Are bikes hard to tag on radar?

[fjrrider RI]

I passed a cop parked on the side of the highway on the way home yesterday at 75mph and was waiting to hear a siren? Either he was to busy with a donut or it is hard to point that gun at a bike. Usually I shadow a car to make it more difficult for them to see me and no plate on the front could be a factor. Was I just lucky - what do you think? My luck has run out in the past when tooling along alone way to fast.

[ChrisNoF4i]

Fight it! It's a BS ticket. If you were shadowing a car, there's no way he can prove in court that the radar got you at that speed. On the bright side, at least he didn't write you up for no front plate.

[Doc]

[DuncanMoto]

I pass LEOs at 75 all the time and almost never get pulled over.
I think they're looking for the guys going 85+

[slammp]

You just got lucky. They target and ticket bikes all the time, most police officers are well trained how to point those things, maybe he was busy doing paperwork or something else and did not care about 75mph.

[Point37]

maybe it wasn't even on...sometimes they just sit there to slow everyone down

[capt1014]

Fight it! It's a BS ticket. If you were shadowing a car, there's no way he can prove in court that the radar got you at that speed. On the bright side, at least he didn't write you up for no front plate.

Pay attention

[obsolete]

You sure showed him lol.

[drop]

I passed a cop parked on the side of the highway on the way home yesterday at 75mph and was waiting to hear a siren? Either he was to busy with a donut or it is hard to point that gun at a bike. Usually I shadow a car to make it more difficult for them to see me and no plate on the front could be a factor. Was I just lucky - what do you think? My luck has run out in the past when tooling along alone way to fast.

it's neither. radar guns are very capable at tracking the speed of a motorcycle, and cops are very capable of eating donuts while running their vehicle mount radar. either he was finishing paperwork from the last guy he stopped, or you just weren't going fast enough to matter. you could make an experiment out of this and try it again at 85... or for bonus points, throw powered donuts at his cruiser when you pass him to appease him.

[beegz]

I must agree with the lot. It doesn't matter if you're on a bike or in a car. They can clock you either way. I did 124MPH past a state on 93S some time ago. Lets just say he was pissed. But the bright side, is that he only wrote me up for 90MPH in a 55MPH zone. I think that's how it went. Either way, the ticket was $216. So much for a warm day on a Dec. 6th!

[JettaJayGLS]

Well, I hope I can shed a bit of light here.

I got a ticket last year for 88 in a 65 way up in Franconia with 2 other bikes with me at midnight.

I fought it, and managed to get it down to a 75 in a 65 which was like 150 bucks less.

I told them that isn't it possible that I was going slower than my friends, and that while they were doing 88 I was going slower but her gun got them and she assumed that I was doing the same speed as them.

They figured 75 was a reasonable speed that I was going to still be able to stay with them for the amount of time I did without getting left in the dust.

I was told by the judge that the guns will most often pick up the largest vehicle of the group and that for small things like motorcycles, it will most often pick up the fastest moving.

[Subee13]

FYI a radar gun close enough can pick up the speed of a flying axe.

[e30addict]

I got stopped for 70 in a 65 the other night. People were passing me in the left lane yet I got pulled. Let's just say it wad obvious this particular guy had a bone to pick with bikes based on his demeanor.

Sometimes it's not about the speed.

[Billy]

Radar guns work!!! I got clocked at 80 in a 40 last summer going up to bike night. Luckily the cop wrote me up for a 60 in a 40. Basically made a $400 ticket into $200. 5 more years left on the surgcharge

[naked-daytrader]

I passed a cop parked on the side of the highway on the way home yesterday at 75mph and was waiting to hear a siren? Either he was to busy with a donut or it is hard to point that gun at a bike. Usually I shadow a car to make it more difficult for them to see me and no plate on the front could be a factor. Was I just lucky - what do you think? My luck has run out in the past when tooling along alone way to fast.

Take your fight all the way to city hall. Don't ever give up!! Someone has to change the system and the change starts with you>

Good luck my friend..

[Danno]

I pass LEOs at 75 all the time and almost never get pulled over.
I think they're looking for the guys going 85+

Actually Ted, they're looking for the guys on the red Ducatis.

[Falko]

My understanding is radar guns get best signal off of license plates and head lights. Given that, yes they'll snag a bike pretty easily.

[gregp]

I was told to leave my lights on. Apparently Halogen's screw up the radar reflection. Obviously not applicable to laser systems.
My solution is not to speed. Much.

[keeena]

I was told to leave my lights on. Apparently Halogen's screw up the radar reflection. Obviously not applicable to laser systems.
My solution is not to speed. Much.

So that's why BMW guys add all those auxiliary lights.

[drop]

My understanding is radar guns get best signal off of license plates and head lights. Given that, yes they'll snag a bike pretty easily.

radar is not "aimed" at a certain part of the vehicle. lidar (laser) operators utilize the reflective nature of front plates and headlight housings to enhance range when verifying speed.

[drop]

I was told to leave my lights on. Apparently Halogen's screw up the radar reflection. Obviously not applicable to laser systems.
My solution is not to speed. Much.

not true. light has absolutely zero bearing on radar operation, and to my knowledge leaving your headlights on has little to no measurable effect on laser operation.

the only thing that really affects laser ranging is the weather - heavy fog or rain can reduce the effective range because it causes diffusion of the light beam, which lessens the amount of measurable light returned to the lidar unit. it will still work eventually, but the vehicle will need to be closer before the unit will provide a speed.

[Point37]

or a baseball...have you seen my baseball?

FYI a radar gun close enough can pick up the speed of a flying axe.

[JayWalk]

Wrap your bike in aluminum foil.... the radar will bounce right off!

[mrezra]

Wrap your bike in aluminum foil.... the radar will bounce right off!

richw might be able to lend you some from his helmet...

[fromario]

My understanding is radar guns get best signal off of license plates and head lights. Given that, yes they'll snag a bike pretty easily.

Radar reflects off all surfaces, regardless of lights on or off. The larger the cross section, the better the returns (ie Car = larger cross section, motorcycle = smaller cross section). Unless your bike is coated with radar absorbing material ie stealth fighters/bombers, the cross section of the bike is large enough to get accurate readings.