshield.
SUMMARY -For $30 you can use the Sony earbuds or another brand that is small and doesn't stick out of your ears very far - but be sure to get the Comply foam eartips as they help a lot......I will use these for most of my rides. Time will tell as I get a bit more experience - but I believe the Bose Noise Cancelling earbuds are going to be my "go to" for long rides as they really do cut the noise down.....but are a bit cumbersome to fiddle with all the wires.