• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Radar detector choices

AjaxTheDog

New member
I have an aging Passport 8500X50 that still works fine but does not have the ability to screen out the annoying TSR?s or traffic speed monitors that are becoming all too common on highways. Passport tells me mine cannot be upgraded to do this either. So I am considering a new one that has this capability.

Before I drop around $500 on a new model Passport I figured I?d ask if anyone else has a better idea or likes another manufacturer?s models better. If I believe all the write-ups it appears that Passport does not have much competition which seems hard to believe after so many years.

Thanks.
 
I have an aging Passport 8500X50 that still works fine but does not have the ability to screen out the annoying TSR?s or traffic speed monitors that are becoming all too common on highways. Passport tells me mine cannot be upgraded to do this either. So I am considering a new one that has this capability.

Before I drop around $500 on a new model Passport I figured I?d ask if anyone else has a better idea or likes another manufacturer?s models better. If I believe all the write-ups it appears that Passport does not have much competition which seems hard to believe after so many years.

Thanks.
Valentine 1

Once you have the directional arrows and Bogey counter you will never go back!
 
Valentine 1

Once you have the directional arrows and Bogey counter you will never go back!

Valentine is old tech unless you live/ride in the middle of nowhere and need long range. In populated areas, Valentine never shuts up and it drove me nuts.

Escort 9500ix uses a GPS database to lock out false alarms, mark red light and speed cameras, and mark your own locations. Range wise, it's similar to Valentine. I had a 9500ix and a Val 1 on the dash of the cage together for 6 months. Escort also has app capability via iOS or Android to connect to other users on your route and send early warning of alerts they receive.

New Escort model with DSP coming soon. One of my 9500ix units will be going up for sale.
 
Valentine 1

Once you have the directional arrows and Bogey counter you will never go back!
+1 Had one since '96 and when the serial # came up as a good time to up-grade, it was worth $ against the new unit. I have 2 BTW and have been real happy. For the bike- not waterproof so there are some considerations.
OM
 
Went with a 8500ci, installed on a k1600
Detector head is on beak in front of oil cooler( doesn't effect oil temp)
Brain installed under right plastic fairing, control unit on right speaker. Marc Parns supplied a six led light which replaced the speaker(3 volt) this is mounted above GPS glare shield, brightness controlled by volume controller
This system works very well with the added benefit of being stealthy, and not prone to walking off
 
Yes, there are choices

I have a Passport 8500 X50 that screens for TSR and I didn't pay $500 for it.

I can either buy the low end 8500x50 for $339 or the high end Passport Max for $549. Don't care so much about speed cameras and social networking while riding, but I would like the TSR filtering as these things seem to be everywhere. If the Valentine does not do that then it won't be an improvement. Maybe then I have just said all I need is a new 8500x50. With the 9500 it sounds nice but I don't think I want to be updating it every week on the computer, I have enough things like that in my life already. The 9500Ci sounds cool too, but I'd like to stay portable and be able to mount it on whatever bike I am riding, so built in is out too. I ws hoping there would be more choices, but maybe there aren't.
 
I can either buy the low end 8500x50 for $339 or the high end Passport Max for $549. Don't care so much about speed cameras and social networking while riding, but I would like the TSR filtering as these things seem to be everywhere. If the Valentine does not do that then it won't be an improvement. Maybe then I have just said all I need is a new 8500x50. With the 9500 it sounds nice but I don't think I want to be updating it every week on the computer, I have enough things like that in my life already. The 9500Ci sounds cool too, but I'd like to stay portable and be able to mount it on whatever bike I am riding, so built in is out too. I ws hoping there would be more choices, but maybe there aren't.

Updates are available weekly, but if you aren't going to be riding in the states where the updates are specified, why bother? I update quarterly, like with GPS maps.

The Valentine won't have any of these location based features until it gets GPS built in.
 
It seems that many of the threads focus on price. On a $400 or $500 radar detector, it's good to remember that with the cost of a ticket ans insurance surcharge, one save an its free.
OM
 
It seems that many of the threads focus on price. On a $400 or $500 radar detector, it's good to remember that with the cost of a ticket ans insurance surcharge, one save an its free.
OM

Yup, especially in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts. The ticket is cheap, the cost of the insurance surcharges go on for six years and are more than $600 per vehicle insured.
 
I can either buy the low end 8500x50 for $339 or the high end Passport Max for $549. Don't care so much about speed cameras and social networking while riding, but I would like the TSR filtering as these things seem to be everywhere. If the Valentine does not do that then it won't be an improvement. Maybe then I have just said all I need is a new 8500x50. With the 9500 it sounds nice but I don't think I want to be updating it every week on the computer, I have enough things like that in my life already. The 9500Ci sounds cool too, but I'd like to stay portable and be able to mount it on whatever bike I am riding, so built in is out too. I ws hoping there would be more choices, but maybe there aren't.

Actually, there is one other top-quality choice: Beltronics. I believe they are the same company as Escort but don't know if the electronics are different or not. BTW, I have two Escort 8500x50 units (car and RT), too old for a factory upgrade, but they do the job for me.

pete
 
Back
Top