What is your experience with radar detector mounted in side case?

[al2it]

I'm looking to purchase a Beltronics STi driver radar detector & I am wondering what experience those of you that have mounted your radar detector in your side case have had. From surfing other forums I understand that if placed in the side case the laser detection functionality is virtually useless but the radar detection seems to function fully. Has this been your experience?

[andy]

I'm looking to purchase a Beltronics STi driver radar detector & I am wondering what experience those of you that have mounted your radar detector in your side case have had. From surfing other forums I understand that if placed in the side case the laser detection functionality is virtually useless but the radar detection seems to function fully. Has this been your experience?

In both of my LTs I had my Valentine one mounted in the right side case and a remote display unit on the dash. Worked perfectly for me. Maybe the radar detector 'sees' a radar gun a few feet later, but that was never an issue for *ME*

Yes, you will loose laser, but then if your laser detector goes off and they are really targetting you and you are not just in the area of an airport where your laser detector goes off all the time (even in the side cases) it's worthless anyhow. By the time yoiu are being warning it's only the signal to bend over.

Bottom line: I loved it because I never had to do the mount and unmount dance at night, it turned on automatically with the ignition, and so many more advantages that were much more important to me than the few feet less detection.

[al2it]

Thanks Andy. Where did you connect the rd so that it turned on with the ignition?

[mtrevelino]

Mine is in the side case. It is powered through a bluesea fuse block. I pick up the audio through my autocom system. Others have mounted their detectors in the "trunk" case.

[katnapinn]

Mine is mounted on the BMR shelf about the instrument cluster and tapped in to my comm system so I can hear it.

[paalao]

Interesting tread

It is leagal to import a radar detector here :rolleyes: but If I use it and get cought then it is a $1000.- ticket! :mad: And two points on my lisence (12 and I loose the lisence) :(
Is there super small recivers that I can mount on the helmet etc?

Hey there is an idea!

[dshealey]

I did a LOT of testing when I got my V1, wanted it inside out of sight. Tried it in the top case, VERY poor results. At the side of the topcase lid it is blocked by the metal screens over the speakers. In the center, it is blocked by the rider.

I went to a mall near my home and found a Ka band door opener signal that would set the V1 off full scale if very near, so worked my way out to the side of the parking lot so that it was just lighting the last dot on the signal strength meter and started trying every place I could imagine to put it. As I already had figured out the speaker grills on the side case just about completely blocked the signal to the front, only 1-2 dots. In the middle of the top case lid it worked pretty well, until I leaned over in front of it, reduced it from full scale to 2-3 dots. Just as Valentine says on their web site, it does NOT see through people well at all.

I tried the side cases, and if the bike was aimed slightly to one side of the signal, the detector would work fairly well in the side case on the side the signal was coming from, but barely if at all to the other side. It certainly cannot see through the frame/engine!

I tried it on top of the dash in the center, and it worked very well to the front as expected, but if I sat on the bike it reduced the signal to less than half from the rear when I sat on the bike.

I ended up with it in a Pelican box on the right side wing by the windshield. Great reception to anything in front, and to the right rear. Reduced considerably to the left rear by me, but I figured that was the least dangerous area to expect radar from the majority of the time.

As expected by anyone who knows anything about RF propagation, the radar signals do NOT penetrate anything metallic, even metallic paint, and are severely reduced by anything mostly water (such as people). The plastic on the LT is fine, as long as it is not one of the metallic colors. Metal parts though? Forget it.