In 2021 probably the most secure and reliable approach would be to convert or adapt a Bluetooth adapter to the [legacy] garage controller. This is very likely being done already. It opens up the user interface experience too.
Thanks for the replies, gents. I'm set in my ways as far as how I want to mount my garage opener. I've been putting a remote up under my tanks for years, so hard to teach an old dog a new trick.
But, Cormanus, there was a great little nugget in that link you posted:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQpBUQ-ZSKw
I had seen this video before and think it's hilarious. And it made me realize that I could do this. My wife is permanently working from home, and we converted our spare room to be her office. I ride by her window every day when I leave for work and come home. I could put a remote on her desk, and when I ride past her window, I could honk to make her close the door. When I come home, I can honk to make her open it. She'd just tap a button, easy peasy!
As for the other solutions, here has been my experience:
Remote in pants pocket: Forgot it was there, washed the remote with the pants, rendering it useless
Remote in jacket pocket: Bumped button while getting off the bike, causing door to hit me in head, rendering me useless
As I mentioned, I have the fob in jacket pocket. As a backup, I have a phone app. That is an amazing convenience. My garage is separated from the house at some distance, so I use the phone app to open the door as I'm walking out, so when I get out there the door is already open. I close it with the fob in jacket...but if I forget or can't remember if I did, I stop and open the app and it tells me the door status. If it's open, I close it and ride on with peace of mind.
I used to keep one in each tank bag. Now the NC doesn't use a tank bag and has a frunk but you have to stop the bike and unlock the frunk. Today I just kept the remote in my pants pocket so it wasn't as handy as having one in a tank bag. Still pondering a solution for the NC
I'm going to test the honk-wife open method to see how that works.
If she balks, I'm going to order another remote that might be a little more robust. The remote for my old opener worked just fine, maybe I can find that type for the opener I just bought.
Maybe that kid over there in the back alley with the crowbar can open the garage door?
No, GO, the police finally picked up the guy with the crowbar on Saturday.
I was frustrated that my old, chunky remote that had always worked under my tank was supposed to be compatible with my new opener, but wasn’t working, and the new remote didn’t seem to like the engine heat.
As a what-if I put a new battery in the old remote and the opener recognized it and paired with it. The remote worked fine with the old battery and lit up, but I guess it wasn’t enough for the new opener.
So, I’m back to my old remote setup which worked fine and all is well. I can reach under the tank and open the door without stopping.
Belay my last.
