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[hard10]

I meet a guy on a GW in MV that was showing me this system. It looked pretty cool. No idea of cost but looks promising.

Smartire

[reo]

I meet a guy on a GW in MV that was showing me this system. It looked pretty cool. No idea of cost but looks promising.

Smartire

A quick google brought up

http://www.vulcantire.com/smartire_mc_sys.htm

Found a few more links including this on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SMARTIRE-SMART-TIRE-MOTORCYCLE-KITS-TIRE-PRESSURE_W0QQitemZ110184565431QQihZ001QQcategoryZ35624QQcmdZViewItem

Looks cool but how long do the batteries last?

[Twolanerider]

A quick google brought up

http://www.vulcantire.com/smartire_mc_sys.htm

Found a few more links including this on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SMARTIRE-SMART-TIRE-MOTORCYCLE-KITS-TIRE-PRESSURE_W0QQitemZ110184565431QQihZ001QQcategoryZ35624QQcmdZViewItem

Looks cool but how long do the batteries last?

Happen to have a brochure for one of these systems around here somewhere.  Haven't read it for awhile but remember it saying the wheel units were good for five to seven years.  The display unit is 12v wired.

Have watched TPMS units get better and better the last few years.  Universal application is still being drunkenly worked toward in the automotive world.  Biggest handicap for using them on our bikes is the simple hassle of no place to hang the monitor unit.  The one that AJ showed here isn't terribly big.  Something like 2.75" deep and appox. 2.5" wide (or something close to that).  But even so, where are we going to stick something like that that will be secure, has power accessible and doesn't look like like hell?

[Chief]

But even so, where are we going to stick something like that that will be secure, has power accessible and doesn't look like like hell?

The answer is quite simple..... on the nearest GW. 

[hard10]

The answer is quite simple..... on the nearest GW. 

There's one in every crowd. 

[twincam]

there is a similar system on my 2007 tundra, the light on this unit comes on if a tire is underinflated by 2 lbs. I have found it to be a fair system, the only draw back is the change in temps between waking up on a cold morning, (the light is on) drive down the road a few miles ..... the tires warm and the light goes off. do not have this issue in the summer. the point is, how do you know if the tire is actually low? because you put air in when the light is on (cold) the tire heats and then you are over inflated.

[110tHunDer]

 
I think the TPMS would be good to let you know when you have a slow leak . . . . sometimes you can run a tire pretty much all the way down before you know there's a problem.  But, in daily use as a substitute for a good old fashioned manual air gauge, I think this technology has a ways to go, because of the examples that twincam gave.  I don't have a TPMS in any of my vehicles, but know some folks that do, and to a person, they have the same complaints mentioned above.

At least for now, the aggravation associated with these systems outweighs the benefits, IMHO.  I'll wait for 'em to get better (and smaller) and in the meantime keep using the tried and true visual inspection and manual air pressure check methods.

[mr_magoo]

Tire pressure should always be checked cold.  The manufacturer take the heat build up into account when they set cold pressure.  Dunlop says to let a warm tire set for a minimum 2 hrs before checking tire pressure.  Theres always nitrogen.

[grc]

Magoo is correct, the tire pressure should be checked and set cold, the natural increase as the tire warms up is figured into the spec.  If the system gives you an alert when cold, you need more air. 

During the transition seasons (spring and fall), we can get some pretty wide variation between daily low and high temps, and some fairly rapid changes in daily lows.  As a rough rule of thumb, your tire pressure will change approximately 1 psi for each 10°F change in air temperature.  So, assuming you last set your air pressure when the cold temp was 70°, when the cold temp drops below 50° a monitoring system with a 2° deviation limit will send an alert even if you haven't lost any air.  What that's telling you is you need to recheck and set your cold inflation.  This is going to happen often until you get out of the transition seasons and the daily lows stabilize.

The Smart Tire system seems to be more customizeable (is that a word?) than the one size fits all systems from the auto companies.  If you go to their website and download the manual, you'll see where you can set the deviation limit to as much as 5°, and there is a temperature compensation feature as well.
www.smartire.com

Jerry

[twincam]

Tire pressure should always be checked cold.  The manufacturer take the heat build up into account when they set cold pressure.  Dunlop says to let a warm tire set for a minimum 2 hrs before checking tire pressure.  Theres always nitrogen.

Yes, I understand this, but, living in the desert southwest, our nights get cold but, day time temps still rise pretty high, so, I wake in the morning the light is on (tire cold) by the time I go to work and the vehical sets 10 hours, (tire cold again) the light is off, just the normal air temps cause a variation in the sensior. I find myself constly checking for a low tire becouse of the stupid light I have yet to have a low tire, a slow leak, or a flat on this truck,(knock on wood) and the light has been on lots of times!!!! at first I would add a little air in the mornings, just to be safe check the pressure at the end of the day ,before leaving work and find there was to much air in the tire. I beleive this is becouse the sensor activates the light, even with a 2 lb drop in pressure, really in my opinion it is just a pain in the a$$, maybe it would be better if I lived where the air temps were not so radical.but if this happens on a truck...... just think of one on the bike!! I will wait for them to improve!!!

[Chief]

There's one in every crowd. 

I thought you'd like that. 

[Twolanerider]

Well.... crap.  Sort of. 

I'd been watching these types of systems for a few years.  Curiosity more than anything else.

This thread refreshed that curiosity.  That eBay link cited above led to seeing this auction listing:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110184565431


The listing was accepting offers.  Figuring that if it were really cheap I might be interested enough to play I submitted an offer for $80.  Since the original listing is for almost $130 really didn't think it would be accepted. 

 

So.....   If anyone else is inclined toward guinea pigging a bit you might submit an even cheaper offer.  Might be a vendor looking to blow out inventory just to get it off the shelves.

[hard10]

Well.... crap.  Sort of. 

I'd been watching these types of systems for a few years.  Curiosity more than anything else.

This thread refreshed that curiosity.  That eBay link cited above led to seeing this auction listing:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110184565431


The listing was accepting offers.  Figuring that if it were really cheap I might be interested enough to play I submitted an offer for $80.  Since the original listing is for almost $130 really didn't think it would be accepted. 

 

So.....   If anyone else is inclined toward guinea pigging a bit you might submit an even cheaper offer.  Might be a vendor looking to blow out inventory just to get it off the shelves.

That's the one I saw 2ln. The guy who had it says he posts quite often on the GW site and admitted he was kind of a PITA there. He said that he believed Smartire was going to stop making this product because of low sales and to buy one if you could. He said that he was buying an additional one for back-up.

[RedDevil]

Nah, I think I'll keep checking mine the old fashion way, with the trusty tire guage...it's never failed me yet.
Cheers ,