Radar Detectors

[FJRay]

For those that can't or don't want to spend the big dollars.

I have been using the Radio Shack Cobra with good results. I have used it side by side with more expensive units and it stacks up just fine. They sell 3 units with the most expensive at 150.00. Just one mans opinion but it has saved my ass more than once.

 

[Bounce]

V1 continues to be the detector in the top heap even after all these years. All the reasons have already been explained. It may look the same as a year ago, but they continue to develop the guts as needed. Even so, my older (non-POP) version still works great.

 

[Harald]

+1 on the V1. I don't know how I could live without arrows. :yahoo:

 

[RRA]

I've been using radar detectors on motorcycles for almost 20 years. I have always use ones with an earphone plug. I've never been let down even though I've used cheaper units.

I'm currently using one of the Cobra XRS units. Some of them come with a speaker on top of the unit. Avoid those, the speaker is nothing but a water retention pond. Get one of the units without the speaker on top. You can tell because the speakers have a grill like cover.

On the FJR I mounted the unit on the front brake master cylinder and use an earphone with it. I have not received a speeding ticket in over 100,000 miles using this system. If the cop is leaving the radar on the unit warns me well ahead of time. If he is using instant on, I usually spot him before I get close enough to be detected. This is the benefit of being alert.

Motorcycles have a stealth aspect. I used to commute past a spot were the local law enforcement would leave a "this is your speed" set up. Basically radar and a display on a trailer. You would drive past this thing and it would display your speed as you approached. One day the road was empty and I decided to see if the display had 3 digits :devil: click, click, WACK! I got it to 120 on my speedo, the radar did not display my speed till I was almost past it. I had to turn my head hard to see the displayed speed. It only had 2 digits. :evilsmiley03:

So if the LEO pulls the trigger on his radar like he would an oncoming car you will get enough warning to slow down before he gets a lock. It's happened to me this way many times.

So I don't think you need to spend big bucks but you do need a unit that alerts you immediately some how.

RRA

 

[worldbound4now]

Hmmmmm....

Interested to hear a LEO's perspective on this. Ponyfool.... any input?

 

[Auburn]

I have the V1, it still reviews the best by the car mags. It is upgradable. I do have it set up with the remote sound so I can hear it through the autocom.

It has saved my bacon so many times I have lost count. As with any detector, if your hit with laser you probably are toast. But they have to be standing still to use it. So I have gotten into the practice of looking as far ahead as I can see for things that look out of place. It is amazing how many times that you see them before they get the thing on you. Also, being aware of your surroundings and being smart about where you decide to push the limits will make any detector better.

 

[Auburn]

Motorcycles have a stealth aspect. I used to commute past a spot were the local law enforcement would leave a "this is your speed" set up. Basically radar and a display on a trailer. You would drive past this thing and it would display your speed as you approached. One day the road was empty and I decided to see if the display had 3 digits :devil: click, click, WACK! I got it to 120 on my speedo, the radar did not display my speed till I was almost past it. I had to turn my head hard to see the displayed speed. It only had 2 digits. :evilsmiley03:

RRA

Let me correct your preception of how the units are programmed. The agencies program so they won't display your speed if your more than 5 or 10 over the speed limit. Because street racers were doing exactly as you describe. The agencies don't want to encourage them...

 

[Bounce]

My experience has been a little different. I have had those boxes set up near my neighborhood on several occasions. I would suspect that each department may approach their configuration differently. If the speed limit was 20 and I was going 60, it would display that speed (very visibly).

--how it was explained to me and how my practice runs have seem to validate--

thanks to the "logic" or the error/checking within the system, if the "rate of change" was different enough that the software thought that it's validation ping was in error, then no speed at all would be displayed.

IOW: an initial ping and a follow-up (validation) ping are needed to get a "lock" (to show the change in location over time to then calculate speed).

if the 2 pings were offset enough that the validation routine in the software thought that there was an error in the readings (that can't be right, the 2nd position is too far from the last one to be real), then it wouldn't "lock". only after it got a good lock would it display the speed.

so, i could ease up and get an initial reading (say 20 and easing toward 25). then, if i nailed the throttle, the display would go blank (or simply stay at the last locked speed) until i let off the throttle (and my rate of change moderated enough for the system to get a lock on me). once it got a lock, then it would display my updated speed (jump from blank/20 to 60 in this example).

the same might be said for decel too, but i wasn't brave enough to nail the brakes hard enough to lose the lock on the display during my decel tests.

there is also talk that, at any given time, the systems in the boxes are older generations from those in cruisers. software in each may or may not be similar.

--UPDATE--

all test passes were done with no other traffic around. locks (and failures) were all done as described (on multiple different trailer/boxes): get a reading on the display, watch it keep a lock as i gradually changed speed, nail the throttle and watch it lose lock (static display of original speed or "went blank"), ease up on throttle so rate of change decreased, then the unit would again get a lock and the display would update with the (new/current) higher speed. this was repeatable and seemed to validate the explanation of how the software logic worked to lock onto a target.

 

[ionbeam]

I've been using radar detectors on motorcycles for almost 20 years....I've never been let down even though I've used cheaper...if he is using instant on, I usually spot him before I get close enough to be detected. This is the benefit of being alert....I got it to 120 on my speedo, the radar did not display my speed till I was almost past it. I had to turn my head hard to see the displayed speed. It only had 2 digits.

thanks to the "logic" or the error/checking within the system, if the "rate of change" was different enough that the software thought that it's validation ping was in error, then no speed at all would be displayed.
IOW: an initial ping and a follow-up (validation) ping are needed to get a "lock" (to show the change in location over time to then calculate speed).

if the 2 pings were offset enough that the validation routine in the software thought that there was an error in the readings (that can't be right, the 2nd position is too far from the last one to be real), then it wouldn't "lock". only after it got a good lock would it display the speed.

If you only have an AM radio you have no idea that you are missing FM programming. A better detector may show more radar activity than you realized. Apparently you haven't run into a late model radar unit, it could be expensive when you do. Alert is good, alert is probably is better than a radar detector most of the time. Not only observation of the officer but seeing subtle changes in traffic behavior too.

As you approach a radar emitter you go from roughly 0° to 90° of the source, this induces cosine error which causes the radar receiver to mistakenly read a slower speed.

I won't get into the "LOCK LOGIC", just clarify one point -- I understand that you are saying that the radar unit makes successive measurements but the word PING can be misleading, ping congers up sub acoustic ranging. The radar unit is measuring phase shift between the emitted and return wave. Splitting hairs, who cares.

 

[RRA]

Let me correct your preception of how the units are programmed. The agencies program so they won't display your speed if your more than 5 or 10 over the speed limit. Because street racers were doing exactly as you describe. The agencies don't want to encourage them...

It did display 99 just as I went by, that's how I know it only had 2 digits. But that was quite a few years ago.

RRA

 

[RRA]

I won't get into the "LOCK LOGIC", just clarify one point -- I understand that you are saying that the radar unit makes successive measurements but the word PING can be misleading, ping congers up sub acoustic ranging. The radar unit is measuring phase shift between the emitted and return wave. Splitting hairs, who cares.

If there is any other traffic around or other bikes with you the radar will get multiple returns, that's why it can't lock. If your alone you will not benefit from this. However you still need to be much much closer to produce a strong enough signal to produce a lock.

RRA

 

[ionbeam]

Newer radar systems can measure and track multiple sources. Older guns will lock on the largest return signal. With the older guns, if you are doing the speed limit on your FJR, but the Kenworth a 1/4 mile behind you is speeding you *could* end up with a ticket. Police are trained to observe speed to validate what the gun reports. Hopefully you are being clocked by an officer that cares.

 

[CraigRegs]

V1 continues to be the detector in the top heap even after all these years. All the reasons have already been explained. It may look the same as a year ago, but they continue to develop the guts as needed. Even so, my older (non-POP) version still works great.

Gunny on the V1. Love the directional arrows, something you don't find anywhere else. Best price is from the manufacturer, Valentine One. I added the Marc Parnes visual alert and don't even miss hearing all those beeps and braaps.

Craig

 

[RoadGlide]

I've been using the V1 for many years now and swear by it. It has saved my ass many times. It's mounted on a shelf on the FJR with the audio hookup into a mixit device (with other stuff) and use ER6 ear phones. Can't beat it. Valentine also offers upgrades in the futurefor your V1 at greatly reduced prices since you already own one.

 

[ponyfool]

As Toe said, "Live by the radar detector....." and I'll finish, "Expect to get a ticket." Use it as a tool, do your high speed stuff away from the city and traffic, combined with a decent radar detector, and you have better odds.

I should just write this once, and then copy and paste it every time this comes up, but, here goes:

A radar detector's strongest ability is with radar detection, and it's weakest ability is with laser detection. As mentioned in a previous post, an officer on the side of the road, or on an overpass (my personal favorite), clicks on the radar to get the speed of a vehicle that is, say, 20-50 car lengths ahead of you, and you'll get a warning with ample time to slow down. A trooper with moving radar coming in the opposite direction, even at "FJR Speed", you'll get plenty of warning to slow down.

Same cop on an overpass with LIDAR. The odds of you getting any warning before he gets a reading depend on where you have your laser detector mounted and how steady his hand is. If he's shooting you from behind, unless you have a remote sensor on your rear plate, you will not get a warning.

The notion that a laser detector will pick up a "stray" laser is, IMO, a myth. At 1000', the laser's beam is only 3' wide. On a car's front end, centered on the license plate, the entire beam is on that car. The ONLY way a laser detector can pick up a police laser is if it is line of sight.

Now, having said all that, shooting a motorcycle from the front with a laser is a bitch. Until you get less than a few hundred feet away, it'll take a few seconds to get a reading unless you have a really steady hand (I use the car door or other object to help steady the laser). The most success I have had is shooting the headlight area as it is the most reflective. So, if you have a sensor in and around your headlight, and it takes the officer a second or two to obtain your reading, you may have a second or two warning before he gets your speed.

I'm tired, so I may have missed something. I'll check back later to see if I did.

 

[RRA]

I don't enjoy riding in traffic or in cities. The vast majority of my riding is in very rural areas, the LEOs in these areas don't have the latest equipment, I've never even seen a cop using a laser. So my experiences my be quite different from some of you guys.

I also think, as stated previously, being alert is the best defense. And really, the cops should be more concerned about the people speeding that are not paying attention. They are much more of a safety hazard than someone who's on his game. If giving tickets is about safety, which I doubt, I believe it's about collecting extra taxes at gun point.

People driving while on cell phones are a much bigger hazard IMHO, and study repeated show they are as bad as drunks on the road. That's a big part of the reason I don't ride in cities any longer.

RRA

 

[2bd1]

I use this one

have it mounted under my Garmin 2610 on the Ram Mount on clutch cylinder. Comes with extra flashing LED which I mounted on the right of the LCD Readout in the fairing. You can also get the wireless helmet attachment with LED light so it can be placed right in your line of site. I mounted the antenna under the fairing. The entire unit (antenna and display unit) is waterproof. Also, display unit shows temp and voltage.

Jay

'04 FJR 1300

Where exactly "under the fairing" did you put it? I have the same unit and was going to put it centered and right under the nose, but after measuring the fender/fairing clearance and looking at the fork travel spec, it did not look like there was going to be enough space left for it at full fork compression.

 

[crizyal]

I use an Escort SOLO S2 Cordless. I have it mounted on my clutch reservoir with industrial Velcro. It seems very sturdy and easily removed. Love it! Love it! Love it! It has easily paid for itself in the first season. I am sure that the V1s work great at detection, though I have read that the filtering has a bit to be desired. In Minnesota the X band isn't used and can be turned off by the Escort model, thus less false returns. I do like the arrow concept that the Valentine 1 has, not sure if the feature is worth the filtering deficiencies.

 

[tcfjr]

I do like the arrow concept that the Valentine 1 has, not sure if the feature is worth the filtering deficiencies.

The arrows and the threat counter on the V1 are what make it worth the price.

 

[Auburn]

I do like the arrow concept that the Valentine 1 has, not sure if the feature is worth the filtering deficiencies.

The arrows and the threat counter on the V1 are what make it worth the price.

GUNNY! can't tell you how many times I have counted 2+ different radars from more than one direction with the blinking direction correctly pointing out the closest threat.