Few things can offer the freedom that a motorcycle tour provides. Whether it is a planned vacation with friends or a simple run into the countryside to feel some fresh air hitting your face, the invigoration is enormous. Since on such tours you are usually not riding alone, a very important aspect is communication with companion riders for coordination and help, or even just to chat for fun.
There is such a wide selection of products that cover this need that you are guaranteed to find what you are looking for, for a price. Motorcycle intercoms can provide communication both with your passenger and with other riders. They come in many flavors, from simple wired solutions to wireless and Bluetooth. These ready products, while doing an excellent job, usually come at a high price.
As a first, naive, alternative solution one might think of cellular phones, since everyone owns one nowadays. Motorcycle headsets for cellular phones exist and they are not very expensive. However, it is very inconvenient, not to mention expensive, to dial a number each time you want to talk to someone. Network coverage is also an issue, since on such tours you might venture into places where no cellular base station is in proximity.
A much better choice would be to resort to the use of cheap and reliable two way radios. These radios operate ad-hoc, meaning that they do not require the existence of a base station. While entry level radios are generally very cheap, they do not provide particularly good operation ranges. This should not be a problem though, since your fellow riders will most probably be very near you and commercial motorcycle intercom devices would not have a larger range anyway. The best solution would be an FRS (Family Radio Service) capable two way radio, since the FRS service does not require a license, coupled with a two way radio helmet headset. You should look for radios with VOX (Voice Activated Transmit) and a compatible headset accessory to keep your hands completely free while enjoying the ride. A potential problem is the lack of privacy, which can result in extreme cross-chatter in densely populated areas but out in the country and while cruising on highways, this will not be a problem.
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