The motorcycle community has different thoughts about whether or not you should listen to music while riding. The hearing sense is one of the vital senses along with your sight, and it is responsible for you to have better perception and concentration on the things happening around you and, in this case, the traffic.
In this article, we will discuss some of the benefits of listening to music while riding and, on the opposite, what you should be careful about and give your attention the most if you decide to listen to music during your motorcycle rides.
So what are the best ways to listen to music while riding? There are many ways a rider can listen to his favorite music, but the best ways are using a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet or a motorcycle stereo system. These ways will give you the best hearing experience, while having regular headphones are not good since they can interrupt your hearing sense.
Music is the perfect way to enjoy your ride and feel relaxed, especially if you plan to go on long rides.
In this article, we will show you how you can listen and enjoy your music while at the same time riding with caution and not to worry that your music will disrupt your riding senses. Stay with us to learn more interesting facts about music and riding.
Table of Contents
Best Ways to Listen to Music While Riding
As I mentioned earlier, there are two best ways to listen to your favorite music while enjoying your ride at the same time. You can listen to your music by using:
- Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmet
- Motorcycle Stereo System
Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmet
Using a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet is a more private way to listen to your favorite music during the ride. Your helmet has a speaker system that is installed and integrated inside your motorcycle helmet. This system is connected to your mobile phone or MP3 through Bluetooth. This is very handy because it eliminates the need for any cables or wiring characteristic for ordinary headphones.
Bluetooth motorcycle helmet has external buttons making it easily accessible and user-friendly. These buttons allow you to connect your device (mobile phone or MP3 player), choose the song (previous or next on the list), adjust the volume. What makes this motorcycle helmet great is how easy it is to use, and it won’t disturb you during your ride or distract your focus and concentration from riding.
If you already have a motorcycle helmet and you don’t want to buy a new Bluetooth motorcycle helmet, but you have a great desire to listen to and enjoy your music while riding. In that case, you can customize your helmet with many intercom systems.
The best-known and most popular systems are Cardo and Sena, and you can learn more about this system by following this link. You need to attach these intercom packs to the inside of your motorcycle helmet by placing them between the shell and lining.
These intercom systems are connected to your mobile phone or MP3 player via Bluetooth, and you can listen to your favorite music that way. Another great feature of these systems is that they have a built-in microphone that allows you to talk to other drivers, which are especially handy if you are riding with your best friend and you feel you have to say something to him, this way you won’t have to stop, but you will be able to communicate during a ride.
Here is an excellent video from RevZilla about bluetooth motorcycle helmets:
Motorcycle Stereo System
A motorcycle stereo system is another best way to listen to your favorite music and enjoy your ride at the same time. Many motorcycle models have installed stereo systems, and the stereo system is your motorcycles speaker system.
If your bike doesn’t have a built-in stereo system, you can look for many aftermarket kit options. You just need to look into your motorcycle make and model manual and look for the suitable fitting stereo system kit, so it works perfectly, and you enjoy its full potential and great sound.
Tip: If you don’t have your motorcycle manual, write your motorcycle make and model and search for it online.
You can connect your stereo system to your mobile phone or iPod through an audio jack located on your bike. You only need to be careful with your music device, whether it be your mobile phone or iPod and put it on a phone mount for two simple but important reasons: not to get distracted and to ensure that your device is safe and firmly connected to your bike and it doesn’t fall off during the ride.
You can connect other stereo systems via Bluetooth or use a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet and follow all the instructions I wrote earlier in the article.
You may think about what is so great about the stereo system, and the answer is quite simple. While you listen to your favorite music, you will notice how the sound is very quality, and at the same time, you will have complete focus and concentration on the road, traffic, and all the surroundings around you.
Here is an excellent video about motorcycle stereo systems:
You will be able to hear all the sounds from your background and all around you on the road because your music will be played through the speakers.
You can adjust the bass intensity and the volume to the level you enjoy the most, and at the same time, your road attention is not interrupted. There is only one thing that can be considered as the downside of the stereo system, and that is that other traffic participants or riders can also hear your music or whatever you listen to on your stereo system.
That is why you should take into consideration the volume of your music since music too loud can disturb other traffic participants and disturb their focus and concentration and lead to unwanted traffic scenarios.
Note: Adjust the volume of your stereo system to the desired level where you will enjoy your music, be fully concentrated on the traffic and your surroundings, and at the same time, you won’t disturb other riders or any other traffic participants.
Additional Rules
There are some rules that every rider should follow. These rules will make you and everyone else safer in the traffic, so here they are.
For Stereo Systems
Like I mentioned earlier, other riders or any other traffic participants can hear the music you listen to, so you need to take into consideration what type of music you will listen to while riding. Keep the music volume as low as possible so that you enjoy your music while at the same time hearing the sound of your surrounding without being distracted or losing focus and concentration.
Note: Turn off the music completely when you are getting closer to inspection posts or checkpoints, and the reason for that is to hear and communicate properly with the officers in charge and avoid any miscommunication.
Also, another thing you should consider before hitting your volume hard is to consult the legal volume limitations that are specific to your state since there are no same rules in all the states, and each state has its own specific regulations and laws that need to be followed.
There are some areas where the volume is limited to a hundred decibels, and that’s why you need to check the rules and laws in your state because we wouldn’t like for you or anyone else to get into trouble.
CAUTION: Like written earlier, DO NOT let the music disturb or distract you from the road and your surroundings. Keep your eyes on the road at all times, and always check your mirrors to see what is going on behind you.
Do Not Use Noise-Cancelling Headphones
I have witnessed that some motorcycle riders use noise-canceling headphones under their motorcycle helmet, which can be a very dangerous thing to do.
CAUTION: DO NOT do that because it can completely block the sounds and noise coming from your surroundings which means that you won’t be able to hear the sounds that you need to hear, like the sounds of other vehicles or some characteristic noise for the area you ride through (like for example if you ride through some area where there are road works constructions and you want to hear the noise of working machines and people working there, so you notice if you need to move or be careful not to get hurt from the working machine or you need to avoid hurting the construction workers on the road).
Noise-canceling headphones are dangerous in riding conditions because they make you less aware of the situation in your surroundings. You need to use only tested and approved ways like Bluetooth motorcycle helmets or stereo systems for listening to your favorite music. If you don’t have any of these, don’t listen to the music at all because it will put your life and the life of other traffic participants in danger.
Benefits Of Listening To Music
There are many benefits of listening to your favorite music while riding your motorcycle. It is highly beneficial, especially on a long bike trip, to relax you a little bit, while at the same time it entertains you and keeps you alert. This goes if you follow all the rules that will keep you safe at all times, of course.
Entertainment
Many road trips can take hours, especially if you are a cruiser rider. If you spend most of the time riding on a highway, the scenic view can become tiresome pretty fast. Riding on highways and straight roads starts to become monotone very quickly, and here is where the music fill comes into play.
These long monotone rides demand some kind of “a means of killing monotony,” and listening to your favorite music can be the best option to do so.
Keeps You Alert
Riding through “the same” long road will quickly become monotonous, and considering that these rides take hours, you need to be alert and aware of your surroundings. This monoton ride can make you more relaxed than you should be because there are parts of your brain that are not stimulated.
A focused and sharp rider has faster reactions and can avoid accidents much better than the rider that feels stagnant or monotonous. That’s why music is can be important in this situation. Your favorite music genre can make you feel more active and awake, which will keep you more focused and sharp.
If a rider likes to sing why riding, it will also keep him more awake.
Versatile
The good thing about the audio system is that it can be used for more things than just listening to your favorite music. If you love listening to educational content, you can listen to educational programs or podcasts, which is really great. You can also listen to entertaining content to keep you awake and alert.
Many riders, including myself, use GPS navigation systems when traveling to different places that they haven’t been to yet. You can set your GPS system to voice mode, which is handy since you don’t need to look at your mobile phone while riding. You just simply listen and follow the directions.
You can use many apps like Apple Maps, Waze, or Google Maps. You just need to volume up your stereo, and you will hear the instructions loud and clear, so you won’t have to look at your mobile phone all the time.
Another very entertaining feature of your stereo system is that you will be able to enjoy your music with your fellow rider friends once you arrive at your destination. I don’t have a stereo system on my Kawasaki Z750, but some of my friends have it on their cruiser bikes, so you may imagine how fun a time we have after arriving at the destination.
If your motorcycle has a high-quality sound system, it will make any moment worth remembering, and you will enjoy your hangouts very much. I personally guarantee you that.
You can charge your sound system at the end of your ride while you enjoy hanging out with your riders while at the same time you listen to your favorite music. You can use your speakers for numerous possibilities, like when having a picnic with your friends or lounging by the beach.
Final Thoughts
Listening to your favorite music while riding has many benefits, as mentioned in the article above. It can keep you alert, and you can enjoy your ride much better while at the same time being concentrated and focused on the road ahead of you and the surroundings around you.
You need to tune your volume to the desired level to be aware of everything around you, and there won’t be any problems or dangerous situations since you will have everything under control.
We hope that this article has helped you a lot with getting the solution that fits your needs and at the same time gives you the pleasure of riding and doesn’t lower your safety conditions.