Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 IRON BUTT MAGAZINE | Winter 2014 garage by your motorcycle. Practice the functions you’ll use while riding and get familiar with how they work. Through this process you might find you need to make changes in the device setup, such as sensitivity levels. If you’ll be using a phone with the S then practice making and hanging up a call or using the speed-dial fea- ture. If you’ll be using the intercom, first create an intercom pairing between your S and your riding partner, then prac- tice making and dropping a connection with them. If you’ll be using multiple intercom connections (more than two riders) it would be a good idea to do the initial pairing with them in the comfort of a garage rather than a cold, dark gas sta- tion or rest area at : the morning of your group ride (trust me on this). Your frustration level will be lower, and your ride enjoyment level higher if you know how to operate your S before you leave on your big ride. Personal Observations Using the 20S I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t spent nearly as much time with the new S as I have with my SMH. But I’ve already decided I won’t be making a permanent switch to the newer model for the fol- lowing reasons. The first glaring and so far unresolved issue is with awful static noise when used with earbuds.There is something terribly wrong in the S circuitry and I’m not the only rider experiencing it. The static noise volume level goes up and down for no apparent reason. It’s noticeably qui- eter with the antenna in a raised posi- tion, but it’s still there and annoying to the point of causing a distraction unless other volume levels are increased to dan- gerous levels. Using different earbuds produces the same result. The next issue is that nearly all my attempts to get voice-commands to work is spotty at best. The “Hello Sena” voice command that’s issued to “wake-up” the unit has never worked. Double-tapping the S unit itself per the instructions worked sometimes, but not always, and of course it requires removing a left hand from the motorcycle controls to do so. Once activated the commands did work, although you do have to remember what they are. Although the new mounting plate design is much improved, and does a much better job at protecting the numer- ous and very fragile connection pins from damage, the S head unit is difficult to install and remove from the clamp.How- ever, before I even had a chance to test the first unit I mounted to my helmet, the latching pin on the helmet clamp stopped functioning and will no longer hold the head unit onto the backing plate. No amount of pressure, pushing or prodding will make it work. A quick online search indicates numerous riders have the same issue and are waiting on replacement helmet clamps. Thankfully I had a second helmet clamp I was able to swap with and use for a planned trip. I’ve been in contact with Sena about this issue and am hopeful they’ll have a solu- tion soon. Final Thoughts I want to like the new Sena S, I really do. My SMH units have worked flawlessly once they had some minor issues taken care of with firmware updates. I’ve found the SMH sound quality and volume are adequate, and I experience zero noise when using it with custom-molded earbuds. I’ve ridden thousands of miles with the SMH talking to my passenger or a riding part- ner and found the range to be adequate, though it could be better. I’m not feeling the same joy with the new S. Though the S is still a new product, it does have a few issues that need to be resolved. For its premium price (MSRP $.; dual pack, MSRP $.) all the new features of the S need to work.The inclusion of three dif- ferent microphones and the ability to use either in-helmet speakers or earbuds in one single helmet clamp is a huge improvement.But a clamp that fails after minimal use, or a head unit that doesn’t function properly even for basic func- tions is unacceptable, not to mention so much static noise in earbuds as to make them useless at low volumes. It is possible that future firmware updates may take care of the electronic issues in the same way they did with the SMH. A redesigned helmet clamp that can withstand the rigors of remov- ing and replacing the head unit each night for charging (or swapping with another unit during endurance rally use) is needed now. Although the S claims to have an improved range for the inter- com function, in real-world intercom use with connections to both an SMH and another S I did not find this to be the case. Being able to do the initial pairing with your cell phone via near- field-communication is cool, but the S lacks a volume level that auto-adjusts for outside noise levels (and which is stan- dard in many newer cars, including mine that’s now eight years old). The included FM radio receiver might be nice if you’re riding locally in a decent-sized city, but for long-distance riding its use will be negligible (better to stick with XM, MP’s or your favorite streaming music service). Operating a motorcycle while using a communication system can be dis- tracting enough without the system not working as it should. A newly-intro- duced motorcycle Bluetooth communi- cation system should be able to handle the most common tasks without requir- ing the rider remove their hands from the grips. Once Sena takes care of the issues with the S I’ll give it another look. Until then, I’ll be practicing Tip # from the Iron Butt Association Archive of Wisdom, “Eliminate all distractions and irritants.”In other words,for now I’ll be sticking with Sena’s previous model, the SMH. As with any new technol- ogy, your mileage may vary. Sena Technologies  Almaden Expy, Suite  San Jose, CA  -- Sena.com ProductEvaluation