FOBO TPMS saved my a**

[Birdman2010]

I took a ride from Phoenix, AZ to Perris, CA (family) and then out to Mailbu, CA. On my way back home, I got a ticket for going 89 mph on the 70 mph limit freeway. Why didn't I use my cruise control???? Don't know. I'll do traffic school and use cruise control religiously for the next two years since you can only do traffic school once every two years.

As if the ticket wasn't bad enough, my phone made a loud alarm sound after a few minutes of riding again. Nothing was showing on my phone so I clicked on the FOBO icon to bring up the interface. The tire pressure was going down. When I pulled over to get the ticket, there must have been a nail on the side of the road. I watched the pressure carefully and I got off after a few exits where I saw a truck stop. My pressure was down to 33 psi. I kicked the bike up on the centerstand and spun the back tire. Sure enough, there was a nail! I bought needle nose pliers from the truck stop, which I will now keep on the bike. I pulled out the nail and used a tire patch kit that I keep on the bike. The patch only held up for 50 miles and then it started leaking air!!! Dammit!!!! The "Dynaplug Carbon Ultralite" is a piece of sh*t and I will never buy it again. Thank God that I was watching my FOBO interface as I watched the air pressure start to go down again after using the Dynaplug. I pulled over at the next truck stop. I purchased a car tire repair kit -- "RoadPro model RP019". The RoadPro included a rasp tool, insertion tool, rubber sticks, and tire glue. I fixed the hole with this kit. I let the glue dry for 30 minutes or so. Then, I went home -- over 200 miles. I kept my eye on the FOBO tire pressure the entire time. The RoadPro kit worked perfectly. When I got home, my wife was waiting up for me. I am lucky to have her.

I was upset about the ticket and the flat tire on top of it! However, it could have been a lot worse. My buddy had a flat tire on his BMW when we were were out for a ride. When he pulled over, most of the air was out of the tire and the tire had separated from the rim. His tire repair kit was useless since the tire bead was off the rim. I took him to the nearest small town and we waited almost two hours for a tow truck. I am very sold on tire pressure monitoring systems now and I will always have one on any bike that I ride for long distances. The FOBO system was a great deal as part of our group buy -- $95 for the two caps and the T-Values. This is the best money that I have spent on my bike, and I like my Farkles! If you are interested in the group buy, you can read more about it here: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/170542-fobo-tpms-tire-pressure-monitoring-system-group-buy/

Now I just have to figure out how to sign up for an online traffic school so this ticket does not hit my driving record. Traffic school plus the California mandatory fee will be expensive, but it will be less than the speeding ticket and the ticket will not affect my insurance rate. The worst part about this whole thing? Now I will have to slow down for two years. That is a hard task on this Fast Japanese Rocket!

 

[mikerider]

Sorry to hear that. I believe you still have to pay the full price of the speeding ticket, plus a fee (for them to allow you to attend traffic school), then the fee of the traffic school itself. You could take those online traffic school.

 

[Fred W]

Good for you having such a positive outlook on what must have been a thoroughly exasperating day. You are right, I think, that most of the fancy schmancy tire plug systems are worthless. Good old sticky strings plugs work, and they work well. I carry them on all of my bikes and they have saved the day more than a few times. Being prepared for the worst makes the worst not so bad.

 

[Birdman2010]

Good for you having such a positive outlook on what must have been a thoroughly exasperating day. You are right, I think, that most of the fancy schmancy tire plug systems are worthless. Good old sticky strings plugs work, and they work well. I carry them on all of my bikes and they have saved the day more than a few times. Being prepared for the worst makes the worst not so bad.

It was an exasperating day! I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, though, up until that point. This was my first flat on a motorcycle and, guess what, it wasn't so bad. The ticket was a bitch, though. Anyway, I found out that the RoadPro model number has an "O" and not a zero in it. I found the RoadPro RPO19 repair kit for $10.12 on Walmart.com with free shipping. However, I ordered the RoadPro RPO17 repair kit for $6.93 with free shipping because it looks like the same thing, but a smaller version. It should be easier to pack on my motorcycle. I am hoping that it fits under the seat with my Mini CO2 Inflator cartridges.

 

[Birdman2010]

Sorry to hear that. I believe you still have to pay the full price of the speeding ticket, plus a fee (for them to allow you to attend traffic school), then the fee of the traffic school itself. You could take those online traffic school.

Ouch. It sounds like it is going to be even more expensive than I thought...

 

[Joel S.]

Sorry to hear that. I believe you still have to pay the full price of the speeding ticket, plus a fee (for them to allow you to attend traffic school), then the fee of the traffic school itself. You could take those online traffic school.

Ouch. It sounds like it is going to be even more expensive than I thought...

i have a school next week, it must be 4hrs in person, the fine is less than 1/2 compared to the award, school is like 60$ or so.

keeps a +24 off my record, award was achieved on 129, TN, school will be completed in MN.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I get a laugh out of some of the rumors that have started about FOBO now that they've gotten bigger. FOBO leaks on certain bikes. Really..... FOBO has no speed rating so it's not for bikes that travel at high speeds. Not. Makes me wonder if it's boredom or from folks that sell other TPMS systems. I had several flats on other bikes. Knock on wood, I've had none on this one, but the peace of mind knowing that I'll never (most likely) go to make a turn again and have the bike shrug and refuse to turn, is priceless.

 

[MrZappo]

If it leaks, it was installed wrong. I will say that installing the T Valves is an interesting quest for information. Their are no specific torque specs to be found in any documentation. It only says, "tight"

I've seen a few bikes with T Valves that could be turned by hand.

Maybe the fobo stuff isn't leaking and the Valves are not installed tightly enough.

I can personally say that since installing my setup, I have been very impressed with the lack of any leaks whatsoever.

Engineers usually do a pretty good job and I tend to trust them.

Weekend garage warriors are usually suspect in my eyes.

 

[jbjamn]

One more reason not to be such a procrastinator. Last fall I purchased the FOBO with their Tees. Since I was trying my darndest to squeeze a bit more valuable riding time before our Wisconsin winter, I put the system on my "project shelf" and promptly forgot about it.

Fast forward to this week when I read about the FOBO saving you. I went out last night and while mounting a new Avon 3d xm rear tire in prep for this weekends IBA 1500 mile ride. I had a bit of an issue getting the things to sync with my phone, as a last resort I read the instructions... I uninstalled the FOBO TIRE app and installed the FOBO BIKE app. Way better.

I drove to work, everything looked good. Was walking out the door towards my bike and my phone sounds like a WWII depth charge. It says my rear tire is dangerously low. I figure the system must be whacked out. Grabbed my air gauge and it didn't have enough air to read out.. FOBO said 3.8 pounds. To make a long story short, used my patch kit, fixed my flat and had time to get it fixed leaving tomorrow morning. Had I not had the FOBO installed I would have kicked it off the center stand and started to take off, breaking the bead and possibly ruining my brand new tire.

I echo an earlier statement, best $95 I have spent on the bike.

 

[Birdman2010]

One more reason not to be such a procrastinator. Last fall I purchased the FOBO with their Tees. Since I was trying my darndest to squeeze a bit more valuable riding time before our Wisconsin winter, I put the system on my "project shelf" and promptly forgot about it.Fast forward to this week when I read about the FOBO saving you. I went out last night and while mounting a new Avon 3d xm rear tire in prep for this weekends IBA 1500 mile ride. I had a bit of an issue getting the things to sync with my phone, as a last resort I read the instructions... I uninstalled the FOBO TIRE app and installed the FOBO BIKE app. Way better.

I drove to work, everything looked good. Was walking out the door towards my bike and my phone sounds like a WWII depth charge. It says my rear tire is dangerously low. I figure the system must be whacked out. Grabbed my air gauge and it didn't have enough air to read out.. FOBO said 3.8 pounds. To make a long story short, used my patch kit, fixed my flat and had time to get it fixed leaving tomorrow morning. Had I not had the FOBO installed I would have kicked it off the center stand and started to take off, breaking the bead and possibly ruining my brand new tire.

I echo an earlier statement, best $95 I have spent on the bike.

Wow, you are one lucky man!!!!! Talk about timing!!!! I am very happy for you! It is so much easier to use a patch kit instead of breaking the bead and waiting for a tow truck.

 

[dcarver]

Always be prepared. Be a good boy scout. Good to hear FOBO's work. Soon I'll be running a Garmin equivalent.

 

[mikerider]

How do you all monitor the FOBO while riding? Mounting the phone on the dash doesn't really help unless the screen is on all the time, yes? Or does it pop up on the screen (and wake up the phone) when the HIGH/LOW pressure is triggered? No Sena here.

THanks.

 

[Cav47]

I have a SENA and the low pressure tone is very distinctive through the phone that is bluetoothed. This last trip out in the mountains was unique. But it shows the usefulness of a FOBO or similar system. Each night, as camp was set up, the bike tire would cool down and our elevation of the campground would set the low pressure warning off. In the morning the pressure would read around 36. Get just a little heat in there and drop in elevation would cause it to jump right back to the low 40s psi! Glad your system worked well.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I have a phone up anyway, but since I went garmin, I don't keep the screen on. FOBO will alert you audibly, you can't miss it, if your pressure goes outside parameters you set, or you have a high temp condition. I could leave my phone in the top case and I'd still be alerted in my helmet. If you want to see your current pressure and monitor it visually, it'll do that too.

 

[Fred W]

Each night, as camp was set up, the bike tire would cool down and our elevation of the campground would set the low pressure warning off. In the morning the pressure would read around 36. Get just a little heat in there and drop in elevation would cause it to jump right back to the low 40s psi!

Unlike the officials in the NFL, I understand the relationship between heat (or lack of it) and air pressure, so I see how your tires lost pressure at night, but the relationship between gauge pressure and altitude should be the opposite of what you observed.
Assuming that the tire has no leaks, it will contain a volume of air compressed within the volume of the tire. The actual (absolute) pressure inside the tire won't change unless you vary the volume or temperature. Any pressure gauge can only measure the difference in pressure between inside that volume and the ambient atmospheric pressure outside. Atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude, which should make the gauge measurement increase (not decrease).

I'd have to assume that your observation was completely temperature induced.

 

[Joel S.]

How do you all monitor the FOBO while riding? Mounting the phone on the dash doesn't really help unless the screen is on all the time, yes? Or does it pop up on the screen (and wake up the phone) when the HIGH/LOW pressure is triggered? No Sena here.THanks.

custom molded headphones with tunes playing connected corded to my phone. phone in my jacket pocket.

the alert would be played with no issue for my situation. i only check the pressure screen first thing before riding that day.

 

[Joel S.]

Fobo has a setting for gauge setting or not. they recommend using not.

 

[Fred W]

Fobo has a setting for gauge setting or not. they recommend using not.

I have recently ordered a set of these for the FJR but haven't received them yet. What do you mean by the above?

 

[mikerider]

Thank you all for your inputs. I just ordered a set of FOBO and T-stems to see how I like it. If not, I can always get Cyclops.

I like the FOBO for:

- instant reading without moving the bike. However, to monitor the tire pressure while riding, I will have to mount my phone and have it on all the time in front of me, as I don't use Sena or any audio inputs inside my helmet and I wear earplugs so I doubt I could hear the alert from the phone.

The Cyclops has its own display wired to the bike's power. However, the bike has to move something like 300' before a reading is shown.