Escort 8500 has an option to display current voltage if you choose to do so. I did. Initially it displays 12.4-12.8V when the bike is not running depending how long it's been sitting. On idle, it is about 13.8 at 4-5000rpm at around 14.8-15.3V and fluctuates almost constantly. It looks to me not only the voltage is too high but also the non-stop up/down not right. In my car, it stays steady 13.2V when driving. Is my regulator about to go kabuum?

Ruhi, according to my shop manual, you're right within specs. Battery voltage should be 13.0-13.2 (you're a little low at 12.8 but make sure it's fully charged) with engine off and >battery voltage but <15.5 at 5000 RPM. It does say to measure the charging voltage with the headlight on HI beam, but you seem to be okay. Don't know about the fluctuations, but mine does something similar.

The fluctuation you see may also be an artifact of the sampling rate of the detector. The detector is taking instantaneous snapshots of the regulated output, where most meters may display a voltage averaged over time.

My escort 8500 reads a constant rock solid 14.5v at anything over 2k rpm.

What made me concern is that it doesn't fluctuate in my car. It stays steady on at whatever the voltage is but not on the bike.

A car's alternator runs at it's max at very low revs compared to the bike so it's going to stay steady at anything over a low speed. 13.2V showing on the car though shows it's not a very good gauge, as said 13.2 is just the maximum output of a fully charged 12v battery, it should read higher when the engine is running and power is being used. The bike alternator doesn't reach its maximum output until 5,000rpm and will then fluctuate depending on the load it's coping with, your bike readings are really pretty much spot on.

mine's rock solid at 14.4 or 14.3 depending on whether I have my brights and heated grips on or not, at 4500rpm on the highway... if you're at steady state cruise, IMO, the voltage shouldn't fluctuate like that...

Mike

If you are truly concerned, put a REAL multimeter (volt meter) on the battery leads and see what you've got, not some voltage readout that was an afterthought installed in a radar detector.

I did comparision check it with a digital Fluke. Detector's voltage appears about 0.3-0.4V higher than what voltmeter shows but still fluctuating.
Overall, I was more concerned with the "high" voltage but it sounds like I don't need to worry 'bout it. She's going to be four years old on the road; I've got to have something to worry about, ehh? Thanks for the input.