Installing a Radar Detector on a kat ???

[taz]

Any suggestions on how to do this? I've got some ideas just not sure if they would work or not. If any of you are good with electronics (unlike myself) and would like me to give you my ideas on this and maybe we can come up with a way to do it. PM Me.

[TemtnF8]

Congrats, you got to pop my cherry as this is my first post...

The battery is 12 volt, so it really shouldn't be hard. You could hard-wire the radar detector by cutting the plug off the end and connecting the leads to the battery with an in-line 20 amp fuse (purchased from an auto parts store). this may not be the best option but it is the quick and dirty method.

Ideally you could purchase an accessory splitter(turns one car accessory power port in to two) or extension and cut the 'car end' off of the plug. You would then run leads directly from your battery (again with a 20 amp in-lin fuse) to plug the detector in to.

As far as mounting I would suggest either using the windshield mounting hardware that came with the detector to mount it above the gauge pod, or use self-adhesive velcro to mount it directly to the top of the gauges.

Also, if you can find one find a detector that has a power supply that plugs in at both ends, that way you can take it off the bike with you when you leave. Otherwise it won't be on the bike long at all.

[taz]

Thanks for the response. I'm going to be looking further into this as I was originally thinking of mounting the radar detector where the "3rd eye" is on the bike. But, wondering if thats really going to work as it may not pick up the signal good enough. Also, the problem with mounting it behind the windscreen, if I get a Black Chrome windscreen do you think it would still pick up the signal?

BTW nice bike, yellow is the fastest color!

and, welcome to KR.

[TemtnF8]

Well, since most radar methods work on a form of radiation (microwave, kindof) it shouldn't matter if your windscreen is penetrable by light or not.

I would not suggest mounting it where the 'third eye' is just because on a bike you're not going to be able to HEAR it, so you'll need the visual to be able to tell if it's going off or not.

[taz]

well, thats why i was trying to come up with a way to mount the lights in the dash or something. so that i could just leave it there and not have to carry it all around with me. plus, was worried about mounting it on the dash in case it falls off from vibration or something.

[TemtnF8]

I suppose you could tear it apart and either move the sensor(s) or the LED display but honestly I think that would be more trouble than it's worth. If the mounting kit that came with the detector is in good working order it should mount up pretty securely to the wind screen. If you have concerns about it then you could go so far as to build a mounting bracket that screws through the wind screen or somehow attaches to the guage pod.

As far as taking it with you... you could just throw it in under the seat with your gloves when you go inside somewhere.

[taz]

thats true. guess that would be easier than tearing it apart to mount it in the third eye place. maybe i'll just see if i can find one that plugs in from both ends and figure out how to hook it up to the battery.