Electronics » Mounting Radar Detector to R1200RS

I'm interested in mounting a radar detector to the bike. In the U.S., a speeding ticket can not only result in a fine but can increase your insurance premium. I have used a Valentine radar detector for years in my car and RV.

I can have my BMW dealer install a power outlet toward the front of the bike. Has anyone mounted a radar detector using a RAM mount or other hardware so its visible along with the BMW Navigator? Many thanks.

Ride Safe,
Richard
Trinidad, California

Do the cops still use radar in your area? Around here, the cops use nothing but instant-on laser ray guns with telescopic sights. One click of the trigger and you are toast. I once owned a radar detector, but it was triggered about every minute, especially at intersections, where it seems that there are microwave and radio beams floating around everywhere being used by automatic traffic detection systems and who knows what else. So it was never very helpful and I eventually decommissioned it.

You’re both assuming a lot, basing things off old technology, and not helping the OP with the question he asked. I’m also interested to hear radar solutions people have come up with. Unfortunately I don’t know of anything waterproof.

To the posters above me, for your knowledge the higher end radar comes with GPS that learns fixed signals and doesn’t alert you to them anymore. It also notifies you of things like red light cameras and speed traps where radar might not be used. Laser and the reaction time work basically the same as radar. A cop who isn’t lazy can tag you and get an instant read no matter what device he’s using. Most cops are lazy and just leave it on, reading everybody and giving plenty of alerts. I use radar daily and it’s saved my license at this point, not to mention thousands in fines.

Yes, I have. The radar is mounted on the left side of the handlebars, using a RAM mount which is bolted in place of the bracket that fastens the clutch fluid reservoir. The bike I bought (a 2017 R1200RS) has the factory mount at the centre of the bars, for the BMW/Garmin Navigator, so I can see that and the radar detector.

I have yet to actually *use* this radar detector on this bike, because I am having a weird problem getting power to it. I'll make a separate post about this today. It's why I'm here on the forum.

But I have used the same Ram mount with ball joint on a K1600GT and on an S1000R.
On both of those bikes I chose to install visual accessories on the dash in front of me - as I don't want to swap the problem of getting tickets with a worse problem of not looking where I want to go. So rather than look at the detector screen at all, I use a Mark Parnes visual alert (http://www.marcparnes.com/Visual_Alert.htm) and with the K1600GT also a valentine remote display.

I am having a strange problem powering the Valentine V1 on my R1200RS.

Can you help?

Although I'm getting 12.25V (if the engine is on) coming out of the RJ11 plug that is being plugged into the side of the Valentine, I'm getting no action at all on the display, and no sound, in other words, the Valentine is for all intents and purposes powered off. Which is just strange. I've checked polarity (it is correct) along with everything else I can think of except current (I don't know how to test for that). I have a multimeter.

When I move the Valentine to my BMW S1000R or BMW X5, it works fine, as usual. The X5 is supplying 14+ volts to the detector and the S1000R is supplying 12.06 volts.

What we see here is that the Valentine is getting a lower voltage from the S1000R it's working on, than it gets from the R1200RS it's not working on. But the problem isn't too many volts because it gets even more from my car in which it works fine.

The R1200RS is a 2017 (i.e. facelift) model. As backstory, recently, I had a BMW specialist install bar risers and so took the opportunity to save myself the bother of finding a power source, and had him do it for me. He tapped the back of the ISO power socket on the right hand side and towards the rear of the bike. As I requested, he ran the wire up to the front, where I can complete the job. That is to say, to plug in a "phone/data" lead with RJ11 plugs at both ends, with correct polarity, to connect my radar detector. Once this works I'll then add the Marc Parnes Visual Alert and maybe the Valentine Remote Display. But, I've got to get the basics working first. Note, I did all of this wiring myself on my K1600GT and S1000R when I first bought them. I have a good idea what I'm doing.

With my multimeter, I find that the car, S1000R, and R1200RS are all supplying voltage to the inside pair of the four gold connectors on the plug, with (of those inside pair) the LHS one being negative and the RHS being the positive (when holding the plug with the cable coming up from the floor, and the pins facing me).

I just don't understand how it's possible that I've got 12.25V with correct polarity going into the V1 with no result...

There are some professional devices to allow you to tap into the Can Bus looms and get power out of the main circuits. They really look neat and functional. One is the Fuze Block and the other is something like the Can Opener. If you don't use them, you may be running into an inbuilt BMW voltage limiter (and I know that volts, amps and ohms have something to do with this, exactly what, well ...).
Perhaps you should try to parallel the BMW system running a fused line directly from the battery, just to see if the detector will fire up that way.
Another thing to look for is the potential of a fault with the lead.
These small leads sometimes fail (I know I had a brand new USB-C lead fail "out of the box"). The wires are so fine, and the clearances are so exact visual inspection is difficult.

If you have 12 volt supply as you indicate, perhaps what is missing is a proper ground connection?

My V1 works fine on my RS but it is wired through a Hex EZ Can. As suggested the other option may be be to wire the fused set up directly from the battery.

You can buy a splitter from your dealer that plugs into the back of the accessory socket under the seat. 5E2CD2C7-CEE5-434B-BCB3-6380E34B661B.jpeg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)
You simply cut off the extra output and then you have a switched live and neutral that you can use to supply whatever you want. You can buy a small fuse box and use this power supply to power things like USB sockets for phone chargers. I have one on my bike to power a USB socket and a bike to Bike radio

Thanks so much! Your post helped me understand what's happening - it appears that the can bus limits current draw to the powerlet socket, and when I only had my multimeter across the powered RJ11 plug contacts there was almost no current draw, and when I had my radar detector plugged in, the limit was exceeded thus power stopped immediately to that circuit. The best long term solution for me is probably a switched solution, but for now (since there was limited time before my trip - with this bike - to the bottom of the country) I've taken 12V off the battery and nicely wired everything up - problem solved, it works perfectly (I'll just need to remember to turn off or remove the detector after a ride).

I appreciate your help!

Thanks so much! This really helped me clinch it.

So... for now, I've taken 12V off the battery and nicely wired everything up - problem solved, it works perfectly - later, I'll perhaps install a more elegant, switched solution but my V1 is up and running now - thank you!

I appreciate your help!

Great thinking! in the end, I'm convinced it was the can bus turning off the powerlet circuit (that was tapped for power) when I connected my detector. Taking power off the battery, as I am now doing, has bypassed the problem.