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Scared of losing your key fob?
- Thread starter Mark H
- Start date
beemermyke
New member
And back to the FOB... my friend and I tested two 2016 models, a R1200RT and a R1200GSA. I rode the RT first, and the key fob was on the bike in the compartment on the gas tank. My friend had the key FOB to the GS in his pocket. When we swapped bikes and he pulled away from me on the RT, we both soon realized that the little key icon I was seeing on the GS was because the FOB was out of range. When I picked up my GSA last week, the salesman told me that the extra "wallet" key has a chip in it. You wave it in the vicinity of the (insert area here, I forgot!) and it will activate the start system for 30 seconds so you can start it. Not too sure of the advantages of a keyless ignition, if any...
Ahem......it seems around here the cars with the keyless- push button on dash start feature are being left running
Really kinda a problem when the owner pulls into the garage and goes to the bedroom over the garage for s nap
OM
Is it your goal to make those of us who like keyless rethink or regret having it? This sounds like a dig from me but it's not. I'm just curious about what this back and forth is about. You can lose regular keys, you can leave home without your car with the key in your pocket leaving someone stranded, a keyed ignition can fail, and on and on. The most valid thing is the possibilty of leaving the car running. To say it's a beautiful g problem is a huge, IMO overstatement. That can he fixed if customers or more likely the govt. mandates it. No one made me buy cars or motorcycles that use keyless, but I like them and they will buy more. They'll soon be biometric with time/location based/remote access granting. Dig it!
Nope. Having or not having makes no difference to me.
I do find the "full circle" that starting a car from a push button the dash interesting
I wonder if the start pedal will make a come back? Maybe a way to "retard" the spark as well
. 
So no dig intended.
OM
I do find the "full circle" that starting a car from a push button the dash interesting
I wonder if the start pedal will make a come back? Maybe a way to "retard" the spark as well
. So no dig intended.
OM
Nope. Having or not having makes no difference to me.
I do find the "full circle" that starting a car from a push button the dash interesting
I wonder if the start pedal will make a come back? Maybe a way to "retard" the spark as well
So no dig intended.
OM
I hear you now. It is intersting in that aspect
We currently have no keyless bikes or cars, but know the next addition most likely will regardless of my personal preference. Have friends and family that do...one has left a Prius running more than once.
No dig and zero dogs in the hunt. My thoughts are that yes, it is becoming more common to have such options. Keys and fobs can and will be lost...BTDT.
A car and motorcycles location of ignition switches and running environments are a bit different. What is cool school in a cage sometimes doesn't immediately pan out on a motorcycle the first go round.
Will the fob survive me leaving it in a pocket of whatever I jump/fall in the river wearing?
Will the fob act up like the ring antennae we dealt with a few years ago and cause a no start?
Time will tell if this is a good application on an outdoor piece of equipment.
I consider the older Airheads keyless since I have yet to remove one from the headlight bucket
Fob away
No dig and zero dogs in the hunt. My thoughts are that yes, it is becoming more common to have such options. Keys and fobs can and will be lost...BTDT.
A car and motorcycles location of ignition switches and running environments are a bit different. What is cool school in a cage sometimes doesn't immediately pan out on a motorcycle the first go round.
Will the fob survive me leaving it in a pocket of whatever I jump/fall in the river wearing?
Will the fob act up like the ring antennae we dealt with a few years ago and cause a no start?
Time will tell if this is a good application on an outdoor piece of equipment.
I consider the older Airheads keyless since I have yet to remove one from the headlight bucket
Fob away
Anyname
Active member
And then there is the keyless hack that car thieves have come up with. You can find instructions on the net (so they say) that allow a reasonably clever person to make a amplifying relay device for the wireless key fob. The vehicle is parked out of range of the fob, but the device amplifies the signal so that the car unlocks and can be driven away. At least one tech writer is hiding their keys in the fridge at night to block the signal.
http://www.wired.com/2015/08/hackers-tiny-device-unlocks-cars-opens-garages/
http://www.wired.com/2015/08/hackers-tiny-device-unlocks-cars-opens-garages/
BMW Triumphant
Ed Kilner #176066
I could imagine a 3 day ride with a pair of GS's in a place where there was no place to buy a coin style battery, but Harleys? LOL!
And, if the riders could not think of buying a battery somewhere on their journey, could they actually think of carrying a spare? Or, remember where they put it?
pglaves
#13338
This was aimed at me because I made a snide comment about technology. (See post 5 and then post 6) The clear implication was that I was: "Late Majority are typically skeptical about an innovation, have below average social status, little financial liquidity, in contact with others in late majority and early majority and little opinion leadership", or that I was; "These individuals typically have an aversion to change-agents. Laggards typically tend to be focused on "traditions", lowest social status, lowest financial liquidity, oldest among adopters, and in contact with only family and close friends."
I laughed it off as nonsense because the descriptors are at least 99% wrong, but the barb was deliberate, aimed, and intended - a personal attack in sheep's clothing. Oh well. That's the internet of anonymous posters.
I laughed it off as nonsense because the descriptors are at least 99% wrong, but the barb was deliberate, aimed, and intended - a personal attack in sheep's clothing. Oh well. That's the internet of anonymous posters.
Here's an only slightly off topic swing from the OP
And thanks to Paul G for locating my dropped key many years back at the Sipapu NM Rally
Had wandered the grounds frantically retracing steps several times, looked all thru tankbag and jacket, went to lost & found , as I had not put a spare on this particular bike for some reason.
Paul calmly walked up to bike, looked down at GS pegs where the old school-dumb- non electronic type fob was lodged with key looking at the ground. Picked it up and handed it to me.
Have never said anything to my riding partner regarding missing keys since.
Will be a late adopter as wasn't a fan of the EWS antennae when it failed on my RT either. Just how I roll.
I did finally get a smarter than me phone two years ago.
And thanks to Paul G for locating my dropped key many years back at the Sipapu NM Rally
Had wandered the grounds frantically retracing steps several times, looked all thru tankbag and jacket, went to lost & found , as I had not put a spare on this particular bike for some reason.
Paul calmly walked up to bike, looked down at GS pegs where the old school-dumb- non electronic type fob was lodged with key looking at the ground. Picked it up and handed it to me.
Have never said anything to my riding partner regarding missing keys since.
Will be a late adopter as wasn't a fan of the EWS antennae when it failed on my RT either. Just how I roll.
I did finally get a smarter than me phone two years ago.
lee
Debbie's Servant
I would like Keyless on our next car, but with all the riders that were stranded because of the EWS thing, keyless on the bike makes me a little nervous.
If we had ordered our bikes, I would have tried to leave that option off. Since I wanted all the other options I wonder if it would cost more to leave that one option off??
A keyless advantage
I love keyless on my '16 RT for all the aforementioned reasons, plus one: in my 52 years of motorcycling, I would quite often don my helmet, pull on my gauntlets, and then realize that the key was in my pocket. That was long before creeping senility. Now, I've caught myself putting on gloves, grabbing the grips, and stopping to ask myself: "Wait! Is the key in the ignition?"
I love keyless on my '16 RT for all the aforementioned reasons, plus one: in my 52 years of motorcycling, I would quite often don my helmet, pull on my gauntlets, and then realize that the key was in my pocket. That was long before creeping senility. Now, I've caught myself putting on gloves, grabbing the grips, and stopping to ask myself: "Wait! Is the key in the ignition?"
Rinty
New member
Just a few observations
1. Several years ago a cellist friend had his car stolen while we were playing a symphony concert. He had left his keys in the green room, a door which should have been locked wasn't, and the thief stole then wrecked his car. If his car keys had been the old fashioned kind, the thief would have had a huge problem with several hundred cars in the parking lot. But his job was simple: push the "unlock" button and see which car flashes the brake lights. Away he went. (Yes, I can see the advantage for owners who forgot where they parked their car.)
2. Many years ago the keyfob for my 2002 Subaru Outback stopped working - and it wasn't just a dead battery. For several hundred dollars I could have it replaced. No thanks. To unlock the driver's door I now use an old fashioned key. To unlock all the other doors I pull a tab. To lock all the doors I simply push that tab, and make damn sure the keys are in my pocket before I shut the door.
3. Our 2012 VW Passat has a keyfob with so many features (not only remote locking/unlocking but also remote starting) and we never use any of them. What we actually like is that you can lock the car just by pressing a point on either the driver or passenger door handle, and unlock all doors by touching the inside of either handle. Of course the key has to be in range. What bothers me is what to do when the battery in that keyfob dies. I know there is a method, I know it is complicated, I know it is clearly explained in the owner's manual, and I know that owner's manual is now securely locked away inside the car.
I think what we are getting is expensive solutions to real problems which can create even more problems. On my old bike I've wired keys for both the ignition and bags to a place which I think a thief might find hard to find. Hey, I might find them hard to find. But I would eventually if I somehow lost the main keys. And I better get out the owner's manual and actually practice unlocking the VW when that little battery dies.
1. Several years ago a cellist friend had his car stolen while we were playing a symphony concert. He had left his keys in the green room, a door which should have been locked wasn't, and the thief stole then wrecked his car. If his car keys had been the old fashioned kind, the thief would have had a huge problem with several hundred cars in the parking lot. But his job was simple: push the "unlock" button and see which car flashes the brake lights. Away he went. (Yes, I can see the advantage for owners who forgot where they parked their car.)
2. Many years ago the keyfob for my 2002 Subaru Outback stopped working - and it wasn't just a dead battery. For several hundred dollars I could have it replaced. No thanks. To unlock the driver's door I now use an old fashioned key. To unlock all the other doors I pull a tab. To lock all the doors I simply push that tab, and make damn sure the keys are in my pocket before I shut the door.
3. Our 2012 VW Passat has a keyfob with so many features (not only remote locking/unlocking but also remote starting) and we never use any of them. What we actually like is that you can lock the car just by pressing a point on either the driver or passenger door handle, and unlock all doors by touching the inside of either handle. Of course the key has to be in range. What bothers me is what to do when the battery in that keyfob dies. I know there is a method, I know it is complicated, I know it is clearly explained in the owner's manual, and I know that owner's manual is now securely locked away inside the car.
I think what we are getting is expensive solutions to real problems which can create even more problems. On my old bike I've wired keys for both the ignition and bags to a place which I think a thief might find hard to find. Hey, I might find them hard to find. But I would eventually if I somehow lost the main keys. And I better get out the owner's manual and actually practice unlocking the VW when that little battery dies.
lkraus
New member
You say "OK. Google. 2012 passat key fob battery replacement." Then watch your phone play one of the three videos, or read the other instructions and owner's forum tips on how to change the battery. Except you will probably notice the reduced range of the fob before it dies completely. Or you will spend a buck on a battery now and not worry about it for another five years.
It's all manageable.
Watch my phone? My only phone is a land line and there ain't much to watch. Since we don't use the lock/unlock buttons on the fob because the buttons on the door handles work so well, we probably wouldn't notice a dying battery. Your last suggestion is just splendid - replace the batteries in those two keys (now about 5 years old) before they fail. Thank you for some great advice that even I can understand! (Will let you all know if the cost is really a buck per battery.)
lkraus
New member
Those rotary dials are kinda fun as they spin back, especially the 9's and 0's.
Price depends on quantity, you can easily get them for less than $1 each. Four can cost less than two. Extras will keep, I have some that still test good after six years. The CR2032 battery is also a pretty common size for other devices, like garage door openers.
