[Winger4Life]

I have a Valentine One and it has saved me four times now. That more than pays for it. Everything I read gives the edge to the Valentine One, but that edge has been getting smaller all the time.



Be careful of those web sites claiming to be neutral, and saying one detector is way better than the others yet costs less, then they direct you to their store where they sell the detector which they recommend.



Wireless detectors are useless. If you have the $$$, get the Valentine One, it is the best. If you want to be frugal, get the 8500, it is second best.

 

[1163]

"...it has saved me four times now."



Well yeah or just slow down. I always knew you Wing-nuts were closet crotch-rocketeers.

 

[seruzawa]

Check the law enforcement policies in the areas you intend to ride before buying one. Many jurisdictions have changed to laser speed guns and radar detectors of course will not work.



The laser puts out a very tight beam and laser detectors are usually worthless. A laser detector beeps when you have already been painted by the laser gun. At least, that's the last data I read on the subject a few months ago. Laser detector manufacturer's may make other claims. I'd rather see evidence of independent testing before buying one.

 

[mile_eater]

If you are alone on the road you're right, but the idea is to let someone run your front door if you are spooked about lasers. Your detector can, and will, pick up the cop painting them.



Also mounting is crucial with laser detection. It has to be able to see.

 

[kpaul]

The ultimate helmet

Wireless Heads up display with the following:

[*]Speed

[*]Rpm

[*]Gear indication

[*]Radar/Laser warning

[*]CD/MP Audio interface

[*]GPS

[*]Cell phone

Ah heck will all that, I'll take my chances and listen to the whine of my inline 4 and rely on lady luck with the cops. One of my reasons I ride is to get away from all of the above "conveniences" of modern life.

 

[Thig]

The Passport 8500 and Valentine one are generally recognized as the two best. Some reviews place the Passport first, others place the Valentine first. You can't go wrong with either one.

 

[SuzukiStucki]

I purchased the escort 8500 after extensive research and concluding that the Valentine wasn't worth the extra $ (although most rate the Valentine slightly better). I have been very happy with it and it has saved me several speeding tickets. The comments above re laser are right on the money (I did receive a LASER ticket dispite my best stoppie after the escort alert sounded). Also, I want the KPaul helmit as soon as it comes to market. I tried an inside the helmit light display that received good reviews in the motocycle press, but I found that I often didn't notice the alert in daylight and that it was too bright and distracting at night (I would rather get a ticket than crash because I was temporarily blinded by the diode). Don't waste your money on such a visual device. If you are tempted, let me know, and I will send you mine for $10 (1/6th of what I paid for it). The obvious solution with the escort is to run a cheap earplug from the escort into your helmit; at least this has worked well for me.

 

[30968]

How prevalent is laser these days? I have been absurdly lucky in not getting tickets, both on my two-wheeler and in my four-wheeler. My old Tacoma is not the kind of vehicle to excite the local constabulary, but I have no explanation for my luck on my bike, since I'm basically never going the speed limit when I'm riding. I suspect I'm doing something right, but don't really know what it is.

 

[35244]

Ditto comments re cordless models are worthless: I log 40K/yr in a cage (sorry) due to work...I blew some cash on a cordless. What a waste. All the buzz I hear from fellow road dogs confirm the 8500 and Val are the way to go...

 

[kjam68]

The Escort 8500 X50 claims 50% better ka detection and is scheduled to come out the end of April. I noticed all the local yokels upgrading to ka and put my order in this week. KA band is the toughest radar band to pick up with a cheap detector. Laser is not super prevalent at this time. You can pick it up early if the po po have a speed trap set up. It cannot be used in a moving vehicle so it limits the usage to stationary only. I think this will limit its usage somewhat. My theory is if they ain't movin' I can get away before they mount up! My 999 makes me do evil things. I think it's because 999 upside down is 666. Check out Radartest.com for a thorough review of most any detector.

 

[2671]

The Valentine is the best, in my experience, and has saved me $$ and points many times. The Escort is also good. Most of the rest are junk and will only give you a false sense of security and drive you nuts with false alarms.



Detectors are illegal here in the Middlewest but I've run one in my tankbag using the heads-up helmet display from Legal Speeding and no one has ever noticed the detector as it's out of sight but still works fine.



If you can't go slow...wear protection!

 

[33129]

Yer screwed! Did you know you're also pitching a no-hitter?

 

[Haird]

How reliable is radar in clocking bike speed? It seems every time I approach one of those "check your speed" roadside radar trailers on my bike, it generates random numbers way above and way below my actual speed, whereas in a car, they're always very accurate. What causes this? Is the bike too small? Is it made out of "stealth" materials -- aluminum and fiberglass instead of steel? Is it because there's no radiator to increase the radar signature (I read once that certain 'Vettes are hard to clock becasue they have fiberglass bodies and their radiators are tilted, causing the signal to bounce up instead of back to the transmitter)? Is the radar picking up the speed of the front wheel rotation rather than the bike speed (I also read this somewhere, though it doesn't seem very likely)? And is the radar cops use in their cars any more reliable?

 

[SuzukiStucki]

Excellent point. The cop was stationary with my LASER ticket and if I had even tried I could have ditched him. He caught me because I slowed down to the speed limit with the hope that he hadn't got a good reading. Even going the speed limit, it was still about five miles down the road before he caught up with me.

 

[Slaphappy]

Bel (Beltronics) 9 series detectors, then Valentine One. I found way too many falses with the V1. The one thing is that neither are (as of yet) Spectre stealthed (a newish radar detector detector -- only the umm Passport or Escort, forget which one, is stealthed vs it) and no detector is worth anything vs Laser.



The vast majority of radar detector detectors are Stalkers and most good quality units are stealthed vs them. Both Bel and V1 are reverse engineering the Spectre stealthed unit and their next gen units should be stealthed vs them too.



But they won't do jack ***** vs laser, instant on or no.

 

[kpaul]

Radar is reliable on measuring a bikes velocity don't be fooled

Hey if they can't use a gun to measure the speed of baseball....they can get you. They got me. We also have roadside trailers, I have found them to be extremely accurate. I suspect the sensitivity is set wacko on the one you encountered. Corvettes may have glass bodies but they have metal wheels, engines, tranny, frames etc. Like I said if they can measure the speed of a baseball they can measure you.

 

[kpaul]

It's like a Walmart thing.

Good advice. If my wife could just stay out of buying crap at Walmart. It always falls apart. I don't know how many cheap radios, CD players, and VCRs she has bought there for our kidsthat last a year and she expects me to fix em. "You're an engineeer aren't you" Yep I always fixem by putting them in the dumpster.

 

[kawaten]

I have the 8500. My riding pals have the Valentine One and when we're out together they tend to pick up the K/Ka signals a split second before me. To be fair, they have their detectors mounted in the open behind their screens, while mine is within a clear plastic cover on my tank bag.



I once had the 8500 slip out of the unzipped plastic cover at 50 mph then bounce and slide down the road. It's deeply scratched but still works just fine! Friends seem unwilling to enter their Valentines in that contest so by default the 8500 wins the durability testing.

 

[yellowzr2]

yeah i have a radar/ laser jammer from rocky mountain radar and there is nothing anyone can possibly say about it but positive things. I have been behind state trooper who smacked there radar because they cant pick anything up .. all I can say is if your worried about a ticket pick one of these up

 

[obandoj]

My Passport has been saving me since 1985, of course if the Fuzz in your area is using Laser, you might as well do the speed limit or take your lumps