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New motorcycle specific radar

13K views 39 replies 14 participants last post by  RL Lemke 
#1 · (Edited)
#2 ·
Middling performing detector that is certainly weather friendly.

Depends on your demands for performance.

I've been using detectors since the 1970s Fuzz Busters, so am pretty picky on how they perform. As such, I'm willing to deal with weather issues in exchange for top tier performance.

The instant on Ka used by CHP demands the ultimate in performance to sniff out when the vehicle ahead of you is illuminated by radar. Your only means of advance warning.
 
#3 ·
This detector has been around for at least a few years. Moshe Levy is just now reviewing it. It is old technology when compared to the Escort Max, Max 2 etc. there had been comparisons with all the major brands and units when the unit first came out. If faired poorly in all the performance categories.
 
#5 · (Edited)
2.0 has been out for a couple years.

This update has BT and some additional filtering.

The issue remains with the receiving horn. If I'm wrong, it will show up on one of the comparison sites as performing in the same league as the V1, Redline and Max.
 
#7 ·
Good bottom line quote: "During this test the TPX was found to have 4 times the capture distance of police K and Ka radar guns which placed it into the 3-star radar detector category having comparable performance to that of the Escort 8500×50."
 
#11 · (Edited)
The same tester, Radar Roy, found the Escort Max and Max 2 both to have 8 times the capture distances of police K and Ka radar guns. So which is true; Radar Roy's test results or the anaecdotal reports of Adaptive units sounding off as early or earlier than other detectors? Or is there some reasonable explanation that makes both true?
My own personal experience on group rides is that I pick up radar on my Max much sooner than most of riding buddies, some of whom have the Adaptive unit. I like the Max because it pairs with the Escort live app on my iPhone to give me aural warnings such as "Live Ka alert" or "x band alert", not flashing lights or beeps, while also giving me aural warnings of known recent speed traps, red light cameras, speed cameras, police with instant on radar/laser up ahead and traffic conditions similar to Waze. With my phone mounted on my bars, I can also see where the radar or red light etc. is on the map once I am warned and the strength of the radar. I also can see the traffic along my route like Waze
 
#9 ·
I installed the 2.0 unit on my '12 1600GT in 2012 and used it for four years with a H.A.R.D. installed in my helmet. Work as good as any other radar detector I've ever ridden with in a group ride. I'm usually leading the ride my my group so maybe that gives me a bit of advantage but it's always going off as soon as or before the other "top quality" brands used by my friends. The weather proof aspect of it combined with the ability to react to switched power makes it easy to tuck away in a covert location and never think about it again - it's always on and alerting me when it should be.

The 2.0 unit has the transmitter in it for the H.A.R.D. so another added benefit is that you only have to buy the receiver from Legal Speeding to be up and running with a helmet mounted LED warning display.
 
#10 ·
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#12 ·
I think a lot of the specsmanship in RD product companies are mostly distinctions without real meaning. They're hoping you buy in to the "more is better" marketing when good enough is good enough. Laser detection is an example of that. It's completely useless on any vehicle unless you've got it installed exactly where the LEO hits you with the laser spot. There's no scatter to pick up otherwise. And when you're hit, you're done with no time to react. The only reason they put anything like that in the RD units is specsmanship.

But hey, we're motorcycle owners and prone to all kinds of rationalizations to buy what makes us happy. Buy what makes you happy.
 
#18 ·
I don't know much about radar and laser detection but your post could simplify things for me if I understand it correctly. Are you saying that laser jammers are not worth the investment and not a reliable devise? Confirmation of this would be helpful.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Much like the use of sonar on submarines, the use of radar detectors to the best of their capacity requires focus and finesse.

When LEO shines a laser or pulls the trigger for instant on Ka the vehicle aimed at is toast. Too late.

The key is to pick-up on the use of laser or Ka on a vehicle ahead of you. To properly interpret the little beeps that occur, separating the wheat from chaff. In the 40 years I've been using radar detectors my interpretation and reaction times are pretty good.

Maybe this is why my preference is for the Redline. The twin horn design makes for long distance pick-up of signals. The lack of GPS is not the issue for me as my motorcycle use is rural and out of town. For my car the Max is tops.

Hearing the little sounds allows me to use the same mental processing I do in every vehicle. That is why I use the speaker out jack and ear monitors is important for my use.

For high speed long distance travel I'm able to get a read on speed enforcement several vehicles ahead of me. For twisty mountain rural riding it is more a matter of eyesight with moving LEOs and easy pick-up of stationary LEOs as we approach towns.

As Pitts says, we all make choices in a country with so many things to choose from. What effort I'm willing to go through to get a leg up on speed enforcement is probably more than most are willing to engage in.

http://radartest.com/best-radar-detector.asp
 
#14 ·
The other benefit of Escort is their Escort Live. Not so much for LEO warnings but for the cellular software updates. I keep my detectors updated and use the iPhone app to configure the detectors.

Saw the Redline XR configuration while researching for this thread. Will implement the suggested settings today.

Escort Redline XR review
 
#15 ·
As you can see here, all the good detectors notice radar on either side of two miles out.

Radar Detector Testing 2015 - Radar Roy

My ears, and reactions, are tuned to the specific sounds Escort has for the different radar bands. This means I pretty well have to use an Escort product to operate at the same level of proficiency as when driving my car. I don't need to look away from the road to know exactly what's going on. My reactions are spinal, at this point.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I had the TPX 1.0. Had a lot of "false hits". It was OK though.

Upgraded to the TPX 2.0 - vast improvement. I have ridden across the U.S. four times with the 2.0, and haven't gotten any "performance awards". This timeframe also includes a BBG where my average moving speed over less than 24 hours (Utah/Nevada wide open spaces) was 85 MPH. Had ample warning when needed to slow.

I run mine on Highway, No X, No K setting. The vast majority of LEOs in CA use Ka band.

When traversing the U.S., and going through small town USA, I will turn K back on, because some of the smaller LEO forces still use that one.

Side note: some asshat stole my TPX 2.0 off the bike. The nice folks at Adaptive sold me just the unit (minus mounting/wiring hardware) at a discount; I was prepared to buy the whole thing again.
 
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#17 ·
I have always used Valentine, Escort and Bel products. What appears to be hard data suggest they provide the best detection range. I used these products in cages and on bikes. After several years of various waterproofing efforts for the car based detectors ranging from taping the seams to help keep water out, using plastic bags, using ugly big plastic enclosures, etc. I got fed up with them. I think when the second expensive car unit died I gave up on them and took the plunge for the TPX.

My first TPX was the 1.0. We took a three day trip where we rode for several hundred miles each day. A high end Escort or Valentine unit was on my bike, the TPX on my brothers. We had bike to bike communication and would let eachother know when our detectors alerted. Despite what the data may suggest, our real world test indicated the performance was virtually identical. Sometimes the TPX was more responsive, sometimes the high end car unit was more responsive but for the vast majority of alerts they were almost identical in alert response.

We did this on a few more rides in the first season I had the TPX 1.0 and always had the same results. I have since upgraded to 2.0 but really had no complaints with the performance of 1.0.

The superior mounting, easier to read display, motorcycle friendly buttons, WATERPROOF, and secure mounting make these units a big winner for me.

I still use Escort and Bel products in my cages. I have a Bel STi Magnum, Escort 9500ix and Escort Max 360 that I rotate through. All have their strengths and weaknesses and all have their place. For me their place is in them is in something with a roof. For the open air I only go with TPX and have since around 2010/2011. I do believe there is solid evidence their detection range is equal of the high end car units. The real world evidence showed that advantage was not there and the motorcycle specific design of the TPX is really great.

Good thing we have options. Some folks will want/need ultimate detection. Others may like convenience. My fear with TPX was the compromise in performance would negate the benefit of having a radar detector. I was pleasantly surprised it seemed to work just fine. I expected it would not work well enough and am thankful it works quite well.
 
#20 ·
I thought those were "Parking Lot Assist" add ons? :wink:
 
#26 ·
My experience in traffic is that a detector can offer early warning of laser use where the officer is aiming at a vehicle ahead of you and spill over laser beam hits your detector. Many times have I experienced this giving me the opportunity to "notice" my speed.

As for jammers, they receive a laser signal, interpret which sending unit was used, then return the appropriate pulsed laser return. Complicated stuff, requiring a level of sophistication that means only a couple options are in fact effective.
 
#27 ·
My experience with different Escort detectors is that there can be a lot of false laser alerts because of sunlight, direct and reflected. So much so that I often turn the laser alert off.

My experience with two top performing laser parking assistant units is that there are zero false alerts. That when counter measures are implemented they are effective. That said, the lonely rural backroads I focus on are without laser speed detection concern.
 
#29 ·
the lonely rural backroads I focus on are without laser speed detection concern.
Thats the key thing there! I have no problem avoiding trouble on freeways and interstates for the most part. Its off the beaten path where I tend to "lose focus" and next thing I know I'm traveling too briskly.
 
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#28 ·
I have my Redline mounted in the beak, in a rather inconspicuous box. It's powered by the headlight wire and the detector is on whenever the engine is running, all automatically and seamlessly. Alerts come to me thru wired ear buds, with a nice female voice telling me which band is causing the threat. I have a small mute button mounted on the left handlebar and whenever I have an alert that I'm not interested in, I simply tap the mute button and the current threat is muted. The unit automatically un-mutes when that threat is gone, and it's ready to alert at full volume for the next threat. A small bright single red LED light in my dash confirms power-on status and it also flashes when the detector alerts. It continues to flash thru muted alerts, which is also very handy. The box is totally waterproof. I have not removed the detector from the bike all summer. I wash the bike, park it at hotels, restaurants, etc and never worry about theft or water damage or anything. It's that inconspicuous, plus it requires a T10 screwdriver for removal. I live in Canada where detectors are illegal, yet do most of my riding in the USA and I cross the border weekly and I have no worries of getting busted.

I guess the only drawback to my mounting is that I don't have easy access to my detector to toggle between settings. But I ride in rural areas 90% of the time so leaving it set with my custom settings works well for me. If I decide to adjust settings, it takes me 5 minutes to access it with the T10 screwdriver I carry in the top case.

I'd be happy to post pictures here but posting pics on this forum requires a background in IT, which I do not possess.
 
#30 ·
I've run nothing but Beltronics 995 (now part of Escort)on all three of my bikes for about ten years. I don't care about Laser because the only time I need a detector is on country roads where nobody sits on the side of the road with laser. To R.L.s point, the most important thing is Ka distance so you can pick up an instant on if there is another vehicle within a reasonable distance ahead of you. In the flatlands I typically ride it's not unusual to pick up a radar two miles ahead of me. BTW, I "calculate" the distance by when it goes off vs how long it takes to see the cop when we have a closing speed of well over 100 mph.
 
#33 ·
Some of the traffic controls on Colorado's interstates have made all but the best radar detectors useless. The cheaper ones are falsing constantly on K band.
I use a Max 360 in the Lexus and a Max 2 on the GTLe. The Max 2 will false where the Max 360 won't. Also CDOT is starting to put in road signs that are controlled by KA band.
 
#35 ·
I just sent my Valentine one in last year to get the latest updates (new board also) They say one of the things it helps with is the traffic control radar on the freeways. I haven't been to LA in a while so I'm not sure if it helps or not.
It was nuts having that thing go off every 2 miles.
 
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#34 ·
I agree as there seem to be a lot of construction directional illuminated signs with K band in some states. Other states monitor traffic speed with K band, or even laser here on the new tollways. The beauty of the GPS radar detectors is to record the regular false alerts and not deal with them again. Wonder how big that memory is as I have quite a collection of them now.

The Max has a setting to allow for auto collection of false alerts, and a setting for no alert below a certain speed (parking lots and door openers).

If I mute an alert for one band, if another band comes alive in the same area I will get a new alert.

It's all part of the cat & mouse game. Mostly for fun as in congested cities, like Dallas, driving the 70 mph speed limit on freeways is frustrated by traffic.
 
#37 ·
I agree as there seem to be a lot of construction directional illuminated signs with K band in some states. Other states monitor traffic speed with K band, or even laser here on the new tollways. The beauty of the GPS radar detectors is to record the regular false alerts and not deal with them again. Wonder how big that memory is as I have quite a collection of them now.
Assuming the device creating the false alert doesn't somehow interfere with an actual radar gun's ability to measure speed, it seems a saavy LEO would park right near one of those and catch a lot of people depending on their radar detectors but being desensitized to that location.
 
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