Failing Scala rider G4

A couple of years ago I purchased a Scala Rider Q2 bluetooth headset for my helmet and to this day have had great results.
Based on my previous experience with Scala Rider I purchased the upgraded version, the G4 so my wife and I could talk back and forth between our bikes. I have had the G4 units for a year and a half now and I am still regretting the purchase. I have sent my G4 back to the factory now twice for a failed charging receptacle. My wife has now sent her G4 back to the factory three times, once for a failed charging receptacle and twice for broken buttons. Each time the units are sent back we are without them for 5-6 weeks. To credit Scala Rider, they have always replaced the units free of charge (except for the shipping of course) but it really annoying considering the price paid for lousy quality. My warranty expires in 6 months and if they fail again I'm going to be looking for another manufacturer. Has anyone else had problems with their G4's?
If you have had really good or bad luck with other bluetooth headsets, please let me know so I can choose a good set next time.
Slo~

I had the q2 and also purchased the g4 two years ago. I've had 0 (real) problems with mine. Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I really enjoy mine and rely on them. Good luck!

slo~ride said:

If you have had really good or bad luck with other bluetooth headsets

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Two sets of the Sena shm10 for a couple seasons now since they came out... 0 problems, still runs 9+hours at a time with music/intercom on all the time.

I have the Q2 teamset, no problems. My buddy bought them based on my recommendation and hadn't charged it since he bought it. Went to use it and of course it was a brick. Sent it back and had a new set within a week. He was honest with their customer service and they took care of it.

Dennis

Have Chatterbox XBi2, not happy, dont use much anymore because of that.
seem harder to get set up than they should be, bad battery life, and everytime you turn it on, and sync it to your phone it automatically calls the last number dialed on your phone.
Like you, looking for a better solution

slo~ride said:

Has anyone else had problems with their G4's?

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I had a boom replaced under warranty (mic was cutting out) and a broken A button on the head set. Both were covered under the warranty so far great service from Scala.

Jay

I bought the Scala Teamset and used it for about 6mos. My new girlfriend has her own bike. Unit worked great except for distance (only about 35 feet.) Upgraded to Q2 pro multiset...big mistake...went on 5 trips to N.C. mountains and had no communications, only problems. Only an expensive MP3 and bluetooth unit. Very unhappy. Complained to Scala and they told me to send it back. It would be great if they credited me towards a G4, will inquire about that because I have no confidence in the Q2 pro. I'll update as soon as I have more.

We use the Scala G4 continuosly between the two of on our 2 ST's. Had a problem at first, couldn't get them to talk to each other. Sent them back and they sent us a brand new set and haven't had any problems since. Hope you get it sorted out b/4 warranty expires!!! Only problem we may run into the future is that they are compatible with Mac.

gmast1100 said:

Only problem we may run into the future is that they are compatible with Mac.

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Oh boy; I never thought of that. I just replaced my PC with a Mac. I guess I'll find out when I get mine back from the factory.

We've got a pair of G9's and they work great. Good luck getting it all sorted out.

John

mean13 said:

I bought the Scala Teamset and used it for about 6mos. My new girlfriend has her own bike. Unit worked great except for distance (only about 35 feet.) Upgraded to Q2 pro multiset...big mistake...went on 5 trips to N.C. mountains and had no communications, only problems. Only an expensive MP3 and bluetooth unit. Very unhappy. Complained to Scala and they told me to send it back. It would be great if they credited me towards a G4, will inquire about that because I have no confidence in the Q2 pro. I'll update as soon as I have more.

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Cardo found problems with my units so they sent me 2 replacement units. Installed on helmet and the MP3 plug is making a bad connection and the speakers cut out. I have a message out to them again. warrantee is out in a couple of months and more shipping charges. Bad quality control or bad product?

NO PROBLEMS AT ALL with our Chatterbox XBi2's.

mean13 said:

Cardo found problems with my units so they sent me 2 replacement units. Installed on helmet and the MP3 plug is making a bad connection and the speakers cut out. I have a message out to them again. warrantee is out in a couple of months and more shipping charges. Bad quality control or bad product?

Click to expand...

Very frustrated with Cardo. The replacement units are crap. They are worse than the first set that I sent back. Even riding two up the intercom intermitantly cuts out and the Mp3 player does the same. Going to box it up and send it back AGAIN. If it works when I get it back, I'm going to sell it and go Senna. Anybody looking for a Q2 Pro multi set? Loosing money on shipping, then they want me to diagnose the problem. Very frustrated with Cardo.

mean13 said:

Very frustrated with Cardo. The replacement units are crap. They are worse than the first set that I sent back. Even riding two up the intercom intermitantly cuts out and the Mp3 player does the same. Going to box it up and send it back AGAIN. If it works when I get it back, I'm going to sell it and go Senna. Anybody looking for a Q2 Pro multi set? Loosing money on shipping, then they want me to diagnose the problem. Very frustrated with Cardo.

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Welcome to my world. I am very unhappy as well finally got my unit back after 5 weeks and it still doesn't work. I'm sending mine back as well. But this time they are paying for the shipping.

Have Q2 set 3yrs old...no problems

slo~ride said:

A couple of years ago I purchased a Scala Rider Q2 bluetooth headset for my helmet and to this day have had great results.
Based on my previous experience with Scala Rider I purchased the upgraded version, the G4 so my wife and I could talk back and forth between our bikes. I have had the G4 units for a year and a half now and I am still regretting the purchase. I have sent my G4 back to the factory now twice for a failed charging receptacle. My wife has now sent her G4 back to the factory three times, once for a failed charging receptacle and twice for broken buttons. Each time the units are sent back we are without them for 5-6 weeks. To credit Scala Rider, they have always replaced the units free of charge (except for the shipping of course) but it really annoying considering the price paid for lousy quality. My warranty expires in 6 months and if they fail again I'm going to be looking for another manufacturer. Has anyone else had problems with their G4's?
If you have had really good or bad luck with other bluetooth headsets, please let me know so I can choose a good set next time.
Slo~

Click to expand...

OMG...SERIOUSLY! I started with the Scala Teamset, which did what the advertising said it would. Went for the upgrade to talk bike to bike. Purchased the Q2 pro multiset. What a disaster! After riding alone it seemed to be fine...Phone -good, MP3-good. Then using bike to bike- never really worked as stated. Then the left speaker started dropping out and crackling. Emailed Cardo, they said to ship to them and they would make it right. I recieved the replacement units (refurbished) and they were actually worse. Communication drops mid sentence, crackling music, and dificult phone operation. Emailed Cardo...now two shipping costs, back to them. I got the units back yeaturday...The same problems only the right side. This company should get out of the electronics business and try selling shoes, or door greeter at Wal-mart. The last time,I asked them to test the units before shipping back to me, apparently they did not. If other businesses operated like this they couldn't remain in bisiness very long. What if you went to a grocery store and it took three trips to get a gallon of milk? And you still got a bad one...would you go back? Would you recomend them to your friends? STAY AWAY FROM CARDO. BAD BUSINESS!!!

Dad and I have been using the G4 Teamset for a couple of years now. I am about 90% satisfied. There are a few things we learned along the way to make them work better. I don't know if this will help you but it may help someone else.

1. Do NOT bluetooth to the Zumo and expect good bike to bike communication. The Zumo will say "Turn left in 1 mile" and you will want to tell the other bike but the Zumo has taken priority over bike to bike. As soon as bike to bike is re-established but before you have time to speak, the Zumo will say "Turn left now". The other issue was that at almost every crossroads or intersection the Zumo would inexplicably interrupt bike to bike comm again. Very frustrating. Now I only bluetooth the Zumo to the Scala when I am riding alone.

2. Do not use voice activation for bike to bike, turn the bike to bike on all the time. There is plenty of battery life for longer than we have ever ridden in a day's time, the only drawback is that when I start cursing to myself Dad starts fussing at me.

3. Do NOT turn the units off when you stop. Just leave them on whether you are at an overlook to take pics or on your lunch stop. Re-establishing bike to bike comm after a "Restart" usually involves 3 or 4 attempts. I do not know why. Again, the battery will not run down in the course of a day anyway, don't worry about that.

4. Do not remove the little foam thingie from the microphone. Even if it is tickling your chin while you ride. This foam thingie eliminates most of the wind/road noise and makes your voice much more clear for both bike to bike and the phone.

I have to say that I have ridden in 100+ temps, torrential rain, and all sorts of conditions that I thought would hurt the Scala. It has never let me down yet. It has greatly enhanced my enjoyment of trips with Dad. That is the one thing about motorcycle travel that I missed was being able to chat with Dad. The Scala has fixed that for us.

+ 1 on the sena smh 10 i'm on my second season . the charge holds well plus the kit came with a portable car charger which u can charge and use simultaneously . which my prior bt-interphone would not allow .I bought the full face boom mike and it makes it much easier so I am not pinching the boom whenI close my modular helmet

mean13 said:

OMG...SERIOUSLY! I started with the Scala Teamset, which did what the advertising said it would. Went for the upgrade to talk bike to bike. Purchased the Q2 pro multiset. What a disaster! After riding alone it seemed to be fine...Phone -good, MP3-good. Then using bike to bike- never really worked as stated. Then the left speaker started dropping out and crackling. Emailed Cardo, they said to ship to them and they would make it right. I recieved the replacement units (refurbished) and they were actually worse. Communication drops mid sentence, crackling music, and dificult phone operation. Emailed Cardo...now two shipping costs, back to them. I got the units back yeaturday...The same problems only the right side. This company should get out of the electronics business and try selling shoes, or door greeter at Wal-mart. The last time,I asked them to test the units before shipping back to me, apparently they did not. If other businesses operated like this they couldn't remain in bisiness very long. What if you went to a grocery store and it took three trips to get a gallon of milk? And you still got a bad one...would you go back? Would you recomend them to your friends? STAY AWAY FROM CARDO. BAD BUSINESS!!!

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OK! I now know that I need a 48 hour cool down period before posting a rant. Got a call today from Robert at Cardo, and he worked with me and with little effort the unit worked what looks to be correct. The hard wire for the MP3 has a holder for the wire which I didn't have on the boom mount. This cured the music cutout. As far as the vox intercom, I was saying hello very loud to open intercom mic, but a short woot works well. When I asked if they tested the units, he said they did and all was working well and the problem was the boom mounts and the jumper wire. The low volume was fixed by putting a foam spacer behind the speakers to move them closer to the ears. Deep ear pockets in helmet. The service from Cardo was what one would expect from a good company. I emailed them(a not so nice message) Friday night late, and they responded about 9:30 AM Monday , my time. I am sucking it up, biteing the bullet, and eating crow. The service was excellent and fast. It did take three times but they did make it all good. I think their quality control could be a little better, but their service is spot on. I'll update after a couple of rides. SORRY CARDO. Ted

mean13 I appreciate that last post. My compliments to you. I cannot tell you how much the Scala has enhanced my enjoyment of riding with Dad. We have the privilege of gossiping like two old women when we ride with others, we are able to share certain sights and ideas that if they had to wait for a road side stop would be forgotten or missed. Once we found what worked and what did not we have very few complaints about the Scala. I would never say it was perfect but I will say it was worth our money.