I have an Escort 8500 that I use on two motorcycles a Honda VTR 1000 SuperHawk and an old BMW RT Airhead. Ive been using radar detectors since the early 1980s and this is the best Ive had. I highly recommend it it has excellent range and gives minimal false alarms.
(By the way, I only use the detector to let me know when Im being exposed to dangerous microwave radiation. Speeding is against the law.)
I use the optional hardwire "Smartcord" on both bikes with the remote indicators mounted adjacent to the speedometers. The detector is mounted inside a tankbag on the SuperHawk and in a fairing pocket in my BMW. Audio from the jack on the Escort is routed through the AutoComm intercom on the BMW and directly to my helmet headset when Im on the SuperHawk. The telephone-style plug on the Smartcord (which supplies power to the detector and a signal to the remote indicator) goes directly to the detector on the BMW and goes to a double-female plug near steering head on the Superhawk. A second cord (coiled) goes from the double-female plug on the Superhawk to the detector in the tankbag This lets me easily disconnect the power and take the bag off for gas without having to open the bag and disconnect the detector.
The audio is a must! The more you need a radar detector, the less you need to have your eyes anywhere but the road! The setup I have works great through the intercom speakers in my full-face helmet with or without earplugs. I have a riding buddy that uses a cheap Radio Shack earplug that also gives excellent results. On the 8500, different radar bands give different audio signals, and the strength of the signal is indicated by the repetition rate of the audio signal.
The placement of the detector inside the fiberglass fairing or inside the top of the tankbag does not seem to adversely affect radar detection (I use the same unit in my cage with similar results), and out-of-sight is a nice stealth setup for places like New York State where detectors are illegal (or anywhere else you dont want to advertise your radar detection intentions). Unfortunately, since laser light wont penetrate fiberglass or Cordura, this setup defeats the laser detection capability of the unit. (If anybody cares, its my opinion that laser beams have so little scatter that the only thing a laser detector does is let you know that you just got a ticket.)
And just so you know, if you speed, radar detector or no, sooner or later you'll get a ticket. Don't do the crime if you can't pay the fine (and the insurance premiums)!
