2018 BMW System 7 helmet

Quite a few people are asking, “who makes the BMW BTHSG-2 bluetooth Communication System?” Well, I can answer that question so read on.

I just bought a new BMW System 7 helmet from my local dealer because my previous Shark helmet is a few years old and needs replacing. I have always used a wired ‘Autocom’ system and I’ve decided it’s high time I went wireless and go for a bluetooth system. Seeing as I was buying a BMW helmet I decided to check out the BMW Bluetooth communications system made for the System 7 helmet. I tested it in store and was really happy with the audio quality of both the music and phone calls. I paired it to a Google Pixel 2 XL and the music quality was more than acceptable and the person at the other end of a couple of phone calls couldn’t tell I was handsfree so I was happy with that.

The button module for the 2018 Communication System

The salesman didn’t know a great deal about the system so couldn’t answer any questions about who makes it, what features it has or how to use any of them beyond pairing and using the basics.

The system looks really, really neat! Nothing is visible apart from the bunch of good looking buttons on the left side. They’re a bit tricky to locate with gloved fingers though. Anyway, I decided it should be OK as it was a brand new for 2018 unit so it was worth spending the £338 on top of the £525 for the helmet. Fitting was free if I bought both together, otherwise it would have been £60 and I was told it had to be fitted by them (I’m not sure that’s true though).

Whilst I was in the shop I asked to look at the box and was a bit concerned to see the picture was of the original communications system which is a few years old now. I was also a bit cheeky and asked if i could see the actual circuit board and grabbed some pictures of it.

Circuit board on connector side

Circuit board back side

I was a bit worried about seeing the picture of the old model on the box because I was assuming the kit was brand new for 2017/18 so, when I got home, I did some research. I had the model number from the box, BTHSG-2. I was assuming the 2 referred to mark 2 but when I looked at the pictures of the old BMW communication system I saw that that was also a BTHSG-2. This is looking like exactly the same product as the the one released many years ago!

In the 2018 “RIDE” BMW accessories brochure the advert for the system says,

“New communication system with enhanced speech quality and extended battery life from 2018”.

Well, I guess they could have easily increase the battery capacity (this model is 1900mAh) as it’s a separate item but I can’t say whether the audio quality is any better. I suppose the motherboard could be firmware updateable allowing for increased audio performance. That’s possible but it’s more likely just an updated microphone and everything else is the same.

Who makes the BMW BTHSG-2 bluetooth Communication System

Anyway, there are many rumours going around online that Sena make the BMW Communication  System. You can see from the photos that is not the case. So this is who makes the BMW BTHSG-2 bluetooth Communication System – it is made by “Peiker Acustic” of Germany and the motherboard number is LP1010-4. Again, that’s the same number as on the photos of the board submitted to FCC for testing in 2009.

OK, I thought, seeing as it’s possible it may have updated firmware I didn’t freak out. I started testing it with my phone and that’s when I began realising it has very few features and is not worth the £338 at all! Let me make it clear though, at home, just as in the shop, I was very happy with the audio quality of music and phone calls. No complaints there. However, it will only pair with just three other devices – another helmet for intercom, a music player, and a phone. That’s it. The intercom range is not measured in hundreds of metres like a (much cheaper) Sena system, no, it is measured in tens of metres. I didn’t test it because I haven’t got another headset but we’re talking rider to pillion here – not bike to bike like most other modern bluetooth kits. For instance, the Sena units are advertised at around 800 metres range.

Model BTHSG-2 made in 2009

The next disappointment was that I could not pair it to both my Pixel 2 XL and the bluetooth transmitter on my bike at the same time. The helmet treated my phone as a music player (which I suppose it is) and you’re only allowed to connect one music player. So, as soon as I pair the phone the bike’s bluetooth transmitter is disconnected – so there’s no option to listen to music from the bikes OEM radio system and using the handlebar volume and track controls as well as using a mobile phone. That’s why you are supposed to connect your phone through BMW’s navigator (or Garmin satnav).

OK, I thought, well, I’m pretty heavily invested in this, how can I make it work? Google Assistant! My phone does everything I’d need it to through voice commands. I can just talk to it through the bluetooth microphone, right? WRONG! The unit does not send voice commands to the phone! There is not actually any way of invoking Google assistant (or Siri if you have an iPhone). On any other bluetooth headset you just tap the phone button and it activates voice recognition on the connected phone. On this unit – nothing happens. So then I tried pressing the mic button on the phone itself. I heard the double beep of Google assistant in the helmet and saw the phone was “listening” but it didn’t hear anything from the helmet. I had checked that the settings for voice activation over bluetooth were activated on the phone and tested that it was working with some bluetooth headphones I had lying around (it worked fine on the headphones). If I was near the Pixel its own microphone heard me and responded to the request so I could hear Google’s response in the helmet but that obviously won’t work whilst riding.

That is very much a deal breaker. There is no way I can make this work how I want it to so I am returning it. Other folks’ requirements might be different to mine – it probably works very well with BMW’s new TFT displays where you can control your phone from the handlebars and don’t need voice commands.

The box, rather worryingly, shows the old model

Another negative point is that you cannot charge the unit whilst riding. There are at least three warnings in the box that say you must not plug in a charger whilst the unit is powered on so if you run out of juice you have a silent ride ahead of you. On the up side it looks like a standard micro-usb connector so you’ll likely have spare chargers lying around.

The bluetooth details are:

Bluetooth class: II

Power: max 2.5mW

Bluetooth standard: 2.1

Bluetooth profiles: Headset, Handsfree, A2DP, Serial port protocol.

Yes, it looks awesome and the audio quality is good but the features are just too lacking to make it worth the money. Other systems on the market allow for many more advanced features using bluetooth’s version 4+ standards and also much longer range group intercom functions. They are also a fair bit cheaper than this one. I will just have to find an after market bluetooth kit and contend with having a lump sticking out of the side of my helmet but at least I will be able to use it as I want to.