Who has the best radar detector?

[MD]

I had a Valentine years ago until some pricks nicked it off the bike. Having recently endured a roadside revenue officer I went out the next day and bought the Adaptiv TPX. Really easy to install on bike and no hassles switching it between car and bike. Cheaper than the V1

To be honest I have not yet used it enough to determine if it is better or worse than the V1. Cops use the hand held laser a lot now, which was why years ago I didn't see replacing the V1 as cost effective.

[pritch]

Cops use the hand held laser a lot now, which was why years ago I didn't see replacing the V1 as cost effective.

Hopefully that's a Wellywood thing. The only time I've ever seen it there was a cop standing outside the Basin Reserve with a laser gun. There had been a big event in town and a mass exodus was underway along Kent Terrace, the traffic would have been lucky to be doing 20kph. Whoever decided it was a good idea to put him there needed to upskill.

[Mike.Gayner]

Very rare to see handheld lasers anywhere around Bay of Plenty, Waikato etc.

As for bluetooth - I looked really hard to find an effective way to send a radar detector signal through to my Sena unit, while also being able to use the Sena with my phone or as an intercom. There is no decent solution. In the end I've just gone with wired speakers inside my helmet - yes this unfortunately means I have TWO sets of speakers in my helmet - one for the Sena and one for the radar. This is not ideal.

[lb99]

Those Adaptiv TPX units look pretty good. Latest one is bluetooth compatible too.....

[Bassmatt]

I know a couple of guys with the tpx motorcycle specific radar detector - I wouldn't buy one.
Bluetooth ? - http://www.radardirect.co.nz/product/h-a-r-d-system/

[Mike.Gayner]

Those Adaptiv TPX units look pretty good. Latest one is bluetooth compatible too.....

You can buy their BT transmitter, or you can buy a much cheaper generic one on ebay etc. The problem is that the Sena can only accept one BT signal at once (it's slightly more complex than this, but this is what it boils down to). So if, like me, you like using your Sena to receive music/podcasts/navigation, you have to chose between that and the radar detector.

The closest thing I found to an acceptable solution is the following - I haven't actually tried this, but it should work:

• Buy a Sena SM10 (I think), which is pretty expensive.
• Radar detector gets hard-wired into the SM10
• Phone's BT gets paired with the SM10
• Sena's BT gets paired with the SM10

Obviously not exactly an elegant solution, but it would work.

[Mike.Gayner]

Bluetooth ? - http://www.radardirect.co.nz/product/h-a-r-d-system/

The HARD system is interesting to me, but outrageously expensive and problematic in its own way. You need a totally separate receiver that is unusually large, and an outdated battery design.

[Autech]

Valentine saved my license a fair few times in cars, not sure how good their bike offerings are but worth a look.

[caspernz]

The TPX 2.0 is bike specific. Yes it works well, but the helmet attachments are a pain. Either the speakers or LED light, only run off a little battery. The hard wired LED alert that can be on the bike in line of sight is more practical at times. Nowadays I end up using the radar detector less and less for those reasons, or maybe my riding has become more law abiding over time...

[Blackbird]

Nowadays I end up using the radar detector less and less for those reasons, or maybe my riding has become more law abiding over time...

Hahaha, where have I heard that before? Since I sold the Street Triple and moved to the GSX-S, the Escort 8500 and screamer have stayed on a shelf in the shed and will probably remain there.

[caspernz]

Hahaha, where have I heard that before? Since I sold the Street Triple and moved to the GSX-S, the Escort 8500 and screamer have stayed on a shelf in the shed and will probably remain there.

Yet we spend so much time resisting growing up

[Blackbird]

Yet we spend so much time resisting growing up

We grow up when we're in the public spotlight Rob. Time and place my friend, time and place

[roogazza]

Had the V1 for years. Returned to Wgton from Hastings yesterday (was at horse of the year).

I picked our revenue friends many times going up in the early hours (watch that road there were quite a few.)
The V1 will get them from up to 3 kms in a straight line or advise me of safety hazards even from round corners.
Saw a couple of customers getting pulled on the return journey.

[munster]

Very rare to see handheld lasers anywhere around Bay of Plenty, Waikato etc.

As for bluetooth - I looked really hard to find an effective way to send a radar detector signal through to my Sena unit, while also being able to use the Sena with my phone or as an intercom. There is no decent solution. In the end I've just gone with wired speakers inside my helmet - yes this unfortunately means I have TWO sets of speakers in my helmet - one for the Sena and one for the radar. This is not ideal.

2 today on the expressway near Hampton Downs, my Redline Escort 2 picked up both in good time.

[pritch]

The HARD system is interesting to me, but outrageously expensive and problematic in its own way. You need a totally separate receiver that is unusually large, and an outdated battery design.

My complaint is different to that. I had the old HARD setup which stopped working because the battery box corroded at the terminals. Hopefully that can be fixed but...

The new receiver/display units don't work with the old sender units which is a piss off. I bought a new sender and an Adaptive ear piece. Plan A is to buy another earpiece because I have more than one helmet.

The old system used AAA batteries, the new one uses a single 2450 battery.

It has already been touched on but on some bluetooth systems the phone or whatever will override the detector. That could be very expensive.

It should be mentioned that the HARD/bluetooth systems do not give as much warning as a wire connecting the detector to a speaker in the helmet. Old tech is sometimes best.