EZPass on an R1250RS

[mneblett]

R1250RS owners know there isn't much space around the front of the bike to place an EZPass in a secure manner so someone doesn't walk off with it.

My state (Virginia) issues smaller motorcycle-specific EZPass units. I found an unoccupied hidden crevice between the fairing plastic and the dashboard. The pass is easily "seen" in this location by overhead toll sensors, as there is only RF-transparent plastic above the pass.

I secured the pass 3 ways: (i) Velcro with adhesive backing, (ii) tenacious 3M body trim tape, and (iii) the surrounding structure (i.e., even if the pass came loose, the dash bracket and fairing bits do not leave the pass with much room to move). Between the Velcro and the 3M tape, and with the benefit of prior experience hiding EZPass units on LTs, RTs and GTLs, I believe this EZPass is sufficiently secured.

HTH someone!

 

[BC1100S]

You should petition your state to adopt more modern technology. Current EZpasses (in use for a little over 10 years) are about the size of a 3" bandaid which are self-taped to your windshield. Removable as necessary.

 

[CaptCF]

Do you regularly ride roads that toll bikes? If not, you don't need an EZPass on your bikes if you just add your bikes and the plates to your existing EZPass account. The cameras will ignore you and you won't get toll violations. I regularly ride 66 inside the beltway, 66 express lanes, etc. and never have an issue. When they first rolled out the inside the beltway stuff I got a couple "missed toll" letters in the mail so I called and talked to them and they just said to add my bikes and plates to the account and their system would ignore me on roads that are free for bikes but charge cars. No problems since then and that was years ago. That said, if you use roads that charge for bikes AND cars throw all that out the window since you will need an EZPass. I don't ride those roads so not having one works for me.

 

[kbasa]

Here in California, at least in the Bay Area, I don't really have to bother with a transponder. Tolls are mostly automated, so they use a plate reader and bill my account.

We have 8 registered vehicles and don't carry transponders at all. Is that available where the OP lives?

Might be a lot easier than trying to bolt more stuff onto your bike.

 

[CaptCF]

Here in California, at least in the Bay Area, I don't really have to bother with a transponder. Tolls are mostly automated, so they use a plate reader and bill my account.

We have 8 registered vehicles and don't carry transponders at all. Is that available where the OP lives?

Might be a lot easier than trying to bolt more stuff onto your bike.

I'm in VA too and, unfortunately, unless something has changed very recently you still need transponders. We have them in all our 4 wheeled vehicles. They have the plate photo/scanning technology since they had very clear images of my bike plates on the notice of missed toll letters they sent me in the mail and they obviously looked that up in a DMV database or some other source to lookup the owner information so they could mail me the notice since at the time I did not have my bike plates listed on my EZPass account. We have the technology....

They just like selling us transponders I guess.

What we do have are a mix of roads that are free for bikes and charge for cars. Stuff like express lanes with higher speed limits, high occupancy HOV/HOT lanes, etc. On those you do NOT need a transponder as long as you add your bike plates into your EZPass account. There is a field that flags the vehicle with that plate as a motorcycle and they will exclude it from the missed toll/tolling process. I was getting hit with missed tolls before I added my bikes to the account so apparently although they can look up info from the DMV (or whatever source they use) they don't bother to return whether or not the plate is a motorcycle so you have to add them directly to your EZPass account.

 

[ADulay]

WE have the same transponder here in Florida and I just stick it in the tour pack or if that's not on the bike, drop it in the tank bag and it's worked just fine.

Amazingly it also works when dropped into the side bags on top of something.

Also works when dropped into a shirt pocket.

AD

 

[rogerc60]

The Ohio Turnpike is slowly entering the 21st century. However, all of the toll booth lanes that accept both ticket and EZPass have gates that open only when the sensor detects the transponder or you take/pay the ticket. I also seem to recall that a few EZPass-only lanes have the gate. If you want to travel the Ohio Turnpike with EZPass, you really need to have a transponder.

 

[BadDog2020]

EZ Pass

I have carried my transponder in the tank bag on my GSA. I don’t regularly use toll roads, but I typically take it out and hold it in my hand as I pass. Seemed to work well on crossing Delaware Memorial, Gov. Nice, Bay Bridge etc, especially when not in stop and go traffic. Haven’t dropped it yet. Tried using Velcro on my LT years ago, but it popped off twice and that was it for me.

Now that toll booths are going away and being replaced with overhead sensors, I have missed a few and got a photo notice in the mail. One pic even showed me holding the device in my hand, but didn’t matter. Since EZPasss is an Eastern coast thing, will have to plot a route without tolls on my coast to coast trip next year.

 

[mneblett]

Welcome to Virginia -- one of the last states to repeal "blue laws" (no sales of most things on the sabbath). I was thrilled when they finally changed the full-size EZPass for motorcycles to the current one. By ~2050 we should have a modern toll system.

On the trunk/tankbag locations: Here in Virginia and in some places in northern states along I-95, I've had very mixed results with the pass in a trunk or a tank bag (i.e., anywhere but in the front of a bike). I've sometimes wondered whether the archaic Virginia system assumes you are a violator if your front end passes without a signal, and does not keep looking for a signal long enough for a pass in a trunk to be seen.

I do need a pass for traveling. I commuted daily into DC on I-66 inside the beltway for a few decades, both before and after EZPass became mandatory (I'm old enough that when I was in high school nearby, I-66 inside the beltway did not exist). I never needed an EZPass for that run. However, I recently retired and am looking forward to traveling more around the country.

I'm also the sort that can gar-un-tee that I would sometimes leave the pass behind ("nah, I'll just leave the tank bag on the shelf for this trip ..."). With it installed under the fairing, I'll never leave it behind, and I don't need to worry about theft.

This post was not an attempt to say that everyone needs to carry an EZPass. My only objective was to give folks with an RS an option *if* they live in a stone-age state and/or envision needing a pass during their travels. Those of you with better pass systems or no need to frequently carry a pass, feel free to ignore this thread if you prefer to do so.

 

[Omega Man]

I understood your post Mark…..and your reasoning. The topic of EZ-Pass has come up many times and seems to roll along as this time.
Good luck on retirement.
Good to see you on.
Gary

 

[mneblett]

I understood your post Mark…..and your reasoning. The topic of EZ-Pass has come up many times and seems to roll along as this time.
Good luck on retirement.
Good to see you on.
Gary

Thanks, Gary!

We sold most of our BMWs a couple years ago, so I didn't have much to contribute. I recently stumbled on a shockingly good deal on a 2023 R1250RS, so I'm back to create more havoc.

 

[wattster1]

Over the past several years I have used my EZPass all over the US on various tours and I've found the best place for the transponder is on the windscreen:



I've tried it in my tank bag and in the breast pocket of my jacket and neither of these locations worked reliably. The windscreen location is not secure, but I haven't had any problem remembering to remove it when I stop for the day. I can see that your concealed location is a great idea if you only use the transponder on your bike. I move mine around between several vehicles so I need it to be readily accessible.

 

[mneblett]

I move mine around between several vehicles so I need it to be readily accessible.

That makes perfect sense.

We have individual passes for our vehicles because I don't trust myself to remember to remove a pass when we stop, or to remember to put one back on or transfer it to another vehicle.

The memory cell count is decreasing at an alarming rate as the years pile on!

 

[Paul_F]

Over the past several years I have used my EZPass all over the US on various tours and I've found the best place for the transponder is on the windscreen:

View attachment 93841

I've tried it in my tank bag and in the breast pocket of my jacket and neither of these locations worked reliably. The windscreen location is not secure, but I haven't had any problem remembering to remove it.

Likewise, I have had no success with my Ohio transponder in my chest pocket nor the tank bag so I also resorted to the windshield.

 

[BC1100S]

A slight thread derail...

Hmm, it appears that toll roads are alive and well in many US states and the province of Ontario.

We had tolls on two new bridges in the Vancouver area until a change in government had them removed. At the time, that saved me about $100 a month. We also had a highway built through the mountains which was tolled. The government at the time promised that when the cost of the road was paid off, they'd remove the toll. Guess what, they actually kept their word! So, no tolls in British Columbia.

With the huge number of vehicles in the US, one would think that the gas taxes collected would be more than enough to cover road maintenance and construction.

 

[pglaves]

A slight thread derail...

We also had a highway built through the mountains which was tolled. The government at the time promised that when the cost of the road was paid off, they'd remove the toll. Guess what, they actually kept their word!

They said the same thing in Kansas when they built the Kansas Turnpike between metro Kansas City and Oklahoma. It was built 1954-1956. So now, almost 70 years later they still have the toll - needed for maintenance and administrative costs, or so they say.

 

[jandhumphreyme]

I mounted my EZ pass on the R1200r Parabellum windscreen with the supplied mounting velcro, and have never had an issue with it coming loose. That windscreen at highway speed vibrates like a screen door in a hurricane. On my 1250RT, I keep it in my tank bag map pocket. With both bikes I've registered my license plate numbers and traveling from Maine to Georgia numerous times and other parts west and back, never received any notices for failure to record/pay on recognized systems. Sometimes I remove it if I'm leaving the bike for long durations but bathroom stops I typically leave it attached and still have it. Your mileage may vary, but unless you've got issues with aesthetics, I'd mount it as simply and as accessible as possible.

 

[MichiganR80RT]

I put my iPass transponder inside the tail box lid near the front of the box. I used Scotch DuoLock to mount it so I could move it between bike and car. This has worked for me on the Illinois and New York toll roads. My thinking was that one layer of plastic in the box lid was about the same as one layer of plastic windscreen.

 

[BrianAMcPhail]

Also in Virginia. Government is stupid in general, but yes Virginia is a special kind of stupid with their vehicle laws.

2 license plates (on cars, not bikes- but they would if they could) No need for this.
Plates requiring 2 different stickers- gotta renew and apply a new year sticker (or 2 on cars) annually.
Annual inspection stickers- these are ridiculously large and require assembly (!)
I think they are all gone now, but used to have to get a county sticker too.
EZ passes are also just stupid big.

1 plate is plenty, and all of these stickers could be recorded digitally. But I digress....

I got one of these a while back. It looks nice enough, but like anything involving suction cups they work fine, until they don't. I had it mounted low on the RT's screen. But because I rarely take toll roads- I decided to carry it in the luggage after almost losing it (without warning lol)

 

[Omega Man]

Also in Virginia. Government is stupid in general, but yes Virginia is a special kind of stupid with their vehicle laws.

2 license plates (on cars, not bikes- but they would if they could) No need for this.
Plates requiring 2 different stickers- gotta renew and apply a new year sticker (or 2 on cars) annually.
Annual inspection stickers- these are ridiculously large and require assembly (!)
I think they are all gone now, but used to have to get a county sticker too.
EZ passes are also just stupid big.

Revenue enhancement.

The may have patterned that plan after Taxachusetts?

OM