FOBO tire pressure monitoring system report..

[Houtman_imp]

Just asking : would using an air pressure gauge be easier ???

 

[Chuckk_imp]

. yes.. there is a fine side to them.. I may glue them together, to hold them in place better.. then keep my new tool with my extra batteries.. any time I change out a battery, I will give the contacts a little caress .. I hope my girlfriend doesn't mind, I will take the last of them..
. I don't mind a little challenge.. keeps the mind sharp.. I love to work on my bike, without digging too deep, like engine work .. larger projects that I have done, reward me every time I ride.. converting my spoked wheels to accept tubeless, my hard bag installation, windshield, tail bag, dual emgo mufflers, etc.. none of those were easy, one hour jobs.. even my clocks and iPhone mount took time.. God I forgot about my heated gear controller that I made from a project box.. its good I have time for all of that stuff..
. how many of you check your tire pressures before every ride? .. I do..

 

[Houtman_imp]

Just asking : would using a air pressure gauge be easier ???

 

[Chuckk_imp]

. to answer you question houtman, first we must agree, a good rider should check his tire pressures before every ride.. then add up all of the time it takes you to check your tires the old fashioned way by getting down on your hands and knees..(every time you ride).. then figure in the fact that you loose a little air, every time you check them.. this means a few more toppings off of air.. lets figure this for a years worth of riding..... ok, do you have that time figured out? good.. now take my fobo T.P.M.S. system.. firstly it costs about $100. .. installation for the first time, re-reading the instructions and stuff may take 20 minutes.. then top off your tires to the correct FOBO Tire pressure settings..ok.. maybe it will take me a half hour all together.. now I am set.. to check before every ride, I turn on the iPhone's fobo app and touch the bike's icon.. 10 to 15 seconds later, both tire pressures are shown on my phone.. close the app and ride.. then you have these little time consuming "glitches".. maybe I will have to change a battery.. I can do that faster than you could check both of your tires pressures.. now I don't count the time I spend chatting here about issues.. it's fun.. sometimes I almost hope for a little problem to bring up.. it is fun getting everyone 2cents worth.. sorry I was so long winded

 

[Houtman_imp]

Chuckk , I do not check my tire pressure before every ride , just once a month and I use a professional Milton air inflator with a build in pressure gauge. I also have Motion Pro Digital pressure gauge if I want to be feeling like a "real" mechanic.
To be honest I am too lazy to check the tire pressure before every ride and with top line tires and new valves when changing tires they do not loose much air. But I DO get it that you like to do things to your bike to make them better .

 

[Chuckk_imp]

I was always kinda lazy when it came to checking my pressures.. sometimes my tires would get pretty low.. low enough to notice a mile into a ride.. even before the T.P.M.S. became standard on cars and available on high end bikes, I jumped in and bought one.. I remember a buddy of mine bought a really cheap tpms.. he was the one to introduce me to them for bikes.. I was amazed.. all with my phone.. I told him a week later of my fobo purchase.. he bragged his only cost $30. or so.. a month later his failed .. he never got another.. don't know why.. maybe it was the $100 price.. so here I am maybe 5 years into my fobo..

 

[peterbaron]

Well, not to interfere with the above issue, I check my OEM/tubeless tire pressure as follows:
* end of the season/storage, maximum psi written on the tire's sidewall, and no tire makes ground contact
* beginning/end of the season/colder ground and lower ambient temp - every week
* during peek season, every week-10 days or/and before every long distance trip, or if I get suspicious about inflation, tire puncture, etc....
* compressor, 2 air lines and 4 tp gauges are always handy in my garage. When checking bike's tp, its valve sits between 11 to 1 o'clock for procedure convenience.

IMHO, I think Chuckk constantly monitors his tire pressure due to tire conversion from tube to tubeless. That is OK, nothing wrong with it, I probable would do something similar.

Time to :biker: and get some pistachio.....and chat with the salesgirls

 

[Chuckk_imp]

. after a year with my sealed rims, I don't even think about them anymore .. I am much more apt to get a flat from a nail or something.. I do like to watch my pressures to get the most out of my tires as far as mileage.. thats where a few pounds of air may start to make a difference ..
Peter.. are you going to share maybe just one pic of just one of them to the folks here .. those pistachio girls keep me comin' back

 

[peterbaron]

No doubt about that tire pressure contributes to riding safety/quality, mileage and tire longevity.

I cannot fulfil your request, cos the pistachio girls will get jealous of me

 

[Chuckk_imp]

. I'll be headed to the "P" ranch again tomorrow.. temps should be nice.. winds 10 to 15 mph I need to get some stachios for a friend and maybe one 4 pounder for me.. maybe spicy/onion/garlic.. this time ..yummmmm ..

 

[the Ferret]

Over on the FJR and ST forum those guys are nuts (pistachio reference lol) for TPMS's. I imagine it's the same on the BMW and Goldwing forums. Lots of guys who do lots of miles are firm believers in them. I've thought about getting a set for the FJR , but reading Chuckk's issue with batteries and communication with his phone etc I'm not so sure I'm ready for the aggravation, plus I haven't need them in the last half century so not a priority for me. I ride daily, check pressures weekly, but I back my bikes by hand out of the garage and it's pretty easy to tell if a tire is low by how easy it rolls.

 

[Stichill]

I might have already replied to this thread and mentioned this before, but I had a factory TPMS on my BMW and it was really a great system. It was able to compensate for changes in ambient pressure in order to display the nominal tire pressure regardless of whether or not the tire was hot or cold. Without the temperature compensation, of course what you'd see on the display would be rising pressure as the tires warmed up from riding. The practical implication is that you could keep an eye on the tire pressures in real time, which was a benefit when touring. It saved you the trouble of needing to check your tire pressure in the morning, so that was one less thing you had to do to get under way on your trip.

The other thing the system did was take the accuracy of your tire gauge out of the equation. You could use any tire gauge, even an inaccurate one, and set your tire pressure correctly. Procedure: note the tire pressure reading on display. Let's say it was two 3 PSI or 0,2 bar low. Then you measured the pressure with the tire gauge. Regardless of the reading, you add air until the tire gauge indicates you have added 3 PSI or 0,2 bar. Now, when you get back on the bike and ride it, the pressure will indicate nominal. Perfect.

The only downside of the system was you had to ride the bike to wake up the sensors. So, if the bike had been sitting for a while - say in the winter - you had to either just ballpark it with your tire gauge to be safe, or else take the bike for a quick spin up and down the block to activate the readings.

Now that that bike has been sold, I kinda have to agree with you, ferret. Although the BMW TPMS was nice and I used it, it's not essential. Getting by with a decent tire gauge and being observant also works perfectly and isn't really any hassle.

 

[Chuckk_imp]

just 2 days ago my riding buddy was riding along the coast when he had a warning from his BMW.. his one tire was low on air.. he pulled over and found the nail.. it was a slow leak he found, so he topped off the air at a gas station and made it to his house, preferring to fix it there..if he didn't get that warning, he would have ridden the bike until it got squirrelly on him.. my FOBO has that warning system also.. an alarm and visual alert.. now I don't always have my iPhone in it's cradle on the bars, so if the phone is in my pocket, I am not sure if I could hear the alarm.. one point for the BMW system, being better.. I though, can check my pressures before I even get on my bike.. if I would have low pressure I can fill it at my shop, rather than trying to find gas station when my friends are anxious to ride.......... anyway, I wanted to show you guys this pic.. and appreciate any comments you may have..
.

 

[peterbaron]

OEM TPMS is the best, but yours is more than good!
You can protect electrical contact points by applying the dielectric grease...if not available, then a gentle layer of vaseline
Start liking your FOBO, Chuckk...
:biker:

 

[Chuckk_imp]

. she isn't a "pistachio girl" but she is a good friend, in need of a pistachio fix this is as close as I can come to a pic so far of a pistachio girl Peter..
.

her and her husband ride, so hopefully this will qualify the pic

 

[peterbaron]

^^ :clap::beerchug::bacon:
...let me ask please, is She pistachio replacement...does her husband get flat tire sometimes ? :blush:

 

[Houtman_imp]

She looks to be a very nice person , is her husband getting old and weak ? Just asking ….

 

[Chuckk_imp]

I have never met hubby.. my best guess is that he is in pretty good shape.. he rides dirt bikes with their son.. dolly thinks that a 4lb bag will last her a month.. she may be hooked on them by then.. pistachio addicts always think they can quit any time.. I know better !! haha ..hubby has just sold his Harley .. dolly rode on the back of it .. today dolly took some pics of my bike to show to him.. maybe he will join our mutual admiration society .. this pic was taken Wednesday ..
.

 

[Chuckk_imp]

while doing my pre-flight check, and climbing on to my jet fighter, I found this FOBO problem .. taking advantage of the situation, I pulled the battery and used that nail file that I had at-the-ready.. turns out, a little corrosion was the culprit.. yay !! that sheds a new light on the FOBO t.p.m.s.
.

.

 

[Lord Popgun]

Nice work Chuckk! I see that problem a lot with battery powered stuff.