Earphones while riding.....as long as they are not these:

I think you are okay.

Alright seriously, depending on the ride determines if I use earphones to listen to music.

Meaning if it is with friends around town..no. Riding alone or long day trips along the highway...yes, but low enough to hear traffic around me and the engine.

I too manage a playlist for riding. I add more songs weekly. The I-Touch can shuffle the list and that is it...I do not change anything. What is on is what I listen to.

 

I always assume everyone is out to kill me, I came to this assumption after writing off two motorcycles and one fender bender over the course of 20 years, last one I wrote off was last summer so I feel very lucky to be posting here today.....I never use headphones any more now that I want to have all my senses aware of my surroundings......both write offs were 0% my fault, both times a vehicle pulled out directly in front of me....having headphones on probably wouldn't have mattered as they were both head on collisions but now I am a more defensive rider who does rely on sound on occasion.

 

I love listening to music but love the music of my v twin and the wind more . Part of the experience of being on a bike in the first place

 

I ride with earbuds in all of the time. They have a separate volume control down the wire which make it easy to turn down so I can talk to my buddies at the red light. I don't blast them in my ears, rather keep them loud enough to enjoy the tunes and hear my motor. As someone mentioned earlier, it's all about personal preference and whether you're comfortable with them. Either way, always keep your head on a swivel because there are a bunch of inattentive idiots out there! To me, music adds to the riding experience.

 

I prefer the ear buds over the stock speakers. They knock down the wind noise, music sounds better and I feel I can still hear what is going on around me.

 

I'm half deaf in my left ear already so I wear an ear bud in that one to listen to tunes on the long highway trips. Other ear is open listening to the V twin and what is going on around me. In town nada. Don't feel comfortable. Never used to wear anything until traveled solo across the Canadian Prairies. My singing was causing the birds to fall out of the sky. Rev