Tire Monitoring System

[johndaub]

With the Kisan GB starting, I looked at it but the installation goes beyond my tolerance level. My search found the following link: clickywhich agrees with my assessment of Kisan's instructions.

My Rider mag had an advertisement for:

TireGardThey also give a pdf comparing their unit with a couple other units but not the Kisan unit.

Anyone have experience with this or similar units? I know that screw on caps can lead to leakage but I think that is better than my habit of checking them once a year.

 

[sportsguy]

I know that screw on caps can lead to leakage but I think that is better than my habit of checking them once a year.

I'd say THIS depends on whether you actually loose much air during the year.

No direct experience with these unit son bikes, but I can say a friend tried the "cap style" units on his car once. Looke dhideous, and worked fine for a year or so, then he started getting warning from one and each time he checked the pressure it was fine. Tried to replace the unit, but the company was gone/changed names, the store didn't carry the line any more, etc.

Another friend installed the internal units and to my knowledge, they remian working fine to this day - loads more work, and costly to install, but I'm in the "you get what you pay for" camp on this item.

Which reminds me, I need to get a tire gauge today...

 

[johnny80s]

Search Google "tire pressure monitor site:fjrforum.com" you will get lots of hits.

You should be dogpiled for your lack searching JohnDaub. You have been bad.

 

[FJR Flyer]

Just got the TireGard unit. Working fine, so far. The system reads about 4 psi lower than actual, but that's not an issue. Buddy has been using it for a while without any problems. The internal system is Smart Tire and apparently they stopped making systems for bikes.

 

[johndaub]

Search Google "tire pressure monitor site:fjrforum.com" you will get lots of hits.
You should be dogpiled for your lack searching JohnDaub. You have been bad.

That is exactly the search I did and there were 72 hits. I read many of them and provided a link to the one I thought was most relevant for Kisan. Then I did a search adding TireGard to the search and there were no hits. I guess that I am bad for not reading all 72 hits?

 

[obelix]

A friend has them on a car and on his campervan and is happy with them. The best part of them is the sender unit mounting outside so if you have a problem with leakage you just take them off and replace with a standard cap. All you need is to install metal valves instead of the usual rubber ones which is much safer anyway. They are powered by a small battery which lasts years and can be replaced in seconds. Internal units - well, you must remove them from inside the tyre when the battery dies.

Their weight is less than 10 grams each, you should not notice any vibration due to the weight.

No leak AFAIK of. User programmable alerts on heat and pressure. So what else? The price. I found some in Europe for 90 Euros, which equals 120$. Not too much regarding the added safety.

 

[NightShine]

[revised]

I've had the Smartire system installed for the past four years. Well, since Smartire got sold to Bendix and left the motorcycle market last year, the TPMS selection is kinda dismal. A few points:

• It is important to choose a system that will display a temperature-corrected pressure reading. For example, cold pressure might start out at 42 psi, but an hour down the road it reads 50 psi, due to internal temperature increase in the tire. That 20% pressure increase makes it tough to answer the question, "Have I lost any air?" That is, if my tires cooled back to original cold fill ambient conditions, would it still read the original 42 psi?
  
• Externally mounted sensors. Yea, they're ulgy, but form over function. However, they also presents a potential safety issue. Your tire valve is always open. And with no cap for redundancy, only the external sensor is there to keep the air from escaping from your tire. Notably though, the Doran system does give you the option of installing the sensor inside of the tire (using their tire stem), where it is protected and doesn't present that same safety issue.
  
• Wireless versus wired. There's no question that the wireless systems (TireGuard, Doran) will be easier to install than a system that requires a wired proximity transceiver (Kisan). But the wireless system sensors will all fail someday when their batteries die, but hopefully they'll hang in for years. The other side of the coin, from what I've read the Kisan sensors have no batteries, so I assume they are passive devices.
  
• Waterproof display is a must. The TireGuard system is not.

So there are no perfect solutions out there, today. Sigh...

YMMV...

 

[johndaub]

Just got the TireGard unit. Working fine, so far. The system reads about 4 psi lower than actual, but that's not an issue. Buddy has been using it for a while without any problems. The internal system is Smart Tire and apparently they stopped making systems for bikes.

I went ahead and ordered them. Found them at a cruiser place for $159.95+7.95 shipping. There was also a wing place for $159.95+higher shipping. I guess there was nothing at FJRforum on these since we are serious, safe riders who check our air pressure all the time (for me, all the time is once a year). I found lots of positive discussion on the tiregard system at other forums with less serious bikers (e.g., a wing forum, a beemer forum and an ST forum).

Regarding them reading off a little, some people found them spot on and others found them off. Of course, how do you know if the tiregard is right or your gauge is right? One guy bought a new gauge to make his tiregard "correct". However, another guy found that they read up to 4psi different for his bike vs. his wife's bike and, assuming that he used the same gauge for both, there is clearly some variability in the tiregard units.