Need some pointers

[alpinestars_2002795]

Ya, airmoore i found myself doing the same these days. It's like now that I know all the things I know from this board i find myself second guessing the need for speed although every once in awhile as GTO_04 found out I still feel a need forspeed while out joyridding.

As for hearing headphones in your helmet i can attest to this we used to use two way radio's while on trailrides on mx bikes, and on the ice while doing 120mph and i could still hear my pit crew just fine. Ofcourse untill they disallowed and banned radio usage, which I thought was lame.

OFF TOPIC but: PS: Airmoore NMA PM'd You just for FYI.

AlPiNe~

[zr1]

I'm not saying the TPX system has bad performance, nor do I think anybody else is........yet. We're just saying it's an unknown until it's tested in a controlled environment using the scientific method.

I hope it works well for you and I hope it has good performance.

As a biker, I do 10k+ miles a year, from daily commuting, to weekend canyons, to multi-state trips. I definitely can appreciate the care that the TPX team put in on making the gizmo bike-friendly. There's issues that bikers have with putting electronics on the bike instead of the safe/dry environment of a cage...er...I mean...car.

As a junior-amateur-radar-detector nut, current radar detectors come in 3 basic flavors:

• A-Grade (The Big Dawgs) - The $500 Escorts, Bels, and the V1
• B-Grade - The $180 Bel Vector series and even the Whistler Pro-78
• F-Grade - Allllllll the others

The difference is so amazing. The A-Grade detectors are in the 90-100 percentile range on performance. The B-Grade will run in the 80-85th percentile. But the others...wow! How is it they can make a detector that is so lousy at detecting radar? Well...ok, Escort/Bel/Valentine do have a good number of patents. But we're talking the 10-15th percentile!

I hope the TPX is good at it's primary function as they really did think out the other parts for motorcyclists. I'm interested to see some independent lab testing on it.

[WheelieChuck]

Okay, got back from my trip with the TPX, and all I have to say is... this thing is awesome!

The installation went smooth and easy. Very simple and straightforward, took me about 45 minutes.

We ended up going to Sacramento because one of our buddies had to bail last minute.

I took the 5 on the way up to Sac Town and 99 on the way down. I was definitely going at a good pace both ways and aside from a handful of what I thought was false positives, the TPX sniffed out cops like a champ! What I did was I had the detector on the City No X setting and each time it goes off, I roll off the throttle and if it starts to beep again, then I get down to legal speed and look out for cops.

The first time that it really did its thing was when I had just gotten over the Grapevine and probably going at about 100+, the initial beep came on, then I backed off the throttle, then it continued to beep so I slowed down quickly to 70 and sure enough, about 30 seconds later, I see a CHP on the side of the road. Not sure if he was looking for speedsters as his vehicle was pointing with the direction of traffic, but the TPX sniffed him out. It also picked up CHP coming from the opposite direction.

On the way back, there were definitely more cops on the 99, and in Bakersfield, I think it saved me from getting a ticket. I was cruising along and the initial beep came on followed quickly by the constant beep, so I put on the brakes and I started looking around for cops. About a few seconds later I went through an overpass and as soon as I got past it, I see a CHP parked on the on ramp. At this point I thought to myself, thank God for the TPX because without it, it would've gone by him definitely faster than the posted speed limit. Just as I was finishing up my thought, a truck went zipping by me and sure enough, the CHP started moving and zoomed by me and pulled the truck over.

Now, I'm no radar detector expert by any means, but this thing saved my butt and I can't tell you how happy I am!

Anyway, I still appreciate all your input, even though I ended up getting the TPX instead of the others (in case you can't tell, I had my mind set on it from the get go). I got another trip coming to Arizona and I'll try to post here and let you know how my trip went with the TPX.

[amnesia]

I think Wheelichuck has hit the nail on the head. It's not like driving a car, where playing with your toys is half the fun. On a bike, ergonomics is everything! The less obtrusive the better! Obviously, the TPX worked for him, and it wasn't nearly the hassle that an Escort or Valentine would be. Granted, it's not going to perform as well as an Escort or Valentine, but at least it's there and working - rain or shine; not left at home because he couldn't be bothered to set it up. I use a Whistler Cruisader (which I don't think is a great performer) because it's built in and I don't have to think about it. I've never gotten a ticket so I guess it's doing it's job.
Would I like better performance? Of course. Would I put up with any more hassle to get it? NO WAY!
Radar on a bike is a completely different issue than on a car. TPX is on the right track, and I'm sure with time they will get it right.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[love4steel]

as far as the h.a.r.d. system you mention you'll be using... have you looked into vizalert as well. Im wondering which system is better??

[zr1]

as far as the h.a.r.d. system you mention you'll be using... have you looked into vizalert as well. Im wondering which system is better??

I use the H.A.R.D. system and it does well. It's a single LED that lights up when your RD is alerting. You still have to look down at the RD to figure out what it is alerting to.

I don't have the VizAlert, but it is a much more intelligent system. With different LEDs in the helmet, you get the information as to what the RD is alerting to without looking down.

[RacerX]

The H.A.R.D. is not waterproof and it's a single flashing red light like zr1 says.
the vizalert is waterproof and gives band id, so you know if it's an X false you can ignore or a ka or laser threat you need to pay attention to.

good example, you're approaching an intersection with a k band false, suddenly a ka alert comes across. with the HARD, you still have the same flashing LED, with the Vizalert, it will show the ka alert and you know something is ahead.

I run mine with the V1 and it works great. i also use the C100 for all the speed camera alerts and set the audible alert speed at 30, so i don't have to hear radar alerts under 30, which works great at cutting out a lot of false noise, but i still get the visual.