Tyre Pressure monitoring systems
 

I will be running tubed tyres on my 2016 Africa Twin after checking out the various tubeless options. Will a TPMS work (screw -onto -the- valve type) on tubed tyres or is there a problem? Comments welcome!

So far as the sensors are concerned, TPMS systems will work equally well on tubed or tubeless tires.

What you do need to check is whether or not the additional weight (small as it is) of the sensor presents a problem for the durability of the valve stem where it enters the wheel.

Many TPMS manufacturers advise purchasers that they should only mount the sensors on metal valve stems (not rubber ones). Tubed tires have rubber valve stems. So that might rule out mounting a sensor on a tubed tire.

Michael

KISS principle and CHEAPSKATE principle say: tire gauge.

TPMS on tubed tyres
 

Thanks for the advice folks. I will apply the KISS principal and rely soley on my tyre guage to determine the tyre pressure.

I've used the screw on TPMS system on my last 3 bikes. It's now the first thing I put on my bikes. IMHO much simpler than a tyre gauge.

I understand what Grant is getting at - which is that if you want to check tire pressure at any given point in time, a tire gauge is the simplest and least expensive way of doing it, but after having TPMS on my motorcycles for the past 5 years (the Garmin system, via the GPS), I would not want to ever be without this monitoring system.

Having real-time monitoring of tire pressures addresses two potential safety problems:

1) We can't be bothered to check pressure every morning. Honestly, how many of us have the discipline to check tire pressures each morning before riding off?

2) Immediate notification of a loss of pressure. A few years ago, I was riding along a rural highway when I received a warning from the TPMS of a pressure drop. I stopped and inspected the tire and found a bolt embedded in my back tire. The tire still had sufficient air in it to enable me to cautiously ride to an automotive tire shop in the next town, where I had the shop inspect the tire and put a plug in it, and refill the tire with air. I was able to find a moto dealer with my size of tire in stock and ride to them the next day to get the tire replaced.

If I did not have a TPMS installed, my first warning of problems with that back tire would probably have been the next morning, when I found it flat as a pancake and with me unable to ride the bike. All the additional expenses I would have incurred (extra night hotel stay, courier charges for the tire, maybe even having to trailer or flatbed the bike to the moto dealer) would easily have exceeded the purchase price of the TPMS.

Michael

Which is why there will eventually be legislation to make vehicle manufacturers fit it.

The retro fit solutions however are highly variable and some have the potential to be the cause of a blow out.

Andy

I'm ok with the factory installed, inside the tire systems - BUT I'm much less ok with the aftermarket add-ons, I've heard too many stories of failing caps and very inaccurate readings.
I DO check my tires every morning - by stepping on the tire/rim from the side, and watch the deflection. You get to know what's "normal" and what's not. Every few days I check with a gauge.

Andy makes a good point.

I think that there are two concerns that need to be carefully investigated before installing an aftermarket TPMS on a motorcycle:

1) If the device is a 'cap' that fits onto the end of the valve stem, then you will need to replace existing plastic or rubber valve stems with metal valve stems. This is because the centrifugal force of the rotating wheel causes the 'cap', no matter how small and light it may appear, to exert a force on the valve stem. Over time, a plastic or rubber valve stem may not be able to handle the repeated deformation cycles imposed by this force.

This might present an insurmountable problem for folks who run tires with tubes in them.

2) You need to be a critical consumer, and remember that you get what you pay for. The little Garmin valve caps that I use cost about US $75 each, and that's just for the sensor - there is also the additional cost of a GPS navigator that has TPMS capability if you do not already own one.

There are a lot of TPMS products coming out of China. Many of these are made by companies without an established reputation. I hate to paint a country with a broad brush, but, would you buy a helmet with a "Made in China" label on it?

Do the research, read the various reviews, search the forums and see what the experience of others has been before you buy an aftermarket TPMS.

Michael

I've been running a 2016 Africa Twin for 6 years 140,000 klms and 67 country's. The last thing I need and I can only imagine anyone else would need, is another "system" to be concerned about. Check your tyres reasonably regularly with a decent gauge and ride. Carry a little pump. Have a hot wire permanently rigged to the battery that is a simple SAE connect/disconnect for the pump. Happy days.

Oh, always, always tubes.

Can't/won't use a tyre guage. That's just lazy.

What else can't you be bothered checking ? Your oil level ? Your chain tension? Your lights ?

Asking your motorcycle to look after you with sensors and warning lights does nothing but leave you in an aura of ignorance and gives you a false sense of security.

In my experience, and I would hazard a guess it's the experience of anyone here who's done longer trips in far off lands, is that it's ALWAYS best to keep it simple and learn about your motorcycle.

Motorcycle toys and gimmicks are great in a showroom. And easily (if not cheaply) fixed when you're 10 miles from your local dealer. But on a trip they're just another weakness and something else to ruin your trip when it fails.

Why do you think there is such a HUGE market for classic overland bikes now. It's not because they're fast, light and economical. It's because they're SIMPLE and intuitive.

If you can't be bothered to check your tyre pressures or if you can't feel when you have a flat tyre, it's a sign that you need more training and experience. Not more rider aides.

Not so long ago, I was working in a BMW main dealer. At least one 1200GS would arrive at the workshop on a trailer every weekend because the aluminium stalk on the tyre pressure sensor snapped off. Because it's very difficult to reach it through the spokes with an airline or pump. The slighest tweak to that valve stalk would snap it off leading to total deflation and then needing a new £100 sensor and the tyre removing to fit it. And then it needed re-learning with the BMW dealer computer. No you can't do it at home.

This would NEVER happen with a standard rubber valve.

This technological replacement of common sense just creates lazy riders and ignorance.

I've lost count of the amount of people who've run out of fuel because they only trusted their fuel guage. Because looking inside their tank or logging their miles between fill ups was beyond them.

Hates to paint a country with a broad brush, does exactly that.

In answer, yes I would. This is a country with a space programme, that makes most of the world's advanced electronics. It's not the 1960s any more ;)

Valve mounted TPMS is a bodge. Wait for the mandated systems, the sensors will be strap mounted or bonded to the rim in the first generation, moulded into the tyre in the second. We are currently in a period where the amateurs and bodgers have got to market first. Properly engineered TPMS reports the increase in running temperature before a gauge would flag anything, reports low pressure just as a gauge would and fails to a lump of dead tech that just leaves you using a gauge as you would now.

I have recordings showing sensors that lost the rim temperature 100000 km ago. They''ve come loose and are rumbling round the inside of the tyre. They still send the pressure. The tyre valve is completely separate.

React to the temperature warning and you might avoid the blowbout that ruins the trip. If it doesn't do temperature it's just a gauge you can use standing up at the very best.

"Made-in....." is just advertising. If a North Korean moulding is snapped shut over Chinese electronics in an Indian case using Turkish workers, so long as it's done in Germany you can mark it as made there. Everything includes a Chinese component. What you need to know is if Honda/Samsung/Dell/ PLA tractor plant #4 is any good at managing this.

Andy

As said, TPMS works great with TL.
That's how I came to the aftermarket kits, running proprietary or DIY TL wheels where you want to keep tabs on pressures until you know the new TL set up works.
I wish I'd discovered it years ago. The sooner it's factory fitted the better.

You dashboard shows your speed, engine speed and temp, fuel level and consumption, whether your indicator is flashing, etc. About time it gave you as important tyre pressures.
If a TPMS cap plays up, just replace the stock valve cap and revert to tyre gauge.

I tested the Michelin branded one when it came out.
Worked OK for me on two trips but not others so Michelin withdrew it.
I see Fit2Go are relaunching it this year.

https://adventure-motorcycling.com/2...s-a-good-idea/

https://adventuremotorcyclinghandboo.../michtpms2.jpg