Radar Detectors for Motorcycles
One of the passions in life my wife Margie and I share is jumping on our Harley Davidson motorcycles and hitting the open highway for a weekend trip here in the South West or heading up to Sturgis South Dakota for the week long motorcycle rally.
And one of the most common questions I receive is what radar detectors for motorcycles do I recommend and/or use on my own bikes.
As I’m an “iron butt” rider, my Screamin Eagle Ultra Classic is outfitted with the very best in speed countermeasure equipment and I have it outfitted with an Escort 8500 X50, the HARD system and a chrome handle bar mount along with the Blinder HP-905 laser jamming system.
My $900.00 dollar plus investment in outfitting my bike maybe a little out of reach for the weekend warrior’s who just want a good radar detector to give them the edge, so last week I installed the new Adaptive Technologies TPX motorcycle radar detector on Margie’s Sportster and we gave it a good workout these last few days.
The TPX system is the only radar detector that is currently designed and marketed for use on motorcycles.
There are several different types of mounts that are available from Adaptiv for use on your bike, the unit is water resistant so you don’t have to take your detector off when it rains, handles shock and vibration very well and has oversized buttons so you can operate the radar detector while riding.
It also has an external LED display that you can mount to your windshield or handle bar that will light up when the detector is activated or an external wireless speaker that you can mount inside your helmet.
During our test the last few days we found that the TPX was on par in performance as the higher end radar detectors from Whistler in that it gave us ample warning of police radar along our journey.
However, what I feel what makes the TPX Motorcycle Radar Detector System attractive to those of us who like to ride the open highway on our bikes is the price!
The TPX retails for $309.95 and you can accessorize the detector for your bike with the mount that will cost an additional $69.99, the visual alert $49.99 and/or the wireless headset for $70.00.
4 Responses to “Radar Detectors for Motorcycles”
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Reading about the M27 and the M27 Rider, I was wondering is it worth the extra money for the waterproofing? While I’m an “All Weather” rider, I don’t go out looking for rain, so I don’t spend a lot of time in it. In your experience with the M27 mounted on your bike, have you had any problems with the electronics getting wet?
I just carry a childs shower cap with me and put it over my 8500. Better performance
As you may know, Virginia is the only state that bans the use and sale of detectors. There is no evidence that the detector ban increases highway safety. Our nation’s fatality rates have fallen consistently for almost two decades. Virginia’s fatality rate has also fallen, but not any more dramatically than it has nationwide. Research has even shown that radar detector owners have a lower accident rate than motorists who do not own a detector.
Maintaining the ban is not in the best interest of Virginians or visitors to the state. I know and know of people that will not drive in Virginia due to this ban. Unjust enforcement practices are not unheard of, and radar detectors can keep safe motorists from being exploited by abusive speed traps. Likewise, the ban has a negative impact on Virginia’s business community. Electronic distributors lose business to neighboring states and Virginia misses out on valuable sales tax revenue.
Radar detector bans do not work. Research and experience show that radar detector bans do not result in lower accident rates, improved speed-limit compliance or reduce auto insurance expenditures.
• The Virginia radar detector ban is difficult and expensive to enforce. The Virginia ban diverts precious law enforcement resources from more important duties.
• Radar detectors are legal in the rest of the nation, in all 49 other states. In fact, the first state to test a radar detector ban, Connecticut, repealed the law – it ruled the law was ineffective and unfair. It is time for our Virginia to join the rest of the nation.
• It has never been shown that radar detectors cause accidents or even encourage motorists to drive faster than they would otherwise. The Yankelovich – Clancy – Shulman Radar Detector Study conducted in 1987, showed that radar detector users drove an average of 34% further between accidents (233,933 miles versus 174,554 miles) than non radar detector users. The study also showed that they have much higher seat belt use compliance. If drivers with radar detectors have fewer accidents, it follows that they have reduced insurance costs – it is counterproductive to ban radar detectors.
• In a similar study performed in Great Britain by MORI in 2001 the summary reports that “Users (of radar detectors) appear to travel 50% further between accidents than non-users. In this survey the users interviewed traveling on average 217,353 miles between accidents compared to 143,401 miles between accidents of those non-users randomly drawn from the general public.” The MORI study also reported “Three quarters agree, perhaps unsurprisingly, that since purchasing a radar detector they have become more conscious about keeping to the speed limit…” and “Three in five detector users claim to have become a safer driver since purchasing a detector.”
• Modern radar detectors play a significant role in preventing accidents and laying the technology foundation for the Safety Warning System® (SWS). Radar detectors with SWS alert motorists to oncoming emergency vehicles, potential road hazards, and unusual traffic conditions. There are more than 10 million radar detectors with SWS in use nationwide. The federal government has earmarked $2.1 million for further study of the SWS over a three-year period of time. The U.S. Department of Transportation is administering grants to state and local governments to purchase the SWS system and study its effectiveness (for example, in the form of SWS transmitters for school buses and emergency vehicles). The drivers of Virginia deserve the right to the important safety benefits that SWS delivers.
*** A small surcharge($5-$10) or tax(2%-3%) could be added to the price of the device to make-up for any possible loss of revenue from reduced number of speeding tickets and the loss of tickets written for radar detectors.***
Please sign this petition and help repeal this ban and give drivers in Virginia the freedom to know if they are under surveillance and to use their property legally:
http://www.stoptheban.org
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/repeal-the-virginia-radar-detector-ban