Product review – scala rider® G4™ PowerSet Communications System by cardo

Are you ready for a bold statement? Considering my line of work, this is a really bold statement. The scala rider G4™ PowerSet is the best motorcycle accessory I have ever owned. I told you it was a big statement. Take a moment to sit back and let me explain why I feel this is such a great product.

I realize that intercom systems have been around for years, but never really wanted to give up the individuality of riding. Isn’t that one of the reasons we ride – to escape life for awhile and be one with our motorcycle? Look at the G4 as helping you with that escape, not invading on your alone time. With this system you can spend more time riding and less time stopping to discuss options with your riding buddies. You can talk about it beforehand while cruising down the road long before you ever get to that important turn or interchange. It doesn’t mean you need to be talking to the office or having a constant conversation, the system just allows for better communication when you need it.

Do you ride with a GPS unit? The G4 system will communicate with any Bluetooth™ compatible GPS device so you can hear directions from your GPS unit right in your helmet. You don’t have to worry about trying to read that small screen to follow every turn and junction.

Is your cell phone Bluetooth capable? Then you can set your system up to work with that as well. Place or receive calls from your cell phone using voice commands allowing your hands to stay on the bars and your eyes on the road.

You can even hook up and listen to your MP3 or iPod® while riding. If it is wireless capable, it will probably work with the G4. Don’t worry, should it require a cable connection, you can still use it.

With all of this inbound information, you might wonder how you are going to hear all of it at once. The G4 has a hierarchy system built-in that dictates the importance of inbound information and overrides one function so you can hear another.

Say you are chatting with your passenger about whether you are going to have Mexican or Italian food for lunch, but the GPS unit needs to warn you of an upcoming turn. The G4 simply stops your passenger conversation momentarily so you hear the GPS unit loud and clear, and as soon as it is done, it reconnects you to your passenger and that important lunch topic.

If your GPS is already talking to you and your passenger or buddy try to contact you, they hear a busy signal and you hear a couple of beeps to let you know that there is an intercom caller trying to page you. Your cell phone is on this same level, so that you are not interupted if on an important call. The entire system is really well thought out and works very nicely.

Another scenario might have you listening to your MP3 player or the built-in FM radio and your buddy needs to tell you he is about out of gas. No worries, the music will stop and the pleas of your gas starved partner will sound in your ears. Once he is done screaming in panic, you go back to the relaxing music you were listening to.

The hierarchy goes like this: Mobile phone or GPS instructions are going to be the top level and will trump all other incoming transmissions. Behind the phone or GPS unit comes the intercom feature which has priority over any kind of music input. The music order is: wireless input, then the FM radio and finally a corded connection.

G4 recommends that if you are using both a GPS unit and cell phone, that you should pair your mobile phone through your GPS device so that GPS instructions will correctly override calls.

Adding to the long list of really cool features is the Automatic Gain Control (AGC) technology that controls the volume. You don’t want your GPS instructions to blast your eardrums out as you sit at a nice quiet stoplight. On the flip side, you don’t want to miss a direction while riding down the road with all that engine and wind noise. The G4 uses AGC to automatically adjust the volume so that it is correct regardless of your situation. I ride with earplugs and have no problem hearing no matter the conditions, and never get blasted when the background noise is gone.

You can dial, answer or reject calls from your cell phone using the voice-activated technology as long as your phone is setup for voice commands. Again, hands on the bars, eyes on the road.

The range between units is supposed to be a mile, but that is only under the best of circumstances, like a straight interstate highway or something. You won’t get a mile on a twisty, curvy Oregon back road! There is a small flip-up antenna that extends the range of the intercom somewhat. The cool thing is that as long as you have cell coverage, you can always call your buddy if they get more than a mile away! So realistically it has unlimited range.

Installation in my Arai XD3 was very simple to say the least. I situated the mouthpiece in the front of the helmet as instructed and then used the clamp provided to affix the control box to the helmet. Again, all easily done following the instructions. Next was the placement of the speakers in the ear pockets of the helmet, placing the wires under the padding. The actual installation process took probably no more than 15 minutes.

Until you actually experience it, there is no good way to describe how beneficial this tool really is. I rode with my wife both days last weekend in the local hills and it was wonderful. I could let her lead and still tell her which way to when we came to a turn or junction. It was also a great teaching tool. I could follow her and coach her on technique and skills real-time. No waiting until we pulled over and then try and explain what she did right or wrong. I could help her right then.

When riding with my regular ride buddies, I would venture to say that the G4’s allow us an extra 100 miles per day. Like I said, no need for all those short stops to discuss which way to go, how much gas do you have, who’s hungry and so on. The time we would waste doing that is now spent motoring down the road!

Click here to see the complete rundown of features and to purchase your G4.

Good riding!

Jeff Homolka