CB Radios - thoughts

To the mass collective here -

How many of you ride with CB Radios somewhere on your SWing?

I do want one, as I tend to not only commute, but in nicer weather put some miles on and know the handiness for emergencies or traffic talk with truckers or for communication with some of my HD friends I ride with, or groups.

I pondered for a long time in purchasing one of the J&M JMCB handlebar mount motorcycle specific CB, but after really considering how much or little I use the CB, I decided not to take up that much real estate on the handlebars.

I am now pondering a Midland 75-822 under the seat connected to a Sena SR10 Bluetooth adaptor, with a remote button on the bar as I ride with a Bluetooth system in my helmet, stay wireless.

It amazes me there is not much in the market for bluetooth connection for a CB unit for bikes.

What do some of y'all run?

I had a quality J&M radio on my Goldwing. Frankly, I hade trouble hearing it even with a full helmet (wired by J & M). I cant imagine any better sound with a cb. I think Id leave it and check e mail at the end of the day.

To hear the radio I would set it on volume 14 and Id have ringing ears after a ride.

I'm a ham radio operator and have had 2-way radios on a couple bikes so far--had two radios on the bike I traded in on the SW, even.

Don't know much about CB radio features, but I'd recommend Bluetooth connectivity if the radios offer it.  Does away with pesky cords and you can also wirelessly connect your phone and GPS.  This connectivity can be done through your headset.  I use a Sena headset, with one mounted on each helmet I have.  

And, if you primarily just want to talk with riding buddies, you can set up a private intercom with them (you don't even need a radio to do that--the headset has a transmitter!).

Regarding hearing the radio, I mounted an external speaker in addition to having the headset.  On the ham radio, you can set it up for output to both Bluetooth and the speaker at the same time.  Again, don't know about CB features.

One final recommendation is to get a waterproof radio control head if you can.  That'll probably be hard to find.  There was only one such ham radio, and it's no longer made (I have two of them, luckily).

Hope this helps.

Best,
Bash

I have an older Radio Shack version of that and it's a nice little unit. What remote is available for that unit that allows you to change channels?

Thanks BashOn, I think Im going to put the CB under the seat and go with the plan I stated above. Ill have an antenna attached on the side of the trunk. It will mostly be for chatting with a fellow rider who doesnt have a bluetooth headset, I wish he did. If I need it for an emergency, I can pull over to change channels, same for the trucker channel.

My CB Days are long gone but I imagine that a CB radio could work through a wired system such as Starcom.

I have a small Midland CB with a rubber ducky and a Sena Bluetooth adapter that I can stick with Velcro strips to the left side panel on my BMW C65OGT. I use it to communicate with some of my Goldwing riding friends and have the Bluetooth unit on my helmet to communicate with two of my friends who ride SWs. Works good though the Bluetooth to Bluetooth communications are a bit clearer than on the CB.
The Velcro mounting holds the two units firmly to the scooter but allows them to be removed and stored in the front left cubby for security when parking the bike.

exavid wrote:

I have a small Midland CB with a rubber ducky and a Sena Bluetooth adapter that I can stick with Velcro strips to the left side panel on my BMW C65OGT. I use it to communicate with some of my Goldwing riding friends and have the Bluetooth unit on my helmet to communicate with two of my friends who ride SWs. Works good though the Bluetooth to Bluetooth communications are a bit clearer than on the CB.
The Velcro mounting holds the two units firmly to the scooter but allows them to be removed and stored in the front left cubby for security when parking the bike.

Thanks for chiming in and sharing that setup, I appreciate it!

Any photos to share?