Best radar detector for bikes?

[Ender EnZed]

Yeah nah........
The driver sits in the van and writes your number down and you get ticket in the mail,then you request photo proof, then you pay.
They can read your number plate in town, but might struggle in 100km zone

Clearly the solution is to go past as fast as possible so the camera operator doesn't get a chance to read your plate.

[flashg]

Clearly the solution is to go past as fast as possible so the camera operator doesn't get a chance to read your plate.

Didn't take long to work that out, faster the better

[MarkH]

Yeah nah. The jury is still out but so far that is wrong. As Scummy likes to point out though, we have to be lucky all the time, they just need to get lucky once.

He says that, but it isn't quite true.
They just need to get lucky once to give you a ticket, but you can be lucky a few other times and avoid several tickets.
5 tickets = lots of money in fines, too many demerit points and loss of license.
1 ticket = a fine & some demerit points.

So using you brain and common sense + having a radar detector = keeping your license and for many people saving more in fines than the detector cost.

[Blackbird]

Geoff, would you mind taking a snap of the bottom of your unit. I think there is 2 versions and I'd be interested to see if there is a difference. I'll put K back on and see what I get. I also get the odd false on ka which is strange. Like a sudden blast bit then notice the car coming towards me has a detector too. Do you get this?

Have attached 3 photos - 1 general, one base and one top just in case. Didn't bother with the screamer. I've still got the original box and see that I bought it in July 2005! If you need to compare with yours, the serial number is 02113405.

BTW, I pick up the odd radar unit in other vehicles too. I also have POP enabled for pretty tenuous reasons and it occasionally triggers. I think it's either the GPS or comms on farm vehicles which might trigger POP.

Hope that helps!

[Swoop]

Ok, Looking hard at a Beltronics STI Magnum.

I run an STI. You'll get a few readings on Ka band that will leave you scratching your head. It will be a cop kilometers away, which takes ages to finally appear around a corner! I've also detected their radar whilst being at 90 degrees to them (picking up the beam and NOT the radar unit in the plod-car).

K band is what the photo-taxation vans are on, but the signal is very weak. You may find a single "beep" announcing the presence of one of those. The Bel Redline doesn't have this issue though...!

[CaMo]

Have attached 3 photos - 1 general, one base and one top just in case. Didn't bother with the screamer. I've still got the original box and see that I bought it in July 2005! If you need to compare with yours, the serial number is 02113405.

BTW, I pick up the odd radar unit in other vehicles too. I also have POP enabled for pretty tenuous reasons and it occasionally triggers. I think it's either the GPS or comms on farm vehicles which might trigger POP.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for that. Looks just like mine. I'll have to check my fccid number and see what version I have
http://www.rdforum.org/showthread.php?t=7341

I spoke to radar direct and the guy told me none of the x50s were upgradeable. Seems weird when this is offered
https://www.escortradar.com/tuneup/

Can't find anything like that in NZ. Ideally I'd just like to see if it was calibrated after all these years

I was going to use a screamer on mine but instead built a little box that turns the sound into a really bright strip of about 4 or 5 leds and is mounted on top of my wind shield. Seems to work great even in sunlight. If riding at night i turn it sideways or else I'd probably get arc eye haha.

[pritch]

Yeah nah........
The driver sits in the van and writes your number down and you get ticket in the mail,then you request photo proof, then you pay.

Actually it's more likely that the driver is stacking Zs. Can you imagine a more boring job? I stopped to speak to one once because I thought the driver was someone I knew. From the startled reaction I got it was very obvious that he had been fast asleep.

[Mike.Gayner]

Actually it's more likely that the driver is stacking Zs. Can you imagine a more boring job? I stopped to speak to one once because I thought the driver was someone I knew. From the startled reaction I got it was very obvious that he had been fast asleep.

Yeah I simply cannot imagine someone sitting there for hours on end diligently writing down number plates.

[flashg]

Actually it's more likely that the driver is stacking Zs. Can you imagine a more boring job? I stopped to speak to one once because I thought the driver was someone I knew. From the startled reaction I got it was very obvious that he had been fast asleep.

Yes I believe you would be correct, however it happened to me about 15 years ago on bealey ave, he/she may have just started his/her shift, or was new at the job and filling the quota.
Impress the boss.

[T.W.R]

Yeah I simply cannot imagine someone sitting there for hours on end diligently writing down number plates.

The camera van operator who works between chch & rakaia doesn't snooze very often spends a few hrs in it otherwise he tags along with the HP car on it's beat & leaves the van unattended.
That said though he doesn't need to write numbers down either.....he's got a big SLR with a pretty massive lens for those candid shots
Predictable though as there's only 5 regular spots used on that stretch of road, so if it isn't at one it's bound to be lurking at another.
The current mufti working the area is a hoot .....brilliant white holden with a unintentional personalised plate : GRR 123 angry wee man

[PistonBlown]

The camera van operator who works between chch & rakaia doesn't snooze very often spends a few hrs in it otherwise he tags along with the HP car on it's beat & leaves the van unattended.
That said though he doesn't need to write numbers down either.....he's got a big SLR with a pretty massive lens for those candid shots
Predictable though as there's only 5 regular spots used on that stretch of road, so if it isn't at one it's bound to be lurking at another.
The current mufti working the area is a hoot .....brilliant white holden with a unintentional personalised plate : GRR 123 angry wee man

Yep on the North side of CHCH on SH1 the van has 4 favourite spots between CHCH and Amberley. Probably the same guy.

That also blows one of my other theories i.e. they would never use a white holden for mufti work as everyone would assume it's a police car

[Laz]

Geoff, would you mind taking a snap of the bottom of your unit. I think there is 2 versions and I'd be interested to see if there is a difference. I'll put K back on and see what I get. I also get the odd false on ka which is strange. Like a sudden blast bit then notice the car coming towards me has a detector too. Do you get this?

Aren't these new low power radar vans using K band?

[Swoop]

Actually it's more likely that the driver is stacking Zs. I stopped to speak to one once because I thought the driver was someone I knew. From the startled reaction I got it was very obvious that he had been fast asleep.

When the tax-vans first came out, the operators would crank it up and then just hop over the fence and read a book in the nearby paddock.
That was quashed when the vans became targeted (along with the operators) not-very-long afterwards...
Suffice to say that they are required to stay IN the van nowadays.

[Laz]

Thanks for that. Looks just like mine. I'll have to check my fccid number and see what version I have
http://www.rdforum.org/showthread.php?t=7341

I spoke to radar direct and the guy told me none of the x50s were upgradeable. Seems weird when this is offered
https://www.escortradar.com/tuneup/

Can't find anything like that in NZ. Ideally I'd just like to see if it was calibrated after all these years

I was going to use a screamer on mine but instead built a little box that turns the sound into a really bright strip of about 4 or 5 leds and is mounted on top of my wind shield. Seems to work great even in sunlight. If riding at night i turn it sideways or else I'd probably get arc eye haha.

Was thinking the same thing about turning audio into LEDs. Does your little box plug into the audio jack? Was also thinking about having the visual and the audio. Looked at those HARD units which looked good till I saw the price. Nearly crapped my pants! I'm sure I can knock something up that'll do the job for a lot less than that price. Don't need to talk on phone or listen to music, The only music I listen to on the bike is coming out the exhaust.

[T.W.R]

Yep on the North side of CHCH on SH1 the van has 4 favourite spots between CHCH and Amberley. Probably the same guy.

That also blows one of my other theories i.e. they would never use a white holden for mufti work as everyone would assume it's a police car

The two vans that you usually see are a deep metallic green toyota with tinted windows & a cream nissan, have seen them both in different locations all over the region.
That white mufti does blend in like a sales reps car , though the best I've seen was a fully kitted HSV in metallic black with tinted windows; easy to taunt the unsuspecting into a hussle with a petrolheads toy.

A good test of any radar detector is the passing bay just of Burnham
There's something at the south end of the army base that sets everything off; seen multitude of different detectors go nuts on that stretch of road over 20+ yrs