TPMS questions

As the title suggests, I have some questions about tire monitors.

I have done a fair amount of searching and almost every thread I have seen that mentions tire pressure monitors also mentions FOBO. I have done some searching around the interwebz and found several other systems, most of them are considerably more affordable.

Some of these "other" systems include a display to monitor pressure real-time. Some of them have alarms, others don't. Some of them (including FOBO) require an app, which means pulling out the "phone" (it's actually a belt-worn computer) to check pressures, which mean there are no alerts while riding. Yeah, I'm probably one of three or four left in the world that does not use my "phone" for e-mails, navigation and many other things that others use their computers for.

Reviews are not too bad on most of these systems, with adequate notes provided on the ones that are pretty much garbage, so the question remains:
Is the FOBO really worth the extra money? :dontknow:

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I have the FOBO2 on my RT. They work great.

I am eagerly awaiting BRP to get off their butts and allow FOBO2 in BRP connect. That way you would get the FOBO data on your heads-up display, and (hopefully) alerts there as well. You'd only need the app on your phone and connected to BRP Connect.

But then... I've been waiting over 6 months for BRP to get it together. I'm not holding out much hope for them at this point.

I tried a TPMS system a while back and it gave me wheel balance problems, even after rebalancing. 86'd them and went back to the old tried and true method of manually checking the tires before a ride. It's a system that hasn't failed me since 1952.

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Originally Posted by kissfan

I am eagerly awaiting BRP to get off their butts and allow FOBO2 in BRP connect. That way you would get the FOBO data on your heads-up display, and (hopefully) alerts there as well. You'd only need the app on your phone and connected to BRP Connect.

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I understand the part about FOBO connecting to your "phone" with an app, but what does BRP Connect connect to?

You must have missed this part of my original post:

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Originally Posted by Steve W.

Yeah, I'm probably one of three or four left in the world that does not use my "phone" for e-mails, navigation and many other things that others use their computers for.

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As far as I know, there is nothing Bluetooth on the bike ('17 RT-S). If there <is> Bluetooth on the bike, it wouldn't do any good, as my "phone" is hanging on my belt when I'm riding, but her "phone" (remember, it's HER bike) is in the glove box or the trunk. :dontknow:

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by RICZ

I tried a TPMS system a while back and it gave me wheel balance problems, even after rebalancing. 86'd them and went back to the old tried and true method of manually checking the tires before a ride. It's a system that hasn't failed me since 1952.

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Was it a FOBO 2 system? I bet not, the sensors don't feel like they weigh much more than a valve cap. Now some of the others can get pretty heavy.

I have had them on 2015 and my 2020 Rt Limited. You have to turn the app on the phone and have the phone connected to the BRP connect and then select Fobo bike.

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Originally Posted by samewok

I have had them on 2015 and my 2020 Rt Limited. You have to turn the app on the phone and have the phone connected to the BRP connect and then select Fobo bike.

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FOBO2, not FOBO. FOBO is available in BRP Connect, FOBO2 is not.

I had a flip phone until a year ago.
Now that I have a smart phone,
is there an application to receive a resonance from kicking each tire and translating that into PSI?
:joke:

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Originally Posted by SportsterDoc

I had a flip phone until a year ago.
Now that I have a smart phone,
is there an application to receive a resonance from kicking each tire and translating that into PSI?
:joke:

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Hmmm, not sure 'bout translating it into PSI??? :dontknow:

But if you take your boot off before kicking, your own big toe will translate the combination of resonance and the PSI into deciBels! nojoke :shocked:



:roflblack: :thumbup: :p

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Originally Posted by SportsterDoc

I had a flip phone until a year ago.
Now that I have a smart phone,
is there an application to receive a resonance from kicking each tire and translating that into PSI?
:joke:

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No, but there is one that will let you pluck your belt and tell you how tight it is. Oh, that's right, you got the shaft. ;)

It was a FOBO and I had it on my Victory. It drove the front wheel crazy and consequently the rider.

And still no information (for me) on how BRP Connect is involved?

It was mentioned in posts 2 and 6 that you need to install and connect FOBO app and BRP Connect, but then what? If the valve caps are talking to the app on the "phone", why is BRP Connect necessary? Does BRP Connect magically interface with the bike? Is it part of the Borg?

Lots of questions from this newbie. I started looking through the owner's manual last night and have not yet seen any mention of BRP Connect and/or how to use it. :dontknow:

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I'm with RICZ on this one. Use an old school tire pressure gauge. The more stuff you add to your Spyder, the more things can go wrong.

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Originally Posted by Steve W.

And still no information (for me) on how BRP Connect is involved?

It was mentioned in posts 2 and 6 that you need to install and connect FOBO app and BRP Connect, but then what? If the valve caps are talking to the app on the "phone", why is BRP Connect necessary? Does BRP Connect magically interface with the bike? Is it part of the Borg?

Lots of questions from this newbie. I started looking through the owner's manual last night and have not yet seen any mention of BRP Connect and/or how to use it. :dontknow:

.

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OK, I apologise if this is making it too simple, but it's a little difficult to tell where your actual 'lack of information' problem really is, so I'll begin by going basic. ;)

For starters, FOBO & FOBO 2 are phone based apps that can display the info from your valve stem mounted Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensors on your 'phone's screen. So you can see your Spyder's tire pressure at a glance, but you do need to have your phone mounted, with the appropriate FOBO app loaded & linked to the valve stem sensors, somewhere on the handlebars or dash where you can see it. OK so far?!?

BRP Connect is the 'integration software' for the 'new digital dash' that came out with the 2018 Spyders. It allows you to link the dash thru bluetooth to any supported apps that you might have on your phone so that they will instead display on your digital dash; so you don't need to have that extra phone mount to hold your phone where you can see it. Those supported apps can be connected via bluetooth & BRP Connect to display on your dash instead of on your phone's screen.... So you can leave your phone in your pocket, but still see all the info/display etc from your various apps on the dash, and if it's all connected the way it should, you can even use the digital dash controls to manage & control those apps via the handlebar control, joystick etc. These supported apps might include things like your phone based GPS; any music/player you might have loaded onto your phone; and of course, FOBO..... Making sense still?

The first version of FOBO was one such app, and because it was supported in BRP connect, once you linked your phone to the dash you could call up FOBO on the dash via the handlebar controls and see what your tire pressures were doing onbthe dash display. According to some sources at BRP, FOBO 2 is supposedly MEANT to be already supported similarly, but AFAIK, despite the advice from some at BRP that it IS supported, no owner has managed to get it to work YET!! :gaah:

BRP Connect is simply the proprietary name for the integration software for the new digital dash that's on the 2018 & on Spyders, so you won't see anything about it in the user manual unless you are looking into the right section on how to drive/operate the digital dash..... but then, even if you do look in the right spot, many owners (or possibly that should be MOST owners?) find that BRP Connect is nowhere near as easy to use as the manual makes out; it's not as intuitive as the common systems for android & apple used in most cars already; and there are very few apps that are supported..... so for many, BRP Connect isn't a real selling point, in fact, it's MUCH more the opposite!! But that said, there are a few, and the number is growing (slowly), who have managed to get one or two of the supported apps to actually work for them on their digital dash..... maybe not yet in the manner they'd like, or maybe not in the manner they'd expect, but the apps DO 'work' via BRP Connect and they will display some info on the dash in a helpful(??) manner!! :ohyea:

How's that? Help any?? :dontknow:

While I don't monitor my tire pressure with my phone on the bars all the time I do find some comfort in the fact that I will get this large tingling in my pants pocket if a tire goes either under or over set pressures. What i don't always like is being woke up on a cold night because the pressure in the tire dropped below the low pressure limit.
Have not tested the exact transmission range limits in feet but i think my set meets or exceeds max bluetooth range.

The major advantage of a TPMS is warning of deflation while riding, although since most system alarm points are 25% of recommended inflation, that could still be an issue at high speeds, especially in hot weather.

My Ryker is 25 PSI front and 28 PSI rear. Most TPMS systems would not alarm until 18.75 PSI front and 21 PSI rear...riding just above the alarm limit could still be an issue.

Also, TPMS is not a substitute for checking pressure before a ride...or at least once a month.

Peter, THANK YOU!! :clap: :bowdown: :thumbup:

You are the first to directly answer some of the questions. See my comments/responses in your quote.

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Originally Posted by Peter Aawen

OK, I apologise if this is making it too simple, but it's a little difficult to tell where your actual 'lack of information' problem really is, so I'll begin by going basic. ;)
Always appreciated.

For starters, FOBO & FOBO 2 are phone based apps that can display the info from your valve stem mounted Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensors on your 'phone's screen. So you can see your Spyder's tire pressure at a glance, but you do need to have your phone mounted, with the appropriate FOBO app loaded & linked to the valve stem sensors, somewhere on the handlebars or dash where you can see it. OK so far?!?
So far, so good.

BRP Connect is the 'integration software' for the 'new digital dash' that came out with the 2018 Spyders. It allows you to link the dash thru bluetooth to any supported apps that you might have on your phone so that they will instead display on your digital dash; so you don't need to have that extra phone mount to hold your phone where you can see it. Those supported apps can be connected via bluetooth & BRP Connect to display on your dash instead of on your phone's screen.... So you can leave your phone in your pocket, but still see all the info/display etc from your various apps on the dash, and if it's all connected the way it should, you can even use the digital dash controls to manage & control those apps via the handlebar control, joystick etc. These supported apps might include things like your phone based GPS; any music/player you might have loaded onto your phone; and of course, FOBO..... Making sense still?
Making perfect sense. AND, this is the first mention that BRP Connect only works with 2018 and newer. I really should follow the advice to create a signature so I don't have to remember to mention our (HER) 2017 RT-S every time I ask a question.

The first version of FOBO was one such app, and because it was supported in BRP connect, once you linked your phone to the dash you could call up FOBO on the dash via the handlebar controls and see what your tire pressures were doing onbthe dash display. According to some sources at BRP, FOBO 2 is supposedly MEANT to be already supported similarly, but AFAIK, despite the advice from some at BRP that it IS supported, no owner has managed to get it to work YET!! :gaah:

BRP Connect is simply the proprietary name for the integration software for the new digital dash that's on the 2018 & on Spyders, so you won't see anything about it in the user manual unless you are looking into the right section on how to drive/operate the digital dash..... but then, even if you do look in the right spot, many owners (or possibly that should be MOST owners?) find that BRP Connect is nowhere near as easy to use as the manual makes out; it's not as intuitive as the common systems for android & apple used in most cars already; and there are very few apps that are supported..... so for many, BRP Connect isn't a real selling point, in fact, it's MUCH more the opposite!! But that said, there are a few, and the number is growing (slowly), who have managed to get one or two of the supported apps to actually work for them on their digital dash..... maybe not yet in the manner they'd like, or maybe not in the manner they'd expect, but the apps DO 'work' via BRP Connect and they will display some info on the dash in a helpful(??) manner!! :ohyea:
That would explain why I have not seen any mention of BRP Connect in the manual for our (HER) 2017.
How's that? Help any?? :dontknow:

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Yes, that helps a lot, explaining about BRP Connect, but still haven't heard whether the FOBO is worth triple the price of some others.

The lack of all that Bluetooth nonsense is one reason I limited the search to '14 through '17 Spyders.
Wanted the three-cylinder engine, but not all the electronic stuff.

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Originally Posted by Grandpot

I'm with RICZ on this one. Use an old school tire pressure gauge. The more stuff you add to your Spyder, the more things can go wrong.

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I like the keep it simple way of thinking. Check the air before a ride. If the tire has gone flat, it will let you know.

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Originally Posted by SportsterDoc

The major advantage of a TPMS is warning of deflation while riding, although since most system alarm points are 25% of recommended inflation, that could still be an issue at high speeds, especially in hot weather.

My Ryker is 25 PSI front and 28 PSI rear. Most TPMS systems would not alarm until 18.75 PSI front and 21 PSI rear...riding just above the alarm limit could still be an issue.

Also, TPMS is not a substitute for checking pressure before a ride...or at least once a month.

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Mine is set to go off 2 PSI low or 4 PSI high. It's adjustable on the FOBO2.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-...8a5c9f758aac64

DON'T KNOW IF THIS WILL WORK. A link to a two tire one for my fronts wheels. I am most interested when I roll two or three feet in the morning that my two front tires are rite. The back is no big deal you will feel it. With the car tire on it I believe I could run it safely if flat. Swap the sensor from rite to left till you know at what readings the fronts are exactly the same. It does have alarm if low. In two or three feet I know.

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Originally Posted by EdMat

Mine is set to go off 2 PSI low or 4 PSI high. It's adjustable on the FOBO2.

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If you're not getting at least a 3-4psi increase from the cold start pressures in your tires after riding for 30 mins or so, then your cold start pressures are too high and amongst other things, while it might 'feel' as tho you have 'more direct steering', due to things like the less traction, more understeer, and increased tendency of the tire to 'bounce' off/over irregularities in the surface caused by that over-inflation, you won't actually be steering/pointing your machine as well as you could be; plus, you'll be wearing those tires more than necessary (probably quite rapidly in the centre of the tread on the rear :sour: ), and you'll be risking punctures/blowouts from road debris..... and there's more too, but you get my drift, I'm sure. ;)

Just sayin' :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Peter Aawen

If you're not getting at least a 3-4psi increase from the cold start pressures in your tires after riding for 30 mins or so, then your cold start pressures are too high and amongst other things, while it might 'feel' as tho you have 'more direct steering', due to things like the less traction, more understeer, and increased tendency of the tire to 'bounce' off/over irregularities in the surface caused by that over-inflation, you won't actually be steering/pointing your machine as well as you could be; plus, you'll be wearing those tires more than necessary (probably quite rapidly in the centre of the tread on the rear :sour: ), and you'll be risking punctures/blowouts from road debris..... and there's more too, but you get my drift, I'm sure. ;)

Just sayin' :thumbup:

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When putting round town I get about a 2 PSI rise unless its super hot. In the country it will be 3 and interstate up to 3.5. Stock fronts running at 20 and Q5 rear at 18.

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Originally Posted by EdMat

When putting round town I get about a 2 PSI rise unless its super hot. In the country it will be 3 and interstate up to 3.5. Stock fronts running at 20 and Q5 rear at 18.

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I would say that increases of only that much mean you are running about 2 psi too much air in those tires for your 'around town' & 'country' riding; but you are fairly close/maybe only 1 psi too high for your 'interstate'/sustained high speed riding! :thumbup: (Hmmm, 18psi in the stock fronts & 16psi in an auto rear.... where could have I ever seen those recommended figures before?? :rolleyes: :roflblack: )

And having your 'increase' alarm set at 4psi, ie, the increase you should be aiming to achieve is probably not ideal either. ;)

But that's just me, innit?! :p :cheers:

FOBO alarms points are user adjustable!
AJ

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter Aawen

I would say that increases of only that much mean you are running about 2 psi too much air in those tires for your 'around town' & 'country' riding; but you are fairly close/maybe only 1 psi too high for your 'interstate'/sustained high speed riding! :thumbup: (Hmmm, 18psi in the stock fronts & 16psi in an auto rear.... where could have I ever seen those recommended figures before?? :rolleyes: :roflblack: )

And having your 'increase' alarm set at 4psi, ie, the increase you should be aiming to achieve is probably not ideal either. ;)

But that's just me, innit?! :p :cheers:

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Thanks Peter,
I have been working my way down in pressure.
Trying 19 / 17 next.