Radar Detector? Which? Mounting? Tips and Tricks?

[Daboo]

I'm thinking very seriously of buying a radar detector. There's some threads that are 9 to 11 years old. I suspect there's some new advice out there that we can share with each other.

My reasons are pretty simple. I ride occasionally with some serious riders who tend to ride a bit above the speed limit at times. Not grossly so, and they keep their speeds down in any kind of traffic, but they do like to do as the British LEOs say, "Make progress." The rider in the front of the group has a radar detector...but I'd rather not rely on his device. And there's also a lot of times when the speed of the majority of traffic is much above the speed limit. I don't want to be picked out solely because I'm the only guy in the crowd who is riding a motorcycle. Lastly, my wife actually gave me permission and I like gadgets.

So...I'm looking for your recommendations as to brand and model. Also, where and how did you mount it? And if there's any tips and tricks you can pass along, please do.

Chris

[ccramerusc]

Perhaps I've been misled, but I have been told that in recent years, the police equipment has gotten so good that a detector has become all but obsolete. Cops supposedly have "instant on" and pin point lasers. I guess it could give you a quick warning if it picks up the vehicles in front of you as they're being measured. I've come to rely more on Waze for radar traps, but that is only effective on main roads where lots of others are using Waze

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[Daboo]

Back a few years ago when lasers came out, I asked a Washington State Patrolman what he thought about laser detectors. He said with a big smile on his face, "They let you be the second person to know you're getting a ticket." Hmm...

If I'm in a group, I'm hoping that it goes off on the people ahead of me. With my luck, an LEO will come up from behind.

And besides, the gadget will be fun. And probably a waste of money.

Chris

[Richard230]

It has been years since I have seen cops around here using a radar gun as a ticket dispensing device. It seems to have stopped around the time that doctors were saying that resting a radar gun in your lap was not a good idea for anyone who wanted to be a father in the future.

In California, most of the cops and all of the CHP officers use instant-on laser speed guns that are very accurate, have a long range and can pinpoint individual vehicles with ease. They look like small rifles and use a sighting telescope for aiming. Detectors don't work with these systems, meanwhile there are still plenty of radar-frequency emitting devices in urban areas that set off radar detectors every block.

[Daboo]

We do have times when the WSP (Washington State Patrol) is pulling drivers over right and left. And what I'm realizing is that the times are more likely when I'm out and about than before when I was commuting to work. They seem off the road during rush hour so the traffic will move at whatever speed it can. But starting around 10 am, they are out and about.

My other concerns are when driving back roads on one of my all day rides. I get out on some of these roads with a 50 mph speed limit and with no traffic, I'll sit back and relax looking at the scenery (and the road) and not pay as much attention to my speed. I went through one little town...not sure it was even big enough to be called a "town"...and there was the local sheriff waiting. Luckily, I was down to the speed limit already.

And the other reason like I stated in the first post is that I know I have some rides planned with other riders who will open things up some when the conditions are suitable. I'd like to have a bit more knowledge of what's going on ahead of me and not be entirely dependent on the guy in front keeping me out of trouble with the LEOs.

I bought a Uniden online at Costco last night. A good thing about buying through Costco, is that if it appears to be a complete bust, I can return it.


Chris

[RoadRogue]

After years of using Escort products and dealing with waterproofing them and having to use isolation transformers for the audio, I bought an Adaptiv TPX Motorcycle specific radar detector. It may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but it works quite well and I am so relieved to not be dealing with waterproofing and mounting issues. I no longer worry about removing it for sprinkles and rain and it easily snaps off the bike when needed to be stored.

What others are saying about instant on and laser is true. Especially if they're directed specifically at you. However, I have found in my travels that very little instant on is used and also, if they are striking other people in the area, you will be alerted. Most often, the radar units are mounted in the vehicles and the police are sitting on the side of the road working email and reports while waiting for the alert to go off that you're over the preset speed to be detected.

I agree radar and laser detectors are not an end-all, just another tool in the toolbox along with being aware of what's going on; reading the traffic, and the environment. Good luck!

[notacop]

The best radar detector I've found is not being the fastest guy on the road. Doesn't cost a thing and has worked for decades for me.
In fun places like the small towns of Nevada on Hwy 50 and the back roads of Oklahoma minding the speed limits in proximity to communities is worth whatever you blew on a radar detector in butt savings.
When riding with the big dogs, I don't worry about keeping up. They typically stop often enough for me to catch up. Besides, I usually reserved the campsite anyway.

[danham]

Chris,

There is only one detector on the market that gives you full "situational awareness," as fighter pilots say. My Valentine 1 has saved my bacon and paid for itself numerous times, especially situations such as what you describe in your original post. There are one or two other brands/models that beat it by a very small amount in range under test conditions, but none that offer so much useful info about what is clocking you, how many there are, and where they are. If you couple it with its LE Bluetooth dongle and a smartphone running a $10 app called V1Driver, it goes from very good to amazing in its ability to filter out false alarms, self-mute so you don't have to reach for its button, and geo-fence frequent falses and lock them out automatically.

On my ST it was mounted on the left end of the bars, to give it some hope of seeing threats to the rear as well as front, using a RAM magnetic mount.

http://www.valentine1.com

https://www.rammount.com/part/RAP-300-1U

-dan

[e30guy]

We do have times when the WSP (Washington State Patrol) is pulling drivers over right and left. And what I'm realizing is that the times are more likely when I'm out and about than before when I was commuting to work. They seem off the road during rush hour so the traffic will move at whatever speed it can. But starting around 10 am, they are out and about.

My other concerns are when driving back roads on one of my all day rides. I get out on some of these roads with a 50 mph speed limit and with no traffic, I'll sit back and relax looking at the scenery (and the road) and not pay as much attention to my speed. I went through one little town...not sure it was even big enough to be called a "town"...and there was the local sheriff waiting. Luckily, I was down to the speed limit already.

And the other reason like I stated in the first post is that I know I have some rides planned with other riders who will open things up some when the conditions are suitable. I'd like to have a bit more knowledge of what's going on ahead of me and not be entirely dependent on the guy in front keeping me out of trouble with the LEOs.

I bought a Uniden online at Costco last night. A good thing about buying through Costco, is that if it appears to be a complete bust, I can return it.


Chris

Chris,

I realize this is a bit stale, but not terribly so. How did the Uniden work out? I have an Escort Max 360 for the car. GPS lockouts for all the extraneous radar, bluetooth to an iphone app (not real useful, might be useful for the Cardo, not sure). The false alarms are almost non-existent due to the gps lockout. That's an important feature for me, almost always- when it goes off- it's police radar. And I find it is useful in "seeing" patterns of radar use. It has enough range that if radar is used ahead, I may very well know about it by the time I get there. But, as stated by others, laser is impossible to beat.

But for the bike? Not sure I'd want to try to mount it safely, in a place I can see, and try to keep it dry. If for no other reason, the default mount is a magnet to the windshield suction cup. Pretty sure it would be easy on a bike to end up with it dangling by the power cord at the end of every ride.

I mostly travel an indicated 5-15 above, which is probably only a max of 10-12 above from what I hear about speedometers. Ticketable, but not in a lose my license kind of way....