Intercoms

What we stock: SCS, LS2, AGV and Navman intercoms

Eleven SKUs on this page, four of them our own SCS range. What to put in your helmet depends on how many mates you ride with, what lid you run, and how many kays a day you cover. Here is the stock list with RRPs.

• SCS T2 Plus at $429 RRP. Flagship. Bluetooth 5.2 with Mesh 3.0, magnetic mount, IP67, up to 25 hours talk. Built for Aussie group rides that go from breakfast to sunset.
• SCS S13 Bluetooth Intercom at $369.00 RRP. Mesh plus Bluetooth, up to 10 riders, 13 hour battery, IP67. Touring pick if you want mesh without the flagship price.
• SCS S13 Dual Pack at $679.00 RRP. Two S13 units paired out of the box. The buy for a touring couple or two mates who always ride together.
• SCS S11 Bluetooth Intercom with Camera at $449.00 RRP. Bluetooth intercom with a built-in 2K camera in the chin bar housing. One unit, one charge, two jobs.
• SCS S7 Evo Solo at $179.00 RRP. Entry Bluetooth, pairs to phone and one other rider, 8 to 10 hour battery. The upgrade path from the plastic phone-speaker option.
• SCS S7 Evo Duo Pack at $329.00 RRP. Two S7 Evo units pre-paired. Cheapest rider-to-rider Bluetooth on the page.
• LS2 Linkin RidePal 3 Bluetooth Intercom at $349.99 RRP. Made by Cardo for LS2. Slots cleanly into LS2 Advant, Thunder, Valiant and Citation lids with no drilling, no adhesive pads.
• AGV Insyde Communication System at $599.95 RRP. Helmet-native Bluetooth for AGV Pista GP RR, K6 S, Tourmodular and K3. Hides inside the shell instead of clamping outside.
• AGV ARK Intercom Connection Unit at $119.00 RRP. The core ARK module for AGV Tourmodular owners. Pairs with the accessory kit below.
• AGV ARK Intercom Accessory Kit at $149.00 RRP. Speakers, boom mic and wiring loom for the ARK module.
• Navman MiVUE Rider Helmet Cam at $349.00 RRP. Solo Bluetooth plus front-facing 1080p ride cam. Insurance evidence in a single unit.

Cardo Packtalk and Spirit HD drop in and out of our warehouse based on distributor supply. Check the Cardo collection for current availability. The SCS T2 Plus specs against Packtalk Edge feature-for-feature.

Why we judge every intercom on whether it keeps you connected

Our family started Shark Leathers after Matthew crashed in 2007, at 19, and was left a quadriplegic. Nearly twenty years on, every intercom we stock gets judged by whether it keeps you connected when it matters.

That sounds soft until you have ridden four-up through the Numinbah Valley and the second rider calls a wombat on the road. Communication gear is safety gear. A connected group rides tighter, reacts to hazards sooner, and does not do the ten-minute U-turn dance at every missed intersection. A dropout at the wrong moment is the one-hundred-metre gap that ends with someone in gravel.

We spec the SCS range, we stock the LS2 and AGV helmet-native systems, and we keep Navman around for the solo commuter who just wants phone audio in the lid. Every unit on this page is IP67 rated because summer storms on the M1 do not ask permission before arriving. The S7 Evo aside, everything here has adaptive noise cancellation on the boom mic because wind at 110 kays drowns a cheap microphone inside the first minute.

Mesh, Bluetooth, range and battery: what the numbers actually mean

Specs matter more on intercoms than on most gear because a weak unit fails in ways you notice every single ride. Here is what to look at and what to ignore.

Mesh vs Bluetooth. Mesh is a self-healing network. Every rider becomes a node, and if one rider drops out the signal reroutes through the others automatically. Bluetooth is a daisy-chain. If rider two drops, riders three and four go silent until someone rebuilds the chain at the next petrol stop. For two riders, Bluetooth is fine. For four-plus, mesh earns its price tag inside one weekend. SCS T2 Plus and S13 run mesh. S7 Evo and S11 are Bluetooth.

Range. Manufacturers quote line-of-sight in open terrain. Real-world on twisty Aussie terrain with hills and trees holds notably less than claimed. A 1,600 metre rider-to-rider spec will come in shorter when the ride includes cuttings, trees and ridgelines. Mesh offsets this because each rider relays, so a six-rider mesh group covers more total ground than any single hop.

Battery. 8 hours is the floor for a usable day. 13 hours is touring grade. 25 hours on the T2 Plus covers two long days with no overnight charge. Standby numbers are less useful because standby burns down fast when the unit is actually connected and holding a channel open.

Pairing and multi-brand groups. Every major intercom brand supports universal Bluetooth pairing as a lowest-common-denominator layer. An SCS S13 can talk to an LS2 Linkin. Mesh features only work inside one brand though. If your group runs mixed brands, everyone drops to Bluetooth and you all get the feature set of the weakest unit in the chain.

Wind noise and mic quality. At 110 km/h, wind is the enemy. SCS, LS2, AGV Insyde and the Navman MiVUE all use boom mics with wind socks. The S7 Evo and entry units skip adaptive noise cancellation and you will hear it on the first phone call from a freeway.

IP rating. IP67 is dust-tight and survives 30 minutes submerged at 1 metre. IPX6 is high-pressure spray only. Every SCS and AGV unit we stock is IP67. The LS2 Linkin RidePal 3 is IP67. Navman runs IPX6, which is enough for the commute but not for a Tasmanian midwinter tour.

Voice control and music. Every mid-tier and up unit handles A2DP stereo music and basic voice commands. The question worth asking is whether the mic picks up your voice over the wind. Test at 100 km/h before committing to a six-hour tour.

How to choose: solo, pair, group or pillion

Pick the system for the riding you actually do, not the touring trip you are planning for next summer.

Solo commuter. One rider, phone audio, GPS prompts, maybe a ride cam. You do not need mesh. You do not need 1,600 metres of range. You need something that pairs to a phone, holds a call at 110 km/h, and lasts a full day. The Navman MiVUE covers this and gives you ride-cam footage for free. The SCS S7 Evo Solo does it cheaper if you do not want the camera. Under $250 is fair. Anything more is wasted.

Rider and pillion. Short rides, long rides, school run to weekend loop. Any Bluetooth unit pairs cleanly with a matching one. The SCS S7 Evo Duo Pack is the budget answer at $329 RRP. The S13 Dual Pack is the upgrade if you want mesh headroom for the day your pillion buys their own bike.

Weekend pair, rider-to-rider. Two riders, the Old Pac, the Oxley, coffee stop in Jamberoo. Bluetooth is fine at this group size if you never plan to expand. The S7 Evo Duo sits at $329 RRP for a pre-paired set. Spend more only if you expect a third rider to join the group.

Touring group of 3 to 8. This is where Bluetooth falls over. Daisy-chains drop the furthest rider when a van pulls in between bikes, and rebuilding on the move is a handful. Mesh is worth the money. SCS S13 at $369 RRP per unit, or the T2 Plus flagship for 25 hour battery and magnetic mount. Either handles up to 10 riders in a network.

Big-group club touring, 8 to 15. Mesh only. Our SCS mesh units cap at 10 riders per network, which suits most weekend groups. Clubs running 10-plus need to spec for headroom or plan around two mesh networks stitched by a lead rider running both.

Helmet-locked riders. If you already run an AGV Pista GP RR, K6 S, Tourmodular or K3, the AGV Insyde slots into the shell instead of clamping on outside. Same story for LS2 Advant, Thunder, Valiant and Citation owners with the Linkin RidePal 3. No clamp, no adhesive pad, no wind buffet off a protruding unit. The catch: these systems only talk universal Bluetooth to non-matching brands.

Track riders. Skip intercoms during the session. A mate's voice in your ear at turn three is the wrong kind of input. Run them in the paddock, off in the race.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real difference between mesh and Bluetooth intercoms?

Bluetooth pairs riders in a linear chain. If one rider drops, the chain breaks and someone has to rebuild it on the move. Mesh builds a self-healing network where every rider is a node, so a drop-off reroutes automatically. In a group of two or three, Bluetooth is fine. Past four riders, mesh saves your weekend. The hardware costs roughly $150 to $300 more. Worth it once you have fixed a chain at a petrol stop in the rain.

Can I pair an SCS intercom with an LS2 Linkin, AGV Insyde or other brand?

Yes, over universal Bluetooth. Every major intercom brand supports cross-brand Bluetooth pairing because it is a shared standard. You lose mesh features across brands, so an SCS S13 and an LS2 Linkin RidePal 3 can talk, but only at Bluetooth level. If your mates run mixed brands, everyone gets the same feature set as the weakest unit in the group.

Will an intercom fit my helmet?

Every unit we stock fits standard full-face, modular and adventure helmets with either a clamp mount or an adhesive pad. Speaker pockets are standard depth across the helmet brands we sell. Open-face and half helmets need the adhesive boom mic option instead of the clamp. The AGV Insyde and LS2 Linkin RidePal 3 are helmet-specific and only fit their matching lids, so check the compatibility list on the product page before ordering.

How long does the battery actually last in real riding?

Manufacturer claims assume continuous talk time. In real riding with mixed music, phone calls and intercom chat, expect 70 to 80 percent of the quoted number. An SCS S13 claimed at 13 hours delivers about 10 hours of mixed use. That covers a two-day tour with an overnight charge. Entry units at 8 hours claimed will give you 6. Plan your day around the weakest unit in the group.

Do I need an intercom if I ride solo?

You do not need mesh. A solo Bluetooth unit is still worth it for GPS prompts, phone calls and music on highway stretches. The Navman MiVUE adds a 1080p ride cam in the same unit, which is the smarter buy if you want insurance evidence from any incident on the road. The SCS S7 Evo Solo covers the audio-only case for under $200 RRP.

Why does Shark stock SCS as the lead range?

SCS is our own-brand range. We spec the units, field-test them on Aussie group rides, and price them against the industry benchmark ecosystems. The T2 Plus runs Bluetooth 5.2 with Mesh 3.0, 25 hours talk time, IP67, and a magnetic mount. If you already own another brand, stay on it so the mesh network stays whole. If you are starting fresh or upgrading a dead unit, SCS is what we would put in our own helmets, which is the test every product on this site has to pass.