TPS, a good idea?

[RPG]

A few weeks ago I attended a seminar at the local dealer where a Michigan State Police Officer gave a talk on riding, etc.

 

He was fascinating to listen to, and most of us came away with a new appreciation for how they serve us every day and the crap they deal with, everyone telling them how to do their job.

 

One of the things that stood out was his admiration for the new RT (many State Troopers are now on them) and in particular, the tire pressure monitoring system, available with the bike.

 

I know there are after market units out there that can be installed on my 2004RT, so was wondering if anyone has done so.

 

thanks,

 

RPG

[temesvar]

My new to me bike came with it. At first I didn't think much of it.

Recently changed tire, but being cold, never took it out for a ride. Finally a nice sunny day, so planed to spend a few hours on the road.

Before the first block, the light came on! So i turned back. The pressure was 14psi, not a good pressure to ride on a brand new tire, on a cold day.

So yes, i think is a good idea to have it. Am sure that aftermarket works just as good.

[RockBottom]

I'm convinced it saved my skin. I was on a route I ride several times a week and was just getting ready to barrel down from a mountain. The TPS red light came on and when I flipped to that display, I was losing a lb every 20 second or so. Without the TPS, the first I noticed might have been when I leaned hard into a curve.

[elkroeger]

There has been several times where I go check my tires and find one or both are low. Sometimes, a little too low for comfort. I could see it being really helpful when you get a nail and develop a leak. It's liable to give you time to get off the road and get it stopped before things go to hell.... but I've never owned a vehicle with it, so I'm just speculating...

[Tri750]

There's a simple system branded by "Show Chrome" that I've sold over the years. It works very well and is very easy to operate.

It sets a warning if tire pressure is too low or too high and if tire temp rises too high.

You can adjust the parameters for your bike.

One customer said they felt the vibrate warning in his pocket , not knowing what It was then when he stopped to check, it was the warning alarm. It had been many months since install so he had pretty much forgotten the presence of the fob on his key ring. Sure enough, a nail.

The other guy had the fob on his dash and sure enough, it started going crazy and he also found a nail .

 

We had owned our new to us GMC Yukon for about a year when we got a warning about a low left rear tire, I had no clue a 2005 even had the system.

It was a small staple that I removed and plugged with my Plug N Go kit that I have in both 4 wheeled vehicles plus the one on my RT.

 

I like them.

 

 

 

[Bernie]

I believe it is a important safety item, like good tires or extra lights.

I replaced my old Zumo with the new 590LM, because it has the option of TPMS sensors.

Two weeks ago I thought I ran over a small rock or a pebble in a curve and was a little surprised to not have seen it.

As I glanced down on the GPS screen to check the tire air pressure, I noticed that it was a little low.

A mile or so later it had lost 4 psi and the alarm went off, sending a alert to the headset and to the screen.

I pulled over, parked the bike on the center stand and removed a retaining pin, about 1/4" thick from the rear tire. Then plugged the hole and pumped up the tire and was on my way.

The good thing is that besides seeing the immediate loss in air pressure and being able to get the rear wheel of the ground, before it broke the bead, I was also able to monitor the tire pressure the rest of the trip to make sure the repair was holding.

The TPMS are a good safety feature and provide peace of mind, especially when riding back roads.

[RPG]

Has anyone have any experience with this brand?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Steelmate%C2%AE-Motorcycle-Pressure-Monitoring-Waterproof/dp/B01AVWKJ34/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1455580604&sr=8-14&keywords=steelmate+tire+pressure

 

thanks,

 

RPG

[dirtrider]

Morning Rick

 

With your past Deer experience you might be better off spending your money on a DPS (Deer Positioning System).

 

 

[RPG]

Morning Rick

 

With your past Deer experience you might be better off spending your money on a DPS (Deer Positioning System).

 

D.R.,

 

you and my wife think alike....

 

RPG

[RPG]

It appears there are several systems on the market that would work. FOBO looks interesting as it's Bluetooth compatible and communicates to a SmartPhone.

 

I use my Smartphone for the Waze application so this has my interest except it appears that unless the FOBO app is open, alarms are not activated.

 

Another thing I'm wondering about is how the alarms work. With a full face helmet and ear plugs, I'm not going to hear anything unless it comes through the speakers in my helmet (via Sena).

 

Interesting possibilities for sure. The deer I can't control, but maybe I can get one of these to eliminate the worry of sudden tire pressure loss.

 

thanks,

 

RPG

[ESokoloff]

Just under 1.5 years & 20k miles ago, I installed this system on my 03 RT.

Initially I installed them on the outside of the rim but moved them inside on the next tire change(s).

I fabricated a thin alum plate to allow mounting via the handlebar mount (sandwiched).

I think I even installed a dummy spacer on the other handlebar mount just to even things out.

 

So far so good. I have lost the signal from the rear senser a few times while parked in the garage over night or a few days of not being used.

Likely the tire was rotated/oriented in a bad location for reception & perhaps the battery was a bit drained which taxed the receiver.

I wired it up so it has power unless I rotate the key past the OFF position so it monitors/registers real time.

If power is killed to it, it takes 5+ min. to wake up so keeping it powered works best for me ( bike get ridden nearly every day so battery drain from unit is not a concern).

 

The only thing I don't like about it is the fact that the senser battery's are NOT replaceable.

Not sure what replacement senser cost is.

[Chilly_Willy]

I am leery of the ones on Amazon. I'm not sure about that one in particular, but when I was looking at them a few months back for my car, the "reviews" were pretty suspicious. Every one of the ones I was looking at had same 24 reviews, and the reviews looked off to me.

All the new reviews since I looked the first time have something less than complimentary to say about them. I suspect they are mostly cheap Chinese garbage. Finding the good system among the forest of options will be difficult. If you succeed, let us know!