Bought the FOBO 2 from Lamonster and got it/installed it today. As of this morning (before a short 50 mile ride), the front tire pressures were identical and @ 20psi (+/- .25#). Bike's been parked for a couple hours. FOBO shows the L tire @ 21.8# and the R tire @ 23.1#. Something's amiss here. I can pull them back off and double check the current pressures but I don't know why there would be a difference and why both would show above what I set them for. After a couple of hours (@60*F), they should be cool enough to check cold.
Suggestions would be nice before I send this unit back.
HAGO!
'Just' a couple of hours parked up might not be enough to cool completely on a warm day, but if the ambient temp is fairly low, it
might be.... :dontknow: Still, generally, you'd want to leave warm tires at least 4-5 hours to get back to a reasonable cold start reading, altho leaving them 8-12 hours would be even better!! :thumbup:
Re the pressure variation, any chance the higher pressure side is on the sunnier side of the Spyder?? Or maybe there was a cold breeze blowing onto the lower pressure side.... :dontknow: But either of those things (amongst others) could result in that sort of difference in pressure -
ESPECIALLY if your tires were warm (as they should be from that 50 mile ride

) and they'd then sat cooling for
ONLY 2 or so hours!
Your tires
NEED to warm up when you ride (search on 'the 4psi rule') - if they don't inrease in pressure after a ride of anything much more than about 10 mins, then they are grossly over-inflated & you are not going to get the best from them in terms of (amongst other things) those fairly important things like ride, handling, traction, puncture resistance, tread life, & compliance with the vehicle's suspension.... For most Spyder front tires with a 'normal' sort of weight/load, normal 'in-traffic' speeds, & no high speed &/or hard riding, I'd expect to see an increase in pressure of
about 3 psi after a 50 mile ride if they started out at 20 psi, but there are all sorts of variables that could vary that increase; and then there's the variables that can impact upon how quickly they'll cool down after you stop too, so that's a very rough guestimate & broad 'expectation'!!
Ideally, you should check your cold start tires before you start riding for the day (ie, after 8-12 hours of standing out of the sun/weather) then use your FOBO to keep an eye on the pressure as you ride. If you want to confirm your FOBO pressure readings, then you'll need to check the 'hot pressure'
immediately upon stopping moving, and certainly within no more than a couple of minutes of stopping moving! Any pressure reading taken after about 2-3 mins could vary significantly due to the 'tendency' of temperatures to rapidly start to equalise - cold air &/or road with a hot tire sitting on it & the initial temp/pressure change can be
VERY quick to start out with, gradually slowing the rate of change as the temps get closer, and the last degree or so of equalisation can take
many hours!! :shocked:
So I wouldn't be too upset with those readings from your FOBO just yet - you haven't really given them a chance with that 'checking' technique! And as Ray mentioned too, their accuracy isn't necessarily all that great, so their most valuable benefit is not necessarily showing you an 'exact' or even 'accurate' pressure reading, but more in telling you of any pressure
CHANGE while you're riding! Once you know how close their cold start pressure readings are to your 'reliable' pressure gauge readings, you can use the FOBO readings to track & monitor the pressure increase as you ride - too much, your cold start pressure was too low; too little, your cold start pressure was too high; but most critically, if you see any
SUDDEN change as you ride, or if one or more tire/s gradually change pressure without an obvious weather/temp/road surface/usage reason, you'll know to check/inspect your tires & pressure
properly at the first safe opportunity!! FOBO & any TPMS is simply another tool that makes keeping an eye on things easier, they
ARE NOT an excuse to avoid carrying out the basic checks & inspections that are necessarily a part of being a safe rider & road user! :thumbup: