Tire Pressure Monitoring System?

[headshrink]

I was wondering if anyone has experience with a TPMS on their motorcycle.
I have been doing some searches and looking at different products, but haven't seen much discussion from people who have used them on their bikes.... Ideally I would like a system that displays live [accurate] psi readings of both F & R tire. This not only seems like it would be a good safety device, but would also be nice to eliminate manual checks before my work commute.

Anyone here use one?

[kkim]

why on earth would you want one? I have them on several of my cars and they are a royal PITA!!

Get used to doing a precheck of your bike before every ride and eliminate that TPMS headache.

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by kkim

why on earth would you want one? I have them on several of my cars and they are a royal PITA!!

Get used to doing a precheck of your bike before every ride and eliminate that TPMS headache.

Other than the perceived saftey and convienance factor, it sounded like a cool Farkle.

I have no experience with them on bikes, and have never had a car with one wither, so... I didn't know they can be a PITA. How are they a pain?

[kkim]

if you don't keep the pressures within a specified range, they light up. they are not all that accurate, so even if you are at the lower limits, it shows you have a low pressure problem.

the sensors into each wheel tie into a computer by RF. if you decide to use other wheels, the computer sees no sensors and lights up your warning light. if you decide to add sensors to the wheels that have none, you must have the new sensors programmed to the computer only at a authorized dealer. It is not a free service.

the sensors are attached to the stems. if you change stems, you need to change the entire sensor. every time you remove a stem, you need to use a new O ring.

it goes on and on... for something that every person that uses a car or bike should be doing anyway... checking the air pressures in their tires, this is just one more "safety feature" being mandated to everyone because a few are too stupid to do a simple tire pressure check on their own and in the process causing more problems than it's worth and making working on your own vehicle even more difficult to the benefit of the dealers.

[Alex]

I'd like them as a factory option, and have gotten good use out of them in cars. 2 days ago my wife called that a warning light was popping up on her dash as soon as she left the driveway, and after describing the light I was pretty sure it was the TPMS. Sure enough, there was a nail in her tire and the PSI was down to 20. Wouldn't have been visible from a cursory check, and wouldn't have made itself known until there was some type of pulling or noise to alert her while she was driving along. Tire fixed, TPMS light goes out, all is well. I see their value.

But some of the aftermarket ones, especially the cheaper ones, aren't as great a solution. In a way, they make it more likely that you'll lose tire pressure, but they are there to warn you if they do. For them to measure pressure from the valve stem cap, they need to depress the shrader valve at all times, and then the cap itself becomes the only thing holding in the air pressure in the tire. You've gone from a two-pronged system (shrader valve + tire cap) to a single-failure system (tire cap alone).

You can get one stock on the new Kawi Concours, and I believe on a number of BMW's as well, that don't rely on a tire cap system, but instead have a pressure sensor deeper in the wheel rim. If it's an option on my next bike, I'll likely spring for the option in that case.

[headshrink]

I guess my money would be better spent on other mods.

[Hedge36]

BMW had it as option but ran into some issues... yet another solution in search of a problem, if you ask me. Assuming you're checking your tires cold and can feel if one starts running low while going down the road, the idea of constantly eyeballing the display on the dash while the heat builds and dissipates just doesn't appeal to me.

There are aftermarket transducers that clamp around the inner rim passage. The tire guys hate 'em.

[addy126]

What about these little Tire Pressure(green-good, yellow-low, red-watch out) caps you put on the "stems". Anybody use those for a quick looksey before one rides off? Accupressure Safety Caps.

[Hedge36]

Originally Posted by addy126

What about these little Tire Pressure(green-good, yellow-low, red-watch out) caps you put on the "stems". Anybody use those for a quick looksey before one rides off? Accupressure Safety Caps.

I tried those once. One leaked. Apparently that's not an uncommon occurrence.

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by Hedge36

yet another solution in search of a problem, if you ask me.

I like that... think I'll use it.

[Cedilla]

I work at a tire shop, so I have a fair amount of experience with TPMS. The only reason every car and light truck sold in the US since Sep 08 is equipped with it, is because of federal regulation, not because they are practical, or people want them.

I would say for every TPMS vehicle that enters a shop with the warning light on that actually has a low tire, a vehicle comes in with a malfunctioning system.

I Think it is great that the technology is out there for those who want to use it, but I don't think it is enough of a safety issue for the government to force regulation (Which was just an overreaction to a semi-isolated incident anyways). As for myself I don't really care for it, as I check my tire pressure semi often, and I know exactly how my car handles when the tires have lost a little pressure.

[bob706]

Link to original page on YouTube.

pretty neat tool. may pick one up

[Alex]

That's one of the ones I'm skeptical about. Neat technology, but it depresses the shrader valve and becomes the single point of failure for the tire losing pressure. If it leaks out in the middle of nowhere, I don't really care that it's telling me the pressure is low. I care that because of it the pressure became low.

[bob706]

plus it's $160