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Iron Butt
Posts: 1117
Northeast Ohio | Fellow riders,
I don't know about you, but improper tire pressure makes me nervous. I 'usually' check my tire pressure at least once a week, but we all know we should check it before we get on the bike, everytime.
So I got a email from CruiserCustomizing and they carry a product called TireGard. It is a wireless tire pressure monitoring system with a remote. The remote will show you pressure and tempurature of the front and rear tires, has the ability to alert you if temp or pressure is too high. Very cool stuff..
http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/detail.cfm?Category_ID=95&manufac...
Video:
http://community.cruisercustomizing.com/_TireGard-Tip-of-the-Week-f...
Get yours today! 
Ride safe |
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Cruiser
Posts: 152
Bonita Springs, FL | I have had this exact system for several months. Works very well, two tips. When setting your high pressure warning, make it at least 10 lbs. above the current tire pressure. As you are ridding the heat causes the tires to show a higher pressure and if you set the high warning just above current pressure you will get the warning constantly. The warning consist of a beeping (hard to hear) flashing of the screen and vibrating. Second tip, when the bike has been parked and you turn on the sensor, you will get the tire pressures from when you parked it. You need to move the bike a few hundred yards and then the current pressure will come up. That was probably the only disappointment I had, I would really like to see real time tire pressure when I start the bike up and turn on the sensor. I now just drive the bike around my street for a few hundred yards before departing. Overall, I would not do with out this, it is very good. You can set three warnings, high tire pressure, low tire pressure and heat. I keep my heat set at about 160 degrees. Also you can set independent warnings for both front and rear. I used velcro for the sensor on the dash in a position where I can view it often. The sensors on the tires run off of simple watch batteries and should get 1-2 years, the dash sensor runs off a single AAA and should get a year. Also the tire sensors come with a special nut that is tightened with an allen wrench that prevents anyone from stealing them. I opted to leave them off as when you need air, the sensors must be screwed off. They are not a big deal to get off with the locking nuts, just takes an extra minute or two and time to get the allen wrench out. When I am parked, I remove the dash sensor and lock it up. Hope this helps anyone thinking of getting these. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 53
Island Lake, Alberta, Canada | Just use Nitrogen. Problem solved as Nitrogen is a enert gas, does not expand with tempuratrue. Tire psi will only deflate if there is a leak. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1350
| "Just use Nitrogen." Isn't this the gas Shell puts in their gasoline? It cleans the engine, will it clean my tires? :P |
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Cruiser
Posts: 68
LONDONDERRY NH | Article from Honda concerning nitrogen in tires
Surf any automobile tire-related website these
days, and you'll likely see something mentioned
about nitrogen inflation. It's becoming a hot topic.
We've gotten a number of inquiries lately
concerning American Honda's position on this
practice.
When it comes to inflating automobile tires, it's
our position that ordinary, dry compressed air—
which is about 80 percent nitrogen already—is
the best choice. That's because it's more readily
available, and the benefits of using nitrogen
simply don't appear to outweigh those of using
compressed air.
The practice of inflating tires with nitrogen really
isn't anything new; it's been around a long time.
It's been commonly used on aerospace vehicles,
commercial and military aircraft, military vehicles,
race cars, and even heavy off-road construction
equipment. Here's why:
• To meet rigid safety and performance specs,
the required tire inflation pressures are often
very high, especially in the aerospace industry.
The tire inflation pressure for NASA's space
shuttle, for instance, is a whopping 315 psi!
• Nitrogen is an inert gas; it doesn't combust or
oxidize.
• The process used to compress nitrogen
excludes water vapor. Water vapor can expand
if the temperature climbs above 212°F.
• Tires inflated with nitrogen leak slower over
time than those inflated with compressed air.
Automobile tires, on the other hand, are subjected
to an entirely different set of conditions. Here's
why inflating tires with nitrogen offers no real
advantages:
• Although tires inflated with nitrogen leak
slower over time than those inflated with
compressed air, they still leak and need to be
reinflated to maintain proper pressure. If you
can't find a place that offers nitrogen
inflation—and there aren't yet all that many
places that do—your only option left is to
reinflate with compressed air. Doing that
drops the nitrogen purity.
• Nitrogen offers no better protection against
road hazards such as cuts and punctures. So
no matter what you inflate the tire with, you
still need to check the condition and pressure
of the tires at least once a month as
recommended in the O/M.
• Tires that are inflated with compressed air and
properly maintained offer the same fuel
economy, tread wear, and ride comfort as
those inflated with nitrogen.
• Nitrogen for automobile tires is produced by
nitrogen generators, which typically get about
95 percent purity. But to actually get that
level of purity into an automobile tire, you
would have to deflate and inflate that tire with
nitrogen several times. If you're not careful
doing this repeated deflation and inflation
process, the purity level winds up being closer
to 90 percent (compared to the approximate
80 percent nitrogen already in compressed
air). Because of this, those claims of less
pressure loss with nitrogen aren't valid.
So here's the bottom line: Nitrogen is an ideal gas
for inflating tires in aircraft, military vehicles, race
cars, and heavy off-road equipment, but when it
comes to automobile tires, it offers no apparent
advantages over ordinary, dry compressed air.
Our advice to you: Just stick with the air you
breathe.
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Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | At last another "consumable" thread that we can get passionate about! 
Honda probably has a pretty good take on the issue for the average driver, however this recommendation specifically addresses tires on passenger cars. Bridgestone/Firestone (who actually make tires) says the following:
"There's nothing you can do that is better for your tires than maintaining the right inflation pressure – all the time. Nitrogen could help you do that".
They also encourage nitrogen use in truck/fleet tires and claim that studies show as much as a 26% increase in TRUCK tire life by using nitrogen.
"Is nitrogen inflation cost-effective? That's going to depend on your situation. If your trailers go out and don't come back for six months or more, being able to keep consistent inflation pressures may greatly lengthen tread life. Some tests have shown increases of up to 26 percent.
Benefits of Nitrogen Inflation
•Less inflation pressure loss
•Less inflation pressure
fluctuation with heat
•Reduced wheel corrosion
•Longer tread life
•Improved retread-ability"
I know that truck, car and motorcycle tires are all very different animals. But I would argue that if you are a high milage touring rider then you could quite possibly benefit in both mileage and handling from the more consistent tire pressures offered by nitrogen. It would probably also benefit riders who live or travel in the areas where temperature variance between day and night is severe. Guys who ride 5000 miles a year in short trips probably would probably get better results just checking pressure before each ride.
Based on other threads on this site the average life of an Dunlop E3 rear tire is somewhere around +-12k miles; a 26% increase would yield another 3100 miles. Worth trying it seems to me.
As to where to fill up with nitrogen - Costco stores with tire centers use Nitrogen exclusively. I called my local store today and asked if members could fill motorcycle tires, they said yes. Some places try to up-sell tire buyers into nitrogen fills, at Costco that is all they use, and its free.
So I guess that is another set of custom POIs to develop for the Garmin. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | TireGard TPMS - I just can't bring myself to buy anything with PMS in all caps. That's just me... |
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Cruiser
Posts: 204
guelph ontario | For those guys who have installed these, was it necessary to rebalance the tires. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1340
Gainesville Fl Home of the Gators | While it is true that tires inflated with nitrogen will loose LESS pressure through permeation.....They STILL do loose pressure. You can also have all the fancy air you want in your tires, but it is not going to help you with a leaky valve stem, core, or that finishing nail in your tire. It may however cause someone to ride an unsafe machine a longer distance to get their "fix" of nitrogen. If you want it then cool, but do not make the mistake of thinking that you no longer have to monitor your tires.
All that said I have never seen a motorcycle so in need of a monitoring system. At this point I have had several customers with anywhere from to low to read to 20psi come in for service. The customers never even noticed the tire being so low. The bikes are so stable that they hide the common symptoms of a low tire. IMHO this has caused at least one accident that was blamed on a blow-out that nobody heard. Had it been a blow-out then somebody in the group would have heard it. So I think it was a tire with no air in it that finally just rolled off the bead, and that was the cause of the accident
Edited by kevinx 2009-06-20 6:56 PM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1117
Northeast Ohio | Probie - 2009-06-20 5:28 PM
For those guys who have installed these, was it necessary to rebalance the tires.
It doesn't say you have to and I have noticed no vibrations on the freeway after installing these. |
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New user
Posts: 1
| Hey, ive had a couple problems w TPMS in the past and ive found that whytpms.com has a lot of helpful information. U should check it out, hopefully this was helpful to u. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 669
Peachtree City, GA | I am thinking.... What OIL is best to use?
;-)
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1117
Northeast Ohio | Don't do it Dave... |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 741
Central New York | So, Kevinx, what's your take on that "Ride On TPS" stuff. Going by what I have read it seems like it may be good stuff but my biggest fear is what kind of mess you have when you need to replace a tire. Have you been there?
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Tourer
Posts: 499
Chattanooga, TN | SongFan - 2009-06-19 6:45 PM TireGard TPMS - I just can't bring myself to buy anything with PMS in all caps. That's just me... I heard the reason they call it PMS is because Mad Cow Disease was already taken...don't know if it's true, but... |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | I do have one after all. Got it for Christmas so technically I still haven't bought anything with PMS emblazoned in the title. For what it's worth, I run just air in my E3's and I haved added air to my tires just once since I installed the TireGard in January and that's only when they got to 38psi (I run 41/41). I think a big factor has been the temps steadily climbing and that keeps the pressure up but the TireGard has sure saved me a lot of random checking for no reason other than to just check. Once the temps start going back down in the Fall I think I'll be adding pressure more often than every four months. |
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Tourer
Posts: 388
Salisbury, NC | What I like about the tire gard is that while riding and I run over something that puts a leak in the tire, I hopefully will notice the drop in psi before I ride the tire off the rim. ET |
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Tourer
Posts: 482
Beer Collins, Colorado (there is no fort) | I've been using these for over ten years with great results- http://www.accupressurecaps.com/index.php?page=Category.Browse&exte...
you still have to check/maintain but when your out touring it sure is nice to be able to do a quick pre-flight visual check and know your good to go for the day. Using a 38 front & a 40 rear on the Vision & the '99C too-Brian |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | I know I'll get rocks thrown at me, but I'll be out of range before they hit me. I always love these type of topics because I sit and wonder what is all the hype. There is some basic eliments here, A rim, a tire, and valve stem with schrader valve, and some sort of gas, even if it is just your common everyday air. All this monitoring system stuff always seems over the top to me. I've had a low tire on the Vision and you know what, it feels like a low tire. The lowest it has ever gone is around 31 psi and it just didn't feel right. Not noticeable to the eye, but to the ride, distinct. I guess my point is, if you are losing air, check and figure out why and fix it. Check your tires cold, naturally as the pressure increases substantially on the road. If I'm on the road and they read 45 or so, I leave them alone, even though I ride with them at 41 cold in front and rear. I check them often enough, though it is good to check them daily. We should always run our hand around the tire often to see if there is something out of the ordinary.
I'm not against anyone getting them gizmo's that make you feel better about your time in saddle, and I can agree with KevinX that the nitrogen is a little over the top to go out your way to get. But if you don't feel your tire going low, even on the Vision, you are just not paying attention.
Edited by varyder 2010-07-29 10:24 PM
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Tourer
Posts: 576
, IA | Buy the ones sold for cars there cheaper |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 619
Southeast Iowa | I have the Tire Guard and I like it. I usually check my tires every 2 weeks and use the TPMS to give me piece of mind between checks. It does have an alarm and it flashes and vibrates but I doubt that your going to see it if you loose pressure suddenly.
As for nitrogen - Well 26% seems like a hell of a stretch to me.............I guess if you use air and never check your tires vs using Nitrogen and always checking your tires. It's true that nitrogen offers real benefits over air but it doesn't make the rubber on your tire any harder and they will still wear when you ride. |
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Tourer
Posts: 446
East TN | Nitrogen filled tires is SUCH A SCAM....The air we breath has 78% NITROGEN in it...Why pay more for just removing 21% of the O2 in there????? |
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Visionary
Posts: 3006
San Antonio, TX | Nitrogen was too small for me so I use Argon in my tires!
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Iron Butt
Posts: 741
Central New York | I think if you use helium in your tires the bike would be lighter and give better gas mileage! |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | in the "goody, goody, gumdrop" department, I was out riding the Vision last night, I actually went on a group ride believe it or not, and I noticed it was getting squirelier as I think that the rear bushing is worn. My son's tire was a little low on his car, and having a bad experience with the last air compressor I bought and took back, I used it as an excuse to get another one.
I won't go through all the hassles I had, but ended up just getting a little evolv from Sears. So after taking care of the son's car, actually ended up getting two new tires, I check the air in the Vision. As I was laying there on the ground it dawned on me that I haven't even checked the air in over a month, as I know I didn't check them on the road. Well, I did, but it was in the form of a kick or a knock on them, I'm a son of truck driver and used to work for a trucking company and could tell you the pressure by the sound of the thump within 5 psi.
Anyway, I check the air in the rear and it was at 38 so I brought it back up to 42, and the front, was at 35, and I brought that back up to 41. The point is that to me those few pounds makes a difference in handling. The tempature has cooled down a lot lately around VA.
I can hear the moans, groans and all the "big deal"'s, but don't do as I do, or even say, just check your tires everyday!
Edited by varyder 2010-07-31 3:50 PM
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TireGard TPMS
