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Best Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitor?

rkildu

New member
Is anyone running an aftermarket tire pressure monitor?

I have been searching the web and there are about three that look promising. I want something that will give me information close to real time while riding.

If so, what brand and how well does it work.

Thanks
Rod
 
Tire pessure monitor

I am running with an older model Smart Tire monitoring system. The company is no longer selling motorcycle systems but you can still find them. I have a 2004 R1150R and the system runs a metal band around the inside of the wheel which holds a sealed battery pressure monitor. The battery is not replaceable and is suppose to have a 5 year life but mine is still working and it has been 10 years since I bought it. There is a gauge that is wired to the battery to monitor front and rear tire pressures that you can place on your handle bars or somewhere else that you may choose.. JVB Productions makes a CD on installing one and I believe Paul Glaves is running with the same system on his R bike.
 
Bump

Come on folks, surely there are some of you running aftermarket tire pressure monitors!!

Running the OEM unit. Don't like it.

Too many 'false positives' that are both irritating and visually distracting. Have run into many riders (both OEM and aftermarket) who raise similar complaints.

While the automotive industry seems to have dialed this in correctly, current motorcycle technology (with tires that heat up more dynamically) lacks credibility.

Check your pressures with a quality hand-held gauge whenever you deem appropriate. :nono
 
Running the OEM unit. Don't like it.

Too many 'false positives' that are both irritating and visually distracting. Have run into many riders (both OEM and aftermarket) who raise similar complaints.

While the automotive industry seems to have dialed this in correctly, current motorcycle technology (with tires that heat up more dynamically) lacks credibility.

Check your pressures with a quality hand-held gauge whenever you deem appropriate. :nono



I completely agree. Is it really that much trouble to get a good air pressure gage and check it the old fashioned way?
 
Tpms

I use one from HCI purchase via amazon. Currently this item shows unavailable so perhaps they stopped making them.

My bike always has two gauges - one analog, one digital. But I lost a front tube on the highway and would have appreciated some warning. This device has a light and sound that alert you should your tire pressure go above/below a set limit or if the temperature moves beyond a range you set. I've found it very accurate (have checked it with other gauges multiple times and once each month) and simple to use.

The sensors mount on the valve stems (steel recommended as some rubber could fatigue), and have batteries which may be replaced. The readout is rechargeable battery powered, or can be powered off the bike. NOT water proof, but does dry out and work again (6 hour ride in heavy rain).

tpms copy.jpg
 
Thanks for the input guys.

I too had a blowout at speed caused by low tire pressure from a puncture and the tire jumped off of the bead. Went down hard, totaled the bike. Fortunately, no I was deliberately, in ATGAT mode, I walked away with bruises. It's real hard to check your tire pressure while rolling with a pencil gauge! That's the reason for my interest. I have looked all over the web for information and reviews. The best thing that I have found so far is this:

http://www.ironbutt.com/ibmagazine/IBMag4-p76-83.pdf

It is dated 2010. There is at least one of the reviewed units no longer available and at least two of the reviewed units have had major updates, too. There are also some newly released units and I was hoping for more information on them.

I figure even if the thing sends out false signals it will at least make you stop and verify.

Rod
 
I completely agree. Is it really that much trouble to get a good air pressure gage and check it the old fashioned way?

No, but that begs the question. The value of a TPMS is the alarm function that goes off in real time once pressure drops a few PSI giving the rider the opportunity to find a safe place to get off the road before handling is impaired at all. On two occasions I picked up a nail and got an alarm. In both cases I was at a shady spot by a convenience store with air within a mile or so of the alarm.

I too have a Smartire system on my R1100. Voni has the OEM setup on her F800. Both have worked flawlessly. No false positives, and they alarm when they are supposed to.
 
Doran Mfg TPMS

I had the Doran system installed on my sidecar rig a few years back. They started making the sensors for the trucking industry I believe. Now they sell kits for motorcycles, trikes, etc. The sensor can be installed internal to the tire or at the end of the valve stem. Mine are internal. Battery is not replaceable and my first set lasted about three years. $25 for replacements when they need replacing. Look them up on the interwebs...

http://www.doranmfg.com/motorcycle-tire-pressure-monitoring-systems.htm
 
I am reviving this thread so I can report progress.

After much research and finding little I have purchased a "Tire Watch System". It is made in Europe and the company makes the sensors for the BMW OEM System, or so I have been told. It only available through "Murph's Kits", which could be a problem.

www.tire-watch.com

www.murphskits.com

The system consists of internally mounted battery powered pressure sensors, one in each wheel and battery powered display unit. The display unit battery is replaceable but the wheel sensors are not. I'm not happy about that, but I did not want one of those tire stem mounted units.

Anyway, I just got the wheel sensors installed today. I have to take it out on a short ride for the wheel sensors to sync with the display and I have to program my preferences in the unit. Hopefully tomorrow?

I will report back on that process and my impressions,

Rod
 
The value of a TPMS is the alarm function that goes off in real time once pressure drops a few PSI giving the rider the opportunity to find a safe place to get off the road before handling is impaired at all. .

I became a believer of TPM in 2007. Debbie and I were following a rider on 385 South of Marathon Texas and shortly after passing the border patrol station he pulled over to the shoulder. When I asked what was wrong, he said the TPM was showing he was loosing air. I don't remember the temp. but it was between hot and stinking hot, so I suggested we go back and get in the shade of the border patrol station canopy before the tire was completely flat. The border patrol was very nice and told us to pull over by the tables where we would have plenty of room to work in the shade.
Sure was nice working in the shade instead of the road shoulder with cars blowing by at 80 MPH.
For me TPM is not for checking tire pressure, it's for catching an air lose as soon as possible.

Picture_023.jpg



Picture_025.jpg
 
I agree with Lee. See my post #8 above. TPMS is not about checking pressures at home or when parked. It is all about real-time monitoring of pressures and providing an alarm signal as needed, riding down the road.
 
I'd have been saved considerable trouble twice in the past year alone had I had pressure monitoring. Looking at this as well. I want to know if I'm seconds or minutes away from catastrophe or inconvenience in mid-flight. As it is, i get a reading before I take off and hope for the best. The Doran looks great, and at a good price.
 
A friend and I stopped in a Vermont town to stretch our legs and check out the local flea market before getting back on the bikes and heading into the countryside. He got about two blocks on his R1200RT and pulled over. His tire monitoring system alerted him to a problem with the rear tire. We rode back one block to the Shell station, where we checked the tire (sharp stone puncture :banghead) and asked the store clerks where to find a bike shop, open, on a Saturday afternoon. We made a call to a nearby Suzuki shop, put in additional air, rode to where a tire was waiting to be installed. :dance

That was certainly better :thumb than discovering twenty minutes later (with possibly much drama), out on the back roads that there was a problem, with no one around to ask for information on where to go for a replacement tire.

I haven't installed a system on my bikes, but I that is a item that I will be considering.
 
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I have the monitor system mounted and initialized. Here is a shot of my mounting on an R1150RT:

Img_0677c.jpg

I rode it less than a quarter mile and it picked up my front and rear sensors. I had to set it to PSI rather than BAR, set my low and high pressure trigger values and the time. I stumbled through the settings step but finally got it. The directions are a bit cryptic. You can notice the outside temp display on the lower right. I need to change that to F. There is another display that shows only tire temperature but I haven't gotten there yet. The white dot top center is the LED warning light. I managed to light it up trying to set the pressure limit the first try.

The dashes show up where the pressures are, since the wheels were not turning when I took the picture it doesn't show. It picks it very quickly though.

Well that's my very short experience so far. I think I will like this and will post back periodically.

Thanks for the interest,
Rod
 
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I have to post one correction, it turns out that the units of temperature , currently degrees C, cannot be changed. There is no menu option. I guess I have to start thinking metric there.

Rod
 
Update:

I took about a 50 mile test ride today, the snow finally melted. This thing is working great. It was interesting watching the tire pressure increase as the tires warmed up as well as being able to monitor actual tire temperature.

Rod
 
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