Ear Plugs -who wears em when riding a bandit?

[icemakk]

I agree, the wind noise is the danger and it is amplified if you have a modular flip up helmet. Mine is much noisier than a regular full face helmet.
I used to use the little foam ear plugs but I always found them popping out and usually just as I got a good pace going. If I continued to ride I would end up with ears that felt like they'd been to a heavy metal concert.
I was at a motorcycle show this year and bought the custom fitted silicon ones. They inject the goop in your ear and 15 minutes later a set of perfectly formed ear plugs. They also don't snag on the helmet liner when I pull my skid lid on and you can still hear what is going on but without the loud noises getting thru. Bliss!!

[Red01]

Ummm... if you're snagging the foamies when donning/doffing your brain bucket and/or they're falling out in the middle of a ride, you're not putting them in your ears correctly! 
If you're not putting them in right, you're not alone.  I see folks wearing them wrong all the time when I'm at the races or out riding.  If you're not using two hands to install foamies, or if the plugs extend outside your outer ear, they are not only installed wrong, their effectiveness is significantly reduced.  Here's a poster that shows how to properly install various ear plugs:

http://www.howardleight.com/images/pdf/0000/0065/HP500_Howard_Leight_Earplug_Instruction_Poster.pdf

Lots of folks love their custom molded ear plugs, and perhaps you may find them more comfortable to wear and will wear them more often because of this and that's great!   
If you want speakers built in, they're a great way to go, too.   
OTOH, I haven't seen a custom plug vendor yet that says their plugs have a better NRR number than the NRR32-34 ratings of the better brands of disposable foamies.  For me, the NRR # is what keeps me wearing the foamies.

[aussiebandit]

I used to wear the foam type ear plugs whenever I was heading out of town.  But, for some reason, I don't understand why, I now find them uncomfortable after an hour or so.  In fact it gets to the point where they actually cause pain.

On longer rides these days I wear the 'in ear plugs' attached to my MP3 player.  Much more comfortable, and I can listen to my favourite music.  Although it can be a bit disconcerting listening to Offsprings No Brakes.

[smooth operator]

  If I'm going for any distance I do. I have a big box of them that I bought through a construction wharehouse place. So I keep a bunch in my van,some in my tank bag,in the pocket of my leather jacket,some around the house.
I already have tenitis in my ears. The left one has been ringing since I was 13. The holeshot can on the Bandit was used when I bought it, it can be loud after awhile.The SV isn't quite as loud,it has HMF cans on it,but I can sure tell the difference if I wear them or not.

[mademiriam]

Can't seem to get comfortable wearing earplugs, I think for me it's a mental thing reminding me of work  . So I go for the MP3 player.

[Sven]

Can't seem to get comfortable wearing earplugs, I think for me it's a mental thing reminding me of work  . So I go for the MP3 player.

Geez...an MP3 player is worse than no earplugs!  Have to have it turned up so loud to hear it.  Besides, the soundtrack to the movie version of TOMMY is always playing in my head when I ride anyway.

I have a pair of the made-while-you-wait-at-the-bikeshow and they are really good.

I used to like the Quiet Downs...very comfortable and easy to insert (they were like cotton wads in little plastic condoms) but I haven't seen them in a few years.

Now I use some that (I think) are one of the Flents products...they are an odd texture, almost like those packing peanuts made from corn starch, not foam rubber.  They stay compressed a little longer and are easy to get in and can be reused until they get dirty.  I wear them to sleep sometimes if it's noisy.

[solman]

Anything more than a local ride, I always wear earplugs.  It makes it so much  more enjoyable without the wind noise.

[PitterB4]

Huh?????  Wudjasay?