I have a V1 and love it a lot. It does detect laser; however you cannot beat the speed of light. If it detects it and it's valid, it's just telling you that you got a ticket. It has a front and rear laser sensor that must have a clear line of sight to the laser.
There is a solution that is not legal in some states... Laser Jammers. Those systems will send out a randomizing signal once they detect a laser attack. For those that are in illegal states, there are models that will jam the first few pulses than shut itself down so as not to be detected by LEO. Bikes are hard to hit with a laser, so a few invalid readings are usually normal (not so with cars... sry).
That said, in the time I have owned my V1, it has saved me at least 25 tickets. What I like about it is that it points out where the signals are coming from as well as how many signals I am being hit with and the most dangerous band. A normal detector just tells you the strength of the signal and the most dangerous band; some even emit signals. Also the V1 has a lot of aftermarket support, such as modules to put warning flashers in your helmet, or on your dash.
The unfortunates.... It's all red lights.. At night it's very clear and not blinding, but in bright light it's often hard to determine what band I am being hit with. It's not water proof or resistant. It's a little difficult to mount (perhaps they all are...). I used an industrial strength velcro. On hot days, if I am not careful, I can peal the serial number sticker off when I rip it off the bike. If the serial sticker is removed, you invalidate a lot of warranty stuff.
I have been using it in my cager and my on my Ex (K1200GT). I have not found a way to mount it on my C-14 ... yet.
There is another device that rated similar to the V1 in performance that has my attention. It's built by Escort (there is another by cobra that was not rated well) that has almost no display on the device, but transmits to smartphones. It displays the locations of the signals on the devices GPS map as well as shares the signal information over an internet connection to a social networking site (paid subscription) and displays your signal hit to other members. This would be able to point out that laser cop from someone else's hit. It also remembers the false hits, so Safeway's mechanical doors will only register once or twice and then it would discount it as a false signal.
I hope this helps. there a re a few websites dedicated to this. I'd suggest reading up some before investing. I love my V1 but I am very intrigued about the Escort.
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