Which Radar Detector for Motorbikes?

[geoffm]

I have a valentine 1 which I have had for years, with a couple of upgrades. I use the HARD system with it. IMO, the Escort X50 is your best bet - it is smaller, cheaper and can use an earphone jack. The HARD system is potentially unrealiable as it runs on batteries and relies on electronics. the batteries are 2* CR2032 button cells, at $5 each. Makes for expensive running costs.
Mounting depends on the bike. The BMW is a pain, as the instruments move with the bars, which makes it hard to fabricate a mount. I made a specail mount for the top of the master cyl. As time and money permits next year, I will make a waterproof perspex box to take an Escort, and mount it as a stealth installation under the bottom of the fairing upper. There is a site in one of the threads on teh K1100.org forum about this.
Like towbars, RD mounts are easy enough to make, but fiddly and time consuming to do a good job.
Geoff

[Pixie]

I have a valentine 1 which I have had for years, with a couple of upgrades. I use the HARD system with it. IMO, the Escort X50 is your best bet - it is smaller, cheaper and can use an earphone jack. The HARD system is potentially unrealiable as it runs on batteries and relies on electronics. the batteries are 2* CR2032 button cells, at $5 each. Makes for expensive running costs.
Mounting depends on the bike. The BMW is a pain, as the instruments move with the bars, which makes it hard to fabricate a mount. I made a specail mount for the top of the master cyl. As time and money permits next year, I will make a waterproof perspex box to take an Escort, and mount it as a stealth installation under the bottom of the fairing upper. There is a site in one of the threads on teh K1100.org forum about this.
Like towbars, RD mounts are easy enough to make, but fiddly and time consuming to do a good job.
Geoff

I can do an interface to drive a piezo beeper off the V1 output -powered off the bike.

[lukehyslop]

Really?
How?
The frequency of the laser signal hitting the sensor isn't effected.

All a laser is is light - not visable light but light all the same. Tinting the screen will reduce the intensity of the light much the same way as wearing sunglasses.

Other things to consider are mounting the detector as high as possible for radar cos as you come over the crest of a hill and the cop is on the other side hopefully your detector will be in the path of the radar before too much of the bike is. And if you have a valentine you want it as far foward as possible so that your body wont block too much from behind.

[Lou Girardin]

Any diffraction of light can trigger the laser sensor IF it is the correct frequency. Equally, any reduction in light transmission or alteration of light frequency can reduce the effectiveness of the laser sensor. Fortunately it doesn't happen often, although the M/Way info signs do trigger my V1.
Incidentally, I've turned off K band on it. The reduction in falses is huge, I'll take the risk on meeting Plod with a Hawk unit. (If there are any left?)

[Hitcher]

A piece of seaweed dangling from the handlebars is highly effective. Apart from when it either gets too wet or too dry...

[Biff]

All a laser is is light - not visable light but light all the same. Tinting the screen will reduce the intensity of the light much the same way as wearing sunglasses.

Yup, I know this (infra red at 904nM I think).
But, to the best of my knowledge (which may not be much) infra red is not absorbed by normal tinted glass, plastics and such like, and it's intensity is not effected unless the surface of the glass/plastic is covered with a UV protection coating or possesses UV absorbing properties. Which, I guess, could be quite likely for bike screens. Similar to that use on specific types of sunglasses, as opposed to the 'cheaper' ones.

Am I wrong?

[Holy Roller]

I've got a Cobra ESD9870
Since I've had the new bike I've yet to have it warn me of on the open road. Works fine in the 50kph area. So I suspect that there are are not many out when I am on the road. May be like others have said in the past posts they only turn the unit on when they think you are speeding.

I have the Cobra mounted with the suction cups on the screen but am considering of getting a bar mount made so the unit can pick up signals from behind me as well.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

Incidentally, I've turned off K band on it. The reduction in falses is huge, I'll take the risk on meeting Plod with a Hawk unit. (If there are any left?)

It is recommended to turn it off. For 2 reasons. one to reduce false alarms and the other it gives a much faster response to the Ka band. Less time processing the data and scanning the K band looking for info to report. Well that's how I read it.
I believe they are all gone. Hope so but it is easy to turn it back on Mr if you get to clever.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

We have a very good shop selling on here if anyone is looking for info or pricing on radar detectors. I got mine from Ryan.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=6079

[Pixie]

All a laser is is light - not visable light but light all the same. Tinting the screen will reduce the intensity of the light much the same way as wearing sunglasses.

Other things to consider are mounting the detector as high as possible for radar cos as you come over the crest of a hill and the cop is on the other side hopefully your detector will be in the path of the radar before too much of the bike is. And if you have a valentine you want it as far foward as possible so that your body wont block too much from behind.

I had a laser warning on my V1 from behind ,when I was blocking direct line-of-sight.
Obviously due to laser scatter.

[Pixie]

Yup, I know this (infra red at 904nM I think).
But, to the best of my knowledge (which may not be much) infra red is not absorbed by normal tinted glass, plastics and such like, and it's intensity is not effected unless the surface of the glass/plastic is covered with a UV protection coating or possesses UV absorbing properties. Which, I guess, could be quite likely for bike screens. Similar to that use on specific types of sunglasses, as opposed to the 'cheaper' ones.

Am I wrong?

UV?IR?Opposite ends of the visible spectrum?

[lukehyslop]

I can do an interface to drive a piezo beeper off the V1 output -powered off the bike.

How do you do that? or is it something you buy? Does it need the remote audio thingymajig?

[crazylittleshit]

Other use your eyes......

[Biff]

UV?IR?Opposite ends of the visible spectrum?

Yup - but UV protected glass and plastics have a capability of absorbing some IR apparently. No entirely, but possibly just enough to reduce the effectiveness of a laser detector I guess. And I am guessing.

[TonyB]

UV and IR are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Standard glass reflects most IR light hitting it- if you've got a heat lamp or bar heater in your bathroom and a shower with a glass door try it and see, the heat you feel is IR and it drops off noticeably when you are behind the glass.

Not so sure if Polycarbonate and perspex have the same qualities, but greenhouse plastic coverings have to have additives or laminates put in to make them reflect IR and UV, so I assume polycarb and perspex would be the same as they are plastics. I know they put a UV laminate or additive on polycarb to stop it breaking down.

I must say, I'm surprised they use IR for the lasers- you'd think there would be some risk of burning someones eye..... but then the lasers are red aren't they, so that does put them down the IR end...