Staying in touch with your pillion when you’re riding together can make life on the road much more enjoyable.
The Bluetooth intercoms here are ideal choices for chatting with your passenger, or one rider on another bike - and also give you access to your phone for music and calls.
Some also have capability to create chats between small groups of riders - but a Mesh-equipped unit makes that easier. You'll find our guide to the best of those here…
If you're new to intercoms, our guide on choosing the right one will get you up to speed on what's best for you.
There's nothing to stop you going for a high-tech mesh system for use with a pillion, but choosing from these units will help keep the budget down…
SENA 20S EVO HD Bluetooth Headset & Intercom
Customer rating:
Sena’s 20S Evo twin-pack intercom is a step up in the range from the 10S, and achieved an average of 4.82 stars from the first 38 customer reviews. Owners say pairing them to a phone is quick and easy, but that getting your head around all the functions is initially quite tricky. Reviewers praise the great battery life (Sena claim 13 hours of talk time) and owners also find the hands-free voice commands particularly useful for operating the units while riding.
Cardo Spirit HD Bluetooth Intercom
Customer rating:
When it comes to simple rider-plus-one intercoms, the Cardo Spirit HD is hugely popular. The 40mm H-D speakers are Cardo's own rather than the JBLs that come with the more advanced Freecom 4X unit, and you also have to go without the voice commands of the pricier system. But an average rating of 4.67 from the first 117 reviews shows higher levels of customer satisfaction than the Freecom 4X. The main grumble is on fiddly control buttons, so if you're feeling fumbly it's probably worth finding the extra £100 per unit for the voice-controlled Freecom 4X.
SENA SMH5 Basic Bluetooth Headset & Intercom
Customer rating:
If you're just after the communication basics then Sena's SMH5 is a popular choice. It's still going strong after nine seasons on our site, and a 4.6 average rating from the first 237 customer reviews shows it's viewed pretty favourably. The design is dated, but simple and user-friendly, and the sub-£100 price per unit makes the SMH5 very attractive. With a claimed bike-to-bike range of 400 metres, it's pretty basic now, but the Bluetooth drivers are pretty modern, which helps with security of connection to other units. Volume levels are the main concern in reviews, so maybe worth avoiding for prolonged motorway rides.
Interphone U-com3 Bluetooth Intercom Inc 40mm Speakers
Customer rating:
User-friendliness is the order of the day with Interphone's dinky Ucom3 design. Its three-button control set-up is intuitive, easy to remember and each button is easy to locate, and its small stature means minimal disruption to windflow and low chance of increased wind noise. The first 11 reviewers have given an average rating of 4.8, with overall volume being the only criticism. If you don't go over 60mph much, the cheaper Interphone U-com3 with 32mm speakers is a good budget option - but the larger 40mm speakers are better if you spend any time at speed.
Cardo Freecom 4X Bluetooth Intercom
Customer rating:
The main attractions to Cardo's Freecom 4X are the very popular Natural Voice Control feature, which responds to your spoken instructions, and the 40mm JBL speakers. These aspects are constantly praised in the customer reviews for the Freecom 4X, which appeals to everyone from intercom first-timers to experienced comms users who want something a little more simple. Owners say it's easy to install and operate, though some call the buttons fiddly - on the occasions where you need them rather than using voice control. The IP65 water-resistance rating - protecting against light pressure water jets - gives owners reassurance and the ability to update over wi-fi eliminates the hassle of plugging into a computer for firmware updates.